Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

America Strikes Back

Aired October 15, 2001 - 17:00   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.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Today on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS: "America Strikes Back." The anthrax scare reaches the nation's capital and the Senate majority leader's office.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TOM DASCHLE (D-SD), MAJORITY LEADER: My office opened a suspicious package.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Who's behind the mailings? Is there a link to Osama bin Laden.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I wouldn't put it past him, but we don't have hard evidence yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: We'll go live to Capitol Hill and the White House, and we'll get live updates on the anthrax investigations in Florida, New York and Nevada.

The bioterrorism threat. How do we protect our mail, food and water? And what's the down side of antibiotics?

We'll go to Pakistan, where Secretary of State Powell finds his job just got tougher.

And CNN's Nic Robertson, just back from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, reports on the latest threats as "America Strikes Back."

Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting from Washington. Behind me, Capitol Hill, where the threat of anthrax made an appearance today. Even with all of the heightened security here in Washington, a letter believed to contain anthrax has managed to show up in the office of the Senate majority leader, Tom Daschle.

And another development within the past hour. Reports the U.S. is using helicopters, apparently, for the first time in Afghanistan. With more on all of this, as well as the day's other developments, here's Joie Chen from CNN's center in Atlanta -- Joie. JOIE CHEN, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, right. A letter opening anthrax was opened today which contained anthrax. It was opened on Capitol Hill in the office of the Senate majority leader, Tom Daschle.

Senator Daschle said about 40 people were present in the office, and an undisclosed number are being treated for possible exposure, although the senator is among them. We'll get more on this in just a moment.

After the letter was opened, Capitol Hill police blocked off Constitution Avenue and public tours of the Capitol were closed. U.S. officials say they remain on very high alert for possible attacks on U.S. soil by associates of Osama bin Laden.

Meantime, a passenger plane has been quarantined in Cleveland, along with its passengers and crew. Continental flight 456 from Las Vegas landed at Cleveland's Hopkins airport after a stewardess spotted a powdery substance in a bathroom. At this hour, hazardous materials crew has yet to determine whether the substance poses any danger.

Heavy attacks continue today against targets in Afghanistan after dark. Sources in the city of Kandahar reported sustained bursts of weapons fire and speculated they may have come from helicopters. The Pentagon, though, would neither confirm nor deny whether the helicopter units are being inserted into the air campaign.

Also today, the Pentagon released cockpit video, shows what it says are successful strikes against an alleged terrorist training camp, a missile site and a fighter plane. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld acknowledged at least four civilian casualties during the week-old attacks, but Rumsfeld ridiculed Taliban claims of hundreds of civilian deaths.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: 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)

CHEN: Secretary of State Colin Powell, meantime, arrived in Pakistan, where protests continue against the United States and the backing its receiving from Pakistan, the military government. Powell is also due to visit India, whose military forces shelled Pakistani targets in Kashmir today. We'll get more on this later.

Now I'll go back to Wolf in Washington on today's scare about anthrax in the capital -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Thank you very much, Joie. And where the anthrax came from is far from certain. But someone somewhere has managed to test the nerve of the U.S. government, and specifically that of the Senate majority leader Tom Daschle. At the time the letter was open, Daschle was not in his office. He was at least two -- but he does have at least two offices on Capitol Hill. But it goes to show that even the nation's top political leaders are not beyond the reach of the danger.

Let's go live to CNN's Kate Snow. She's up on Capitol Hill with the latest -- Kate?

KATE SNOW, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, one of Senator Daschle's offices is in this building right behind me, the U.S. Capitol. The other is in a nearby building. It's called the Senate Hart building, and that's where this letter was discovered about 10:30 this morning.

The letter was opened by a staff member of Senator Tom Daschle. Inside was a powdery substance. They called the Capitol police. Police came to the scene, checked out that powder and found inside that...

BLITZER: I don't want to interrupt you for a moment.

Dan Nichols, the press spokesman for the Capitol police is beginning to speak. Let's listen in.

LT. DAN NICHOLS, U.S. CAPITOL POLICE: At 10:30 this morning, we had a staffer for Senator Daschle open up a letter. It was addressed to the office -- in the Hart Center office building. When the letter was opened, it was found to contain a powdery substance.

Upon the staffer seeing this, she immediately notified the U.S. Capitol police. We responded. And according to our protocols, we conducted an examination of the material that was in the letter, and it tested positive for anthrax.

I should stress, though , that this is merely a field test. This is a preliminary test that we do in the field as a quick and early determination of what we are dealing with. Our protocols dictate that when we have a first positive test, we go ahead and do a second test.

The second test was administered also, and that test also came back as positive. It was at that point we isolated the area. And we contacted the attending physician in the Capitol's office, which is Dr. Eisold, who is at my side. And we also established contact with the other law enforcement agencies in the area to let them know exactly what we were dealing with.

When the office was closed, there were approximately 40 staff members who were in the office at the time. We went ahead and did the examination of those individuals. And after that was done through the doctors office, I'm happy to say now that they have all been released to go home. All of the staffers for Senator Daschle have been tested and they've all been sent home for the afternoon.

I'll have Doctor Eisold come up here in a little bit and explain a little bit more about the examination that was done, about the medical implications of this. We have pulled back all of the mail from the House of Senate, currently. And we are reestablishing our procedures on how to handle mail within the Capitol complex. And that's going to be an ongoing procedure. When get that done, we'll of course notify the offices of the procedures that we had in place to protect against this kind of situation.

