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CNN CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT
Deadly Blizzard Pounds Mid-Atlantic Region
Aired February 17, 2003 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CONNIE CHUNG, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening. I'm Connie Chung. Tonight, one of the heaviest East Coast snowfalls in history, turning America's big cities into silent ghost towns.
ANNOUNCER: Paralyzed. A deadly blizzard pounds the mid-Atlantic region. Thousands without power. Highways and airports shut down. When will it end?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIA MAGNESS, HARRIS COUNTY PROSECUTOR: Did she have a right to be angry? You bet. Righteous anger. She didn't have the right to kill.
ANNOUNCER: The prosecutor who sent Clara Harris to prison.
MAGNESS: It is time for you to call her what she is. And that is a murderer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: And a juror who says Clara Harris ran down her husband on purpose.
Tragedy at a Chicago nightclub. A rush for the exits left more than 20 people dead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: People were stomping on each other, just trampling on each other; man, it was just chaotic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: What went wrong?
Millions around the world protest a war with Iraq. But will they be heard in Washington? Tonight, one of America's premiere playwrights, Arthur Miller, takes a dramatic stand against war.
And our persons of the day, a day of their own.
This is CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT. Live, from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, Connie Chung.
CHUNG: Good evening. Tonight the blizzard of 2003 isn't over yet. And even where it's moved on, they'll be feeling the impact for days. The storm that steam rolled from the plains to the northeast corridor continues to paralyze parts of New York and New England. With drifts over 4 feet in some places, and accumulations over 2 feet, the storm is being blamed for at least 21 deaths, many of them traffic related. Excuse me.
From power outages to airport shutdowns, to disrupted train service, states of emergency declared in Ohio, Kentucky, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and New York. In new York City, the storm is expected to be the second or third worst snowfall in history. CNN's Daryn Kagan has been out in the middle of it, and joins us now from just outside Central Park. Daryn?
DARYN KAGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good evening to you, Connie. This is -- it is not snowing anymore in New York City. And can I tell you that is the first live shot since 12:00 noon eastern today that I have been able to say that.
We have gotten quite a bit of snow. Let's take a walk and talk about accumulation. Quite a few snow drifts here. Right here in Central Park, in New York City, 19 inches. The most anywhere of New York City, 25 inches, and that was out at JFK.
Of course, we could show you this, and show you the people walking through here, and talk about the problems, but the problems and challenges not just here in New York City. It has been up and down the east coast all day long.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN (voice-over): It was a classic nor'easter, moving through the Ohio valley and the Appalachians and then landing with a wallop in major east coast cities.
MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: It is very pretty. It is also very inconvenient and very expensive. But we're dealing with it.
KAGAN: Not a bad day, perhaps, for walking the dog, but for trying to get around, a trying day indeed.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: It's cold. Slippery. I can't drive to work. The trains are slow. The buses are slow. I don't know. I hope this end up real quick.
KAGAN: As the storm started, Boston stores were full of shoppers buying last minute storm supplies. Rhode Island was bracing for up to 20 inches of snow. The Connecticut Department of Transportation had all 632 of its trucks on snowplow duty. And it also had to call in private contractors to help clear the roads.
Many states were already running over their snow removal budgets. Pennsylvania expects to use a record amount of road salt this winter. New York City officials said the storm would cost the city $20 million.
The snow was too heavy for an aluminum roof at a job training school in Edison, New Jersey. The roof collapsed, causing one death and four injuries. Maryland state troopers were patrolling in humvees, and the governor asked citizens to stay home.
ROBERT EHRLICH, MARYLAND GOVERNOR: We would ask everybody to really use their discretion, use their good common sense and stay off the roads for the rest of today.
KAGAN: The nation's capital was largely shut down. Washington Mayor Anthony Williams said it could take up to three days to clear some of the streets.
The storm's sting was felt as far south as the Carolinas, where ice and snow made travel dangerous and knocked out power. In all, it's one of the worst storms to hit the region in years. As the people of New England can tell you, it is still not over.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: It is not completely over. It is still pretty darn cold here in New York City. you might hear some people coming out to revel in the snow. But it's supposed to get better, Connie. The snow is gone, not all the snow, but the snowing is over. Supposed to be in the 40s by Wednesday. I gotta tell you, standing out here now, that sounds like Hawaii.
CHUNG: Absolutely, Daryn. Now, it looks so strange to see New York with, you know, nobody running around, no bustling cars. How long is it going to take for them to clean up the streets there?
KAGAN: Well, they've been doing the best they can, even as the storm has been going on. We heard the the Mayor, Bloomberg, talk about how many people are out there. More than 2,000 workers and 2,000 sanitation vehicles. Salt trucks and snowplows are out, even working overnight, to try to get the city cleaned up as soon as possible.
But they're saying, the mayor calling on New Yorkers to be patient. Connie, you lived in this town a number of years. How lucky do you think that's going to go?
