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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports
Hurricane Isidore Pauses to Catch Breath; Bush Pushes for Military Action in Iraq; Toogood Pleads Not Guilty
Aired September 23, 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, eye on the storm. Isidore pauses to catch its breath as the U.S. Gulf Coast prepares for its full fury.
Showdown Iraq:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If the United Nations will not deal with Saddam Hussein, the United States and our friends will.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: But not without Congress' say. Today, your chance to reach them before they make their decision.
Locked up and starved for months, horrific allegations in a Florida child abuse case.
Caught on tape, a mother makes her plea in court and to the public.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MADELYNE GORMAN TOOGOOD: You know for the next person it's, you know, before you raise your hand to your child just think, just walk away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: One more reason why aspirin may be good for you.
BLITZER: It's Monday, September 23. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. We've just received an update from the National Hurricane Center about a deadly storm that may threaten the U.S. mainland. Forecasters fear what's now Tropical Storm Isidore will reemerge as a major hurricane and strike along the U.S. Gulf Coast this week. This is a satellite picture of Isidore, and this is what it did to Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. A major hurricane, by the way, has wind speeds greater than 111 miles an hour.
We have two reports today, one from the possible path of the storm, another from its wake. We begin with CNN's Harris Whitbeck. He's covering the damage in Mexico. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN MEXICO CITY BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): When the sun came up Monday morning, residents of Medea (ph), capital of the Mexican state of Yucatan saw the destruction left by Hurricane Isidore. The streets of the city were strewn with fallen trees and the debris from buildings damaged during the storm. Isidore packed winds of nearly 200 kilometers or 120 miles per hour, downing power and telephone lines and leaving about 800,000 residents with no electricity or ways to communicate with the outside world.
The strength of the storm caused the evacuation of more than 8,000 workers from several oil drilling platforms located in the Gulf of Mexico off the Yucatan and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Coasts and dozens of communities located along the Yucatan Coast were also evacuated when huge waves threatened to completely engulf them. Local authorities set up temporary shelters in schools. Some 70,000 people were forced to abandon their homes and go into the shelters.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Last night we started to be evacuated because the sea water started to rise. They said to leave the area because there could be more water coming.
WHITBECK: At least for Mexico's southeastern coast, the worst seems to be over.
WHITBECK (on camera): But forecasters say Isidore could gather strength as it moves away from the Mexican mainland and heads over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Now it has in its sights the U.S. coasts of Texas and Louisiana. Harris Whitbeck CNN, Mexico City.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: And, indeed, Texas just might be Isidore's next target. Some coastal areas are already feeling the effects of the storm. Jeff Eeling of our affiliate KTRK reports from Galveston.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF EELING, KTRK CORRESPONDENT (voice over): If Isidore is fun for surfers...
MAYOR ROGER QUIROGA, GALVESTON, TEXAS: Wednesday night we could start seeing tides as much as six or seven foot total tide.
EELING: It is no fun for the City of Galveston's department heads.
QUIROGA: It's just wait and see.
EELING: If the storm comes this way, it could be here by the end of the week so city leaders are preparing now. This closed door meeting will set the timetable for the city's disaster plan.
QUIROGA: We're going to monitor the situation very closely. The National Weather Service is very confident about the direction that Isidore will take in the next 24 hours or so. They're more confident in that than they are about the wind speeds.
EELING: Tracy Deltz doesn't have to worry about the entire island, only his gulf front restaurant.
TRACY DELTZ, RESTAURANT OWNER: We can push it into 12 hours or less if we have to.
EELING: But Deltz won't even begin the process of securing his piece of the island until the storm is closer to his front door.
DELTZ: Oh, we talked about it last night and we'll started making some real decisions probably Wednesday afternoon and then physical things probably Thursday if it's still tracking in this direction.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: That report from Jeff Eeling of our affiliate KTRK in Galveston, Texas. Joining us now from Miami, Florida for more on what we can expect from Isidore, Max Mayfield of the National Hurricane Center. Mr. Mayfield thanks, as usual, for joining us. Well, what is the latest? Is this storm or hurricane going to strike the United States and where?
MAX MAYFIELD, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: Well, we think it will eventually do that, Wolf. This is really bad news for Mexico here the last couple of days but it's almost good news for the United States because it's really remained over the Yucatan Peninsula for so long that the intensity has come way, way down and the maximum sustained winds are now down to 50 miles per hour. I think it will likely continue to weaken today.
What we think will happen, in fact if you look at the satellite loop behind me, you can see the center really just meandering over the Yucatan. We just put out the 5:00 p.m. forecast and we think it will slowly emerge off the northwestern tip of the Yucatan, by Tuesday afternoon be located somewhere in this vicinity, Wednesday afternoon here, and then it really depends on how the currents set up.
But we're really targeting the upper Texas coast, Louisiana coast, although some impacts will be felt even well to the east. We do think once it's over that warm Gulf of Mexico water that it will slowly re-intensify again and will very likely regain that hurricane status. It's really important for coastal residents to understand that the biggest impact especially from the storm surge will be near and to the east of where the center crosses the coast.
BLITZER: Well, when do you expect it to hit and specifically when will you have to make the evacuation notifications?
MAYFIELD: Well, this is our three-day forecast right here, so by Thursday afternoon, we've got it very near the Louisiana coast. This could change a little bit to the left and to the right of that but that's really the area that we're targeting right now based on the computer projections that we're looking at. We're flying the NOAA jet aircraft every night in the environment around Isidore to help sample the stirring current and then we feed that information into the computer model.
So we'll do the best we can here to make a good forecast, but right now we want to really make sure that people all along the Gulf Coast from the upper Texas coast all the way to the Florida panhandle really pay close attention to this.
BLITZER: Max Mayfield, we'll be talking a lot to you in the next few days. Good luck to you. Good luck to all of our viewers down there as well. Thank you very much.
MAYFIELD: OK, thank you Wolf.
BLITZER: Let's move on now to a shocking story in Florida, one of alleged child abuse. A woman and her boyfriend are accused of starving the woman's 7-year-old daughter. Police say the child was locked in a room for four months and had so little food she looked like a walking skeleton. Let's get more from our Mark Potter. He's covering this story. He joins us now live in Miami. Mark, another horrific story.
MARK POTTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Wolf. This is one of these terrible cases that we hear about every so often. In Tampa, police say that a 7-year-old girl was locked in a room for months and nearly starved to death. Her mother and her mother's boyfriend have now been arrested.
Police say the girl was held in this 8 x 10 room with no furniture but this mattress here. She was provided minimal clothing and little or no food. When found she weighed only 25 pounds. Police say that she also suffered other physical abuse. Pictures of the girl showed bruises, a bone sticking out, and hair falling out because of malnutrition.
Authorities say that the boyfriend told detectives, "I hate that kid" and accuse him of biting her on the back and shoving beads in her ear that had to be medically removed. Police were shocked.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DET. JOHN YARATCH, TAMPA POLICE: This ranks right up there with the top of them. When you're taking a child and locking them into a room with nothing in it except maybe a mattress. The child said that she had no bedding. There was no bedding found in the room. There was no curtains on the room, no clothing in the room, nothing at all for this child to have, play with, no toys. The room was foul with the odor of urine and feces because the child was only allowed to use the closet as a restroom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
POTTER: The girl's mother Connie Warrington, age 23, and her boyfriend 36-year-old David LaPointe were arrested Friday and are charged with several counts of aggravated child abuse. They are still being held without bond. Police say the case came to light when the mother called the biological father and asked him to come pick up the girl. He returned her to New York and then called the police. A detective interviewed the girl last week and said that now that she is in the custody of her father, she is doing much better. She is improving physically and has gained weight. Meanwhile, the arrested couple had two other children, ages 1 and 3, and while they appear to have been well fed and cared for, they have now been turned over to the state -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, another shocking story. Mark Potter covering the story for us, thank you very much. She was captured on tape repeatedly striking her 4-year-old child. Now charged with felony battery, Madelyne Gorman Toogood says being caught may be a blessing in disguise. That admission came during an exclusive interview our CNN national correspondent Gary Tuchman had. He's joining us now live from South Bend, Indiana. What happened today in this shocking case, Gary?
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, Madelyne Toogood is hoping for a plea bargain. That was made very clear today following her arraignment here in South Bend, Indiana on Child Battery charges. She entered the courtroom today surrounded by people important in her life, her husband, her mother, her sisters, other family members, but not her 4-year-old daughter Martha who has been ordered to stay with a foster family for right now.
The court hearing lasted only two minutes. The judge entered a not guilty plea on her behalf, also on the behalf of Margaret Daly, her sister. Her sister was the other adult in that video. She was charged with not reporting child abuse. Now, Madelyne Toogood's attorney says they are hoping for a plea bargain. She has shown she's contrite, the attorney says, and that she's sorry for what she did. We asked the prosecutor about possibly accepting a plea bargain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS TOTH, PROSECUTOR: At this point, it's a pending case and I certainly have ethical obligations to not discuss what may happen with it but I can say with no problem we're going to vigorously and aggressively prosecute this case.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: And Chris Toth does say jail time is a major consideration. This penalty could be up to three years in this case. Now as you said, Wolf, we did talk to Madelyne Toogood last night. She said she's very ashamed and terrified, and we asked her if she's ever done anything like this previously.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOOGOOD: I've spanked them before. No, I've never battered them before or abused them before.
TUCHMAN: Would you call a battering and abusing yourself?