I'd like to stress, though, that this is something that we knew was an ongoing concern, ongoing threat. And thankfully, we have had protocols in place and we've had a chance to train the staff and the members of Congress on how to respond to this type of situation.

And when it did occur, it unfolded as we had anticipated. It was very much a cooperative effort between the sergeants in arms, the attending physician of the Capitol, the FBI and the U.S. Capitol police. I need to say at the outset , that this is now a criminal matter that's being pursued by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the cooperation of the United States Capitol police. And because of that, there is very limited information that I can put out.

Our primary focus right now is to allow this criminal investigation to unfold as it should, to ensure that we've hit all of the markers we should, that we were cooperative as possible, and that we identify the person or persons who have sent this package and pursue this through a legal action, hopefully bring them to justice.

I really want to stress, though, that this is a preliminary test. These are field tests that are done. The material itself has been sent up to Fort Detrick, Maryland, which is run by the United States Army. They are doing further testing that is required to determine exactly the material that we are dealing with. And we have an outstanding relationship with them.

They are the best there is in the field. And we hope that within 24 hours, we'll have an indication of exactly what this substance is. If it is anthrax, then the precautions that we are taking are going to a good measure. If it is not, then we are still taking precautions that we should in order to ensure the public safety of the Congressional community.

Dr. Eisold, if can you come up. He can give you some indication of what we are doing medically to address this issue within the community.

DR. JOHN EISOLD, U.S. CAPITOL PHYSICIAN: My name is spelled E-I- S-O-L-D. I think Lieutenant Nichols has described the situation quite, quite well, and our medical approach was consistent with the approaches that have been taken in other similar situations recently. 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 a 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. But then a culture is negative, we will still wait for a few days to see if anything else pops up. So we can be sure what we're dealing with. In the meantime, again, as has been the prudent measure followed by the health departments that have been dealing with this recently as well as CDC, we make the presumption that we have a possible positive exposure by somebody, and treat them with antibiotics. And we will continue to treat them until it is clear that we either do or do not have a good clinical indication to continue with therapy.

And I think that that's really the response that everybody has taken. A prudent thing to do. We err on the conservative side and catch people as early as possible and treat them as early as possible, so that we can prevent any complications or the development of any active disease. And at this time -- yes?

QUESTION: How many people are you treating right now with antibiotics, and are you treating anybody outside of the center of those offices, people in the mail room who might have handled this parcel?

EISOLD: Yeah, I think that the question about the extent of treatment is a good one. Approximately 40 to 50 people are currently being treated. And the question about people in the mail room or the police that actually went in, in the rubric of people who have potential exposure, that we draw them into the group.

So that, when I say potentially exposed, I do not necessarily mean just those people who -- from Senator Daschle's office, but other people who perhaps could have come in contact, or have a question about their -- where they were in proximity to the event when it occurred.

QUESTION: Can you tell us how long the staff was quarantined before they were allowed to go home?

EISOLD: I cannot give you an exact hour figure, but somewhere by the early to mid-afternoon, most people had been released.

QUESTION: Was there anything else done besides the nasal swabs?

EISOLD: The police, as part of their investigation, as a routine, would swab clothing. In other words, looking for other possible avenues where this could have settled out, so you can make a diagnosis or make a judgment about what the exposure was.

QUESTION: Are you advising them to take any precautions (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the carriers, or anything about...

EISOLD: Again, they would not have been sent home if there was a fear about them being potentially a problem to others. I think that again, when we found out in all these situations, that as much as has been said about the bacillus, it still is fairly -- there are some problems in terms of transmitting it and, particularly as you know, it's not contagious from person to person. And when it settles out on an article of clothing, it will tend to stick there, so that -- obviously, we've told these people to go home and then wash up, and that sort of thing. But they are not really any sort of a carrier or a problem to other people right now. QUESTION: At this point no one has showed any signs of (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?

EISOLD: Absolutely not. It would be early, but everybody is fine. And I think that only time will tell what may or may not develop.

QUESTION: Sir, we've heard any number of doctors who have opined that Cipro or any of these other antibiotics are not certain how these treat anthrax, or whether anthrax will respond totally? Are of these employees -- and you can answer to the camera -- but are any of these employees in danger?

EISOLD: I do not think any of the employees are in danger, and my answer to your question about the advisability and what Cipro may or may not do, is simply that is the best drug that we have available right now in this situation. And it's a very good drug. And I'm not sure what your sources are, in terms of the uncertainty there. But I'm very confident about the -- using that as treatment.

QUESTION: You said there were clothing swabs?

EISOLD: Want to comment on that, Dan?

NICHOLS: The question was about other swabs in the clothing. That would be part of the investigation that we're not ready to release at this point. Like I say, we do have an ongoing criminal investigation we're pursuing, and that's our foremost concern, that we pursue this as it should be in, conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. So there is some investigative information that I'm just not at liberty to discuss right now.

QUESTION: Have you begun to compare the letter that Senator Daschle received to the letter that Tom Brokaw received, to see if there was any kind of similarity there?

NICHOLS: That would be a question the FBI is going to have to...

QUESTION: They actually asked us to ask you.

