Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Amtrak Train Derailed in Maryland; Nine Miners Rescued in Pennsylvania; Is U.S. Targeting Baghdad?

Aired July 29, 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: Now on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS: Derailed: An Amtrak passenger train goes off the tracks outside Washington.

Alive: The rescue at Quecreek. Courage, determination, and luck.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MINER: We relied on them, and we did what we were supposed to do. And thank God, they did what they were supposed to do and it worked.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Another frantic rescue effort: Cape Cod is famous for its whale watching, but not on the beach.

Target Baghdad: Are those secret U.S. war plans spread out on the front pages?

And wherever did he come from?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE MYERS: I am a sexy beast!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Spoofs, spies and bad guys: inside the mind of Mike Myers.

It's Monday, July 29, 2002. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.

An investigation is now getting under way along a set of twisted railroad tracks in Maryland. An Amtrak train carrying almost 200 passengers was on the last leg of an overnight trip from Chicago when it derailed just outside Washington, D.C., this afternoon.

CNN's Jeanne Meserve is on the scene with the very latest on the wreck of the Capitol Limited. Jeanne, give us the latest.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, investigators are not yet on the scene. They're expected here in a couple of hours time. But rescue workers have been working very hard to get the people out of this train. They believe they have everyone out at this time. There were 161 passengers and 12 crew members on the train. We're told that about 60 people have serious injuries, 6 of those being classified at this time as being life-threatening injuries. Some of those have been Med-evaced away from the scene.

Rescue workers are still around the train at this time. They're going around with dogs to make sure nobody was thrown out of the train or nobody might -- they might not have missed anyone. They're also using camera probes to look inside some of the cars, to make sure they haven't missed anyone. In due time, they will try and put those cars upright to make sure that nobody is trapped underneath. But one county official here calling it a miracle, a blessing that there appear to have been no fatalities in this train wreck.

Back to you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Jeanne Meserve -- and I know the investigation could take some time. but as you take a look at the scene right now, the injuries of the individuals caught in this train wreck, how serious are some of those injuries?

MESERVE: Well, as I mentioned, 6 right now classified as life- threatening, although one official indicated that was a device to get them the medical attention that they needed. Many people walked away from this wreck. We talked to one local resident who'd been down close to the cars. He saw many people walking away unharmed, other people with some slight injury. We did talk to some nurses who volunteered to come over here from a local HMO. They treated about 8 people. They said the sorts of injuries they were seeing were things like neck sprains and heart palpitations and leg injuries, things of that sort, nothing that would be in the category of life-threatening at all -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jeanne Meserve, that's pretty amazing, given the pictures that we are all seeing. Thanks for that update. We'll be back to you, of course, with more information as it becomes available.

In most parts of the country, Amtrak operates its trains on tracks owned by freight railroads. Amtrak's Capitol Limited was running on the CSX railroad when it derailed.

Joining us now by telephone from Jacksonville, Florida, is the CSX director of corporate communications, Dan Murphy. Mr. Murphy, thanks for joining us. You heard some speculation throughout this afternoon that perhaps those tracks couldn't withstand this high-speed train, given the heat in the nation's capital area right now. What do you make of that?

DAN MURPHY, CSX DIR. OF CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS: We have heard that speculation, and it's just a piece of the puzzle and one of the things that the NTSB will be examining. There's a whole array of things that they'll be looking at, and we'll try to assist them in any way we can. But right now, sir, that's -- that really is speculation.

BLITZER: How much of a problem, if there's been a problem, are these tracks that CSX owns and operates around the country? MURPHY: Well, this particular track was inspected last night at approximately 5:00 o'clock visually by what we call a "high railing truck," which is truck that's put on the rails. And one of our officials visually goes over every inch of the track, inspecting the track for any -- any problems, any blockage, anything that may lead to some accident. Nothing was found last night.

In addition to that, at 1:15 this afternoon, a freight train from Cumberland, Maryland, to Richmond, Virginia, passed over that track with 91 cars and 9,100 tons of freight, and again, it passed without incident. So that's the information that we have right now.

I can also tell you that the track speed -- the speed limit, as it were, on that track is 60 miles an hour -- excuse, me 70 miles an hour. And it's our understand that the train was going somewhere between 57 and 60 miles an hour.

BLITZER: Which would have been under that limit.

MURPHY: That's correct.

BLITZER: Dan Murphy of CSX, thanks for that update. Appreciate it very much.

