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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Pennsylvania Miners Trapped Underground; Firefighters Race to Save California Monument

Aired July 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, CNN ANCHOR: Now on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS: Trapped hundreds of feet down:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a lot of water down there, but we are going to do everything we can.

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BLITZER: The race against time at a Pennsylvania coal mine.

In California, firefighters race to save a living monument.

Confusion in the court: Is Zacarias Moussaoui making a mockery of America?

Can terrorists get to our nuclear plants? I'll ask Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FLIGHT ATTENDANT TRAINEE: Help! Help! Help! Help!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Many flight attendants say they are helpless to deal with terror in the skies.

And is this scrap of paper all that's needed to keep a Hall of Famer frozen?

It's Thursday, July 25th, 2002. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.

To plea or not to plea. That was the question as the alleged September 11th co -- conspirator, Zacarias Moussaoui, appeared in a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, earlier today. CNN's Deborah Feyerick is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It looked like a done deal, Zacarias Moussaoui pleading guilty to four of the six conspiracy counts against him, Moussaoui telling the judge, "It would be easy for me to plead guilty to 90 percent of the indictment." But under questioning by the judge, Moussaoui continued denying a role in the September 11th attacks. Asking for a 15-minute recess, Moussaoui returned, said a prayer and told the judge, "I have to withdraw my guilty plea."

FRANK DUNHAM, ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI STANDBY ATTORNEY: He found out what the repercussions of a guilty plea were, what it was he had to swallow, so to speak, what facts he had to agree to in order to plead guilty. And I don't think he think he understood he had to admit 9/11 to plead guilty.

FEYERICK: Moussaoui accused the judge of putting conditions on his guilty plea, telling Judge Leonie Brinkema, "You want to link me to certain facts that will guarantee my death." The judge warned Moussaoui a week ago, when he first tried pleading guilty, that he'd have to admit to everything the government's accusing him of doing. His estranged lawyers tried getting the hearing postponed pending a new psychiatric evaluation, the judge ruling at the start of the hearing Moussaoui remains mentally competent.

EDWARD MACMAHON, MOUSSAOUI STANDBY ATTORNEY: Mr. Moussaoui showed no understanding whatsoever of what he needed to do to enter a guilty plea today.

FEYERICK: Moussaoui had hoped by pleading guilty, he would be able to tell a jury exactly what he did, not, in his words, what the government says he did. And though he called an American jury his enemies, he said they'd be honest enemies. His mother expressed relief.

AICHA EL WAFI, MOUSSAOUI'S MOTHER (through translator): And I am very, very happy that there will be a full trial, in which it's going to be -- well, truth or facts are going to be established.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Prosecutors had said that they were going to wait and see what happened today before making their decision as to what to do next. Now they know they're going to go to trial. What they cannot do is tell a jury that Moussaoui actually tried pleading guilty today.

Wolf?

BLITZER: Deborah Feyerick at the courthouse, thank you very much.

Is Zacarias Moussaoui trying to sow confusion in the courtroom? Should he be acting as his own attorney? What happens next? Joining me now Joe DiGenova. Thank you very much. He's a former U.S. attorney who prosecuted a lot of cases.

I don't think you've ever prosecuted anything like this, have you, Joe? JOSEPH DIGENOVA, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY: No, this is quite unusual, Wolf, that -- here you have a radical Islamic fanatic trying to control a U.S. courtroom and finding out that he cannot do so. In fact, he's not making a mockery of American justice, American justice is working beautifully here. All the procedures are being followed. The judge is superb. He's making a mockery of radical Islam. That's what he's doing.

BLITZER: So what can the system do in this kind of a situation?

DIGENOVA: Play itself out, allow him to represent himself, unless and until he is incompetent to do so. There's a federal law that says you have to let someone represent themself if they understand the consequences of their actions. He apparently now really understands the consequences because he decided not to plead guilty today. And in fact, rather than what his court-appointed attorney said today, this shows that he is competent.

BLITZER: You were a U.S. attorney here in the District of Columbia. You've accepted guilty pleas, plea agreements with some notorious characters. What would it take for you, if you were the U.S. attorney prosecuting this case, to accept a plea agreement with Moussaoui?

DIGENOVA: He would either have to know where Usama bin Laden is or where his body is buried. Unless he knew something very particularized about the internal functioning of al Qaeda, he basically cannot possibly know anything that would make a plea bargain with him worth doing, unless the government is worried about breaking sources and methods information into the trial. But they've already made that decision, so I don't think a deal is possible.