NICHOLS: That's a question the FBI is going to have to answer. They're the lead investigative agency on this. We are working very cooperatively with them, but right now this is an isolated incident. And right now we have a possible anthrax incident. This has not been confirmed, until we get the results back from Fort Detrick, Maryland.

So we need to proceed with caution on this. We put this information out because it is of public interest. But this is a preliminary indication. We are erring on the side of caution, erring on the side of prudence in how we're dealing with this. And I think that we're following the right course. And we're putting this information out to the public in order to calm them and let them know that we're doing everything we can to protect the legislative branch of government.

This investigation is going to proceed as it should, according protocol as established by the FBI.

QUESTION: Could you confirm whether an office was evacuated in (UNINTELLIGIBLE) this morning?

NICHOLS: We've had a number of suspicious package calls up here within the Capitol complex today. And that's not unusual. Whenever we have a situation like we had on September 11th, which was as tragic as it was, the security awareness and security consciousness of those within the Congressional community is raised. I think you're seeing that at federal buildings and other buildings across the United States.

So since that time, we responded to a number of suspicious packages. And we're going to continue people to do so. We encourage people to call us and let us examine these packages, to ensure that we have the safety and security of the Congressional community in mind.

QUESTION: ... who said there was 12 calls -- is that accurate?

NICHOLS: I'm sorry. Our policy is not to characterize how many calls we have or the nature of these calls, because of the particular situation we're dealing with with Senator Daschle's staff, we decided to put this information out.

Our standard procedure is we do not discuss suspicious package calls or suspicious letter calls within the United States Capitol complex. I can tell you, though, that we have had a significant increase in the past few weeks, over the past month, of these types of calls. And that's something we encourage.

QUESTION: What do the police do to protect themselves in these responses? Do they wear the suits all the time?

NICHOLS: Yes. That's part of the difficulty of our mission. And you saw the call the first responders have up in New York, when the firefighters and police officers were killed up there. We do have protocols in place, and Dr. Eisold treats the police officers, who are the first responders, as he would anybody else under a possible exposure to hazardous substances.

We're looking at increasing our capability in this regard. We've been looking at this for quite some time. I can tell you, thought, that the U.S. Capitol police is very well-versed in responding to this type of incident.

QUESTION: Lieutenant, do you know when mail will be delivered again?

NICHOLS: That's something that we're looking at. We want to make sure that we have the protocols in place and we have procedures in place, and we have time to train the staff. You know, the staff has a difficult job to do, and they're up here in the service of the public and their constituents back home.

And innocently, they're drawn into this type of situation. And we want to make sure that we have their concerns addressed, that we have protocols in place that they are comfortable with, and that they're well-versed on how to proceed if they do have this type of situation.

So the best answer I can give you is "as quickly as possible." But I'm not going to put a date on it. Public safety is what comes first. And we're going to work very diligently with the staff to put these protocols in place to ensure their safety.

QUESTION: Lieutenant, have you determine where the letter came from, or do you have any...

NICHOLS: No, I'm sorry. That's part of the investigative information that I'm not at liberty to release.

QUESTION: When will tours of the Capitol resume?

NICHOLS: Tours of the Capitol have been suspended indefinitely. And this is not in response to the situation today. This is something that we have been working on for quite sometime. We have a public safety responsibility, not only to the Congressional community, but to the visitors within the Capitol complex.

Given the current situation, we reviewed very closely the tour policy. And it was our decision that in light of what's going on in the nation and our ability to quickly and safely evacuate the United States Capitol, it would be in everyone's interest to suspend tours of the United States Capitol.

We know that that's an important part of the Capital experience, and we want people to have that experience. We also want to make sure that it's safe for all those who visit up here.

QUESTION: Are tourists still allowed to come in the building, though, in other ways, besides guided tours?

NICHOLS: The Capitol is open for official business. Now, tomorrow the House and Senate is going to be in session and the galleries will be open. For those who obtain gallery passes from their members of Congress or their United States senators, in order to watch the House and Senate in session.

You know, that's -- this is one thing I need to stress, and what happened today is of concern to everybody. It's especially of concern to the United States Capitol police. But the legislative branch will not be paralyzed by this type of action.

You will see tomorrow the House and Senate in session. You'll see people in the galleries, and you'll see us not yield to this type of incident. We will not let the national legislative process on the United States be disrupted over this type of incident.

QUESTION: Can you comment on how many police officers and how many mailmen were (OFF-MIKE) ?

NICHOLS: I'm sorry. We're not going to break that information down. I understand your interest in that, but we're just giving out total numbers.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

NICHOLS: Approximately 50. And the reason is I don't want anyone to be able to approximate how many police officers respond to this type of situation.

QUESTION: Sir, but it does sound like the initial responders were not wearing (UNINTELLIGIBLE) I know that later (OFF-MIKE).

NICHOLS: There was a concern when police officers respond to this type of situation, because we don't know what we're dealing with when we walk in the door. And any officer who has been exposed or has been in the area will be treated, as everyone else will.

QUESTION: What precautionary measures should the average citizen be taking, in terms of mail, what they should do, what your guidelines are.

NICHOLS: Our guidelines apply to the Congressional community. I'm the spokesman for the United States Capitol police. I'm not sure it's appropriate for me to give general information to the public.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE).

NICHOLS: There are protocols we have in place already. Anyone who comes across mail that's suspicious, that's heavily bound, that has inappropriate markings on the outside, oily stains, that's lopsided, feels like wires inside -- any of that, we encourage anybody to call the U.S. Capitol police for that type of mail -- that's inside the Capitol complex.