Let's get more perspective now on what happened here in -- outside of Washington, D.C. Robert Francis is the former vice chairman of the NTSB, the National Transportation Safety Board. Bob, well, you've seen the pictures, you've heard what we've heard. What is your initial read on what might have happened?

ROBERT FRANCIS, FORMER NTSB VICE CHAIRMAN: Well, I think that what Mr. Murphy said is absolutely correct, and we always have to be careful about speculating. But obviously, the heat is an issue. This heat kink that you can get in track is not an unusual phenomenon. It happens tens of times across the country and leads to usually minor derailments on side track and things like that.

BLITZER: Walk us through "heat kink" precisely to our viewers who aren't all that familiar with impact of heat -- and it's been a very hot summer here in Washington -- on tracks.

FRANCIS: Well, it's basic physics. I mean, you can get -- obviously, when things get hotter, they expand. When they get colder, they contract. And this can happen particularly to welded rail track, which is -- which is not the sort of old-fashioned kind, where you have -- where you have spaces between the rails, but it's all one piece. And it's something that can happen to welded track is this heat kink, where it expands. And basically, it can expand considerably, depending on the heat of the track. It can expand and turn into a spaghetti-like sort of phenomena, where the track no longer runs necessarily on the ties or straight and level.

BLITZER: That sounds to me as, obviously, a layperson, as playing with fire here, in effect. If everyone knows -- the experts know that heat could cause trains to derail, what is being done about that? FRANCIS: Well, I mean, the answer is that there's an inspection protocol that is set up, and it's based on the manufacture of the track and the heat and the specifications done then, and it's also based on the heat at the time the track is laid. So you know, basically, how much it's going to expand and contract depending upon the conditions. And when they reach this certain point in that formula, then you do inspection. Now, I think...

BLITZER: Well, we heard there was an inspection last night.

FRANCIS: He mentioned there was an inspection last night. Obviously, there are lots of variables in terms of -- because it isn't just that it's 95 degrees ambient temperature outside, it's the heat of the track. And if it's 95 degrees, very heavy sunlight on the track, it can be higher than if it's a cloudy 95.

BLITZER: If it's not the heat, if they determine the inspection was proper and there was no heat kink, as you call it, what other suspicions -- what other things will they be looking for, for the cause of this derailment?

FRANCIS: Well, they mentioned it was on a curve, so obviously, speed is an issue. And they'll look at the track not just for the heat kink but for other possible things that could happen (UNINTELLIGIBLE) spikes or ties of whatever it is.

BLITZER: Human error? Is that a possibility?

FRANCIS: You know, one never knows. I mean, having been at the board for so long and being so tied to facts, you don't want to get into too much speculation. But obviously, there -- you know, there are issues of how the train is operated.

BLITZER: And this investigation is only just beginning.

FRANCIS: Absolutely.

BLITZER: Could be weeks, if not months, before there's a precise decision ruling made.

FRANCIS: Certainly, the final board report will be -- will be months away. The factual issues that they come up with fairly quickly will probably lead people to be able to speculate a little bit on what happened.

BLITZER: Robert Francis, Bob Francis, thanks for joining us.

FRANCIS: You're welcome.

BLITZER: And CNN will continue to have coverage of this Amtrak derailment outside Washington, D.C., in Kensington, Maryland. Stay with CNN for continuing new information as it becomes available.

But now we'll move on to other news. One day after their dramatic rescue, the Pennsylvania miners who endured 77 hours in a flooded shaft are talking about their ordeal. CNN's David Mattingly is in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and he's joining me now live.

Give us the mood on this day or two after.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, around here, they're simply called "the 9," the nine miracle miners who endured 77 hours trapped underground. Today five of the nine appeared at a news conference before the cameras, all of them agreeing that it was a strong will to live that pulled them through this experience.

They also shared with us some new details, painting a very bleak picture in those early hours, running for their lives. The rushing water literally beat them to the exit, at one time. They were also dangerously close to running out of air when that 8-inch pipe miraculously found them and brought them warm, fresh air. And they talked about how they slept on canvas mats on top of piles of coal and talked incessantly to kill the time.

Now that they're out, however, there is a difference of opinion. Some of the miners say they might go back to work, saying something like this isn't likely to happen again. But others, however, say that their days of working underground are over.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MINER: We made it out, me and my son-in-law both said, we're not going back in.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Why do you think this happened?