BLITZER: It is -- is it possible, though, that he could go forward during the course of a real trial and represent himself, given the way he's acted over these past few weeks?

DIGENOVA: Well, I think he can do that, but the judge, under the law, has the right to decide that he can no longer represent himself, even if he's competent, if he becomes disruptive or is in any way threatening the propriety of the trial. So the judge still has the right, if he goes to trial, to force him to have a real lawyer represent him.

BLITZER: It seems to some observers out there that he's simply seeking some political gains, even at this late moment, for al Qaeda.

DIGENOVA: Well, I think that may be part of this, but I think, in reality, what's happening here is you have someone who is displaced. He's a radical Islamist. He's not doing what he was intended to do, which is be the 20th hijacker. He now has to face up to the reality that he's going to have to pay a price for that. And what you're seeing is what happens when a terrorist gets trapped.

BLITZER: If you were making a prediction right now, will there be a trial? Will there be a plea agreement? Will just this whole thing end in chaos? DIGENOVA: I think he's going to go to trial. The government cannot, under any set of circumstances, do a deal with him absent unusual circumstances. So I think we're set for a trial, and it's going to be a doozy.

BLITZER: And we'll all be watching it very much. Thank you very much, Joe DiGenova.

DIGENOVA: Thank you, Wolf.

Here's your chance to weigh in on this story. Our Web question of the day is this: Is Zacarias Moussaoui competent enough to represent himself? 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. There's a "Click here" icon with comments right on the left side of the page. 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, by the way, where you can read my daily on-line column, cnn.com/wolf.

It's a race against time in Pennsylvania as rescue workers struggle to save nine men trapped in a flooded mine shaft. The miners are trapped more than 200 feet below ground, 8,000 feet from the entrance to the mine, 55 miles from Pittsburgh. Workers received a huge boost this afternoon with the arrival of a big drilling rig capable of digging an escape tunnel for the miners.

CNN's Jeff Flock -- he's standing by live at the site. He has details.

Jeff?

JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There is both good news and bad news to report from this part of Pennsylvania this evening. Those nine miners remain trapped some 300 feet below the surface here. The good news, I guess, is that a sophisticated piece of drilling equipment has been brought in and it is now...

I want to get the very latest from David Hess with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in just a moment.

But this sophisticated piece of equipment is in place, and it may even, as we speak, start -- have started the process of drilling this 30-foot hole that they hope to extract the miners from, at some point. The bad news, however, is that they have not -- they're not clear that they have heard anything, in terms of tapping from the miners now for literally hours.

I want to give you some sense of what this looks like here. This is the mine that they were working in, the Quecreek mine. This was the mine they somehow gained access to mistakenly, the one that's filled with water and then began to pour in. This is some sense of the elevation, 1,875 foot sea level. That's where the old mine began to pour in, the miners trapped beneath. They think they're in an air pocket there somewhere.

And I want to, as I said, get the latest from David Hess, in terms of what you think's going on, as we speak, beneath the ground.

DAVID HESS, PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION: Well, right now, we're continuing to pump compressed air into the area of the mine we think the miners are in. We think that bubble is expanding underground, creating a safe haven. And we just moved, as you pointed out, a very sophisticated piece of drilling equipment in to drill a 30-inch hole that we think and we hope will be a rescue channel, a rescue way out of that mine for those miners.

FLOCK: How big an area do you think they're in right now down there? I mean, how much do they have, and what are they in? Are they in water? What have they got?

HESS: It's hard to be very precise, but what we do know is it's wet. It's dark. And it's a space that's very small, no higher than about 48 or 52 inches. So it's a very confined area.

FLOCK: Again, clarify for us the last time you're sure you heard something from down there because you had tapping overnight. What was the last that you're sure you heard something?

HESS: We regularly tap the casing of the six-inch well that we put down earlier last night...

FLOCK: That you're putting the compressed air through?

HESS: ... that we're putting the compressed air through, and we tap on it and we heard responses tapping back by someone down there. The last time we heard a clear signal was somewhere around lunchtime. But you have to remember there's a lot of work going on out there, at this point, very noisy, and it's going to get noisier. So we have not, certainly, given up hope.

FLOCK: They may be tapping, and you're just not getting it clearly.

HESS: That's exactly right.

FLOCK: David, can you come over here with me here one second because I do want to just give our viewers some real clear indication of where things are. You believe they're down here in this little dip down here, is that correct?

HESS: That's correct.

FLOCK: And the water came in up above them, at some point?

