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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports
President Bush Declares Arizona a Disaster Area; Zacarias Moussaoui Represents Himself in Court; Bush Speaks of Palestinian State With New Leadership
Aired June 25, 2002 - 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, HOST: Arizona. The president's call for a change of Palestinian leadership draws a response from the Palestinian leader.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YASSER ARAFAT, PALESTINIAN LEADER: This has to be (UNINTELLIGIBLE) decided by my (UNINTELLIGIBLE), not by any person (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Charged with plotting to murder thousands, the alleged 20th hijacker goes to court, as his own lawyer.
Martha's mess, she can't stand the heat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTHA STEWART: I have nothing to say on the matter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: But she's not getting out of the kitchen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART: I want to focus on my salad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Can french fries and bread give you cancer?
And where the boys are not -- college.
It's Tuesday, June 25, 2002. Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting tonight from Jerusalem.
Coming up this hour: Will it work? We'll have details of the reaction to President Bush's peace proposal. The question being asked tonight about the president's proposal with Palestinians insisting they'll choose their own leaders and Israeli forces stepping up their anti-terror campaign.
And it's, quote, "a bad thing under scrutiny for possible ties to insider trading." Martha Stewart suggests the allegations have as much hot air as a newly baked souffle. We'll have much more on Martha Stewart and all the other news coming up.
But first, let's go to the CNN center in Atlanta and Miles O'Brien for a quick check of our top story -- Miles.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Lots more going in this soup, Wolf. Thank you very much.
President Bush was on his way to the Group of Eight summit in Canada today, but first things first, he took a detour to see the huge Arizona wildfire and issued a disaster declaration.
CNN's Charles Molineaux is watching the flames from the embattled town of Show Low.
What's the latest Charles?
CHARLES MOLINEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Miles, Show Low is still very empty and the fire is still licking at the outer regions of the town. So far, we are still here and the town is still here. And President Bush says that America is with victims of the Rodeo-Chediski fire. This is now the number one fire priority in the country. There are four type-one incident management teams on the ground here dealing with this fire and more help is on the way straight from the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With everything that's happened to our country, I mean, yes, it means a lot. It means a lot for him to come out here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOLINEAUX: President Bush offered encouragement and hugs for a crowd of evacuees at a Red Cross shelter in Eagar, Arizona. Some of the more than 30,000 people who fled the path of the Rodeo-Chediski fire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A lot of people in our country are pulling for you. They understand the suffering that families are going through, because of worry about your most precious possession, your home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOLINEAUX: The president also brought the promise of very concrete help. He declared a federal disaster area in Apache and Navajo counties and the Forte Pache (ph) Indian reservation, the areas most devastated by the fire, which has now burned almost 375,000 acres. That means federal money for housing, loans to rebuild, and help for area governments and businesses.
The president got a firsthand look at the devastation caused by the fire and an encouraging update on firefighters struggle to keep it from overrunning the city of Show Low.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY HUMPHRY, BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT: We predicted it would be in Show Low by the 23rd because of some of the efforts that we did here and some burning -- we put some check lines in down here. We did some burning and so when it tried to make a run, it held it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOLINEAUX: Well as those fire breaks continue to grow, the prospects of a fire -- a wall of fire coming into Show Low and consuming the town, according to the Forestry Service, continues to shrink. They say there is still a grave danger of embers blowing into town as high winds and plume driven fires send embers way up into the air, and send them four, three -- four miles away to set fires in front of them.
But they say for the very first time over the course of the past 24 hours, they've really begun to feel optimistic about their chances of rescuing Show Low from the fire, and ultimately getting some handle on the situation. But at the moment this fire is still burning totally out of control and is totally uncontained -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: So totally out of control, totally uncontained and yet a degree of optimism here. What does the weather forecast hold out there, Charles?
MOLINEAUX: The weather forecast is basically for more of the same light winds, but still high temperatures and low humidity, which again raises the danger of a plume-driven fire piling up into the sky. But at least we're not seeing winds driving the fire eastward towards Show Low, and as the conditions are again not good, but at least somewhat moderate.
This gives firefighters more chance to -- number one: deal with any spot fires that may be carried into populated areas or well abandoned populated areas, and also construct more fire lines, more fire breaks and do more of those burnouts, removing fuel in front of the fire and creating a big barrier of ashes to keep a wall of fire from moving into an area like Show Low.
O'BRIEN: All right, thanks very much. CNN's Charles Molineaux in Show Low, appreciate it.