UNIDENTIFIED MINER: Well, there's -- there's a few things. Like I say, somebody screwed up down the line. But we don't know who, but we're going to find out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: One thing the miners wouldn't share with us -- the details in those letters that they wrote to their loved ones at the time when they thought that they might not see them again. They said it was just too personal.

However, strangely enough, Wolf, the first miner rescued and pulled from the mine will actually be the last one going home. Randy Fogle was at the news conference connected to IVs and what looked like a heart monitor today. Doctors, however, feel confident he will be released tomorrow, and then the "9 for 9 miracle," as they're calling it, will finally be complete -- Wolf.

BLITZER: David, what are they saying, if anything, about going back down into those coal mines?

MATTINGLY: They still have to pump all that water out and repair the breech in the wall between the two mines that allowed the water in, in the first place. They're also giving a lot of scrutiny to those maps. Were the miners where they were supposed to be? Was that mine correctly logged on the map, the old map that they were going by? So there's a lot of work to do, a lot of investigating. But fortunately, nine for nine, the miners are safe.

BLITZER: And what about those nine coal miners? Are any of them talking about returning to their jobs?

MATTINGLY: Yes. They're kind of split right now. Some of them are talking about going back to work. They're saying that something like this is not likely to happen again. You got to remember, some of these guys have 10, 15, 20, 30 years experience down there. But also, some of those long-time coal miners today are talking about never going back underground.

BLITZER: David Mattingly in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, thanks for that update.

And the mine drama took place just 10 miles from the spot where United Airlines flight 93 crashed on September 11. That fact did not go unnoticed by the families of the flight 93 victims. They sent a message to the families of the trapped miners, saying this, quote, "We are thinking of you and praying for you."

You may remember this horrible scene. It was just two months ago that a barge hit the Interstate 40 bridge over the Arkansas River in Webbers Falls, Oklahoma. A portion of the span collapsed, sending 14 people plunging to their deaths. Today the rebuilt bridge reopened 10 days ahead of schedule. The ceremony included a tribute to those killed May 26th.

Wall Street has something to celebrate today. The Dow Jones industrial average came roaring back, gaining more than 400 points. Our Christine Romans is joining us now live from the New York Stock Exchange.

Big day on Wall Street, Christine.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: It really was, Wolf, a 447-point rally. This is the second big rally we've had in just a few days. Remember last week, on Wednesday, a huge rally. Some people were saying it was just a one-day wonder, and today there are people who are starting to turn a little more cautiously bullish. In fact, if you look at how far the market has come from the lows it hit last week, it's been almost 1,200 points. And today this market was pretty much straight up, the Dow Jones industrial average closing up 5 percent, and right on the best levels of the day, we're back at 8,700 for the Dow Industrials. It's something that even a couple weeks ago, Wolf, a lot of folks would have had a hard time believing we were back there so quickly.

BLITZER: Christine Romans with good news from Wall Street, thanks for joining us.

And here's your chance to weigh in on this story. Our Web question of the day: Have the markets bottomed out? We'll have the results a little bit later in this program. Vote at my Web page, cnn.com/Wolf. While you're there, 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 on-line column, cnn.com/Wolf. They are plans of attack that you're not supposed to hear about, but word is getting out on Iraq, and the latest strategy is aggressive. Learn why Baghdad is in the crosshairs.

Plus: Police say she ran over her husband three times with a Mercedes. What might have caused this upscale professional to crack?

And a massive stranding on the beach. Will rescuers be able to save the whales?

But first, a snapshot of some of the stories you may have missed over the weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): A nation in mourning after a fighter jet plowed through a crowd of air show spectators in Ukraine and exploded into flames. Eighty-three people, including twenty-three children, were killed Saturday in the world's worst-ever air show accident. The two pilots survived. The country's top prosecutor said today pilot error and poor planning likely caused the crash.

The man operating a 35-foot crane that fell over at ground zero is under arrest. New York police charge Noel Browley (ph) with reckless endangerment. A breathalyzer test found he was intoxicated. There was no damage and only one minor injury.

Rare footage from the terror war in Afghanistan by CNN cameraman Bill Skinner. Coalition troops on combat patrol searching for weapons and Taliban and al Qaeda forces. Almost as dangerous, soaring temperatures, rugged terrain. Few enemy forces encountered, but several large trucks full of weapons were captured and invaluable experience gained.

Texan Lance Armstrong flashed to his fourth straight victory in the Tour de France. Thousands lined along the Champs Elysees cheered as Armstrong finished the tough three-week race more than seven minutes ahead of his nearest competitor. Up next, a possible go at winning a fifth straight title.