TOOGOOD: It looked like it, yes. TUCHMAN: But the fact that you're saying that, this is the first time you battered or abused a child and it was caught on videotape, do you consider yourself unlucky that you were caught?
TOOGOOD: Of course I do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: Well, she has not seen her daughter Martha since she surrendered on Saturday but tomorrow she'll get the chance under the terms of the foster care. She gets a daily visitation with supervision and that will come tomorrow, Wolf back to you.
BLITZER: Gary, when I saw your exclusive interview with her last night you asked her, I believe, what would you say to your little girl if you could right now. She said a bunch of things. I didn't hear her say, tell her I love her. Did you hear her say that?
TUCHMAN: She never said the words, Wolf, tell her I love her to us but what she will say, what her attorney will say is she's not really good on camera, that she's nervous. She does say she's very sorry and she can't believe what she did.
BLITZER: All right, Gary Tuchman who's been doing an excellent job covering this horrible story for us as well. Thank you very much Gary. Well, here's your chance to weigh in on this story. Our web question of the day is this: Do you think Madelyne Toogood should get a second chance?
We'll have the results later in this program. You can vote at cnn.com/wolf. While you're there, send me your comments. I'll try to read some of the 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.
This programming note, Madelyne Toogood, her lawyer, and the prosecutor will be guests on "LARRY KING LIVE" tonight. That's at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, 6:00 p.m. on the West Coast.
Is the nation ready for a smallpox attack? Health officials are taking serious precautions. The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention joins us live for an inside look at the plan that could save thousands of lives, including yours. Plus, viewers sound off. We'll ask two congressmen the tough questions on Iraq that you want the answers to. Send us your e-mail questions right now, cnn.com/wolf. That's coming up at the half hour.
Plus, a record number of women getting breast implants. What's behind the beauty and security? Health experts the Berman sisters will join us live. But first, today's news quiz. Which American president suffered from smallpox, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, all of the above? The answer coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Earlier we asked which American president suffered from smallpox, the answer all of the above. Abraham Lincoln came down with it after delivering the Gettysburg Address. Andrew Jackson almost died from it as a teen. George Washington developed a severe case while on the island of Barbados. It left him scarred for life.
Welcome back. Smallpox was eradicated worldwide more than two decades ago and vaccinations were halted in this country three decades ago, but there are fears that terrorists could use the deadly virus as a weapon. To meet that threat, the federal government today issued guidelines for mass vaccinations in the event of an outbreak.
Joining us now is Dr. Julie Gerberding. She's the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Gerberding thanks for joining us. Well tell us about these guidelines. If, God forbid, there's a smallpox terror attack against the United States, how long will it take to get everyone in this country vaccinated?
DR. JULIE GERBERDING, DIR., CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: Well, what the CDC and HHS did today was to release an update of a plan that's actually been in the works for a couple of years, and what this new addition does is really help state and local governments figure out exactly what would they do if they needed to scale up and go out and immunize say a million people over a ten-day period of time.
BLITZER: In a specific location?
GERBERDING: In a very specific location. So it gives them kind of the recipe for what they need to do at the local level to get the right people in the right place to get the job done.
BLITZER: How long will it take to get all the vaccines, all the people ready to go in case there's an attack?
GERBERDING: Well, we know that we can get the vaccine to people within 12 hours in a particular jurisdiction but getting into the arms of the exposed people could take some time. Our goal is to be able to do that within two to four days for the people who are actually exposed and within five...
BLITZER: In a geographic...
GERBERDING: In a geographic area but within five to ten days if we needed to scale up and protect a whole community.
BLITZER: Do you have enough vaccine right now?
GERBERDING: Right now for emergency use we do have enough doses to protect all Americans.
BLITZER: How realistic in your expert opinion is this threat? All of us who are old enough remember getting these smallpox vaccines in school when we were little kids but how worried should our viewers be right now?
GERBERDING: Well, I hope we never have to use this plan but we do want to be prepared and I think we do live in a new era and the possibility of a terrorist attack is something we have to take seriously.
BLITZER: Why not just give everyone in the country a vaccine right now? I had one when I was a little kid and millions of other people did. What's wrong with that?
GERBERDING: Well, this of course is a policy decision that's weighing very heavily on our minds right now. We know this isn't the safest vaccine that we have and some people will develop very serious complications from it and a few people could even die.
BLITZER: How many -- if 200 million let's say, or 250 million Americans received the vaccine, how many will have very severe complications and how many presumably might die?
GERBERDING: Well, we expect maybe five to ten very serious complications per million people vaccinated, but it depends in part on how good we are at screening out the people at high risk. In an emergency, the overriding goal is to get vaccine to the exposed people, so we will have some complications.
BLITZER: And, in general, who are the people at highest risk?
GERBERDING: The people who are immuno-suppressed, little children and people with underlying diseases are the ones that are most likely to have the serious complications. But, the people who were immunized in their youth probably have a lower risk, so they may have fewer complications over all.
BLITZER: And the plan will be ready to be implemented fully when?
GERBERDING: Well, the goal is to take the steps and now that the states have the plans, they can begin the process of finding the people and getting organized at the local level, but ultimately we'll also need to practice this plan.
BLITZER: All right, that will be the next step. Dr. Gerberding, let's hope we never have to use it. Thanks, though, for taking this precaution.
GERBERDING: Well, thank you.
BLITZER: Thank you very much. Good luck to you. And a story that couldn't be more bizarre if it were written in Hollywood, a former pro basketball player is missing in the Pacific and the clues may lie with his comatose brother. And, could something as simple as an aspirin a day keep Alzheimer's at bay; surprising new information that could make the difference for you or a loved one just ahead; but first a look at news making headlines around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): The motive behind a grenade explosion near the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia remains unclear. Authorities say there's no indication U.S. interests were the target. French troops have been sent to Ivory Coast administrative capital to help westerners trapped by a military uprising. Among those trapped are more than 100 children at a Christian school from the United States and other countries. Rebel forces still hold the city after a failed coup last week.
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is celebrating a razor thin victory in his country's legislative elections. After yesterday's balloting, Schroeder's ruling coalition will control about half the seats in the lower House of Parliament. Today Schroeder announced his justice minister, who allegedly compared President Bush's political strategy concerning Iraq to that of Adolph Hitler, will resign.
Amateur video shows last month's crash of a Russian helicopter, which killed 119 Russian military personnel. The video shows the engines on fire just moments before the helicopter crashed near Russia's main military base in Grozny.
Communist North Korea today took another small step forward in its experiment with a market economy. It's setting up a special zone along the border with China that will be totally capitalist.
A woman in Thailand is hoping to break the world record for living with scorpions. She's begun a 32-day stint locked inside a room full of 3,000 of them. And in Britain, a bit of eccentricity, dozens of dogs and their human partners descended on the island of Jersey for a doggie dance. It featured choreographed musical routines by the dogs and their handlers, and that's our look around the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. Let's turn to the situation in the Middle East, an update on a story we broke right here on Friday, the blockage and destruction of much of Yasser Arafat's compound on the West Bank. CNN's Ben Wedeman is in Ramallah with the latest.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, it does appear that the two sides have reached something of a deadlock. Today, senior Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erakat met with Israeli officials. The Israelis told him that they want a list of all the people who are inside the building with the Palestinian leader.
Now according to people inside the compound, that is more than 200 people. Now they, the Israelis say that they will take that list and pick and choose who they believe is on their list of terrorist suspects. Now, the Palestinian Negotiator, Mr. Erakat, said that that simply is not acceptable, that the Palestinians have no intention of handing over a list or handing over anybody to the Israelis.
Now, in the meantime for its part the Israeli army seems to be digging in around the compound. They have halted all demolition activity within the compound itself, but today we were driving around it and we did see that they are apparently digging in. They've set up new sniper positions in buildings overlooking the compound and they are also bulldozing fields nearby for what appears to be an extended stay in the compound.
Now, pressure does seem to be mounting on the Israelis to compromise here. Even the United States normally very supportive of Israel, describing the siege as unhelpful. Now, interesting enough it appears many Israelis also share that opinion. Commentators in Israeli newspapers saying that the Sharon government has, in fact, saved Mr. Arafat from his own people, this at a time when pressure was mounting on the Palestinian leader to share power with others within the authority, back to you Wolf.
BLITZER: Ben Wedeman, he's on the scene for us in Ramallah, thanks very much. We'll continue to follow that story as well, very volatile story. The White House meanwhile has been beating the war drums against Iraq and you, the viewer, have been sounding off. When we return, two Congressmen in the hot seat, they'll answer the tough questions you've wanted us to ask. E-mail us now at wolf@cnn.com.
Plus, what's the big deal about aspirin and ibuprofen? They just, just may keep you from losing your mind; and beauty versus safety, why more and more women are going under the knife for bigger breasts. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. Exiled opponents of the Iraqi President Saddam Hussein say his forces have been setting up a defensive trench outside of Baghdad. Meantime, as Congress debates the possible use of force against Iraq, the Bush administration continues its relentless push for action.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BUSH: For 11 years, he has deceived and denied. For 11 years, he's claimed he has no weapons, and yet we know he has.
BLITZER (voice-over): President Bush is keeping the heat on Saddam Hussein. He's also keeping the heat on the United Nations Security Council.
BUSH: I want to see strong resolutions coming out that U.N., a resolution, which says the old ways of deceit are gone, a resolution, which will hold this man to account.
BLITZER: U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan is warning against any unilateral U.S. strike, but also says the Iraqis cannot be allowed to block inspectors searching for weapons of mass destruction.
KOFFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL: It has to be clear that it is -- they are going back without conditions and they will cooperate with them to do their work.
BLITZER: The Iraqis say they won't accept any new U.N. resolution, which would go beyond earlier arrangements worked out with Kofi Annan in 1998, just before the inspectors left Iraq. Among those, that Iraq would receive advance notice of any inspection of Saddam Hussein's presidential palaces. But U.S. officials say that would fresh inspections worthless since the Iraqis would have plenty of time to remove sensitive weapons or equipment.
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The question for the international community is whether the Security Council resolutions will be enforced or disregarded without consequence, whether the United Nations will be effective or irrelevant.
BLITZER: On Capitol Hill, the Senate Armed Services Committee heard testimony from four retired generals.
GEN. JOHN SHALIKASHVILI (RET), FORMER JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: We must be very, very careful about going to war and to do so only when all other attempts to resolve the threat to us have failed.
GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET), FORMER NATO SUPREME COMMANDER: There's a possibility he will attempt to use weapons of mass destruction. I think there's a possibility he would attempt to use them before we would launch our attack when we stage our forces.
BLITZER: There are dissenting voices. The Catholic archbishop of Washington, D.C. says he's not ready to support a U.S. war against Iraq, at least not yet.
CARDINAL THEODORE MCCARRICK, WASHINGTON: When you look at Iraq, I guess if the president really has that kind of information, that we are in real approximate danger from Iraq, from some of the biological or whatever kind of weapons they might have, then you could make a case. But I'm not sure -- I don't think the bishops feel that case has been made yet and that's why we were saying to please go slowly, please try to seem exactly what the situation is before we do something, which we would have to say would not be moral.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: While congressional Democrats consider the president's call for a speedy vote endorsing his Iraq policy, the party's last presidential nominee spoke out on the issue today. In a speech in San Francisco, Al Gore argued strongly against what he called precipitous a on Iraq and he said Mr. Bush is asking for too much too soon by shifting the focus on the war on terrorism to Saddam Hussein.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES: I believe that we are perfectly capable of staying the course in our war against Osama bin Laden and his terrorist network while simultaneously taking those steps necessary to build an international coalition to join us in taking on Saddam Hussein in a timely fashion. If you're going after Jesse James, you ought to organize the posse first.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: As e-mail and letters continue to pour in, you've been letting us know your thoughts on the subject of Iraq. Now, it's time for a couple of key members of the U.S. to know how you feel. Joining me here in Washington is California Republican David Dreier -- he's the chairman of the House Rules Committee -- and from Seattle, Democratic Congressman Jim McDermott.
Congressmen, thanks for joining us. I want to go right to our e- mailers. Our viewers are very upset. They have a lot of questions. Let me throw this question out to both of you.
Ann from Tamarac, Florida -- "The people of the United States are being deluged with experts stating why we should enter Iraq with military force. To date, I have yet to hear what would happen if Saddam Hussein were to be captured."
David Dreier, what do you say?
REP. DAVID DREIER (R), CALIFORNIA: Well, let me just say that along with that e-mail, I just came back from spring this weekend. I was at the L.A. County Fair where I milked a cow and I was looking at our fires that are real problems out there, I rode in the Route 66 Parade and I find overwhelming support for the president on this in Southern California. I do believe that none of us is enthusiastic about the prospect of going to war but the case that has been made and is getting across the country to the American people is one...
BLITZER: Well, what about...
DREIER: ... which is resonating. And as far as exactly what will take place, I know that the National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and others in the administration in response to this have indicated that a lot of effort is being put into the prospect of a post-Saddam Hussein government and obviously, our goal would be to move towards Democratization where the people of Iraq would have an opportunity to choose their leader, Wolf.
BLITZER: Congressman McDermott, we got a question for you from Rose Marie in San Bernardino, California. "Saddam Hussein has enough time to build underground storage to hide all his weapons of mass destruction. Don't you think it's kind of late to look for them now?"
REP. JIM MCDERMOTT (D), WASHINGTON: Absolutely not. This is not a situation where we have to hurry. There's no threat to the United States. The administration is trying very desperately to scare people into thinking we have to go immediately and the Congress has to decide. Let the U.N. work its way with inspections and then we'll decide on whether or not we have to go further.
DREIER: Wolf, we know right now that Secretary of State Colin Powell is working very closely with the United Nations Security Council to try and bumped up support. And if there is going to be a resolution, it has to have a very strict timeframe to it. And I think that we're in a position right now where we've waited 11 years. And what we've seen over the past 4 years since the inspectors left is the development of nuclear capability, which was pointed out on your show on Sunday, a hundred facilities under schools and hospitals where nuclear capability could be enhanced.
BLITZER: What about that, Congressman McDermott?
MCDERMOTT: They can always scare people with those kinds of stories. Show me the proof. If he says you can come in and look wherever you want -- this bunch of people, the Bush administration both first and second Georges have been wanting to go to war with him for 10 years to get control of the oil fields.
DREIER: That's just not true.
MCDERMOTT: And they are back -- they are back at it now and they simply don't want anybody to say you ought to wait and think about it. There is not proof...
BLITZER: All right.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: David Dreier, hold on. David Dreier, hold on. We've got another question from Victor in Orlando. "Iraq does not ICBM's or even a Navy. How would they accomplish an attack on America or other countries in the region?"
DREIER: Wolf, in this report, you have talked about smallpox vaccinations. I was talking to a doctor friend of mine out in L.A. the other day. He pointed to the fact that one of the greatest accomplishments of the 20th century was the elimination of the threat of smallpox. And we, right now, in the 21st century have the potential of that being used in terrorist capability against us. And I will tell you the VX capability, which has developed, mass production of one of the deadliest chemical weapons around. That poses a very serious threat.
BLITZER: All right...
DREIER: Now, he said push the nuclear mujahedeen and Iraq should push our enemy back across the Atlantic.
BLITZER: Let's let Congressman McDermott respond. Go ahead, Congressman.
MCDERMOTT: I didn't catch your question.
BLITZER: The question about the VX and the poison gas, that Saddam Hussein has proven in the past he's used these kinds of deadly weapons. Why not take him out now?
MCDERMOTT: He's very smart. He used them with the United States knowledge and complicity against the Iranians. We provided him with the basic chemicals when he was fighting Iran for us, as a proxy and he used them against the Kurds. But he did not use them in the Iraq War when he had the opportunity when we were on the ground. This man is smart and he is not going aggressively against anybody outside the country.
BLITZER: All right. We got another question for you, David Dreier. Robert from Shreveport asks this question -- "The rest of the world sees us as two-faced. Let's back the U.N. on Palestine/Israel resolutions as well as those on Iraq." Is there a double standard there? DREIER: There is not a double standard here. If you, in fact, look at the fact that Iraq -- with the Sullivan Pact Terrorist Training Camp has in fact trained terrorists who have been used against the Palestinians. I think that we will be able to do a great deal for the stability in the region, the overall region, if we were to bring an end to Saddam Hussein's dictatory rule and threat.
BLITZER: All right, Congressman McDermott, go ahead.
MCDERMOTT: Well, it's -- there's no evidence whatsoever that taking out Saddam Hussein is going to fix the problems of Palestine. And in my view, we have had a double standard on many issues. We go with the United Nations when it suits our purpose. When it doesn't suit our purpose, we go without them. We use NATO. We are a very...
DREIER: Our national security is our number one priority, Jim, and we should not have our national security standards established by anybody other than the leadership of the United States of America.
MCDERMOTT: We are part of the world and we joined the United Nations. And we signed the charter and we said we wouldn't act unilaterally. And we cannot if we're going keep our part in the world.
BLITZER: Unfortunately, gentlemen, we have to leave it right there. David Dreier, Jim McDermott, we'll continue this debate. It's only getting started.
MCDERMOTT: Thanks, Wolf.
BLITZER: Thanks to both of you, appreciate it. Thank you very much.
The key to preventing Alzheimer's may be as close as your bathroom cabinet. When we return Elizabeth Cohen on the power of a simple home remedy. Plus, is bigger really better? A record number of American women say "yes." Health news you can use when we return, but first, our weekend snapshot.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. A new medical study appears to boost aspirin's growing reputation as a wonder drug. The study presents evidence that aspirin and other anti-inflammatory drugs may delay or prevent Alzheimer's disease. Let's find out more from CNN medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen. She's joining us live.
This is amazing, Elizabeth!
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, it's not quite as amazing as it sounds. It is more intriguing. That's the word that doctors would say. This is one of several studies that shows this particular effect with aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, which in the biz, they call those NSAIDs, that show this particular effect with reducing the risk of Alzheimer's. Let's take a look at this particular study. It was done on 3,227 elderly people. Those who took aspirin and these NSAIDs were 45 percent less likely to get Alzheimer's disease. In order to get the effect, they had to take NSAIDs at least four times a week for at least two years, so that was a long time. They didn't just start taking it towards the end of their life or whatever. They took it for several years.
Now, what are NSAIDs? Well, aspirin is NSAID and so is ibuprofen, otherwise known as Advil or Motrin and there are some other brands and naproxen, which is otherwise known as Aleve. There are other NSAIDs too, but in these studies, those were the NSAIDs that they were looking at.