The U.S. postal service, I know is working very diligently on this also. And they're putting out information to the general public, and perhaps that question is best directed to them.

QUESTION: When do you take the final test back on the suspicious packaged or letter?

NICHOLS: I'm told there is 24-hour turnaround for the substance that went out to Fort Detrick. And we hope -- we hope, within 24 hours we'll have a positive indication of what we're dealing with. Either it is or it is not anthrax, or it is some other substance.

QUESTION: What mail screening procedure...

QUESTION: ... there is ongoing concern, and this is not unexpected. Was there any specific warning about the package?

NICHOLS: No, but we monitor -- we monitor what happens across the nation also. And given what's been happening across the nation, of course, with the volume of mail that we have and with the symbolism associated with the United States Senate and the House of Representatives and the United States Capitol, it's reasonable that we would take additional precautions and training for our personnel, as well as the Congressional community. And that's going to be an ongoing effort. This is not something that's going to be a one isolated incident. I think that you're going to find that security within the Capitol complex is going to change. And that even though it's our goal to maintain the public access that we've always enjoyed over the years, we have a high responsibility to public safety. And there is going to be ongoing changes within the Capitol complex.

QUESTION: Can you confirm that a new system put in place, or supposed to be put in place today, to screen the mail in the mail room, before it goes out to the offices, for biological and chemical...

NICHOLS: What I don't want to do is give an advantage to anybody who wants to commit an act of violence within the Capitol complex. So our procedures and our protocols, what our capabilities are, is not something that I really want to publicly discuss. I can tell you we're taking every conceivably measure to ensure the safety and security of all those who work and visit within the Capitol complex. What all that entails, I think is not to our advantage to discuss in detail.

QUESTION: Last week, the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) sent out a notice to Senators saying new procedures are being put in place, checking the mail.

NICHOLS: That's right.

QUESTION: How then could this package have gotten through? Were those procedures not yet in place, or is this something that slipped (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?

NICHOLS: No, I wouldn't characterize it as that at all.

There were procedures put in place, but there is an interim period where the procedures are in place and there are still things in the system. So that is going to be part of the investigation also. We're going to determine how this came about and the route that it came to be in the senator's office.

QUESTION: Lieutenant, can you tell us the route of a typical piece of mail, when it is addressed to a U.S. senator? Just generically. without talking about the investigation, but generically, when someone addresses a letter, where does it go to first, and how long does it take to get to the senator's office and so forth, so that we understand...

NICHOLS: Actually, I'm not that familiar with the mail system. I do know that we have screening procedures in place, which have been in place for years, before mail is delivered up here. And those are very definitive, effective procedures that we're following.

But the time it takes for something to leave somebody's mailbox until it arrives in the senators's office -- I'm sorry, I'm a police officer. I'm not that familiar with that process.

QUESTION: Was it a letter or a parcel?

NICHOLS: This was a letter.

(CROSSTALK)

NICHOLS: OK, I have a meeting to go to, so if we can...

QUESTION: You said that tours were canceled not because of this incident but...

NICHOLS: Yes.

QUESTION: ... because you've been planning to do that all along? And we talked to people that were standing in line, who said that at about noon they were told that the tours had all...

NICHOLS: Yes, the decision to cancel tours is something we have been discussing for quite some time. And the decision was made today, in the interest of public safety, to suspend tours for the foreseeable future, until we can get some public safety policies in place.

QUESTION: So not because of this package?

NICHOLS: There were a number of factors that went into this decision. I can tell you that immediately after September 11th, tours were suspended for approximately a week. When they came back on, tours were allowed in the U.S. Capitol, a modified schedule. And based upon some of the information that's been -- based upon some of our concerns for public safety, we have been contemplating for some time of suspending tours. That decision was made this afternoon.

QUESTION: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) heavily wrapped, in plastic wrap and duct tape?

NICHOLS: I'm sorry. Anything that characterizes that letter is part of the investigation, and I can't release that information. Postmark is part of the investigation, and I can't release that information either.

QUESTION: Do you know anything about the powdery substance being looked at now outside of the gallery, I'm told?

NICHOLS: No, I don't have any information on that.

QUESTION: Of the other suspicious packages that the Capitol police checked out today, did any of them get sent to be tested?

NICHOLS: No, everything tested negative so far.

We have run a number of calls today, and this is the only one that we've had a preliminary, positive indication on a field test.

QUESTION: Did you have calls on both sides of the Hill, House and Senate?

NICHOLS: Yes, both sides of the Hill. All right. Thank you very much. If I have any information tomorrow afternoon, I'll go ahead and call another press conference. Thanks for your patience on this. It's a lot information, and you all have been great in not inundated me with phone calls in my office, so thank you very much.

BLITZER: Lieutenant Dan Nichols, spokesman for the U.S. Capitol police, saying that the preliminary tests, two preliminary tests, field tests, as he described them, for this powdery substance delivered in a letter to Senator Tom Daschle, the Senate majority leader, did test positive.

But the material is being sent to a U.S. Army base at nearby Fort Detrick, Maryland, for additional tests. He says the additional tests will take about 24 hours for a final determination to determine if in fact this is anthrax, although these two preliminary tests do show that it is.