And that's our weekend snapshot.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. On a regular basis, it seems, U.S. plans for an attack against Iraq are spread across the front pages of the nation's newspapers, but which plans? That depends which account you read.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Any U.S. military action against Iraqi president Saddam Hussein would require heavy U.S. air power, whether as part of an all-out invasion of Iraq by as many as a quarter of a million U.S. troops, or as part of a smaller-scale targeted strike against just the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, and the Iraqi military's command-and-control facilities there, or as part of an even more modest, so-called "Afghan model" operation, where pounding air strikes would back up special operations commando missions, coordinated with local Iraqi rebel forces. That's a model that proved successful against the Taliban and al Qaeda.

In recent weeks, very detailed reports of these various military options have been widely publicized in the news media, especially "The New York Times," a fact angrily denounced by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: People's lives will be lost! If people start treating war plans like they're paper airplanes and they can fly them around this building and throw them to anybody who wants them, I think it's outrageous! It's inexcusable, and they ought to be in jail!

BLITZER: Despite that anger, the options continue to leak. "The Washington Post" says one plan on the table would not require any U.S. air power or any other kind of military power. Quote, "Many senior U.S. military officers contend that President Saddam Hussein poses no immediate threat and that the United States should continue its policy of containment, rather than invade Iraq to force a change of leadership in Baghdad."

That cautious approach is clearly not shared by several top Bush administration policy makers, who want to preempt Saddam Hussein's possible use of weapons of mass destruction. Still, those officials insist, President Bush has not yet signed off on any option.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Strike or status quo? To help us sort through the various options when it comes to Iraq, let's turn to CNN military analyst, the retired general Wesley Clark, the former supreme allied commander of NATO. General Clark joins us from Little Rock, Arkansas.

Thanks, General, for joining us. Those four options that I just reported on -- which one seems, based on what you know, to have the most credibility?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK, U.S. ARMY (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, I understand the reservations that are reported that the senior military officers have because they're always going to have reservations. Those in the armed forces who are engaged in planning and the use of force are well aware of the cost and risks of operations.

But I think the president's on line to go after Saddam Hussein, seek a regime change. So my guess is we'll see a combination of the others. We'll see something like a special operations being planned, support of the Iraqi opposition being planned, and probably a major ground force build-up just in case the other two don't work.

BLITZER: You saw in "The New York times" today the suggestion that perhaps a precision strike directly aimed at Baghdad, at Saddam Hussein's palaces, the command-and-control facilities, which are centralized in the Iraqi capital -- that that by itself could get the job done.

CLARK: Well, I think that's certainly likely to be a part of any plan. I think the concern has been for a long time, what if the invasion of Iraq is not a replay of 191? What if, instead of fighting in the open desert, Saddam Hussein jumps back into Baghdad and tries to make it a replay of the Israeli open operation in Jenin and says, "Come and get me"? So I think it's very logical that the American military planners are thinking through all those contingencies.

BLITZER: And the big wild card, of course, is what if Saddam Hussein, seeing his days numbered, lashes out with weapons of mass destruction, whether chemical or biological, poison gas, perhaps even some sort of crude nuclear device?

CLARK: Well, that is the wild card, Wolf, as you suggest. But I think before we will do something like this, we'll be well prepared. Our troops will be well prepared. Our allies and supporters in the region we'll also be working with to make sure that we could mitigate the effects of any unusual weapons that Saddam Hussein might try to throw at us.

BLITZER: Many of my viewers are outraged that these war plans are leaked to "The New York times" and other major news organizations out there. Explain to our viewers, who may not be familiar with the politics of bureaucratic infighting in Washington, what's going on with these leaks.

CLARK: Well, there are probably several hundred people who've had access to various forms of war plans -- concept briefings, concepts about concepts, and so forth. And some people probably are feeling like their ideas aren't being listened to and -- at what my guess would be a very low level, and perhaps even in some semi- innocent way, they're talking to people on the outside. It is irresponsible. These are all classified documents. They should not be released. They should not be discussed outside of approved "need to know" channels.

BLITZER: Thank you very much, General Clark. I must say that when I've seen the defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, lately -- and we speak about these leaks -- he gets, as we saw in my report, very, very angry. It's not just show. General Wesley Clark, I assume we're going to be speaking a lot in the next few weeks and months, as the U.S. continues to target Saddam Hussein. Thanks for joining us.

CLARK: All right, Wolf. Thank you.