Now, when you hear this 45 percent lower risk, you think wow, should I go out and get a bottle of this and start taking it every day. The author of the study says "No, no, no, please don't do that." These drugs can have serious side effects. You don't want to start taking them because although these studies have shown this effect, they haven't done what's called a large-scale clinical trial. They need to recruit thousands of people, give half of them an NSAID and half of them a placebo. That's not what these studies have done so far. They're trying to do those studies. They're in the process of recruiting people. And until they do, you shouldn't go around taking these drugs. As a matter of fact, all you have to do is think about hormone replacement therapy. A lot of early studies said women should take it to reduce their risk of getting heart disease. And then, when they did more studies, they found that that wasn't true at all -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Here's the why question. Why would these pain relievers possibly affect Alzheimer's?
COHEN: You know, Wolf, nobody knows, but there are couple of prevailing theories. One of them is that there's an inflammatory process that goes on with Alzheimer's disease. So obviously, an anti- inflammatory would be a good thing in that case. The other theory is that there's something called an amyloid proteins that sort of mess the brain up in Alzheimer's disease. And there's a theory that these NSAIDs reduce the production of amyloid proteins, hence, making Alzheimer's less of a threat.
BLITZER: Elizabeth Cohen, thanks very much for that report.
COHEN: Thanks.
BLITZER: Always good to get the latest medical news. Also on the "Health Beat," a first in the nation family leave measure. The California Governor Gray Davis today signed a bill making his state the first in the United States to adopt a comprehensive family leave program. The bill allows workers to take six weeks off to care for a newborn, newly adopted child, or ill family member. More than half of the worker's wages would be paid during the time off. Federal law already provides workers with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave.
A medical expert says an epilepsy drug may help people who suffer from migraine headaches. The director of the Jefferson Headache Center in Philadelphia says the drug, topiramate (ph), may help patients who do not respond to more traditional migraine drugs. It apparently prevents nerves on the brain from becoming overexcited. Twenty-eight million Americans are believed to suffer from migraines.
And more and more American women are getting breast implants. A record number, almost a quarter of a million women got implants last year. And a 10 percent increase is expected this year. After the FDA limited the use of silicone gel implants over health concerns, women have now turned to saltwater-filled implants. But, some experts are concerned they're not getting all of the facts. They say almost one- quarter of those implants will need to be followed up with another operation within five years.
So what's driving so many American women to have breast enlargement surgery? And is it worth the risk? And are men really the blame? Sex, love and health experts, the Berman sisters, join us live when we return.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. As we told you just before the break, experts say women who choose to get breast implants may not be getting all of the facts. Joining us now from Los Angeles and Chicago to talk about the issue, the psychologist Laura Berman and her sister, Dr. Jennifer Berman. They're the hosts of the Discovery Health Channel's "Berman & Berman: For Women Only," although a lot of men watch it as well. Thanks for joining us.
Jennifer, let me begin with you. How dangerous -- how risky is this? Are women getting all the facts they need before they go have this kind of surgery?
DR. JENNIFER BERMAN, HOST, "BERMAN & BERMAN: FOR WOMEN ONLY": Well, about 22 to 25 percent of women will develop what's called a contracture. This is not a life-threatening thing, but it can require a reduce surgery.
So the question is, are they getting enough information and are they getting the information from their doctors. And you know, at least in our experience out here in Los Angeles, that women are informed of the potential risks and are still choosing to proceed with the surgery. Again, it's not life threatening.
The issue with lupus and all those inflammatory disorders that we were initially concerned about has proven not to be true. Neither the saline implants nor the silicone implants have not been definitively linked to those connective tissue disorders.
BLITZER: But there are some risks, Laura, yet women in increasing numbers are doing this kind of surgery, why?
LAURA BERMAN, HOST, "BERMAN & BERMAN: FOR WOMEN ONLY": Well, it's very concerning to me. I think there's lots of reasons why, but the scary thing is that many forms of plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery are becoming as common as getting a facial or getting your nails done. I think we've set the bar way higher, that women are trying to reach unrealistic standards of beauty that we see in the media and around us. And women are growing up, especially younger women are growing up dieting by the time they enter high school and wanting to alter their appearances in their early teens.
BLITZER: Jennifer, we've heard some horror stories. Women who have had this kind of breast enlargement surgery that disfigured their bodies in bad ways. What do women need to know before they say, "Yes, go ahead and do it?"
J. BERMAN: Women need to be informed of the potential risks. And the risks are contracture, which is basically a scar capsule where breasts would form almost like a hard wood-like feeling -- hematoma or blood clots, infection, loss of sensation in the nipple. And about 30 percent of women might have difficulty breastfeeding. Those are the most important and most consequential risks
The other thing that's really important is to include the partner in discussing the procedure and the operation because a lot of times women will go home and their partner will be unhappy and then, the woman is unhappy. So it really needs to be a collaborative effort between the woman and her doctor. And she needs to be informed.
I just want to comment on what Laura said. You know I'm all for women feeling better about themselves, feeling better about their bodies and feeling in proportion. Sometimes women really feel devastatingly insecure and devastatingly uncomfortable with the size of their breasts.
BLITZER: All right, what about that, Laura?
L. BERMAN: Well, Jennifer and I have different views on this. I call it the plastic surgery evangelists. We often argue about this. I think that yes, many women are, you know, severely disproportionate or severely malfigured or -- certainly in cases of breast cancer or other situations where, you know, implants are certainly indicated. I do think that for younger, healthy women to try to have these major surgeries, to kind of reach these unrealistic ideals and somehow improve their self-esteem through altering their physical appearance, it's not good idea. And too few plastic surgeons bring in therapists to evaluate the psychological motivations that women have to get these surgeries. How happy they're going to be afterwards is greatly impacted by the motivations going into the surgery. So it's really much more complicated.
And the one risk that Jennifer forgot to mention is that the ability to screen one self through self-exam for breast cancer is also impeded by breast implants as well. And I think women are given a -- women are giving a form to fill out and to sign. They just think it's a legal banter, and they don't necessarily understand or read or clearly have defined for them what the risks are and that they'll probably need another surgery.
BLITZER: And good advice from both of Berman sisters as usual for our viewers out there. Thanks for joining us. A subject, I think we're going to be discussing a lot about in the next weeks and months to come. Appreciate it -- your joining us as well.
J. BERMAN: Sure.
L. BERMAN: Thank you.
J. BERMAN: Thank you.
BLITZER: Thank you. And a man who may hold the secret to the mystery surrounding a missing NBA player, is not talking. The older brother of the former basketball star, Buyson Dele is in a comma, near death. CNN's Brian Cabell tracks this very bizarre case.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN CABELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The mystery probably could be solved by Miles Dabord, but he remains comatose after being brought unconscious and unidentified to a Southern California hospital more than a week ago.
JEFF THURMAN, FBI SPECIAL AGENT: When he arrived at the hospital, there was no signs of physical injury or trauma. So the coma being induced by a beating or some type of blow to the head would be -- appeared to be ruled out right now.
CABELL: What officials do know is that Dabord's brother, 33- year-old Buyson Dele, a former NBA basketball player, disappeared earlier this summer while on board his 55-foot catamaran bound from New Zealand to Hawaii. With him, apparently, were his girlfriend, Serina Carlan (ph), the boat's captain, Burtran Saldo (ph) and his brother. Somewhere of the coast of Tahiti, apparently, Dele and his girlfriend stopped contacting friends and family back in the states. That, family members say, was unusual.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The boat was subsequently found in Tahiti with a new coat of paint and a new name.
CABELL: Mysterious enough, but then Dabord was arrested in Phoenix when he tried to buy $1,052 worth of gold while impersonating his brother. He was released. Next, he was found unconscious near the California/Mexico border in a hospital.
THURMAN: We would like to be able to interview him, to find out what he can tell us about, you know, the condition of his brother and where his brother and the other two people from that boat are. And right now, we can't ask those questions.
CABELL: Investigators in Tahiti told reporters they suspect that Dabord killed his brother and the other two people, but the investigators offered no conclusive evidence. FBI agents have also been investigating.
So the mystery remains, a free-spirited, adventurous former basketball player, his girlfriend and their French captain have all disappeared. The South Seas, paradise to some, may have been the scene, investigators say, of a bizarre case of foul play.
Brian Cabell, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Let's go to New York now and get a preview of "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE." That of course, begins right at the top of the hour -- Lou.
LOU DOBBS, HOST, "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE": Wolf, thank you. The president on the campaign trail today. President Bush used the fund- raiser to press Congress and the United Nations to act and act strongly against Saddam Hussein. We'll have reports for you from the White House and the United Nations.
Federal health officials have outlined clients to protect Americans against a biological weapons attack. We'll tell you about the guidelines to vaccinate the entire nation against an outbreak of smallpox.
And the government has already pumped $5 billion into the struggling airline industry. Now, the major air carriers say they need more money, another bailout. We'll have a special report. All of that and a great deal more ahead on "MONEYLINE" at the top of the hour. Please join us. Now, back to Wolf Blitzer -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Thank you very much, Lou. Time is running out for you to weigh in on our "Web Question of The Day." Do you think Madelyne Toogood should get a second chance? Log on to CNN.com/Wolf. That's where you can vote. We'll have the results when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Now, here's how you're weighing in on our "Web Question of The Day." Do you think Madelyne Toogood should get a second chance? Look at this, 44 percent of you say, "yes," 56 percent of you say, "no." Remember, this is not, repeat, not a scientific poll.