HESS: That's right. And in fact, the water is rushing into the mine, from the abandoned mine into the new mine, effectively right past them. And although we had nine miners that did get out, these nine did not.

FLOCK: And so they've got this little bubble here, which you're trying to expand with your compressed air.

HESS: That's exactly right. We drilled down into this area, created a compressed air bubble for them to exist in right now.

FLOCK: And what are you doing about the water? Are you trying to get the water out of there?

HESS: We've had a steady stream of pumps coming in all day to pump water out, to try to not only use the compressed air to expand the bubble, but take out as much water as we can. And we've had offers of pumps from West Virginia, the Corp of Engineers, all over the eastern coal fields. Everybody's wanting to help out in this situation, and we very much appreciate that.

FLOCK: It's way to early to get into this, but I'm going to do it anyway. And that is, the people who are working on this mine clearly knew there was an abandoned mine nearby, correct?

HESS: That's correct.

FLOCK: What happened?

HESS: Well, this mine was abandoned sometime in the 1950s. Pennsylvania generally has a lot of old mines. We've been mining in Pennsylvania for over 100 years.

FLOCK: But you knew about this one.

HESS: That's correct. And we try to keep at least 200 feet of solid rock between an old and a new mine to prevent the kind of problem we have here. But for some reason -- and we're going to investigate this after the rescue effort is over. For some reason, the old maps were inaccurate or whatever for this particular area, and they broke through.

FLOCK: And so you clearly know they broke through...

HESS: Yes.

FLOCK: ... with the new -- in the new mine, broke into the old mine?

HESS: That's right.

FLOCK: And we just don't know how that...

HESS: We just don't know what -- why that map is wrong, at this point. Like I said, they're -- we're going to put everything into the rescue effort, and then we're going to go back and do an investigation with our federal partners at MSHA (ph) and try to figure out what happened.

FLOCK: And that's my last question, in terms of the rescue effort. What does your gut tell you about this sort of thing? I asked you earlier at the press conference about the history of these sorts of things. It's not particularly good. But what does your gut tell you right now?

HESS: My gut tells me right now that this -- this isn't something, obviously, that happens every day or every year. This is something that is rather unique. And unfortunately, it had to happen here in Somerset County. We've had these problems in the past, but we try to improve our permitting process to avoid these kinds of problems.

FLOCK: But in terms of the survivability of this?

HESS: It's very difficult to say what the chances are. Obviously, we hope for the best, but we also have to be prepared, unfortunately, for the worst. And we want to make sure the families understand that and everybody else understands that. We're just laying all the facts out for everyone to see, at this point.

FLOCK: Yes. David, I appreciate the time.

HESS: Thank you.

FLOCK: Thank you. Thank you so much. I know it's a busy time.

The same information that you just got here has been passed along to the families. They were out to the site themselves. Reporters being kept from the site. We don't want to get out there and have anybody get in the way or disrupt anything. The families did get out there, though, got this same sort of briefing, so they're up to speed on it.

That's all we know at this hour. Some good news, some bad news, and we continue to watch it. They say -- one final note is that they believe when they start with that sophisticated drilling operation, they think it could be 18 hours. They're going to update that once they start into the ground, but they think it could be about 18 hours before they actually get down there. So we got a long way to go.

Jeff Flock, CNN, reporting from Somerset, Pennsylvania.

BLITZER: Jeff Flock, thanks very much. And thanks to David Hess, as well, for that information. And our prayers, of course, are with those miners.

No doubt about it, mining is very dangerous work. According to the Labor Department, more miners are killed on the job than any other profession, based on the number employed. In 2000, for example, the latest year figures are available, 30 miners died per 100,000 on the job. You can find a link to the government's full report on fatal job injuries. Go to my Web page, CNN.com/wolf.

Terror in the air. Should flight attendants be trained to fight back? Find out how much protection you can expect on your next flight.

Plus, a deadly danger. What does Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's so -- made -- made -- made her so concerned for the country? We're going to ask her.

And speaking from the grave, a handwritten letter from Ted Williams on his Final wishes. Which of the following national treasures is the tallest? The Mount Rushmore busts, the Sequoias, the Statue of Liberty, the Washington Monument. The answer coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Some postal workers are trying to send a message. They want to know why it's taking so long to clean up the Hamilton, New Jersey, mail facility, which processed some of last year's anthrax letters. Some of the displaced workers have been forced to take temporary assignments elsewhere.

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STEVE BAHRLE, POSTAL UNION REP.: We are not being treated as victims of a terrorist attack. We're being treated almost as if we were the terrorists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Senator Robert Torricelli of New Jersey, who met with the postal workers, says the cleanup process involves new technology and that's why it's taking so long.