BLITZER: Remember when word got out that U.S. intelligence had intercepted al Qaeda signals before September 11? A congressional panel does, and it's calling on the FBI to investigate. The only thing is, that same committee has been investigating the FBI. So who's watching whom?

Here's CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As members of Congress in a secure area of the capitol were hearing highly classified accounts of September 11 intelligence lapses -- by agencies including the FBI -- highly classified information was being reported on CNN.

CNN ANCHOR: CNN has learned the exact phrases used in two conversations intercepted by U.S. intelligence the day before September 11.

ARENA: And a leak investigation was born. Congressman Silvestre Reyes is on the special committee that heard those same secret words.

REP. SILVESTRE REYES (D), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: When we become members of this committee, we sign an agreement that the kind of information we deal with is vital to national security. So there are consequences.

ARENA: The committee asked that the FBI find out who leaked. The investigators became the investigated.

THOMAS MANN, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: Congress is an independent branch of government, and I think it's highly inappropriate for an executive branch agency that's being investigated by the committee to itself investigate possible leaks by that committee.

ARENA: The question some are raising: Could Congress go easy on the FBI so the FBI goes easy on Congress? Or vice versa?

SEN. BOB GRAHAM (D), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Absolutely not. We -- and there's no -- there's been no evidence of that.

ARENA: Lawmakers argue the FBI is the best equipped to handle the probe, and point out that members of the administration and the Department of Defense are also under the microscope.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel very strongly that we should find out who's leaking information. Lots of it is coming from the administration, not Congress.

ARENA: Lawmakers the FBI has interviewed say the process has been professional and efficient. Many have even agreed to be polygraphed, if necessary.

(on camera): Figuring out who leaked is just the beginning. More complicated, what the penalty should be and who decides.

Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: First came the private eye and allegations of an affair. But it's the woman scorned in trouble with the law. We'll talk to her lawyer, the same man who defended Andrea Yates. And what you can't see can hurt you. A new warning about exercise, pollution and heart disease.

And oh, yeah, baby. The inspiration for the shagadelic spy, Austin Powers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Mike Myers based the character Austin Powers on what '60s spy persona? James Bond, Derek Flint, Harry Palmer, none of the above. The answer coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back to CNN. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. Coming up -- a tragic love triangle that turned deadly in Texas, but first, a look at some stories making news right now.

A dead crow found on the grounds of the White House has tested positive for West Nile Virus. Forty-six birds in Washington D.C. have tested positive this year. This is the first at the executive mansion on Pennsylvania Avenue. No human cases have been reported in Washington so far. West Nile Virus is spread by mosquitoes. It's killed 16 people in the United States since 1999.

The markets appeared indifferent to news from Qwest Communications, which admits it improperly recorded more than a billion dollars in revenue. Qwest says an internal audit uncovered the accounting errors. The company will restate 2000 and 2001 financial results and says it can no longer give future guidance about its finances.

Pope John Paul II arrived in Guatemala just a short time ago, after wrapping up his trip to Canada for World Youth Day. Tomorrow, the 82-year-old pontiff will canonize the first Central American, a 17th century missionary who helped prisoners, orphans and the disabled. Half a million people are expected at the mass. Afterward, the pope will leave for Mexico. Meanwhile, Cuban Catholic officials say 23 people who came to see the pope in Toronto have defected. They're said to be hiding in safe houses throughout the city.

A huge rescue effort underway today on Cape Cod, to save 55 pilot whales. The animals beached themselves early this morning. Volunteers and vacationers were able to push most of the whales back into the water. CNN's Bill Delaney is there and he joins us now with latest on this pretty amazing story -- Bill.

BILL DELANEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was an amazing story and is an amazing story, Wolf. You know I'm in front of lovely Cape Cod Bay. It looks like there's plenty of water in it right now. We're still pretty much at high tide here, but of course, every six hours or so the tides shift here. And this is a quarter mile long flat and when the tide really goes out every six hours or so, it's mostly sand out there. If you were an early riser on this beach very this morning, you would have seen a rather spectacular sight, Wolf -- 50 -- more than 50 stranded pilot whales up on the sand flopping around and in desperate trouble.

Now, the people on the beach immediately enlisted other people on the beach. And as the day built, more tourists came to the beach on this hot, humid summery day here in Cape Cod, in the town of Dennis and tourists enlisted in the effort, as did experts enlist in the effort, to save these whales. They doused them with water. They put wet blankets on them, to try to protect them from the hot sun until the tide would be coming in again, early in the afternoon when they might, they hoped, be able to float the whales out to sea again.