That's all the time we have today. Please join me again tomorrow and every weekday at 5:00 p.m. Eastern. Until then, thanks very much for watching. 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
Military Action in Iraq; Toogood Pleads Not Guilty>
Aired September 23, 2002 - 17:00 ET
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, eye on the storm. Isidore pauses to catch its breath as the U.S. Gulf Coast prepares for its full fury.
Showdown Iraq:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If the United Nations will not deal with Saddam Hussein, the United States and our friends will.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: But not without Congress' say. Today, your chance to reach them before they make their decision.
Locked up and starved for months, horrific allegations in a Florida child abuse case.
Caught on tape, a mother makes her plea in court and to the public.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MADELYNE GORMAN TOOGOOD: You know for the next person it's, you know, before you raise your hand to your child just think, just walk away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: One more reason why aspirin may be good for you.
BLITZER: It's Monday, September 23. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. We've just received an update from the National Hurricane Center about a deadly storm that may threaten the U.S. mainland. Forecasters fear what's now Tropical Storm Isidore will reemerge as a major hurricane and strike along the U.S. Gulf Coast this week. This is a satellite picture of Isidore, and this is what it did to Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. A major hurricane, by the way, has wind speeds greater than 111 miles an hour.
We have two reports today, one from the possible path of the storm, another from its wake. We begin with CNN's Harris Whitbeck. He's covering the damage in Mexico. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN MEXICO CITY BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): When the sun came up Monday morning, residents of Medea (ph), capital of the Mexican state of Yucatan saw the destruction left by Hurricane Isidore. The streets of the city were strewn with fallen trees and the debris from buildings damaged during the storm. Isidore packed winds of nearly 200 kilometers or 120 miles per hour, downing power and telephone lines and leaving about 800,000 residents with no electricity or ways to communicate with the outside world.
The strength of the storm caused the evacuation of more than 8,000 workers from several oil drilling platforms located in the Gulf of Mexico off the Yucatan and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Coasts and dozens of communities located along the Yucatan Coast were also evacuated when huge waves threatened to completely engulf them. Local authorities set up temporary shelters in schools. Some 70,000 people were forced to abandon their homes and go into the shelters.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Last night we started to be evacuated because the sea water started to rise. They said to leave the area because there could be more water coming.
WHITBECK: At least for Mexico's southeastern coast, the worst seems to be over.
WHITBECK (on camera): But forecasters say Isidore could gather strength as it moves away from the Mexican mainland and heads over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Now it has in its sights the U.S. coasts of Texas and Louisiana. Harris Whitbeck CNN, Mexico City.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: And, indeed, Texas just might be Isidore's next target. Some coastal areas are already feeling the effects of the storm. Jeff Eeling of our affiliate KTRK reports from Galveston.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF EELING, KTRK CORRESPONDENT (voice over): If Isidore is fun for surfers...
MAYOR ROGER QUIROGA, GALVESTON, TEXAS: Wednesday night we could start seeing tides as much as six or seven foot total tide.
EELING: It is no fun for the City of Galveston's department heads.
QUIROGA: It's just wait and see.
EELING: If the storm comes this way, it could be here by the end of the week so city leaders are preparing now. This closed door meeting will set the timetable for the city's disaster plan.
QUIROGA: We're going to monitor the situation very closely. The National Weather Service is very confident about the direction that Isidore will take in the next 24 hours or so. They're more confident in that than they are about the wind speeds.
EELING: Tracy Deltz doesn't have to worry about the entire island, only his gulf front restaurant.
TRACY DELTZ, RESTAURANT OWNER: We can push it into 12 hours or less if we have to.
EELING: But Deltz won't even begin the process of securing his piece of the island until the storm is closer to his front door.
DELTZ: Oh, we talked about it last night and we'll started making some real decisions probably Wednesday afternoon and then physical things probably Thursday if it's still tracking in this direction.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: That report from Jeff Eeling of our affiliate KTRK in Galveston, Texas. Joining us now from Miami, Florida for more on what we can expect from Isidore, Max Mayfield of the National Hurricane Center. Mr. Mayfield thanks, as usual, for joining us. Well, what is the latest? Is this storm or hurricane going to strike the United States and where?
MAX MAYFIELD, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: Well, we think it will eventually do that, Wolf. This is really bad news for Mexico here the last couple of days but it's almost good news for the United States because it's really remained over the Yucatan Peninsula for so long that the intensity has come way, way down and the maximum sustained winds are now down to 50 miles per hour. I think it will likely continue to weaken today.
What we think will happen, in fact if you look at the satellite loop behind me, you can see the center really just meandering over the Yucatan. We just put out the 5:00 p.m. forecast and we think it will slowly emerge off the northwestern tip of the Yucatan, by Tuesday afternoon be located somewhere in this vicinity, Wednesday afternoon here, and then it really depends on how the currents set up.
But we're really targeting the upper Texas coast, Louisiana coast, although some impacts will be felt even well to the east. We do think once it's over that warm Gulf of Mexico water that it will slowly re-intensify again and will very likely regain that hurricane status. It's really important for coastal residents to understand that the biggest impact especially from the storm surge will be near and to the east of where the center crosses the coast.
BLITZER: Well, when do you expect it to hit and specifically when will you have to make the evacuation notifications?
MAYFIELD: Well, this is our three-day forecast right here, so by Thursday afternoon, we've got it very near the Louisiana coast. This could change a little bit to the left and to the right of that but that's really the area that we're targeting right now based on the computer projections that we're looking at. We're flying the NOAA jet aircraft every night in the environment around Isidore to help sample the stirring current and then we feed that information into the computer model.
So we'll do the best we can here to make a good forecast, but right now we want to really make sure that people all along the Gulf Coast from the upper Texas coast all the way to the Florida panhandle really pay close attention to this.
BLITZER: Max Mayfield, we'll be talking a lot to you in the next few days. Good luck to you. Good luck to all of our viewers down there as well. Thank you very much.
MAYFIELD: OK, thank you Wolf.
BLITZER: Let's move on now to a shocking story in Florida, one of alleged child abuse. A woman and her boyfriend are accused of starving the woman's 7-year-old daughter. Police say the child was locked in a room for four months and had so little food she looked like a walking skeleton. Let's get more from our Mark Potter. He's covering this story. He joins us now live in Miami. Mark, another horrific story.
MARK POTTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Wolf. This is one of these terrible cases that we hear about every so often. In Tampa, police say that a 7-year-old girl was locked in a room for months and nearly starved to death. Her mother and her mother's boyfriend have now been arrested.
Police say the girl was held in this 8 x 10 room with no furniture but this mattress here. She was provided minimal clothing and little or no food. When found she weighed only 25 pounds. Police say that she also suffered other physical abuse. Pictures of the girl showed bruises, a bone sticking out, and hair falling out because of malnutrition.
Authorities say that the boyfriend told detectives, "I hate that kid" and accuse him of biting her on the back and shoving beads in her ear that had to be medically removed. Police were shocked.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DET. JOHN YARATCH, TAMPA POLICE: This ranks right up there with the top of them. When you're taking a child and locking them into a room with nothing in it except maybe a mattress. The child said that she had no bedding. There was no bedding found in the room. There was no curtains on the room, no clothing in the room, nothing at all for this child to have, play with, no toys. The room was foul with the odor of urine and feces because the child was only allowed to use the closet as a restroom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
POTTER: The girl's mother Connie Warrington, age 23, and her boyfriend 36-year-old David LaPointe were arrested Friday and are charged with several counts of aggravated child abuse. They are still being held without bond. Police say the case came to light when the mother called the biological father and asked him to come pick up the girl. He returned her to New York and then called the police. A detective interviewed the girl last week and said that now that she is in the custody of her father, she is doing much better. She is improving physically and has gained weight. Meanwhile, the arrested couple had two other children, ages 1 and 3, and while they appear to have been well fed and cared for, they have now been turned over to the state -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, another shocking story. Mark Potter covering the story for us, thank you very much. She was captured on tape repeatedly striking her 4-year-old child. Now charged with felony battery, Madelyne Gorman Toogood says being caught may be a blessing in disguise. That admission came during an exclusive interview our CNN national correspondent Gary Tuchman had. He's joining us now live from South Bend, Indiana. What happened today in this shocking case, Gary?
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, Madelyne Toogood is hoping for a plea bargain. That was made very clear today following her arraignment here in South Bend, Indiana on Child Battery charges. She entered the courtroom today surrounded by people important in her life, her husband, her mother, her sisters, other family members, but not her 4-year-old daughter Martha who has been ordered to stay with a foster family for right now.
The court hearing lasted only two minutes. The judge entered a not guilty plea on her behalf, also on the behalf of Margaret Daly, her sister. Her sister was the other adult in that video. She was charged with not reporting child abuse. Now, Madelyne Toogood's attorney says they are hoping for a plea bargain. She has shown she's contrite, the attorney says, and that she's sorry for what she did. We asked the prosecutor about possibly accepting a plea bargain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS TOTH, PROSECUTOR: At this point, it's a pending case and I certainly have ethical obligations to not discuss what may happen with it but I can say with no problem we're going to vigorously and aggressively prosecute this case.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: And Chris Toth does say jail time is a major consideration. This penalty could be up to three years in this case. Now as you said, Wolf, we did talk to Madelyne Toogood last night. She said she's very ashamed and terrified, and we asked her if she's ever done anything like this previously.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOOGOOD: I've spanked them before. No, I've never battered them before or abused them before.
TUCHMAN: Would you call a battering and abusing yourself?