Flight attendants are also looking for some answers. Nearly a year after September 11th, they say they still don't have the training they need to deal with potential terrorist attacks. Here's CNN's Patty Davis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FLIGHT ATTENDANT TRAINEE: Help! Help! Help! Help me take this terrorist down!

PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Airtran Airlines flight attendants fighting off would-be hijackers. This 16-hour class is voluntary, done on their days off.

UNIDENTIFIED FLIGHT ATTENDANT TRAINEE: So it gives me a lot more confidence.

UNIDENTIFIED FLIGHT ATTENDANT TRAINEE: And I think every flight attendant should go through it.

DAVIS: Airtran is urging its flight attendants to take the training, but it doesn't require it.

JACK SMITH, AIRTRAN AIRLINES: We have had such great response from our flight attendants to the program, there's no need for us to make it mandatory.

DAVIS: But the nation's largest flight attendants' union says these kinds of drills should be mandatory for all flight attendants at all airlines. Most receive just two to eight hours, with little hands-on training. The union is now appealing to the Transportation Security Administration. PATRICIA FRIEND, ASSN. OF FLIGHT ATTENDANTS: There's an expectation from the passengers who travel with us that we do know -- we have been trained and we do have the tools for a cabin defense plan, in the event of another terrorist attack, and that's a very -- it's simply false.

DAVIS: This US Airways flight attendant says he's gotten just an hour and a half of updated hijack training.

ALIN BOSWELL, US AIRWAYS FLIGHT ATTENDANT: All we really did was talk about how somebody may come up to you. And then we basically learned how to push that person away. That was it.

DAVIS: After September 11th, Congress required airlines to provide some hijack training, but left how much up to them. Now Congress is considering requiring airlines do more extensive training.

REP. PETE DEFAZIO (D), AVIATION SUBCOMMITTEE: Unfortunately, some of the airlines are, you know, more traumatized by their recent losses than they are by the horrific events of 9/11, and they're shorting us on security.

DAVIS (on camera): The airlines say they're not at liberty to talk about their specific hijack training, but call it a good start. Several, including US Airways, say they are working with flight attendants and the government to improve it.

(voice-over): Flight attendants say those improvements can't come soon enough.

Patty Davis, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Another major security concern since September 11th, the nation's nuclear facilities. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is co-sponsoring legislation that would increase security and emergency readiness. Senator Clinton joins us now from Capitol Hill.

Senator, thanks for joining us. We learned, as you pointed out, that commercial airliners can be weaponized in a very deadly way on September 11th. You're worried that these nuclear power plants around the country can be weaponized in a more deadly manner right now. What steps are you proposing that have to be taken right now to prevent that from occurring?

SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: Well, Wolf, you're right. I think since September 11th, we've all been asking a lot of hard questions that we never had to even think about before.

And today we were passing out of our committee, the Environment and Public Works Committee, the Nuclear Security Act of 2002 that will increase the security at our nuclear power plants, will really force all of us -- the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the owners of the plants, those who provide the security -- to go through more intensive training, to look hard at the possibility threats that they face and to come up with answers as to how best to deal with them, to look at the zone that is around nuclear power plants to determine, you know, what needs to be done to improve the safety and security of the people living near nuclear power plants.

I also included an amendment, a Dirty Bomb Prevention Act of 2002, to start keeping track of the radiological material that we use in commercial and academic institutions and hospitals to provide radiation therapy.

So this was a good start. It's not all that perhaps we would wish for, but we came up with a good piece of bipartisan legislation that sends a very clear signal we need to be more attentive to our nuclear power plants.

BLITZER: Is there one or two steps the federal government can take right now, within a few weeks, that will make those nuclear power plants more secure?

CLINTON: You know, Wolf, the nuclear power plants have a very high level of security right now. We also passed out the Chemical Security Act because we have a lot of chemical plants that are not nearly as secure as our nuclear power plants. But when it comes to nuclear power, the chances of a disaster are so huge that we have to do everything we can to prevent it.

And what we're asking for are more regular force-on-force terrorist mock exercises, taking a hard look at every possible threat and coming up with solutions through a federal task force and assigning a federal safety coordinator to each plant. We're doing, I think, what we need to do to provide more security on the ground for these plants.

BLITZER: But Senator, as you well know, those security personnel at those reactors are not even federal employees, and many of them don't necessarily have the training, the background checks that are required. Are you taking steps to change that?