This is a very good news story, Wolf. Forty-six of those whales were eventually floated out to sea. They only lost nine of them. Now, the key to this effort -- one of the leaders of the effort was A.J. Cady, who's beside me here.

A.J. is from the International Fund for Animal Welfare and part of the Cape Cod Stranding Network. What was the toughest thing about pulling off what you pulled off today, A.J.?

A.J. CADY, INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR ANIMAL WELFARE/CAPE COD STRANDING NETWORK: The toughest thing was the number of whales. You've got 55 of these animals. They're big, heavy creatures and incredible heat. So we were worried about sunstroke, you know. We were worried about -- they can actually get sunburns -- and just the sheer physical task of trying to get these whales upright and ready to go back...

DELANEY: How did you do it? Did you push them? Tell our audience how you did it.

CADY: Well, what you do first is you cover them up, protect them from the environment. They're marine mammal just like -- well, they're mammals just like...

DELANEY: The water comes under them and...

CADY: The water comes under them. We dig out -- get them upright and float them up. And the danger is if a whale is on its side -- if you can't get them upright, they can literally drown.

DELANEY: Were you lucky today?

CADY: We were very luck today, tremendously.

DELANEY: I know throughout the day that you thought you might lose a lot more of these whales.

CADY: Yes, we thought we would -- I thought we would have lost a lot more than this.

DELANEY: Why do they come in every now and then?

CADY: We just don't know. I mean there's so many things we don't know about ocean creatures. It may be that they were chasing prey in. It may have been that they were sick. Or they must have gotten disoriented. DELANEY: A.J. Cady, thank you very much for talking to us about a really remarkable event here. For some reason, these kinds of whales, these pilot whales, strand more than any others. But we haven't had as big a stranding in 10 years down here on the Cape, Wolf.

BLITZER: Bill Delaney, thanks for that report. Thank you very much. Cape Cod has seen its share of pilot whale beachings. On Christmas Eve 1991, for example, some 31 pilot whales were stranded off Cape Cod and all died. Scientists said the whales, apparently, were following tiny crustaceans and they became trapped in shallow water.

A baffling cancer cluster in a small town in Nevada tops today's "Health Beat." Officials say a sixteenth case of childhood leukemia has been confirmed in Fallon. The governor says the state is using every resource to find answers for families coping with the crisis. The latest case of this leukemia was diagnosed in a two-and-a-half- year-old. Officials say that a town the size of Fallon should expect to see only one case every five years of the confirmed childhood cases. Since 1997, two have died.

A new report warns if you have heart disease don't exercise in polluted air. Researchers in Finland found that oxygen supply to the heart decreases when air pollution is high. They focus on pollution emitted from factory smokestacks and tailpipes of diesel-powered buses and trucks. The EPA says 60,000 people in the United States die every year from tiny particles found in polluted air.

In a moment, Mike Myers' evil creation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "AUSTIN POWERS")

MIKE MYERS, ACTOR: We're designing a "tractor" beam. It's powerful enough to pull the meteor into a collision course with the Earth. Upon entering the atmosphere, the hot ball of magma...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: You'll be amazed when you hear how he came up with this popular villain and other Austin favorites. Stay with us. You'll find out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. A Houston dentist is charged with murdering her husband by running over him multiple times with her Mercedes. The killing happened moments after the victim was caught with another woman. Allison Teene (ph) of CNN affiliate KRIV has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLISON TEENE (ph), KRIV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Forty-four- year-old Clara Harris (ph) is charged with a murder after allegedly killing her husband at the Nassau Bay Hilton. The apparent murder weapon, her Mercedes where her fight with 44-year-old Dr. David Lynn Harris (ph), a Friendswood (ph) dentist, got out of hand.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The disturbance started inside the lobby and moved to the parking lot. And she got inside her vehicle and used to strike the deceased.

TEENE (ph): Witnesses told police Mrs. Harris ran over her husband at least three times or more. One of the witnesses was Mr. Harris's daughter and Clara Harris' (ph) stepdaughter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His daughter -- a 16-year-old daughter was in the vehicle at the time.

TEENE (ph): But witnesses say the girl was trying to get out of the car the whole time while it was moving. Police say the suspect was working with a private investigator, trying to look into her husband's alleged extramarital affair. A second car damaged on the scene was a black Lincoln Navigator, hit because Dr. Harris was standing by it at the time. But all four sides of the car had been intentionally key-scratched.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: That was Allison Teene (ph) of our CNN affiliate KRIV.