Let's take a look at the Web, shall we? The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has some satellites trained on this particular fire that we've just been telling you about. Take a look at the big picture here. What you're looking at is Arizona to the left, New Mexico to the right, a little bit of Texas and Mexico beneath it. And as we move in closer from this image, which is taken from 22,000 miles in space, you can get a real sense of it. You see the red areas there kind of in the screen to your right there, and this is the area not far from where Charles Molineaux just reported. And the prevailing winds going west to east, sending a cloud, a thick plume of smoke, all over Arizona and into New Mexico.
This picture was taken at 7:55 Eastern time this morning or 7:55 local time, I should say, this morning. That's the latest from 22,000 miles up, the latest on the ground. And while the dry conditions are fueling the fire in Arizona; Minnesota continues to cope with the aftermath of heavy rains. Rising water forced authorities to close two state highways, west of Minneapolis, St. Paul, but things are looking up in the northwestern town of Ada where the Wild Rice River crested at record level, but has since started to drop.
Now, back to Wolf Blitzer for the latest on the terror front. Wolf, take it away.
BLITZER: Thank you very much, Miles. We'll be back to you shortly.
Meantime, a suspect in an alleged al Qaeda plot to blow up the U.S. embassy in Paris has appeared in a Canadian court today and said he would not fight extradition to the Netherlands. The suspect known as Arnold Tebeche (ph) is believed to be an Algerian, but authorities aren't sure. The Dutch want him on a variety of terrorist conspiracy charges.
A U.S. appeals court in Richmond, Virginia today heard arguments to determine jurisdiction in the case of the American born Taliban detainee Yasser Esam Hamdi. The government, which is holding Hamdi in a navy brig as a, quote, "enemy combatant" is seeking to block efforts to move his case to a civilian court.
Meanwhile, charged in the 9/11 conspiracy, the alleged 20th hijacker went to court once again today. Let's get some details from CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena -- Kelli.
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Zacarias Moussaoui was formally arraigned today under a new government indictment. The government made some minor changes in the original indictment, but the charges against him remain the same. Now the real drama in the courtroom today began when Moussaoui was asked to enter a plea.
He told the judge no contest. The judge said, "This can't possibly be. You must mean not guilty." He again said, "Do not assume for me. I am telling you no contest." She shot back at him and said that will mean almost assuredly a guilty verdict. He said, "I know what I'm doing, no contest, Judge Juan (ph)." She said she was entering a not guilty plea for him.
Now Moussaoui is representing himself in court. He has rejected, completely refused to cooperate with any of the court appointed lawyers that are acting on a stand-by basis for him. We did hear from his newest stand-by counsel, Alan Yamamoto today outside of the courthouse. Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALAN YAMAMOTO, MOUSSAOUI'S LAWYER: If he's unwilling to speak to counsel and intends to continue on his own, at some point, the court may have to step in if it feels that Mr. Moussaoui is not receiving a fair trial.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARENA: Now a lawyer, a man that Moussaoui has consulted with, a man named Charles Freeman, was also in court today. He is Muslim; he is from Texas. The problem is the judge says that he doesn't have the authority to practice law in Virginia. He also has not registered formally to help Moussaoui to act as counsel on this case.
So we don't know where that goes from here. But right now, Moussaoui continues to act pro se for himself. The case very complicated, Wolf, for both the prosecution and obviously, the defense.
Back to you.
BLITZER: Thank you very much, Kelli Arena. We know you'll be tracking this case as it unfolds.
And here's your chance to weigh in on this story. Our Web question of the day is this: Do you think Zacarias Moussaoui can get a fair trial?
Go to my Web page, cnn.com/wolf. That's where you can vote. While you're there, let me know what you're thinking. Send me your comments. I'll try to read some of them on the air each day at the end of this program. That's also where you can read my daily online column -- cnn.com/wolf.
Here in the Middle East, Israelis and Palestinians are trying to determine what President Bush does next. The one thing the Israelis are clearly pleased by what they heard from President Bush in his major speech yesterday. Indeed the Israelis believe they won a green light to continue their latest military campaign on the West Bank, which they say is designed to preempt terror strikes.
Israeli tanks, armored personnel carriers and troops tighten their hold on several major West Bank towns, including Hebron. But Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says Israel has no intention of reoccupying Gaza. He said, and I'm quoting here, "We do not need to be inside Gaza." The president's plan has drawn some criticism from the Palestinians for that.
Let's get this report from CNN's Matthew Chance. He's in Ramallah.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Emerging from his battered compound, Yasser Arafat remained defiant to his critics. Despite a stinging rebuke from Washington, calling among other things, for a change in leadership. The Palestinian president appeared determined to put on a brave face. He said he didn't even believe the U.S. criticism referred specifically to him.
YASSER ARAFAT, PALESTINIAN LEADER: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
CHANCE: President Bush spoke of a Palestinian state and about elections he says. We are proud that we are a democratic country and that the last elections were conducted here on this land with international supervision. He also said our people are proud of the democracy that they are living in.