CLINTON: Yes. In fact, we have a new set of requirements for security. We couldn't get them federalized. You know the fight we had over federalizing airport security. My legislation originally called for federalizing nuclear power plant security. We just could not get that done. And so we had to work for a cooperative approach that includes federal security supervisors and teams that will work on the technical expertise that is required.

We also changed some of the laws that exist on the local level by providing overall federal standards for weapons that can be carried and used. So I think we made some real progress today.

But you know, Wolf, there's a lot of work that we still need to do. I heard the earlier program about airport security. It just is shocking to me that we haven't provided all the training that our flight attendants need, that we haven't hardened all the doors into the cockpit, that the, you know, Transportation Security Agency is asking for delays. You know, people need to get with it. BLITZER: One final question, Senator Clinton. You speak about a "dirty bomb" and making sure terrorists don't get their hands on a dirty bomb. But how concerned -- how realistic is it that they will get some of that radiological equipment and cause that kind of destruction that a dirty bomb potentially could cause?

CLINTON: Well, that's what we're trying to prevent in this legislation, to start keeping better track of where this radiological material is kept and how it's used, trying to make that sure we have some central oversight of all of that.

You know, one of the things we obviously have to worry about is the fear that would be induced by such a radiological explosion that would be triggered by conventional weapons. Now, in fact, it wouldn't cause, in estimates I've seen, a lot of damage to life, but it would cause contamination. It would cause panic. So it's something that we need to be very much aware of.

And what I've spent a lot of my time doing since September 11th, unfortunately, is trying to think like our adversaries. You know, we're a big, free, open, mobile society with a lot of vulnerabilities. We obviously are not going to, you know, put a glass bowl over our country and be scared to move. We've got to keep living our lives. But that means we have to take precautions. And radiological materials, nuclear power plants, chemical plants -- those are all things we need to do better to protect.

BLITZER: Important issues that we have to consider. Senator Clinton, thanks for spending some time with us today.

CLINTON: Thank you. Wolf.

BLITZER: Tens of thousands of young people are gathered in Toronto to hear the pope. We'll go live to Toronto for World Youth Day when we return.

And payback against corporate CEOs? Find out who's next on the Justice Department's hit list.

Plus, David Letterman and me. He's now gone public with a long- held secret. We'll share it with you later.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back, I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. Here's a look at some stories making news right now.

Sources tell CNN, federal prosecutors plan to seek indictments against top WorldCom executives as early as next week. CEO Bernard Ebbers and former CFO Scott Sullivan are said to be targets, along with former controller, David Myers. WorldCom filed the largest corporate bankruptcy in history this week after revealing it inflated earnings by almost $4 billion.

Philadelphia police are holding two suspects in the kidnapping of 7-year-old Erica Pratt. The men were captured after a brief foot chase this morning. They're charged with 11 felonies and misdemeanors. Erica escaped after being held 24 hours by chewing through the duct tape with which she was bound. Her kidnappers were demanding $150,000 ransom.

In California, firefighters battling flames in and around the Sequoia National Park say it has been a good day. The 57,000-acre McNalley fire came within a few miles of the park's namesake, Giant Trees, but crews were able to bulldoze firebreaks and set back fires that helped keep the flames away from the sequoias, which are the largest and among the oldest trees in the in the world. A California woman was scheduled to be arraigned today for allegedly starting the fire. A Forest Service spokesperson says it appears her campfire got out of control.

There's much more at stake than just the scenic sierra wilderness. The giant sequoias that are threatened are some of the oldest and rarest trees on earth.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Protected under American law, but not by the laws of nature. If any of the giant sequoia trees in the groves of the Sequoia National Monument or inside the nearby Sequoia National Park were burned down, thousands of years of natural history would go down with them.

SUE EXLINE, NATIONAL FOREST SERVICE: You wouldn't want a terrible catastrophic fire burning up through these groves, scarring the soil and that these trees would, you know, lose any of their ability to continue standing for future generations.

BLITZER: Some of these mammoth trees have been standing since the time of Christ, but this species in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Central California are the only sequoias left on Earth. Their sheer size makes them seem invincible. The largest thing on Earth, the sequoia can grow to more than 350 feet high, 30 feet in diameter. Some live more than 3,000 years. Most of them die by getting top heavy and falling over. They are more vulnerable to the heat and dry conditions of this fire season, but like most other forest ecosystems, sequoias can benefit from fires.