George Parnham is the attorney for Clara Harris. He also represented Andrea Yates, convicted of drowning her children in a case all of us are familiar with. Mr. Parnham joins us now from Houston.

Thanks for joining us. This is pretty shocking case. What's going to be your defense?

GEORGE PARNHAM, HARRIS' ATTORNEY: Wolf, this is so early in the legal game, so to speak. I'm still in the process of obtaining as much discovery of the relevant factors involved and what happened out there at the Hilton. And we are -- both the prosecution and the defense are somewhat handicapped in that the investigation is not yet finished by the police department. I would suspect that it's going to be quite some time before it is finished, before the witness' accounts are available to us, to read and dissect. And basically, what we hear, sometimes conflicting reports in our news media and the papers down here in Houston. So it's just too early to even speculate on that matter.

BLITZER: Well, irrespective of the specifics of this particular case, if -- in this, the basic facts are pretty well known -- a woman catches her husband in an adulteress affair and decides, apparently, to kill him and run over him several times in a car. What kind of defense -- forget about this case -- what kind of defense, if you were involved in that kind of a situation, would you be able to wage?

PARNHAM: Well -- and Wolf, that's a great question and it incorporates the ultimate issue and that is, the woman's determination or decision to do what she did. There's no question but that the automobile that she driving -- pardon me -- the automobile that she was driving is the automobile that struck and killed her husband. But we have to look in the mind's eye of the driver -- what did she know, what did she see, what was she capable of seeing, was there any other way out of that particular parking area? All of these questions are going to be made relevant by the facts as they begin to be developed. But you're absolutely right, it's what's between the eyes, so to speak, and what is in the mind of the driver of the car at the time this occurred that will count. If you looked at the fact...

BLITZER: Is temporary...

PARNHAM: Go ahead.

BLITZER: ... insanity normally the kind of defense a lawyer might use in this kind of case?

PARNHAM: We don't have temporary insanity. Our insanity law speaks to a disease of the mind and that is so severe that the actor does not know that his or her conduct is wrong. That's the situation, for instance, in Andrea Yates' case. In this particular situation, we still have the burden of proof on the state to prove knowing and intentionally. And in effect, it's the old terminology of mens rea. It has to be proven. The mental element of this offense is something that we'll be looking to the facts not only at the scene, but at the relationship between husband and wife and of such a relationship was tainted, for instance, by an affair. That information will be relevant to what's in the mind of Clara Harris (ph).

BLITZER: All right, George Parnham, thanks...

PARNHAM: Sure.

BLITZER: ... for updating us. I'm sure we'll be back to you as this investigation and legal proceeding continues. Thanks, once again.

PARNHAM: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: He uses words like "shagadelic" and "mojo." And of course, there's this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "AUSTIN POWERS")

MYERS: Baby, yeah! Move! Move! Move!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: How did Mike Myers dream this trilogy up? The secret of Austin Power's staying power.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "AUSTIN POWERS")

MYERS: Swingin' 60's here I come, baby, yeah!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Earlier we asked -- "Mike Myers based the character, Austin Powers, on what 60's spy persona?" The answer, Harry Palmer. Michael Caine played Palmer in the 1965 spy film, "The Ipcress File." In his most recent appearance on the big screen, Caine plays the father of Austin Powers in "Goldmember"

And "Goldmember" struck gold this weekend, as the new "Austin Powers" movie grossed an estimated $71.5 million, an opening record for a comedy. Mike Myers, the man behind the super spy, has mined deeply for that cinematic gold.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Exploring the genesis of the "Austin Powers" characters is a trip through spy film history.

MYERS: It's a tribute to all things British -- spy movies, even the spy spoof.

BLITZER: Creator Mike Myers has taken his inspiration from so many characters that it's hard to keep track. Austin Powers, himself, is derived from the spy, Harry Palmer, played by Michael Caine in the 1965 film, "The Ipcress File."

MICHAEL CAINE, ACTOR: You dirty old man.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you scratch my back and I'll scratch your ass.

CAINE: You ought to be locked up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh!

CAINE: When it first came out, there was a spy in the '60s with glasses and I thought, that's Harry Palmer in "The Ipcress File" and so, it was.

BLITZER: Michael Caine is also a touchstone for Myers in a very personal way. Myers has made no secret that Caine reminds him of his own, late father, a sentiment which led Myers to ask Caine to play Austin's father in "Goldmember."