Says that about 40 to 50 people have been apparently in contact. They've been treated by Capitol Hill physicians. They've been sent home. They've been given antibiotics, Cipro, the antibiotics that's useful in dealing with anthrax.

He's also told us that the FBI has now been brought into this to investigate together with the U.S. Capitol police. Finally, he says that all tourists tours, visitors' tours of the U.S. Capitol have been indefinitely suspended as of today.

Let's bring in our Congressional correspondent, Kate Snow.

Kate, you were listening to these comments by both Lt. Dan Nichols, as well as Dr. John Eisold, the U.S. Capitol physician. How is this playing on Capitol Hill? You've been in touch with many members' offices.

SNOW: Well, there's a lot of nervousness, I can tell you that for sure. People certainly are wary about all of this. As you know, mail service has been suspended this afternoon. All of the offices here on Capitol Hill have been told to send back their mail back to the main area, so that it could be checked before it would be re-sent out to the offices that it's intended for.

And Dan Nichols saying just now he's not sure how long the suspension of mail service will last. Not clear when they'll resume mail service. A couple of points out of what he said. They said that they've trying to err on the conservative side. They have treated, as you mentioned, some 40 or 50 people, anyone who might have come in contact with this letter when it was opened earlier today.

No one, though, has shown any symptoms at all -- that's very important. no one has come down with any symptoms. They're simply trying to be conservative and be cautious about this, and so they're treating all these folks with antibiotics, and will continue to treat them until it's proven that they don't need to be treated anymore.

Early this morning, about 10:30 is when this letter was opened up, in the office of Senator Tom Daschle. That's in an office building nearby here. That floor that you see there, where the policeman is stationed, was shut off and those 40 or 50 people were quarantined inside. They've now been sent home.

It was tested twice in the field and did show positive for anthrax. But as you mentioned, Wolf, it has now been sent out to an army base nearby here for additional testing. FBI officials say -- tell CNN that it arrived from Trenton, New Jersey, and that it arrived on Friday but was not opened until this morning.

You heard Lieutenant Nichols not wanting to confirm that, deferring any questions on those points to the FBI. But again, FBI officials have told CNN that that was the case. That's interesting, because another letter separately sent from Trenton, New Jersey had gone to NBC News, and to their anchor, Tom Brokaw.

Dan Nichols was asked whether there might by any connection between these two cases. He said he wasn't going to comment on that, again, deferring to the FBI and calling this an isolated case.

Senator Tom Daschle, who was the intended recipient of this letter, spoke a little bit earlier to reporters, saying that he was angry and disturbed by all of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DASCHLE: 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 for which they have nothing to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNOW: Now, you mentioned, Wolf, that tours have been canceled, tours going inside the Capitol behind me here. Interesting to note, though -- Dan Nichols was very clear about this -- that tours were not canceled as a result of this letter being sent to Senator Daschle's office, but rather something that they were looking at doing anyhow. They have now suspended tours indefinitely -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Kate Snow on Capitol Hill, thank you very much.

Anthrax scares are being reported across the country. But as of now, we're aware of four cities -- four -- where people have actually been in the presence of anthrax. They are: Boca Raton, Florida, scene of the only death so far, New York City, the cases involving NBC News and "The New York Times," Reno, Nevada -- a letter opened by a Microsoft subsidiary, and today's incident here in Washington, D.C.

President Bush said today this may be the work of Osama bin Laden, but he wouldn't be any more specific than that. Joining us now with more, our CNN senior White House correspondent, John King.

John, tell us precisely what the president did say.

JOHN KING, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the president was in the Oval Office. He was wrapping up a meeting with the visiting Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi. He got a phone call reporting this to him, this case in Senator Daschle's office. He called Senator Daschle and spoke to the leader. Then the president came out into the Rose Garden, the two leaders taking questions from reporters.

As you noted, Mr. Bush was asked the inevitable question: Any evidence, sir, linking this to Osama bin Laden? The investigation is in its earliest stage here in Washington and very early stages in Florida, New York and Nevada as well. Mr. Bush said no evidence, but he has his suspicions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There may be some possible link. We have no hard data yet, but it's clear that Mr. bin Laden is a man who's an evil man. He and his spokesmen are openly bragging about how they hope to inflict more pain on our country. So we're watching every piece of evidence. We are making sure that we connect any dots that we have to find out who is doing this. And I wouldn't put it past him, but we don't have hard evidence yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Now these anthrax scares are one reason the administration is preparing to ask Congress for several billion dollars to improve the government's and the nation's bioterrorism defenses: $1.5 billion of that would be for the Department of Health and Human Services, the lead agency from a public health perspective -- $1.5 billion.

Again, the administration's new request not net yet sent up to Capitol Hill. What would that money be used for? Some of it would to boost the supplies of that antibiotic Cipro that you were just talking about.

Right now, the government has enough supply, 60 days, to treat 2 million people. They went to have enough for 60 days for 12 million people. The government also wants to significantly increase the production and its holdings of the vaccine for smallpox. And the government wants to increase security, we are told, at the laboratories that have samples of anthrax and smallpox and other diseases -- bacteria and viruses -- that could be used by bioterrorists. Wolf.

BLITZER: John king at the White House, thank you very much. We are going to take a quick break. When we come back, we will go to New York, Nevada and Florida, where other anthrax investigations continue. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. We will get caught up on the anthrax investigations in New York, Florida, and Nevada in just a moment. Here is Joie Chen in Atlanta with a check of the latest developments. Joie.