EXLINE: A giant sequoia has adapted to a fire adaptive ecosystem in the sense that it needs low intensity fires to go through the groves for its reproduction. The fire goes through and it actually opens up the small cones and it allows the seeds to be released, which starts the regeneration process for these very large and old trees.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And in Arizona today, a pristine river teeming with fish is now black and smelly, a stunning result of a wildfire. The huge Bullock fire has been out for months, but rain is dumping ash from the blaze into parts of the San Pedro River. Officials are concerned the ash might suffocate fish and endanger wildlife living near the river. They say it may take as long as five years before the river returns to its pre-fire condition. Now, to a wonderful spectacle happening right now. Tens of thousands of young people are gathered in Toronto's Lakeside Fairgrounds to see and hear Pope John Paul II. CNN's Frank Buckley is also there. He's been covering the opening ceremonies of what's called, Frank, the World Youth Day.

Tell us what's been going on.

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, some 200,000 plus -- approximately 250,000, in fact, young people from 169 nations have gathered here in Toronto. It's one of the pope's pet projects if you will. And right now, as we watch the World Youth Day cross move up toward the stage where the pope is, we'll bring in Archbishop Terrance Prendergast of the -- you are the archbishop of Halifax.

Thanks again for joining us. And we were talking about this World Youth Day cross. It has traveled through all 72 diocese of Canada.

TERRENCE PRENDERGAST, ARCHBISHOP OF HALIFAX: It has and it made a tremendous impact when it came to our diocese last September. And these young people are carrying it up to the papal alter -- carried it 350 miles between Montreal and Toronto in the last six weeks, just before World Youth Day. So it's really touched the people of Canada -- the young people of Canada, particularly, and I think this is one of the highlights for these young people of the visit. You can see the pope is also very attentive to it.

BUCKLEY: We were talking earlier; this is a youth conference, in effect. The young people from all over the world coming here. How important is it, at this moment in history, for the pope to reach out to young people in a church that has been rocked by abuse during the past year?

PRENDERGAST: Well, in our country, we've struggled with the abuse issues in the past and we still are, I guess, suffering some of the effects. But for us, it's been a kind of joyous occasion, an opportunity for us to re-invite young people to become more and more a part of the church and they seem to be responding quite well.

BUCKLEY: There's always concern about the pope's health. So far, he's delivered at least two addresses here. Your thoughts on how he looks.

PRENDERGAST: Well, at the beginning, I thought he looked pretty upbeat and very rested and relaxed. As he went on, towards the end of the talk, he seemed to be fading a bit and labored. But perhaps now with the pause, that'll give him a chance to recoup. But he really is into there and he spoke several different languages. He spoke in English, in French and Portuguese and Spanish and in Italian. So he really is -- wants everyone to feel welcome.

BUCKLEY: OK, Archbishop, thanks very much, as we continue to watch the activities here at World Youth Day with Pope John Paul II -- Wolf. BLITZER: Thank you very much, Frank Buckley, for that report.

The Israelis call it a "targeted killing." The Palestinians call it a "war crime." Will Israel rethink its policy of assassinating Palestinian militants after this week's attack that killed a Hamas leader and nine children? And the Ted Williams legal case takes another bizarre turn. You won't believe the latest piece of evidence put forth by his son. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. This week's Israeli airstrike in Gaza killed a top Hamas commander and a number of Palestinian civilians, including nine children. The Bush administration has condemned the attack, carried out by an F-16, as "heavy handed." Now, it's voicing concern about Israel's handling of U.S. made weapons.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: We are constantly reviewing the manner in which military equipment that we have provided to the state of Israel is used.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Under U.S. law, weapons are sold to other nations only for legitimate self-defense. The Israeli government maintains it is using those weapons only in self-defense. The Bush administration has not suggested that Israel has violated such terms.

The heavy toll from Israel's strike against the Hamas commander has stirred debate in Israel over whether the cost was too high. But there's little debate over what the Israelis call "targeted killings." Here is CNN's Chris Burns.

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CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "Vengeance, vengeance," they scream. Palestinian anger seethes in Gaza. These women members of the militant group, Hamas, protest the Israeli's killing this week of their military leader in an attack Palestinian leaders call a "war crime." It was far from Israel's first extra- judicial killing of a militant during the Palestinian intifada. Israel admits to more than 20. Palestinians put the figure at more than 50. The difference this time is, more than a dozen civilians were killed as well, sparking debate within Israel itself.

There is little dispute among Israelis over what they describe as "targeted killings." Salah Shehadeh, it's widely believed here, had to die. He was head of Hamas' military wing, accused of masterminding scores of Israeli deaths. The Israeli government stands by its action, even if it says it regrets the deaths of civilians, most of them children.