But with their streets now under tight curfew, Palestinians know their condition falls far short of democratic. Israel continues its operations in the West Bank, rounding up suspected militants. Palestinians say they can't understand why there is so much emphasis on Israel security in Washington and so little on its occupation of their land.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thirty days we under curfew and now we don't know what will happen. You see small kids, why they ask about the rights of the Israeli children, and they don't think about these children.
CHANCE: Like it or not, sympathy for Israelis killed in suicide attacks appears virtually nonexistent here. The Bahhour family are American Palestinians who returned to Ramallah seven years ago from the United States. Like everybody else, they know they told me, they sat up to watch what President Bush had to offer. They support terrorism, but they say that doesn't mean Palestinians shouldn't fight.
SAMMY BAHHOUR, RAMALLAH RESIDENT: I don't like the way he mixed terrorists with people fighting against to kick the occupation. We as an American, we have to -- we have to make a choice. You know we have to know what terrorist mean and what's freedom fighter mean.
CHANCE: In the Ramallah back streets, teenagers play curfew breaking soccer at a site of the Israeli tanks. But in the brutal game that is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, many here are now convinced the United States is on the opposing side.
(on camera): In truth, many Palestinians share at least some of the misgivings expressed by President Bush, the need to reform the Palestinian Authority even to change a corrupt and inefficient leadership.
But there is a big difference with tanks on everybody's doorsteps now, here in the West Bank and with ordinary life made very difficult indeed, ordinary Palestinians want the Israeli occupation to end first.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Ramallah in the West Bank.
(END VIDEOTAPE) BLITZER: CNN has often focused attention on the plight of the Palestinians, the suffering that they've endured under Israeli military occupation. This week we're taking a close look at Israelis who are suffering from terrorism, the victims of terror.
Earlier today I had a chance to speak with some Israeli first responders, the people on the front line who go right into a terror attack only seconds after it's committed.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GIL KLEIMAN, ISRAELI POLICE SPOKESMAN: It's an explosion and it's a terrorist attack and people are dying, and our first rule is to try it save lives. So what we must do is allow the emergency units to get into the scene and have a free flow of wounded in and out. What we also have to do is protect them because we know there are secondary explosions, terrorists lurking, maybe a suicide bomber lurking in the area, maybe a car bomb in the area.
BLITZER: How often are there secondary explosions or an effort -- two explosions back to back?
KLEIMAN: Well we've seen that many times. We've seen double suicide bombings on (UNINTELLIGIBLE) street. We've seen a suicide attack in Tel Aviv, in which we found a colossal (ph) nearby that suicide bomber wasn't going to use it after he blew himself up. But then (UNINTELLIGIBLE) there was an attempt to shoot us or the rescue teams when they arrived there. So it's happened and we know it happens. That's very important to do two things, allow the free flow of the wounded out of the scene and protect the rescue workers.
YONATAN YAGODOVSKY, MAGEN DAVID ADOM: First we try to scan the scene and to see who are the victims that need immediate life-saving treatment, which is not so easy because it means others might not get (UNINTELLIGIBLE) treatment in the first minutes. Then we try to evacuate them while giving them life-saving procedures to the proper hospitals in the area of Jerusalem.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The last year and half, we saw something like 500 victims, and it becomes harder each time. Once we get (UNITELLIGIBLE) that there is some terror attack, we rush and run to the hospital either during the daytime while we are in the hospital or later in the afternoon, evening, night, we are running on the hospital. The first thought is: oh, no, it happened again.
And then, each of us assume -- is thinking, where are your kids? Where is your family? Are they safe? And then when you reach the emergency room, there -- we divide it (UNINTELLIGIBLE) few stages. The first stage is to admit the patients, and then you are doing it as routine. You don't think, you just do what's needed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: And this important note, Secretary of State Colin Powell will certainly have something important to say when he appears later tonight on "CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT". That's at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, 5:00 p.m. on the West Coast.
The queen of perfect tries to clean up her mess. She's got a very serious money mess.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART: I think this will all be resolved in the very near future, and I will be exonerated (UNITELLIGIBLE) ridiculousness.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Martha Stewart battles back while Congress considers an investigation. We'll have the latest twists and turns.
Also, does a chemical in fried foods cause cancer?
And do vitamins help against Alzheimer's? Elizabeth Cohen will join us. She'll have a debrief with our Miles O'Brien.
Plus, the battle between the sexes on college campuses. Here is a hint, the boys are behind.