CHEN: Wolf, we do want to bring viewers up to date on some other things that have been happening in the course of this day. A passenger plane has been quarantined in Cleveland, along with its passengers and crew. Continental Flight 456 from Las Vegas landed at Cleveland's Hopkins Airport after a flight attendant spotted a powdery substance in a bathroom. At last word, a hazardous materials crew had yet to report whether the substance posed any danger to anyone.

Heavy attacks continued today against targets in Afghanistan. After dark, sources in the city of Kandahar reported sustained bursts of weapons fire. It is speculated they may have come from helicopters. The Pentagon, though, would neither confirm nor deny that helicopter units are being inserted into the air campaign.

Also today, the Pentagon released cockpit video, showing what it said were successful strikes against an alleged terrorist training camp, a missile site and a fighter plane as well. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced at least four civilian casualties during the week-old attacks. Secretary Rumsfeld ridiculed Taliban claims of hundreds of civilians deaths.

For more on the anthrax investigation, let's go back to Wolf in Washington. Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank you very much, Joie. A thread has emerged between the anthrax cases in New York and the one now here in Washington. The letters mailed to NBC and "The New York Times" both were postmarked Trenton, New Jersey, and so was the one that was opened today in the office of the Senate majority leader, Tom Daschle.

Joining us with more on the Trenton connection, CNN's Jason Carroll. He's in New York. Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, as you said, we have got two suspicious letters here. But authorities will simply say that at this point it is too early to tell if both of letters are in any way related. We can tell you that the letter that was sent to Tom Brokaw was processed at a mail center in Hamilton, New Jersey. That's near by Trenton. Two workers reported having flu-like symptoms, but postal officials say that does not mean they were infected with anthrax. It could just be a coincidence. So far tests there show no sign of anthrax at that mail facility.

There is, however, confirmation that three people investigating the letter that was sent to Brokaw were exposed to anthrax spores. A police officer and two lab technicians who handled the letter were exposed to a small number of spores, but health officials point out that exposure does not mean infection. A person would have to be exposed to thousands of spores in order to become infected. So far, the only person who has been a confirmed case of anthrax is Tom Brokaw's assistant. She has a cutaneous form of the disease. It's a skin infection and it's easily treated with antibiotics. She is doing well.

New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said, given all the facts, people should stay calm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MAYOR RUDOLPH GIULIANI (R), NEW YORK: Some people -- for legitimate reasons, because they see something suspicious -- are getting excited. Some people, because of the psychology of this -- they are more prone to it -- they are getting overexcited. But by and large, most people are very calm. And the reality is they should open their mail, they should go about their normal lives. And I'm going to go open some mail later. You can come with me. You can help me open it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: The voice of reason coming from the mayor. Several hundred employees here at NBC have been tested as a precaution. Those tests, Wolf, should be coming in later this week.

BLITZER: Jason Carroll in New York. Thank you very much.

The anthrax scare began in Florida. And late this afternoon came a new development from the town of Boca Raton, where, as we said, the only known anthrax death has occurred.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is on the scene with the latest. Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, a little while ago health and city officials here in Boca Raton have told us that there was a small trace of anthrax spores found at a post office building just a few miles away from the American Media Incorporated building. One official at the post office says that they have seen Ernesto Blanco pick up his mail and deliver it, make his daily run to that building and then come back to the American Media building. Ernesto Blanco is one of the three people here in Boca Raton who has been exposed to the anthrax.

We are told that all employees in the post office building have been tested and that none have been infected, and that postal officials here and the city officials and health officials are all saying same thing: that there is no public health threat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEL ALVAREZ, U.S. POSTAL INSPECTOR: This is all precautionary. The post office remains open to its employees and customers. That should tell you something. A very minute piece of anthrax was found, and the CDC and the health department have stated it's OK, you don't have to shut down the place. After the post office closes tonight, we are going in to clean up the small area. It's going to reopen tomorrow at 4:00 a.m.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: Now, all the employees at the postal office have been given antibiotics, and as soon as that medicine runs out the CDC and other health officials here in Boca Raton say that they need no further testing. As for the employees at American Media Incorporated, they will undergo a second round of blood tests that will perhaps start on Wednesday. That is just a precaution, just to doublecheck that all the tests that were done last week came out as the initial indications came out.

Again, only three cases of exposure here in Boca Raton, and one of them resulted in a death. I'm Ed Lavandera reporting live from Boca Raton.

Wolf, back to you.

BLITZER: Thank you very much, Ed. The anthrax case in Reno, Nevada, involves six people, all of whom have undergone tests for anthrax exposure, and all of whom -- as of today, at least -- have tested negative. With the story this evening from Reno, here's CNN's James Hattori. James.

JAMES HATTORI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Wolf. We are at the state capital in Carson City, awaiting word from the Centers for Disease Control as to the specific strain of anthrax that was found in a Reno office building last Friday. We expect that word still could come today.

Now, as for the employees at that building returning from the weekend, it's sort of a good news/bad news situation. The bad news is the presence of anthrax is confirmed. The good news is officials say it seems to pose very little risk to the public health.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HATTORI (voice-over): Monday morning was anything but business as usual for workers at the Sierra Pacific building in Reno.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just a little apprehensive but I have no fears.