RA'ANAN GISSIN, ISRAELI GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN: Every day we're faced with a dilemma -- should we stop someone who is about to perpetrate an act. And, of course, sometimes there is collateral damage. Sometimes, civilians are hurt.

BURNS: Critics say that kind of wording is an attempt to minimize the tragedy, and downplay the damage to what had been some progress toward a ceasefire.

GALIA GOLAN, PEACE NOW: At this particular time and of course in the way in which it was done, destroying not only the target but also innocent civilians, has clearly set any kind of the process for a cease-fire -- set this back by enormous amount.

BURNS: One moderate Israeli columnist raises what he calls a "moral black flag," labeling the attack a "grave and unforgivable terrorist act," suggesting the attack risks narrowing what he calls "a morality gap" between the Israeli government and Palestinian militants.

A political cartoon tragic comically questions the reported use of a one-time bomb dropped on Shehadeh's apartment building in densely populated Gaza City.

Civilians were killed in previous attacks after one that killed militants in an Abu's (ph) apartment building on the West Bank a year ago. Six civilians died then and Washington criticized that attack. Washington calls the latest attack "heavy handed," wording that doesn't challenge the killing of Shehadeh. After all, Israelis argue, the United States also killed civilians in its war against the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan.

(on-camera): Perhaps most telling is what's absent here. In the streets, no major protests. In the parliament, no investigation. The debate and the international outcry over the civilian casualties appear a little more than a warning to the government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Is it a warning he will listen to?

Chris Burns, CNN, Jerusalem.

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BLITZER: In London, the government is said to be split over a possible allied strike against Iraq. But the British Prime Minister Tony Blair made it clear today, the U.S. led attack, if it happens, is not about to happen anytime soon.

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TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I think we're all getting a bit ahead of ourselves on the issue of Iraq. As I've said before, action is not imminent. We're not at the point of decision yet. And there are many issues to consider before we are at the point of decision. And I would simply say to you that if you look at what we did in relation -- for example, to Afghanistan, we consulted the House of Commons very carefully. But I'm not going to pin myself at this stage to any specific form of consultation.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BLITZER: While not beating the drums for a move against Baghdad, Mr. Blair is holding out little hope that international weapons inspections will be returning to Iraq anytime soon.

We may never know for sure what Ted Williams really wanted done with his body, but we do know this story is getting stranger with each development. The latest twist, just ahead. And a family connection you never heard about between me and Dave Letterman.

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BLITZER: Earlier we asked -- "Which national treasure is the tallest?" The answer, the Washington Monument, which rises 555 feet into the capital skyline. And it's a beautiful site indeed.

There's a new twist in the battle over the remains of the baseball great, Ted Williams. Two of his children have come up with a letter that purportedly proves Williams wanted his body frozen. Our Miami bureau chief, John Zarrella, is standing by with details.

This is such a strange story. How much stranger can it get, John?

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN MIAMI BUREAU CHIEF: Wolf, explain this to me, if you can. Here is John Henry Williams, who went to great lengths to make sure that every piece of sports memorabilia that his father signed -- baseballs, bats, pictures, books -- were authenticated. And then, perhaps, the most important piece of paper that his father needed in death, there are no witnesses to.

Today, John Henry Williams and Claudia Williams release a note, which is basically, what it is -- and here it is. And the note reads -- "J.H.W" -- that's John Henry Williams -- "Claudia and Dad all agree to be put in biostasis after we die. This is what we want, to be able to be together in the future even if it is only a chance." Signatures, John Henry Williams, Ted Williams, and Claudia Williams. It's dated 11/2/00. That would be four years after his will was actually filed.

And as the viewers know, in his will, Ted Williams has come out in the will -- and it says that he did want to be cremated. And his oldest daughter, Bobby-Jo Ferrell has been fighting with the two younger children, saying that in fact she wants her father's body cremated.

Here, a picture also released. That is Claudia Williams on the left, John Henry on the right, the two youngest children, and Ted Williams in the center with his back to us. And that picture was taken back in February. One of the last photos taken of the three of them together.

Now, what we also know is that a lot of people are wondering why Bobby-Jo Ferrell, the oldest daughter, by Ted's first wife, was not included in the pack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BOB GOLDMAN, ATTORNEY FOR SON AND DAUGHTER: Ted Williams did not like Bobby-Jo. He did not like her and used expressions that I simply will never use.