First, to regain shareholders trust after so many CEO scandals, let's hear what the experts are saying.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN CLIFTON BOGLE, FOUNDER & FMR.CHMN, THE VANGUARD GROUP,INC.: The only way shareholders are going to regain their trust in corporate America is by taking action. Individual shareholders can't do that, but corporate shareholders, the large institutional investors can do that. If we demand better disclosure, more reasonable expectations for earnings, less earnings guidance and more earnings delivery, eventually we'll do what really has to be done, and that's to get corporate executives to focus not the on easy thing, getting the price of their stock to go up, but the difficult thing, increasing the value of their corporation.
JOSEPH J. GRANO,JR, CHMN & CEO, UBS PAINEWEBBER: I like to use an acronym called "core." "C" stands for more contact than ever between adviser and client. The "O" stands for objectivity. We have to be objective if we're still sitting on securities that have gone from 40 to 10 and we all expect them to come back, if we believe that, we should -- we should be buying more of them. If not, we should be going to the "R", which is realigning our portfolios, and the "E" is emotion. We really have to back away from the emotion and understand that investing is a long-term fundamental process.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: A beautiful, indeed, spectacular night here in Jerusalem. The walls of the Old City making the city so much more spectacular. Very important note, it's also, fortunately, a quiet night here in Jerusalem. Welcome back. We'll have more news coming up, including extensive coverage on Martha Stewart's latest potential legal problems.
But first, let's go back to the CNN center and Miles O'Brien. He's checking some other important stories -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Thanks very much Wolf.
We have a developing story right now. Not much to tell you about except that authorities are searching a home in Maryland, as we speak, relating to the investigation on that anthrax scare this past fall. Beyond that we know little more. We are working on getting some details for you.
Once again, authorities are searching a home in Maryland. This is related to the anthrax investigation. We'll have details for you as soon as they become available. Let's pick up with our justice file.
Salt Lake City police are asking the public for help in establishing a timeline for a handyman's whereabouts the night Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped. Police say Richard Ricci's alibi is suspect and they say Ricci is now at the top of their list in this case. While he is not charged, police call Ricci, quote, "very interesting."
A hearing for troubled comedian Paula Poundstone has been postponed until next month. She was sentenced to five years probation in October for child endangerment for driving with her children while drunk. Poundstone is expected to ask a judge to stop requiring supervision during visits with her children. The judge will also get a routine progress report on Poundstone's alcohol rehabilitation.
The verdict in for a Michigan man who told police he shot an Arab-American, partially out of anger over the 9/11 attacks. Today a jury found 38-year-old Brent Seeber (ph) guilty of first degree murder. The victim immigrated from Yemen 30 years ago and was dating Seeber's (ph) ex-girlfriend. Seeber (ph) faces a mandatory life sentence.
Now, food and your health, some reports are linking fried foods to cancer. That may not be news and two sources say vitamin-rich foods may reduce the risks of Alzheimer's.
Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is tracking all these studies, but lots of studies coming in today. Must be the deadline for one of those ...
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Like the planes at Hartsfield (ph).
O'BRIEN: Yes, let's talk -- you know I just love french fries and to tell me that they are going to cause me cancer just kills me, or it could kill me I guess. Tell me about it.
COHEN: Well I'm here to tell you that no one is telling you to stop eating french fries...
O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.
COHEN: ... no one will tell...
O'BRIEN: All right.
COHEN: ... you that, and I'll explain why.
O'BRIEN: But what should we do?
COHEN: But there is an emergency meeting go on at the World Health Organization in Geneva this week, an emergency meeting over potato chips and French fries, believe it or not. And it's all about some Swedish research that came out a couple of months ago that said the potato chips and french fries have high amounts of a probable human carcinogen called acrylamide, and that made everyone say, oh my gosh. I mean, it was a sort of an out-of-the-blue finding. And so the WHO wants to try to get to the bottom of it.
Now it sounds very scary and I'm going to tell you why it's not so scary. It's a probable human carcinogen. It has not been found to cause cancer in humans. It's been found to cause cancer in rodents when ingested in absolutely gigantic amounts. They, again, have not found this to be a human carcinogen.
But they want to know what's going on here with the studies. What's interesting is even the people who've done the studies say, "You know what, you can still eat french fries and potato chips. We just need to look into this further." And many, many experts I've talked to think this is all kind of a little crazy.
O'BRIEN: And for those of us who have children who have grown up on a steady diet of potato chips and french fries, should we be worried?
COHEN: I mean my kids still eat french fries and potato chips, but you know what, the bottom line here is that if you're a big worrier, I mean if you really worry about your own health and worry about your children's health and can't stand the part of any risk, you know what, just don't eat french fries and potato chips. You really shouldn't be eating them anyhow.
O'BRIEN: All right, all right, let's talk about Alzheimer's now and what they're talking about here is basically a healthy diet can stave off some of the symptoms of Alzheimer's. That's potentially good news, but I understand we should have an arched eyebrow over these studies, which came ...