HATTORI: Fears calmed somewhat by tests showing six people who handled or came in close proximity to an anthrax-contaminated letter sent to Microsoft's Reno office were all negative. It was no surprise to local health officials, who say the amount of anthrax detected was very, very small and not in the often-lethal powder or airborne form.

SUZANNE STADLER, SIERRA PACIFIC EMPLOYEE: They handled the contents of this letter or this envelope very, very carefully. We think their exposure in any case was extremely minimal.

HATTORI: Employees seemed to take the assuring words to heart.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a little wild. My family is a little worried and everything, but like I reiterated to them, I wasn't in direct contact with anything in the mail room. I really don't think I have anything to worry about.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HATTORI: Other workers seem to share that sentiment. They did not seem terribly concerned or worried or panicked, for that matter, when they returned to work. Two other factors to mention, Wolf. Of the six people tested, as we said, all were negative. None have been given, even as precaution -- administered medication to stop the infection. That's one good sign health officials say that the risk here, again, is very low -- Wolf.

BLITZER: James Hattori in Carson City, Nevada, thank you very much.

Joining us now from Los Angeles, an expert in the field of counter-terrorism: Sergio Robleto of Kroll Incorporated, which is an international security firm. Thank you so much for joining us, Mr. Robleto.

You heard the Capitol Police spokesman say the FBI is now taking charge of this investigation. Indeed, they are taking change charge of all these investigations. But how does the FBI find out who is responsible for sending out anthrax?

SERGIO ROBLETO, KROLL INCORPORATED: It's a difficult question. Any one of these cases, it's one step at time. That's probably why they keep on saying there is no tie-in to the known group such as the al Qaeda, so forth. It's going to be a difficult investigation with a lot of interviews and a lot of tracking back on the envelopes and postal methods.

BLITZER: Do they have resources to check out these letters? If they were postmarked, for example, in Trenton, New Jersey, or one of those letters was supposedly postmarked Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, does the FBI have manpower to get this job done?

ROBLETO: I think that all of the agencies are being stretched to the limit right now. However, this is significant enough that they will make the effort to make a sufficient numbers of agents available to do a fine job.

BLITZER: What is the most difficult part, though, in trying to trace the origin of these obviously very suspicious letters?

ROBLETO: Probably the most difficult thing is if the person was wearing gloves or something like that. Whoever may have sent the letters may have taken steps to make sure -- they would have sent it away from their area of residence, away from wherever they are really operating in order to throw investigators off. And then it becomes very much a needle in a haystack.

BLITZER: Obviously no one knows for sure right now, the president of the United States said he doesn't know for sure. But does this -- as far as your suspicion is concerned, your opinion is concerned -- does this have the earmarkings of bioterrorism?

ROBLETO: Well, it's certainly bioterrorism. The question is who and how and is it just a copycat or is it one of the organizations that we believe are responsible for everything else. For me, it just stands to reason that it is related to these people, but the facts have to prove it.

BLITZER: Those fact will take some time to determine. Mr. Robleto, thank you so much for joining us.

ROBLETO: Thank you. Let's go now to CNN's Joie Chen -- she's in Atlanta -- for more on this story.

CHEN: Right, Wolf. There are certainly so many fears about biological and chemical terrorism, and that sends a lot of people running to doctors and pharmacists looking for advice and looking for prescriptions as well.

CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joining us here. You can ask him question about this issue. You can join our interactive chat. cnn.com/community is where that is under way.

Dr. Gupta, we've got questions right away from the Web chat audience. Let's get this up. The first one from the Netherlands: "Why does it take so many tests to get a positive result for anthrax?"

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's a good question. We are seeing a lot of the imperfections of these tests. While these tests are designed to be very sensitive -- meaning you may have more false positives and fewer false negatives -- people believe that if you have false positives, that is sort of the side to err on if you have to choose one or the other. If a test subsequently comes back negative, that's good sign.

You are also dealing with the type of family of bacteria and the specific bacteria within that family. And all of those things take time. It's important to distinguish between preliminary findings and final findings, and some of those are starting to come out now.

CHEN: All right, Sanjay. Here is another question from our Web chat audience. From Washington, D.C., or at least that's what someone says. It says: "I work in the Senate Hart Office Building on the same floor as Senator Daschle's office. Am I safe? What about if you were somebody else passing through the office?"

GUPTA: It's a really important point that anthrax is not contagious. So any of those other folks that we know -- some of the folks are being treated in Senator Daschle's office -- will not be contagious to the other people in the building. And it sounds like the anthrax that we're talking about was very much localized to this one envelope. So anybody who was exposed to that should be tested, but everyone else should be safe.

CHEN: Another question from our live Web chat audience. "I work for UPS. Should they have any special instructions for their employees?" This is a question from Illinois.

GUPTA: I think we certainly heard a lot of special instructions from the postmaster and the postal inspectors, all those folks: Certainly be on the lookout for suspicious packages.

Let me just make a point here that certainly this habit of sending letters with anthrax in it is not a very effective way of doing much, and a lot of people are educated about what to do if they should be curious about whether or not they have been exposed. Wash your hands, go get tested. All of those messages have been out there. I think that would be the message still now.

CHEN: Sanjay, we need a quick answer on this, but we need to underline that a lot of folks have gone to their doctor or their pharmacist or somebody to get some Cipro or any other antibiotic they can get hold of. What does this do for us?