MYERS: He had a working-class accent, like my father had a working-class accent. He was one of the first movie stars to talk like how people talk, you know.

BLITZER: Some of the parallels are more obvious.

MYERS: Why make trillions when we could make billions?

BLITZER: It's hardly a stretch to see that Dr. Evil in the "Austin Powers" series is inspired by the character, Ernst Blofeld, first played by Donald Pleasence in the 1967 James Bond movie, "You Only Live Twice."

DONALD PLEASENCE, ACTOR: I shall look forward, personally, to exterminating you, Mr. Bond. BLITZER: And how about the less-than-subtle similarities between the character Frau Farbissina in "Austin Powers" and the dastardly Rosa Klebb, the agent from James Bond's rival group, Specter, in the 1963 film, "From Russia With Love."

The character of Foxxy Cleopatra, in "Goldmember" may seem a little outlandish now, but, she wouldn't have been in the so-called "blackxploitation" movies of the early '70s, like "Foxy Brown" and "Cleopatra Jones." Even Mini-Me has some cinematic ancestry. The cult hero played by Verne Troyer in the "Austin Powers" films is based on this bizarre scene in the 1996 Marlon Brando movie, "The Island of Dr. Moreau."

The latest Mike Myers incarnation is the title character in "Goldmember," funny and outrageous, but, as for drawing parallels to Gert Frobe's portrayal of "Goldfinger" in 1964, well, you're on your own.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you expect me to talk?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!

BLITZER: Just about everything in the "Austin Powers" series is taken from something else -- from the sexual innuendo, to the clothing and hairstyles. How much longer can this formula work? Probably as long as audiences fall for the Myers' touch.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Tomorrow, part two of our coverage of this "Austin Powers" phenomenon. It's me and Mini-Me. I'll speak with the actor, Verne Troyer, who plays the tiny troublemaker in the "Austin Powers" movies. That's Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. Eastern, 2:00 Pacific.

In our "Picture of The Day": when fire meets water -- the show off the coast of Hawaii. Also coming up, the results of our "Question of The Day" -- "Have the markets bottomed out?" Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

LOU DOBBS, HOST, "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE": Wolf, thank you. We'll have the latest details on the train derailment in Maryland. We'll have a live report near the site of the accident, just north of the nation's capital. A phenomenal day for investors on Wall Street, stock prices soared across the board. The Dow Jones Industrial scoring the third biggest point gain ever less than a week after scoring the second biggest point gain ever. We'll have complete market coverage for you.

California's governor, Gray Davis, will be here to refute some points made by California's controller, Kathleen Connell. She stopped paychecks of state officials until they had a balanced budget. And the Bush administration weighing its option in an attack against Iraq. General Donald Shepherd will be here to talk about the flood of leaks about the U.S. battle plans to attack Iraq. All of that and a great deal more still ahead at the top of the hour, so please join us. Now back to Wolf Blitzer -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Sounds like a great show, as usual. Thank you very much, Lou Dobbs.

Here's your chance now, how you've weighing in on our "Web Question of The Day" -- "Have the markets bottomed out?" Look at this; the votes are almost evenly split. Forty-two percent of you say, "yes." Forty-eight percent say, "no." Remember, this is not a scientific poll.

A dangerous spectacle is drawing hundreds of spectators in Hawaii and that's our "Picture of The Day." Lava from the Kilauea volcano's latest eruption is tumbling into the sea, creating new black sand beaches. In the process, warnings of dangerous fumes and unstable grounds have done little to keep crowds away. Kilauea's been erupting for almost two decades, but the latest phase is the most dramatic in years -- pretty spectacular pictures.

Time now to hear also directly from you. Last week's story about the four military wives killed at Fort Bragg generated a lot of feedback. Thom writes this -- "This is no coincidence and no anomaly. Something is seriously amiss and hopefully the investigation will uncover it. All of America should be grateful for the sacrifices these men and women make; however, something like this deserves intense scrutiny."

From Rosalie, "I, too, have been a victim of military domestic abuse. Military leaders do not need to study this problem further; they have had a special task force for years. What they really need to do is listen to the victims. I was told to shut up or I would ruin my husband's career. He was a major."

That's all the time that we have today. I'll be back tomorrow with much more news -- 5:00 p.m. Eastern as usual, 2:00 on the West Coast. Until then, thanks very much for watching. Don't forget tomorrow -- me and Mini-Me. Until then, I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE" begins right now.

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