COHEN: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
COHEN: A couple of big, maybes.
O'BRIEN: Yes. COHEN: This is a study, two studies that were published in the "Journal of the American Medical Association" that have come out just today that say that folks who eat foods that were rich in vitamin E, that's like leafy greens, and nuts and whole grain breads, had a much lower chance of getting Alzheimer's disease later in life. But the two studies had some serious flaws. They contradicted each other in a couple of ways, so this is not the last word.
But it's sort of the converse of what we were just talking about with the fried foods. This study suggests that eating these good foods can help stave off Alzheimer's disease. You know what, it's good to eat leafy greens anyway. It's good to get a lot of vitamin E in your diet anyhow. So do it. Is it going to definitely keep you away from getting -- keep you from getting Alzheimer's? No, it is not a sure thing in any way, shape or form.
O'BRIEN: So there's a certain amount of common sense, which ties this all together.
COHEN: Yes.
O'BRIEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) factor.
COHEN: Did you see a theme?
O'BRIEN: Yes I did.
COHEN: Did you see a theme?
O'BRIEN: All right, eat well and you'll feel better.
COHEN: That's right, eat poorly and you probably won't feel so great.
O'BRIEN: Thank you.
COHEN: Right. There you go.
O'BRIEN: Elizabeth Cohen, as always we appreciate you shedding light on those studies as they come in dropping in out of the sky. We appreciate it.
Now let's head back to Wolf Blitzer in Jerusalem.
BLITZER: Thank you very much Miles.
Her sheets are always perfectly coordinated, but Martha Stewart may be in some trouble over some stock trading. We'll talk to a United States congressman who wants an investigation.
Plus, a bumpy ride for Amtrak, the transportation secretary tries to put the brakes on an impending passenger shut down.
Stay with us.
What American college was the first to accept women? Berkeley? Harvard? Northwestern? Oberlin? The answer coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Jerusalem.
We're continuing our coverage. We'll get to the Martha Stewart story in just a moment, but let's take a quick look at a top story we're also covering right now, and that includes passenger train service in the United States.
The Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta says a solution to Amtrak's troubles appears to be very close, but no details yet of what the government plans to do about the $200 million shortfall that Amtrak says could halt service by tomorrow. Senate Democrats are urging the administration to bail out the railroad.
Now to the Martha Stewart story. Martha Stewart, of course, knows how to prepare a salad, but does she know how to make a controversy go away. She's very deeply involved in a controversy right now.
Earlier this morning, she made her weekly appearance on the CBS "Early Show." She discussed the controversy swirling around her, but follow instructions on how to make a potluck salad that were fairly detailed -- her comments on this potential scandal were not.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTHA STEWART: As you understand, I'm involved in an investigation that has very serious implications. The investigation really centers around ImClone and its drug called Erbitux, which many of us thought had great potential and still has, probably does still have great potential for curing cancer in seriously ill patients.
So, and many people are involved in this whole investigation, and I'm just not at liberty at this time to make any comments whatsoever, and I certainly hope that the matter is resolved in the very near future.
I'm in the media business. That's why our company is called "Martha Stewart Living on the Media." And I have been the subject of very favorable reporting and very unfavorable reporting, and throughout the years this is not new to me, and I choose to go ahead with my work.
I go ahead to concentrate on the good work that our company does. My employees and I are hard at work at making our company the best Omnimedia company in the world, Jane, and we will continue to do that, and I want to focus on my salad, because that is why we're here.
JANE PAULEY, CBS CORRESPONDENT: One more question. One more question.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: The Republican Congressman Jim Greenwood of Pennsylvania, chairs a subcommittee that's currently looking into Martha Stewart's stock trading and the allegations of insider training. Congressman Greenwood joins me now live from Capitol Hill.
Congressman, thanks for joining us.
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE JAMES GREENWOOD (R) PENNSYLVANIA: My pleasure.
BLITZER: I want to put up on the screen and show our viewers a little timeline of the allegations that are involved right now. December 5, the ImClone stock begins to decline. On December 27, Martha Stewart sells 4,000 shares of the ImClone stock. The next day, the FDA announces it will not consider Erbitux, that cancer drug, and of course, that cancer drug drops precipitously.
What is the allegation here? What's the suggestion to our viewers who may not be familiar with all of the details, Congressman?
GREENWOOD: Well, this drug was, as has been said, was taunted to be a wonder-drug. It attracted hundreds of millions of dollars worth of investment, and then on the 28th of December, suddenly the FDA announced that it wasn't even going to consider the application for approval for this drug.
The problem came is that that information was tipped off by the FDA to ultimately the company ImClone, and on the 27th of December, the day before this announcement, there was insider trading that went on.