TOOGOOD: It looked like it, yes. TUCHMAN: But the fact that you're saying that, this is the first time you battered or abused a child and it was caught on videotape, do you consider yourself unlucky that you were caught?
TOOGOOD: Of course I do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: Well, she has not seen her daughter Martha since she surrendered on Saturday but tomorrow she'll get the chance under the terms of the foster care. She gets a daily visitation with supervision and that will come tomorrow, Wolf back to you.
BLITZER: Gary, when I saw your exclusive interview with her last night you asked her, I believe, what would you say to your little girl if you could right now. She said a bunch of things. I didn't hear her say, tell her I love her. Did you hear her say that?
TUCHMAN: She never said the words, Wolf, tell her I love her to us but what she will say, what her attorney will say is she's not really good on camera, that she's nervous. She does say she's very sorry and she can't believe what she did.
BLITZER: All right, Gary Tuchman who's been doing an excellent job covering this horrible story for us as well. Thank you very much Gary. Well, here's your chance to weigh in on this story. Our web question of the day is this: Do you think Madelyne Toogood should get a second chance?
We'll have the results later in this program. You can vote at cnn.com/wolf. While you're there, send me your comments. I'll try to read some of the 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.
This programming note, Madelyne Toogood, her lawyer, and the prosecutor will be guests on "LARRY KING LIVE" tonight. That's at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, 6:00 p.m. on the West Coast.
Is the nation ready for a smallpox attack? Health officials are taking serious precautions. The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention joins us live for an inside look at the plan that could save thousands of lives, including yours. Plus, viewers sound off. We'll ask two congressmen the tough questions on Iraq that you want the answers to. Send us your e-mail questions right now, cnn.com/wolf. That's coming up at the half hour.
Plus, a record number of women getting breast implants. What's behind the beauty and security? Health experts the Berman sisters will join us live. But first, today's news quiz. Which American president suffered from smallpox, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, all of the above? The answer coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Earlier we asked which American president suffered from smallpox, the answer all of the above. Abraham Lincoln came down with it after delivering the Gettysburg Address. Andrew Jackson almost died from it as a teen. George Washington developed a severe case while on the island of Barbados. It left him scarred for life.
Welcome back. Smallpox was eradicated worldwide more than two decades ago and vaccinations were halted in this country three decades ago, but there are fears that terrorists could use the deadly virus as a weapon. To meet that threat, the federal government today issued guidelines for mass vaccinations in the event of an outbreak.
Joining us now is Dr. Julie Gerberding. She's the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Gerberding thanks for joining us. Well tell us about these guidelines. If, God forbid, there's a smallpox terror attack against the United States, how long will it take to get everyone in this country vaccinated?
DR. JULIE GERBERDING, DIR., CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: Well, what the CDC and HHS did today was to release an update of a plan that's actually been in the works for a couple of years, and what this new addition does is really help state and local governments figure out exactly what would they do if they needed to scale up and go out and immunize say a million people over a ten-day period of time.
BLITZER: In a specific location?
GERBERDING: In a very specific location. So it gives them kind of the recipe for what they need to do at the local level to get the right people in the right place to get the job done.
BLITZER: How long will it take to get all the vaccines, all the people ready to go in case there's an attack?
GERBERDING: Well, we know that we can get the vaccine to people within 12 hours in a particular jurisdiction but getting into the arms of the exposed people could take some time. Our goal is to be able to do that within two to four days for the people who are actually exposed and within five...
BLITZER: In a geographic...
GERBERDING: In a geographic area but within five to ten days if we needed to scale up and protect a whole community.
BLITZER: Do you have enough vaccine right now?
GERBERDING: Right now for emergency use we do have enough doses to protect all Americans.
BLITZER: How realistic in your expert opinion is this threat? All of us who are old enough remember getting these smallpox vaccines in school when we were little kids but how worried should our viewers be right now?
GERBERDING: Well, I hope we never have to use this plan but we do want to be prepared and I think we do live in a new era and the possibility of a terrorist attack is something we have to take seriously.
BLITZER: Why not just give everyone in the country a vaccine right now? I had one when I was a little kid and millions of other people did. What's wrong with that?
GERBERDING: Well, this of course is a policy decision that's weighing very heavily on our minds right now. We know this isn't the safest vaccine that we have and some people will develop very serious complications from it and a few people could even die.
BLITZER: How many -- if 200 million let's say, or 250 million Americans received the vaccine, how many will have very severe complications and how many presumably might die?
GERBERDING: Well, we expect maybe five to ten very serious complications per million people vaccinated, but it depends in part on how good we are at screening out the people at high risk. In an emergency, the overriding goal is to get vaccine to the exposed people, so we will have some complications.
BLITZER: And, in general, who are the people at highest risk?
GERBERDING: The people who are immuno-suppressed, little children and people with underlying diseases are the ones that are most likely to have the serious complications. But, the people who were immunized in their youth probably have a lower risk, so they may have fewer complications over all.
BLITZER: And the plan will be ready to be implemented fully when?
GERBERDING: Well, the goal is to take the steps and now that the states have the plans, they can begin the process of finding the people and getting organized at the local level, but ultimately we'll also need to practice this plan.
BLITZER: All right, that will be the next step. Dr. Gerberding, let's hope we never have to use it. Thanks, though, for taking this precaution.
GERBERDING: Well, thank you.
BLITZER: Thank you very much. Good luck to you. And a story that couldn't be more bizarre if it were written in Hollywood, a former pro basketball player is missing in the Pacific and the clues may lie with his comatose brother. And, could something as simple as an aspirin a day keep Alzheimer's at bay; surprising new information that could make the difference for you or a loved one just ahead; but first a look at news making headlines around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): The motive behind a grenade explosion near the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia remains unclear. Authorities say there's no indication U.S. interests were the target. French troops have been sent to Ivory Coast administrative capital to help westerners trapped by a military uprising. Among those trapped are more than 100 children at a Christian school from the United States and other countries. Rebel forces still hold the city after a failed coup last week.
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is celebrating a razor thin victory in his country's legislative elections. After yesterday's balloting, Schroeder's ruling coalition will control about half the seats in the lower House of Parliament. Today Schroeder announced his justice minister, who allegedly compared President Bush's political strategy concerning Iraq to that of Adolph Hitler, will resign.
Amateur video shows last month's crash of a Russian helicopter, which killed 119 Russian military personnel. The video shows the engines on fire just moments before the helicopter crashed near Russia's main military base in Grozny.
Communist North Korea today took another small step forward in its experiment with a market economy. It's setting up a special zone along the border with China that will be totally capitalist.
A woman in Thailand is hoping to break the world record for living with scorpions. She's begun a 32-day stint locked inside a room full of 3,000 of them. And in Britain, a bit of eccentricity, dozens of dogs and their human partners descended on the island of Jersey for a doggie dance. It featured choreographed musical routines by the dogs and their handlers, and that's our look around the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. Let's turn to the situation in the Middle East, an update on a story we broke right here on Friday, the blockage and destruction of much of Yasser Arafat's compound on the West Bank. CNN's Ben Wedeman is in Ramallah with the latest.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, it does appear that the two sides have reached something of a deadlock. Today, senior Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erakat met with Israeli officials. The Israelis told him that they want a list of all the people who are inside the building with the Palestinian leader.
Now according to people inside the compound, that is more than 200 people. Now they, the Israelis say that they will take that list and pick and choose who they believe is on their list of terrorist suspects. Now, the Palestinian Negotiator, Mr. Erakat, said that that simply is not acceptable, that the Palestinians have no intention of handing over a list or handing over anybody to the Israelis.
Now, in the meantime for its part the Israeli army seems to be digging in around the compound. They have halted all demolition activity within the compound itself, but today we were driving around it and we did see that they are apparently digging in. They've set up new sniper positions in buildings overlooking the compound and they are also bulldozing fields nearby for what appears to be an extended stay in the compound.
Now, pressure does seem to be mounting on the Israelis to compromise here. Even the United States normally very supportive of Israel, describing the siege as unhelpful. Now, interesting enough it appears many Israelis also share that opinion. Commentators in Israeli newspapers saying that the Sharon government has, in fact, saved Mr. Arafat from his own people, this at a time when pressure was mounting on the Palestinian leader to share power with others within the authority, back to you Wolf.
BLITZER: Ben Wedeman, he's on the scene for us in Ramallah, thanks very much. We'll continue to follow that story as well, very volatile story. The White House meanwhile has been beating the war drums against Iraq and you, the viewer, have been sounding off. When we return, two Congressmen in the hot seat, they'll answer the tough questions you've wanted us to ask. E-mail us now at wolf@cnn.com.
Plus, what's the big deal about aspirin and ibuprofen? They just, just may keep you from losing your mind; and beauty versus safety, why more and more women are going under the knife for bigger breasts. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. Exiled opponents of the Iraqi President Saddam Hussein say his forces have been setting up a defensive trench outside of Baghdad. Meantime, as Congress debates the possible use of force against Iraq, the Bush administration continues its relentless push for action.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BUSH: For 11 years, he has deceived and denied. For 11 years, he's claimed he has no weapons, and yet we know he has.
BLITZER (voice-over): President Bush is keeping the heat on Saddam Hussein. He's also keeping the heat on the United Nations Security Council.
BUSH: I want to see strong resolutions coming out that U.N., a resolution, which says the old ways of deceit are gone, a resolution, which will hold this man to account.
BLITZER: U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan is warning against any unilateral U.S. strike, but also says the Iraqis cannot be allowed to block inspectors searching for weapons of mass destruction.
KOFFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL: It has to be clear that it is -- they are going back without conditions and they will cooperate with them to do their work.
BLITZER: The Iraqis say they won't accept any new U.N. resolution, which would go beyond earlier arrangements worked out with Kofi Annan in 1998, just before the inspectors left Iraq. Among those, that Iraq would receive advance notice of any inspection of Saddam Hussein's presidential palaces. But U.S. officials say that would fresh inspections worthless since the Iraqis would have plenty of time to remove sensitive weapons or equipment.
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The question for the international community is whether the Security Council resolutions will be enforced or disregarded without consequence, whether the United Nations will be effective or irrelevant.
BLITZER: On Capitol Hill, the Senate Armed Services Committee heard testimony from four retired generals.
GEN. JOHN SHALIKASHVILI (RET), FORMER JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: We must be very, very careful about going to war and to do so only when all other attempts to resolve the threat to us have failed.
GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET), FORMER NATO SUPREME COMMANDER: There's a possibility he will attempt to use weapons of mass destruction. I think there's a possibility he would attempt to use them before we would launch our attack when we stage our forces.
BLITZER: There are dissenting voices. The Catholic archbishop of Washington, D.C. says he's not ready to support a U.S. war against Iraq, at least not yet.
CARDINAL THEODORE MCCARRICK, WASHINGTON: When you look at Iraq, I guess if the president really has that kind of information, that we are in real approximate danger from Iraq, from some of the biological or whatever kind of weapons they might have, then you could make a case. But I'm not sure -- I don't think the bishops feel that case has been made yet and that's why we were saying to please go slowly, please try to seem exactly what the situation is before we do something, which we would have to say would not be moral.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: While congressional Democrats consider the president's call for a speedy vote endorsing his Iraq policy, the party's last presidential nominee spoke out on the issue today. In a speech in San Francisco, Al Gore argued strongly against what he called precipitous a on Iraq and he said Mr. Bush is asking for too much too soon by shifting the focus on the war on terrorism to Saddam Hussein.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES: I believe that we are perfectly capable of staying the course in our war against Osama bin Laden and his terrorist network while simultaneously taking those steps necessary to build an international coalition to join us in taking on Saddam Hussein in a timely fashion. If you're going after Jesse James, you ought to organize the posse first.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: As e-mail and letters continue to pour in, you've been letting us know your thoughts on the subject of Iraq. Now, it's time for a couple of key members of the U.S. to know how you feel. Joining me here in Washington is California Republican David Dreier -- he's the chairman of the House Rules Committee -- and from Seattle, Democratic Congressman Jim McDermott.
Congressmen, thanks for joining us. I want to go right to our e- mailers. Our viewers are very upset. They have a lot of questions. Let me throw this question out to both of you.
Ann from Tamarac, Florida -- "The people of the United States are being deluged with experts stating why we should enter Iraq with military force. To date, I have yet to hear what would happen if Saddam Hussein were to be captured."
David Dreier, what do you say?
REP. DAVID DREIER (R), CALIFORNIA: Well, let me just say that along with that e-mail, I just came back from spring this weekend. I was at the L.A. County Fair where I milked a cow and I was looking at our fires that are real problems out there, I rode in the Route 66 Parade and I find overwhelming support for the president on this in Southern California. I do believe that none of us is enthusiastic about the prospect of going to war but the case that has been made and is getting across the country to the American people is one...
BLITZER: Well, what about...
DREIER: ... which is resonating. And as far as exactly what will take place, I know that the National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and others in the administration in response to this have indicated that a lot of effort is being put into the prospect of a post-Saddam Hussein government and obviously, our goal would be to move towards Democratization where the people of Iraq would have an opportunity to choose their leader, Wolf.
BLITZER: Congressman McDermott, we got a question for you from Rose Marie in San Bernardino, California. "Saddam Hussein has enough time to build underground storage to hide all his weapons of mass destruction. Don't you think it's kind of late to look for them now?"
REP. JIM MCDERMOTT (D), WASHINGTON: Absolutely not. This is not a situation where we have to hurry. There's no threat to the United States. The administration is trying very desperately to scare people into thinking we have to go immediately and the Congress has to decide. Let the U.N. work its way with inspections and then we'll decide on whether or not we have to go further.
DREIER: Wolf, we know right now that Secretary of State Colin Powell is working very closely with the United Nations Security Council to try and bumped up support. And if there is going to be a resolution, it has to have a very strict timeframe to it. And I think that we're in a position right now where we've waited 11 years. And what we've seen over the past 4 years since the inspectors left is the development of nuclear capability, which was pointed out on your show on Sunday, a hundred facilities under schools and hospitals where nuclear capability could be enhanced.
BLITZER: What about that, Congressman McDermott?
MCDERMOTT: They can always scare people with those kinds of stories. Show me the proof. If he says you can come in and look wherever you want -- this bunch of people, the Bush administration both first and second Georges have been wanting to go to war with him for 10 years to get control of the oil fields.
DREIER: That's just not true.
MCDERMOTT: And they are back -- they are back at it now and they simply don't want anybody to say you ought to wait and think about it. There is not proof...
BLITZER: All right.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: David Dreier, hold on. David Dreier, hold on. We've got another question from Victor in Orlando. "Iraq does not ICBM's or even a Navy. How would they accomplish an attack on America or other countries in the region?"
DREIER: Wolf, in this report, you have talked about smallpox vaccinations. I was talking to a doctor friend of mine out in L.A. the other day. He pointed to the fact that one of the greatest accomplishments of the 20th century was the elimination of the threat of smallpox. And we, right now, in the 21st century have the potential of that being used in terrorist capability against us. And I will tell you the VX capability, which has developed, mass production of one of the deadliest chemical weapons around. That poses a very serious threat.
BLITZER: All right...
DREIER: Now, he said push the nuclear mujahedeen and Iraq should push our enemy back across the Atlantic.
BLITZER: Let's let Congressman McDermott respond. Go ahead, Congressman.
MCDERMOTT: I didn't catch your question.
BLITZER: The question about the VX and the poison gas, that Saddam Hussein has proven in the past he's used these kinds of deadly weapons. Why not take him out now?
MCDERMOTT: He's very smart. He used them with the United States knowledge and complicity against the Iranians. We provided him with the basic chemicals when he was fighting Iran for us, as a proxy and he used them against the Kurds. But he did not use them in the Iraq War when he had the opportunity when we were on the ground. This man is smart and he is not going aggressively against anybody outside the country.
BLITZER: All right. We got another question for you, David Dreier. Robert from Shreveport asks this question -- "The rest of the world sees us as two-faced. Let's back the U.N. on Palestine/Israel resolutions as well as those on Iraq." Is there a double standard there? DREIER: There is not a double standard here. If you, in fact, look at the fact that Iraq -- with the Sullivan Pact Terrorist Training Camp has in fact trained terrorists who have been used against the Palestinians. I think that we will be able to do a great deal for the stability in the region, the overall region, if we were to bring an end to Saddam Hussein's dictatory rule and threat.
BLITZER: All right, Congressman McDermott, go ahead.
MCDERMOTT: Well, it's -- there's no evidence whatsoever that taking out Saddam Hussein is going to fix the problems of Palestine. And in my view, we have had a double standard on many issues. We go with the United Nations when it suits our purpose. When it doesn't suit our purpose, we go without them. We use NATO. We are a very...
DREIER: Our national security is our number one priority, Jim, and we should not have our national security standards established by anybody other than the leadership of the United States of America.
MCDERMOTT: We are part of the world and we joined the United Nations. And we signed the charter and we said we wouldn't act unilaterally. And we cannot if we're going keep our part in the world.
BLITZER: Unfortunately, gentlemen, we have to leave it right there. David Dreier, Jim McDermott, we'll continue this debate. It's only getting started.
MCDERMOTT: Thanks, Wolf.
BLITZER: Thanks to both of you, appreciate it. Thank you very much.
The key to preventing Alzheimer's may be as close as your bathroom cabinet. When we return Elizabeth Cohen on the power of a simple home remedy. Plus, is bigger really better? A record number of American women say "yes." Health news you can use when we return, but first, our weekend snapshot.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. A new medical study appears to boost aspirin's growing reputation as a wonder drug. The study presents evidence that aspirin and other anti-inflammatory drugs may delay or prevent Alzheimer's disease. Let's find out more from CNN medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen. She's joining us live.
This is amazing, Elizabeth!
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, it's not quite as amazing as it sounds. It is more intriguing. That's the word that doctors would say. This is one of several studies that shows this particular effect with aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, which in the biz, they call those NSAIDs, that show this particular effect with reducing the risk of Alzheimer's. Let's take a look at this particular study. It was done on 3,227 elderly people. Those who took aspirin and these NSAIDs were 45 percent less likely to get Alzheimer's disease. In order to get the effect, they had to take NSAIDs at least four times a week for at least two years, so that was a long time. They didn't just start taking it towards the end of their life or whatever. They took it for several years.
Now, what are NSAIDs? Well, aspirin is NSAID and so is ibuprofen, otherwise known as Advil or Motrin and there are some other brands and naproxen, which is otherwise known as Aleve. There are other NSAIDs too, but in these studies, those were the NSAIDs that they were looking at.