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ZARRELLA: That's Bob Goldman, of course, the attorney for the Williams'. And it's getting uglier by the minute, Wolf. We understand that within 20 days or so, they may go to court for a hearing now. It is not likely, that based on this piece of paper, which John Henry Williams says he kept in his automobile, that the eldest daughter, Bobby-Jo will go ahead now and say, "OK, it's fine. You can keep his body frozen." It is believed his body is on ice right now, Wolf, out in Arizona and that is where it will remain until everything is settled. And we have no idea when that will be -- Wolf.

BLITZER: It seems to me, it's going to be a long time. John Zarrella, you'll be on top of this story. Thanks so much for that report.

Let's check some other stories on today's "Newswire."

Doctors have linked an amoeba to the illness of a 12-year-old Florida boy. The boy is in critical condition at an Orlando hospital with a rare brain infection after swimming in a lake. Experts say the amoeba lives at the bottom of many Florida lakes. It apparently entered the boy's body through a nasal passage.

There is some encouraging news about the orphaned whale that was captured near Seattle then returned to the Pacific Ocean this month. Experts say the baby Orca, nicknamed Springer, has started staying close to a 16-year-old female whale. The older whale appears to be taking a motherly interest, but it's too early to tell whether the relationship will last.

John Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, was on hand today as Britain's Queen Elizabeth opened a new passenger terminal at the John Lennon Airport in Liverpool. The terminal features a life-sized statue of the former Beatle. While in Liverpool, the queen toured an exhibit of paintings by another former Beatle, Paul McCartney.

Ever wonder what Santa Claus does in July? Maybe that's when he has some time to go to a convention. The 39th Annual World Santa Claus Congress in Denmark drew more than 130 participants. One jolly old elf said there were important issues to discuss, such as whether Santa should accept wish lists over the Internet. It's an important issue.

Only two minutes left to weigh in on our "Question of The Day." Is Zacarias Moussaoui competent enough to represent himself? Log on; go to my Web page, CNN.com/Wolf. That's where you can vote. The results, when we return.

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BLITZER: Let's go to New York now and get a preview of "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE," which begins, of course, right at the top of the hour -- Lou.

LOU DOBBS, HOST, "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE": Wolf, thank you. Today, high drama on Wall Street -- another wild session on heavy volume. I'll have complete market coverage for you. Tonight on the "Dobbs List," I'll be talking with a former CEO of Honeywell, Larry Bossidy, about something lot of companies' leaders could read -- execution, the discipline of getting things done. And the corporate jet is becoming much more affordable. A jet for the people, if you will. We'll have a special report. All of that and a great deal more coming up at the top of the hour. Please join us. Now, back to Wolf Blitzer --Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank you very much, Lou. I want one of those jets and I'll be watching your program to find out how to get it.

Here's your chance now to weigh in on our "Web Question of The Day." Earlier we asked -- "Is Zacarias Moussaoui competent enough to represent himself?" Look at this, 63 percent of you say, "yes," 37 percent say, "no." This is not, remember, a scientific poll.

A solar grand slam is our "Picture of The Day." Since Monday of last week, the sun has blasted four of its most powerful flares. You can see some of them in these images. Imagine them as a clock and look at the area around 8:00. The strongest flare contained as much energy as a billion megatons of TNT. Solar flares can affect communications equipment, but these blasts weren't aimed, fortunately, in our direction.

Time now to hear from you. I received hundreds -- thousands of e-mail about yesterday's debate on medical marijuana. Ron writes this -- "I have cancer and the drugs they gave me were much more serious than marijuana. To deny a sick person relief is both silly and cruel." Christa agrees -- "Give me a break. These people are dying! If smoking pot eases their pain, let them do it." Olivia takes it a step further -- "Prohibition doesn't work. Legalize marijuana. Not just for medical use, but responsible adult recreational use as well." Gayle disagrees -- "As a medical professional who works with terminally ill patients, I can attest that currently available pain relief options are extremely effective. Only addicts would benefit from this legislation." And this from Louise -- "Drugging, both legal and illegal, is totally out of control in this country. And the distinction between the two is determined by who stands to turn a profit, not what is in the best interests of the American people."

Finally, a secret revealed by none other than David Letterman's announcer last night.

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ANNOUNCER: Plus, Paul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra. And now, a man who was raised by Wolf Blitzer, David Letterman!

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BLITZER: There you have it. Now, you know the rest of the story. Truth be told, David was a very naughty boy. I always had some trouble with him, but he turned out OK. That's all the time we have today. "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE" begins right now.

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