We know Sam Waksal was trying to sell his stock. His daughter sold her stock. He's been arrested, and unfortunately that same day, Ms. Stewart sold her stock, and the question that's swirling around Ms. Stewart is did she have inside information or did she not? Our committee as well as others are looking into that question.
BLITZER: And the allegation is that she was close to Mr. Waksal and presumably that information could have come. But she insists that she had a standing verbal order to her broker to sell when the stock went below 60.
How do you prove or disprove that?
GREENWOOD: Well, that's difficult. Her broker, Mr. Bacanovic is also Mr. Waksal's broker which, of course, leads to the questions that arise.
Another thing that causes questions is that generally speaking, when people give their brokers an order to sell a stock if it falls below a certain price, that order is given explicitly in writing for good reason, because the stock broker would never want to miss that opportunity or be sued because he didn't follow through on a verbal order.
So there's a lot of unusual aspects to this case. Every time I'm interviewed, I try to say that we give Ms. Stewart the benefit of the doubt. She is entitled to the theory of innocent until and unless proven guilty. I hope she's -- I hope she is innocent and this thing goes away, but we'll follow the leads down.
We're going to interview Mr. Bacanovic shortly and get records, physical documents from him and hopefully within another week or so, we'll be able to draw our conclusions.
BLITZER: Will you call her to testify?
GREENWOOD: We have no plans to call Ms. Stewart to testify. We have been in communication with her attorneys. We've asked for certain documents. They have been cooperative. We don't want to call her to testify because if she's not in the middle of enough (UNINTELLIGIBLE) right now, I don't want to make that any worse for her.
But we will -- we'll see what we learn from the interviews and the documents that we expect to have and review over the course of the next week to two.
BLITZER: Congressman Greenwood, thanks for joining us. Good luck with your hearing.
GREENWOOD: Thank you, Wolf.
BLITZER: Let's get some analysis now of what all this may or may not mean. Joining us once again from "Fortune Magazine," Andy Serwer.
What do you make of what you heard from the Congressman, Andy?
ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, FORTUNE: Well, his last comment I thought was kind of telling. It sounds like he's maybe giving Ms. Stewart or Martha, as I should call her, as everyone calls her I guess, a bit of a break saying that she's in kind of enough of the middle of the swirl and that she would not testify.
But you know, Wolf, these things can take time and clearly they're going to be talking to Peter Bacanovic, the Merrill Lynch broker, and his assistant as well, who's also mixed up in this, and they want to see if all these stories square, Martha Stewart's story, the broker's story, the assistant's story. They've all got to match up, and if they don't, Martha Stewart could be in trouble.
The other thing I should point out is these things often take a long time to work their way through the government to actually get to the stage where there's a complaint filed. After all, Waksal, Dr. Waksal engaged in the insider trading in December. The complaint wasn't filed until very recently.
BLITZER: It's very hard to prove insider trading though historically, isn't it?
SERWER: Well you know, there's really a problem because where does a hot tip begin and insider trading end? I mean at some point if someone tells someone, who tells someone else, who tells someone else, it's not really insider trading.
What appears to have happened here, the way we're understanding it, or at least I think word from the Congressional Committee is that Martha Stewart has suggested that the broker called her to tell her the stock was tanking.
Now that wouldn't jibe with the fact that there was this order to sell the stock at $60. Also, if the broker was working for Dr. Waksal and his family, as we know that he was, isn't it conceivable or, in fact, likely that he got inside information and passed it on to her? Those are questions that the committee needs to answer.
BLITZER: Andy Serwer, thanks as usual for joining us, always appreciate your insight on this Martha Stewart case and other matters as well.
Let's go back to CNN's Miles O'Brien. He has a look at some other developments coming up -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Hi, thank you very much, Wolf.
We have that developing story we told you about just a few moments ago. Authorities, specifically the FBI, are searching an apartment in Maryland, in Fort Detrick, Maryland. Fort Detrick is the location of the U.S. Army's bioweapons laboratory.
The apartment is rented by a person who has had employment at Fort Detrick in the past. This particular apartment holder has consented to the search. No arrest has been made however. No one is about to be arrested according to authorities who have spoken to our people in Washington.
There have been a series of consensual searches in the wake of the anthrax investigation which, of course, began last fall, which led, as you may recall, to the closure of the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington -- and high anxiety all throughout Washington as well as New York City in the wake of a series of anthrax scares and anthrax discoveries.
Once again, the FBI has been searching an apartment in Fort Detrick, Maryland. So far, that search has not turned up anything. No arrests are reported. It is a consensual search. The person who rents that apartment has agreed to the search. No arrest has been made. We will keep you posted on it as the details come in.