Now, when you hear this 45 percent lower risk, you think wow, should I go out and get a bottle of this and start taking it every day. The author of the study says "No, no, no, please don't do that." These drugs can have serious side effects. You don't want to start taking them because although these studies have shown this effect, they haven't done what's called a large-scale clinical trial. They need to recruit thousands of people, give half of them an NSAID and half of them a placebo. That's not what these studies have done so far. They're trying to do those studies. They're in the process of recruiting people. And until they do, you shouldn't go around taking these drugs. As a matter of fact, all you have to do is think about hormone replacement therapy. A lot of early studies said women should take it to reduce their risk of getting heart disease. And then, when they did more studies, they found that that wasn't true at all -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Here's the why question. Why would these pain relievers possibly affect Alzheimer's?
COHEN: You know, Wolf, nobody knows, but there are couple of prevailing theories. One of them is that there's an inflammatory process that goes on with Alzheimer's disease. So obviously, an anti- inflammatory would be a good thing in that case. The other theory is that there's something called an amyloid proteins that sort of mess the brain up in Alzheimer's disease. And there's a theory that these NSAIDs reduce the production of amyloid proteins, hence, making Alzheimer's less of a threat.
BLITZER: Elizabeth Cohen, thanks very much for that report.
COHEN: Thanks.
BLITZER: Always good to get the latest medical news. Also on the "Health Beat," a first in the nation family leave measure. The California Governor Gray Davis today signed a bill making his state the first in the United States to adopt a comprehensive family leave program. The bill allows workers to take six weeks off to care for a newborn, newly adopted child, or ill family member. More than half of the worker's wages would be paid during the time off. Federal law already provides workers with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave.
A medical expert says an epilepsy drug may help people who suffer from migraine headaches. The director of the Jefferson Headache Center in Philadelphia says the drug, topiramate (ph), may help patients who do not respond to more traditional migraine drugs. It apparently prevents nerves on the brain from becoming overexcited. Twenty-eight million Americans are believed to suffer from migraines.
And more and more American women are getting breast implants. A record number, almost a quarter of a million women got implants last year. And a 10 percent increase is expected this year. After the FDA limited the use of silicone gel implants over health concerns, women have now turned to saltwater-filled implants. But, some experts are concerned they're not getting all of the facts. They say almost one- quarter of those implants will need to be followed up with another operation within five years.
So what's driving so many American women to have breast enlargement surgery? And is it worth the risk? And are men really the blame? Sex, love and health experts, the Berman sisters, join us live when we return.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. As we told you just before the break, experts say women who choose to get breast implants may not be getting all of the facts. Joining us now from Los Angeles and Chicago to talk about the issue, the psychologist Laura Berman and her sister, Dr. Jennifer Berman. They're the hosts of the Discovery Health Channel's "Berman & Berman: For Women Only," although a lot of men watch it as well. Thanks for joining us.
Jennifer, let me begin with you. How dangerous -- how risky is this? Are women getting all the facts they need before they go have this kind of surgery?
DR. JENNIFER BERMAN, HOST, "BERMAN & BERMAN: FOR WOMEN ONLY": Well, about 22 to 25 percent of women will develop what's called a contracture. This is not a life-threatening thing, but it can require a reduce surgery.
So the question is, are they getting enough information and are they getting the information from their doctors. And you know, at least in our experience out here in Los Angeles, that women are informed of the potential risks and are still choosing to proceed with the surgery. Again, it's not life threatening.
The issue with lupus and all those inflammatory disorders that we were initially concerned about has proven not to be true. Neither the saline implants nor the silicone implants have not been definitively linked to those connective tissue disorders.
BLITZER: But there are some risks, Laura, yet women in increasing numbers are doing this kind of surgery, why?
LAURA BERMAN, HOST, "BERMAN & BERMAN: FOR WOMEN ONLY": Well, it's very concerning to me. I think there's lots of reasons why, but the scary thing is that many forms of plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery are becoming as common as getting a facial or getting your nails done. I think we've set the bar way higher, that women are trying to reach unrealistic standards of beauty that we see in the media and around us. And women are growing up, especially younger women are growing up dieting by the time they enter high school and wanting to alter their appearances in their early teens.
BLITZER: Jennifer, we've heard some horror stories. Women who have had this kind of breast enlargement surgery that disfigured their bodies in bad ways. What do women need to know before they say, "Yes, go ahead and do it?"
J. BERMAN: Women need to be informed of the potential risks. And the risks are contracture, which is basically a scar capsule where breasts would form almost like a hard wood-like feeling -- hematoma or blood clots, infection, loss of sensation in the nipple. And about 30 percent of women might have difficulty breastfeeding. Those are the most important and most consequential risks
The other thing that's really important is to include the partner in discussing the procedure and the operation because a lot of times women will go home and their partner will be unhappy and then, the woman is unhappy. So it really needs to be a collaborative effort between the woman and her doctor. And she needs to be informed.
I just want to comment on what Laura said. You know I'm all for women feeling better about themselves, feeling better about their bodies and feeling in proportion. Sometimes women really feel devastatingly insecure and devastatingly uncomfortable with the size of their breasts.
BLITZER: All right, what about that, Laura?
L. BERMAN: Well, Jennifer and I have different views on this. I call it the plastic surgery evangelists. We often argue about this. I think that yes, many women are, you know, severely disproportionate or severely malfigured or -- certainly in cases of breast cancer or other situations where, you know, implants are certainly indicated. I do think that for younger, healthy women to try to have these major surgeries, to kind of reach these unrealistic ideals and somehow improve their self-esteem through altering their physical appearance, it's not good idea. And too few plastic surgeons bring in therapists to evaluate the psychological motivations that women have to get these surgeries. How happy they're going to be afterwards is greatly impacted by the motivations going into the surgery. So it's really much more complicated.
And the one risk that Jennifer forgot to mention is that the ability to screen one self through self-exam for breast cancer is also impeded by breast implants as well. And I think women are given a -- women are giving a form to fill out and to sign. They just think it's a legal banter, and they don't necessarily understand or read or clearly have defined for them what the risks are and that they'll probably need another surgery.
BLITZER: And good advice from both of Berman sisters as usual for our viewers out there. Thanks for joining us. A subject, I think we're going to be discussing a lot about in the next weeks and months to come. Appreciate it -- your joining us as well.
J. BERMAN: Sure.
L. BERMAN: Thank you.
J. BERMAN: Thank you.
BLITZER: Thank you. And a man who may hold the secret to the mystery surrounding a missing NBA player, is not talking. The older brother of the former basketball star, Buyson Dele is in a comma, near death. CNN's Brian Cabell tracks this very bizarre case.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN CABELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The mystery probably could be solved by Miles Dabord, but he remains comatose after being brought unconscious and unidentified to a Southern California hospital more than a week ago.
JEFF THURMAN, FBI SPECIAL AGENT: When he arrived at the hospital, there was no signs of physical injury or trauma. So the coma being induced by a beating or some type of blow to the head would be -- appeared to be ruled out right now.
CABELL: What officials do know is that Dabord's brother, 33- year-old Buyson Dele, a former NBA basketball player, disappeared earlier this summer while on board his 55-foot catamaran bound from New Zealand to Hawaii. With him, apparently, were his girlfriend, Serina Carlan (ph), the boat's captain, Burtran Saldo (ph) and his brother. Somewhere of the coast of Tahiti, apparently, Dele and his girlfriend stopped contacting friends and family back in the states. That, family members say, was unusual.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The boat was subsequently found in Tahiti with a new coat of paint and a new name.
CABELL: Mysterious enough, but then Dabord was arrested in Phoenix when he tried to buy $1,052 worth of gold while impersonating his brother. He was released. Next, he was found unconscious near the California/Mexico border in a hospital.
THURMAN: We would like to be able to interview him, to find out what he can tell us about, you know, the condition of his brother and where his brother and the other two people from that boat are. And right now, we can't ask those questions.
CABELL: Investigators in Tahiti told reporters they suspect that Dabord killed his brother and the other two people, but the investigators offered no conclusive evidence. FBI agents have also been investigating.
So the mystery remains, a free-spirited, adventurous former basketball player, his girlfriend and their French captain have all disappeared. The South Seas, paradise to some, may have been the scene, investigators say, of a bizarre case of foul play.
Brian Cabell, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Let's go to New York now and get a preview of "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE." That of course, begins right at the top of the hour -- Lou.
LOU DOBBS, HOST, "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE": Wolf, thank you. The president on the campaign trail today. President Bush used the fund- raiser to press Congress and the United Nations to act and act strongly against Saddam Hussein. We'll have reports for you from the White House and the United Nations.
Federal health officials have outlined clients to protect Americans against a biological weapons attack. We'll tell you about the guidelines to vaccinate the entire nation against an outbreak of smallpox.
And the government has already pumped $5 billion into the struggling airline industry. Now, the major air carriers say they need more money, another bailout. We'll have a special report. All of that and a great deal more ahead on "MONEYLINE" at the top of the hour. Please join us. Now, back to Wolf Blitzer -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Thank you very much, Lou. Time is running out for you to weigh in on our "Web Question of The Day." Do you think Madelyne Toogood should get a second chance? Log on to CNN.com/Wolf. That's where you can vote. We'll have the results when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Now, here's how you're weighing in on our "Web Question of The Day." Do you think Madelyne Toogood should get a second chance? Look at this, 44 percent of you say, "yes," 56 percent of you say, "no." Remember, this is not, repeat, not a scientific poll.
That's all the time we have today. Please join me again tomorrow and every weekday at 5:00 p.m. Eastern. Until then, thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE" begins right now.
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Military Action in Iraq; Toogood Pleads Not Guilty>