GUPTA: What I have been recommending -- I have gotten this question from a lot of my friends as well.

CHEN: Do you have any in your pockets?

GUPTA: For prescriptions, things like that. What I've been recommending, if you are truly worried about it, go get tested. Get your hands tested, get your nose swabbed, all that sort of stuff. Cipro and any other antibiotic does have side effects that people should think about.

Also, there is a side effect to the community at large. Any time you introduce large doses of antibiotics into the community, you worry months or years down the line that you might have resistant organisms, bacteria that cannot be killed by those antibiotics anymore. We start to see more of them, and that can be a problem later on down the road. Certainly something to be mindful of.

I don't recommend taking antibiotics unless there's specific reason to do so.

CHEN: Important information from our medical unit and Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Wolf, with that advisory, we return to you.

BLITZER: Good advice, Joie. Thank you very much. Thanks, Sanjay, for us as well.

If you still have questions about anthrax, go to cnn.com's home page. Look for the link "Ten things you need to know about anthrax." The AOL keyword is CNN. For additional insight into the anthrax scare, check out my column online, cnn.com/wolf.

When we come back, U.S. air strikes continue. We will go live to the region for an update. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back.

Secretary of State Colin Powell is now in Pakistan, where he'll be meeting with President Musharraf on the anti-terrorism campaign and other pressing issues. CNN's John Vause joins us now from the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.

John, first of all, what are you hearing from your listening post about the latest U.S.-led air strikes over Afghanistan?

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the details which we got out of Kandahar a few hours ago seem to suggest there's intense activity over the city. Our people there say it sounds as if there are helicopters over the city. There is also the sound of small arms fire, as well as automatic weapon fire.

They originally told us that there was the sound of weapons fire in the streets. Now what this means is up to interpretation at this stage. But essentially, different activity even though this is now the ninth day of air strikes -- very intense air strikes -- but this is certainly different to what has been happening for the last nine days. Wolf.

BLITZER: What about Secretary of State Powell? How is he being received? I know he just arrived a few hours ago, but what is the sense of his mission in Pakistan?

VAUSE: It seems to be a two-fold mission now, Wolf. Obviously to deal with the anti-terrorism coalition and try and keep President Musharraf in line, and to try and keep the Pakistan government in line in the face of those widespread demonstrations we have seen here. Demonstrations, again, in Karachi. Small groups clashing with police. About five people injured.

But also there is the issue of Kashmir, which has now emerged. That was also on the secretary of state's agenda. He's trying to defuse tensions between India and Pakistan over the issue of Kashmir, and tonight we have reports of border skirmishes. Indian forces launched an attack on Pakistani forces. Something like 36 people wounded in that skirmish. Obviously he'll have plenty to talk with President Musharraf tomorrow. Wolf.

BLITZER: John Vause in Islamabad. Thank you very much.

The U.S. is now in the second week of its air strikes against Taliban targets in Afghanistan. CNN military affairs correspondent Jamie McIntyre joins us now with more from the Pentagon. Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN MILITARY AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: This has been the most intense day of bombing, according to Pentagon sources, since the campaign kicked off. This is day nine. More than twice as many planes were bombing targets today than was the level over the last couple of days. That may be one explanation for that increased activity around Kandahar. The mission this time is to try to kill as many Taliban and al Qaeda forces on the ground so that targets are largely fielded forces.

As for the reports of helicopters over the city of Kandahar, the Pentagon is neither confirming nor denying there is any helicopter activity, although Pentagon sources tell CNN that there were no attack helicopters in today's battle plan. That said, the Pentagon is not commenting on the specific reports of any helicopter activity over Kandahar. Wolf.

BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre, thank you very much.

Meanwhile, CNN's Nic Robertson has just returned from Taliban- controlled areas Afghanistan. Nic traveled from Peshawar, Pakistan to Jalalabad, Afghanistan. He was part of a small group of international journalists invited on the tour by the Taliban. They were taken to a village near Jalalabad, where the Taliban claim up to 200 people have been killed during U.S.-led air strikes. The Taliban did restrict Nic's movements on the trip. He's now back in Peshawar and has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just before leaving Afghanistan, we had an exclusive meeting with two representatives of al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden's organization. I asked them what was the situation with Osama bin Laden following the air attacks aimed at him. They said he was well. The representative told me he had seen Osama bin Laden just two days previously.

I asked him what Osama bin Laden's view was on the current situation. He said that Osama bin Laden believes that they are winning this war. He believes they have successfully defined the terms of this war on their terms, and that is that this is a fight against Islam. He also said that they believe just one of their fighters -- one of their representatives -- is equivalent to one corps of a modern army.

I asked him what he meant by that. He said just one of their fighters, by blowing themselves up, could destroy a large number of people or a building. In their opinion, it would take one corps of a modern army to do that.

He also said that Osama bin Laden says that even if he is killed, the fight will go on.

Osama bin Laden, he said, did have a special message at this time. That special message, he said, was that if the United States and allied forces continued bombing innocent civilian houses inside Afghanistan, destroying those civilian homes, he said that there would be serious consequences.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Peshawar, Pakistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: That's all the time we have for now. I will be back in one hour with more the anthrax investigations across the country. Until then, thanks very much for watching. For Joie Chen, I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. CNN's coverage of "America's New War" continues next with "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE."

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com