Let's take a break. When women -- this is a news flash for you. Women may soon be taking over the world. You heard it here first, or at least at college campuses, a debate over the growing gender gap in the halls of higher learning.
Plus, the shuttle mission's on hold. The fleet is grounded. How some small cracks are causing some big problems with the shuttle launch schedule.
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BLITZER: Earlier we asked what American college was the first to accept women. When founded in 1833, Oberlin College in Ohio accepted both men and women, making it the first college to educate women. Oberlin was also first to grant women bachelor degrees. It wasn't until the 1960s that many East Coast schools began accepting women.
O'BRIEN: Oberlin, I wouldn't have guessed that. Now, there's been a subtle but significant change on American college campuses over the last generation.
You may not have noticed one that is now, however, causing some concern among sociologists and business leaders. Here's the problem, 40 years ago, bachelor degrees went to almost twice as many men as women. By the 80s, the numbers are about even. But now, women have pulled ahead, taking 57 percent of undergraduate degrees. Men are only walking away with 43 percent. That gap is even higher among minorities.
And joining us from Washington to talk about this, Jacqueline King of the American Council on Higher Education, and Christina Hoff Sommers of the American Enterprise Institute and the author of "The War Against Boys."
Professor Sommers, let's begin with you and just want to give you a sense, and this is a tough one to boil down into a short answer. Do you have some sense of the root causes here though?
CHRISTINA HOFF SOMMERS, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: Well, they're complex but I think one of the problems is that for the past 20 years while this problem has been developing, we've paid attention to girls, and there have been all sorts of creative efforts to improve the academic performance of girls and boys -- were put on some back burner and ignored.
O'BRIEN: Dr. King would you agree, are boys on the back burner?
JACQUELINE KING, AMERICAN COUNCIL ON EDUCATION: I don't think so. I think that there are -- I agree with Professor Sommers that there are a lot of causes for this. I think the big one is economic. The job market for young women with a high school diploma just isn't as good as the job market for young men.
It's not great for either groups with only a high school diploma, but a young man with a strong back can still get a job that at least when you're 18, will look like it's paying a decent wage. That's not the case for young women and it's motivating them in unprecedented numbers to enter higher education.
O'BRIEN: All right, well Professor Sommers, let's talk about the real impact of this problem besides how hard it might be to get a date on campus. Long range here, what is this going to mean for our society?
SOMMERS: Well, we don't know because there's supposedly nothing new under the sun. This is new. There have been many societies that favored men over women, but we have thrown the gender switch and it is now girls who are the privileged gender, and who are better educated, considerably more literate.
The Department of Education says the average 17-year-old boy in the United States has the writing skills of a 14-year-old girl. He's reading about a year and a half behind. In almost every measure of academic well-being, the boys are languishing, and what we will have is a society where the females are considerably more educated.
O'BRIEN: What do you think Dr. King, is that what's happening?
KING: I think it's more complex than that. Over a third of college students are over the age of 25. A lot of what's going on here is young women who have gone out into the workforce after high school and realized that it's just virtually impossible to make a good living, and so they're coming back into post secondary education. So we're seeing...
(CROSSTALK)
KING: So we're seeing the big changes amongst those women.
O'BRIEN: I'm sorry to interrupt there. Let's talk briefly about some higher degrees, doctoral degrees for just a moment. And the numbers are slightly different here. The swing is, if you look back in 1959 and 1960, as you might suspect, 90 percent male, 10 percent women. As it stands right now, it's 58 percent male, 42 percent women.
Professor Sommers, what would you say about those numbers? Does that mean that this trend just hasn't caught up to that level or is something else going on here?
SOMMERS: Right, well that comes at a later stage of education, and what we find is that women are on an upward trajectory, so that gap is closing quickly.
We find women achieving parity in law school, medical school, business school, so it's a great success story. And as a college professor, for me it was very exciting to see the young women in my classes who are very ambitious and very effective, educationally.
But the young men, the average young men, not the Ph.D.s but just the average little boy or high school young male is behind the girl sitting next to him.
O'BRIEN: Dr. King, let's put up one more screen very quickly if we could, because you talk about how there are pockets of a problem, but you tend to downplay the broad brush of the problem, and if you look at this whole issue by income and this perhaps points to one of the causes, it perhaps is more telling.
If you look at lower income, the male-to-female swing is 44 percent male to 56 percent female. As the income goes up, it gets more evenly split. What does that tell you and shouldn't we be all concerned about that, especially when you -- you're talking about a double divide here, a divide over the sexes and also a divide over socioeconomic status?
KING: Absolutely. This is a problem that is disproportionately affecting low-income young men and young men of color. They are folks who are on the bubble about whether or not to attend college, and as long as they mistakenly perhaps think that they can manage in the economy with just a high school diploma, it's unfortunately a little bit too easy for those folks to think they can either put off higher education or forego it all together. I'm hopeful that that trend will begin to reverse itself, but we really do need to look at that.
SOMMERS: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
O'BRIEN: Oh, you want to finish up real quickly.
SOMMERS: No, I just think where she -- where we agree is that we have to find ways to interest young males in school to make our classrooms more boy friendly and to try to close this gap, which threatens to become a chasm.
O'BRIEN: All right, it seems counterintuitive, but perhaps it is there.
Christina Hoff Sommers, Jacqueline King, thank you very much, both of you, for joining us and shedding some light on this subject.
It's time for us to take a break. John Travolta is donning a captain's uniform, not for a movie though. He looks kind of handsome there. We'll tell you more about that in just a moment.
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O'BRIEN: Live pictures from Calgary, Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police there beside the red carpet. At the end of it, President George W. Bush, the first lady, having just arrived in Calgary; he's there for a G8 Summit.
Topic number one, of course, is the fight against global terrorism. The president having swung through Arizona on his way to Canada. We will, of course, bring you live coverage of the summit of the major industrialized nations as it unfolds.
Now let's check some stories on today's newswire. John Travolta will soon star as a traveling man on tour. Travolta has agreed to fly his own plane to ten countries to promote air travel after September 11. He's serving as the spokesman for Australia's Qantas Airways.
NASA has grounded the space shuttle fleet while engineers try to figure out what is causing some tiny cracks in a crucial fuel line. This is the launch of Columbia back in January. Technicians found the cracks in some of the plumbing that carries super-cold liquid hydrogen to the shuttle main engines. It's a crucial fuel line.
They're not sure what the cracks may pose but to be safe, they will delay the next launch of Columbia, which is slated to carry the first Israeli astronaut into space. The mission was slated to begin on July 19 and now will be at least two weeks later.
If you're headed for the mountains or other wild places this summer, we've got the scoop on some new gadgets that you might want to take along. CNN contributor M.K. Flynn joins us from a show with -- you got to tell us a little about the show in a minute. Actually not there now, but you have a two-way radio homing device, which has GPS and two-way radio combination. M.K. this is a good combination of technologies to my way of thinking.
MARY KATHLEEN FLYNN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It's a great combination for people who are interested in things like hiking. You know, you see walkie-talkies or more formally they're called two-way radios, everywhere from ski slopes to shopping malls. Teenagers like to take them to shopping malls. And then there are serious outdoor adventurists who use these GPS receivers to find their locations.
Well, a couple of companies now have put these two gadgets together into one, and those companies are Garmin. Garmin makes something called the Rhino. And then the other company is Audiovox, a very well-known company in the two-way radio business.
So these gadgets both allow you to see where you are. This is one of the main benefits is that you can see where you are. You can see where others are, and you can also talk to each other.
O'BRIEN: All right, so apparently, what you did was you tried to lose an intern in Central Park, right?
FLYNN: That's right. We told him to get lost.
O'BRIEN: You were unable to do that, right?
FLYNN: I couldn't lose her, try as I might. No, I could see on the screen. I was very impressed by this. I could see both my location with one symbol. I could see her location with another symbol. I could see where we were in relation to each other.
There you see a compass that was telling me that she was northeast of us, and I was very able to find her. Her name is Aurora. Thank you Aurora for help on that.
O'BRIEN: All right, well that's good.
FLYNN: Now...
O'BRIEN: So you actually get kind of a bearing as to where this other person is in addition to where you are on the map, so it gives you a combination of information that allows you to find somebody if you've lost them.
FLYNN: And there could be more sophisticated detailed maps. I want to tell you real quickly, Miles, there is a Tech X PC Expo in town in New York, 40,000 people coming for this event.
And there are all kinds of gadgets being shown there, including this photo printer from Hewlett Packard, and it's $179 and it allows you to hook up the printer, plug it in and with using the media card where you photos are stored, you can get beautiful photos printed just like that -- Miles, back to you. O'BRIEN: You know, M.K., I'm never going to go to the drugstore and drop off film again. I got to tell you.
FLYNN: Good.
O'BRIEN: Thank you very much. Enjoy the show.
FLYNN: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: We will be checking in with you as you provide further gadgets for us to look at and ogle over.
FLYNN: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Take care. Only two minutes left to weigh in on our question of the day. Do you think Zacarias Moussaoui can get a fair trial? The results of our unscientific poll when we return.
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BLITZER: Now here's how you're weighing in on our web question of the day. Earlier we asked: do you think Zacarias Moussaoui can get a fair trial? Look at this. Sixty-two percent of you say, yes. Only 38 percent say, no. Remember, this is not, repeat not, a scientific poll.
That's all the time we have today. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Jerusalem.
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