CHUNG: I don't think so. You know how New Yorkers are, they want everything right away.
KAGAN: Now.
CHUNG: Yes. How much is it going to cost to clean up?
KAGAN: Interesting formula we heard from Mayor Bloomberg today. He said the formula is pretty simple, a million dollars per inch. So, if you figure, on average New York City got about 20, 21 inches of snow, $21 million in a city that is already hurting with very a tight budget. The mayor says they're not going to hold back on cleaning up and snow removal, but that money is going to have to come from somewhere else in the tight city budget.
CHUNG: Oh my goodness. Now, what is best way to get around? It's got to be the subway. Thank goodness for the subway, right, Daryn?
KAGAN: Thank goodness for the subway. Connie, I have seen everything today, of people getting around. People just trying to do it on their regular feet. We have seen skis, we've seen snowshoes, saw sleds. Lots of kids on sleds, today. And even saw a bunch of teenage boys coming to Central Park with their snowboards looking for a sharp incline to try to get a good ride. People getting very creative here in New York.
CHUNG: All right, Daryn Kagan, thank you very much. Stay warm.
KAGAN: I'll try.
CHUNG: As we mentioned earlier, New York and Washington are no longer at the center of the storm's cross hairs. Right now it's Boston that's bracing for the worst. And CNN's Michael Okwu is just outside Boston, in Brookline.
Michael, I can see it is snowing hard there. How is everything?
MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is a winter wonderland here, Connie. Some of the local media have already put a name to all of this. They're calling it blizzard '03. Once these storms get a name, you know that it's very serious business.
We want to show you this intersection here in Brookline, Massachusetts; metropolitan Boston, essentially. You can see that visibility is fairly low in some areas. State officials are saying that about two inches are going to be falling for every hour this evening, with the heaviest snowfall coming later on in the evening. By the time it's all over, at some point tomorrow morning, officials say some 18 to 30 inches will have fallen.
There are whiteout conditions in the Boston area, and in the surrounding areas. At some portions of this state, wind gusts going up to 25 and 30 miles an hour. At some moments, officials say it's going as high as 50 miles an hour.
Officials are saying stay off the roads. There are parking restrictions throughout this state. They have already towed some 37 cars here in Boston. They want people to completely stay off the roads. And some 4,000 pieces of equipment are being used to clear the roads. We understand that it cost about $68,000 an hour.
And also, one other interesting point, Connie, over at Logan Airport, if you wanted to fly in here, you still could, because one of the runways is open. But about half the flights were canceled by mid afternoon. Connie?
CHUNG: Michael Okwu, thank you.
What a blizzard. The nation's airlines are saying it may take days for them to get thousands of stranded passengers to their destinations. CNN's Patty Davis picks up this part of the story from Reagan National Airport, which has been shut down since yesterday. Patty? PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Well, the Washington, DC area got about 16 inches of snow, the sixth largest snowstorm ever for the US capital, and more than that even in the suburbs. So much snow, that here at Reagan National Airport, this airport is still closed down. Looks like it might not open until tomorrow morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVIS (voice-over): Washington, DC virtually paralyzed by the fierce winter storm. Reagan National Airport closed for the second straight day as crews worked to clear runways. The roads to the airport so bad, some passengers camped out all night to make sure they would make their flights.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: I was so hopeful. They're plowing the tarmac, they were washing the plane. I was so hopeful. There were people behind the counter over there.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I'm a doctor, and I've got a full office of patients tomorrow, and I've got to make a couple of quick calls, rearrange some things.
DAVIS: Airport troubles in Washington and the northeast rippled across the country, stranding passengers in Miami who were trying to get home.
Trouble on the roads, too. Passengers were stranded at Greyhound stations after the company canceled bus service east of Pittsburgh, and all the way from Buffalo to North Carolina.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I just called my boss and told him. He freaked out. He freaked out. He was like, you are stuck where?
DAVIS: In DC, a festive atmosphere in Washington's Dupont Circle, where it was quicker to walk than to try to drive.
What brings you out in the snow today?
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: We're just crazy, and bored.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Yeah, we're bored. Get some coffee.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Getting some exercise.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Getting exercise.
DAVIS: Even metro buses were having a tough time making it through the snow. Lucky for most people, the storm hit on Presidents' Day weekend, Monday, a federal holiday.
The federal government remains closed Tuesday because of the snow, giving many Washingtonians more time to dig out.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Exercise. People pay good money to get exercise like this. And now you get an opportunity to do it in the snow, man against nature!
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DAVIS: The US Postal Service is asking Washington residents to clear paths to their mailboxes so that the carriers can get in. But, you know that Postal Service motto, neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night can stop these, the mail couriers from getting to their swift completion of their appointed rounds. I messed that up a little bit. But you know what I mean. That must not include snow drifts, Connie, that's all I can think here.
CHUNG: That's right. Patty, can you give us a rundown on the airports openings and closings?
DAVIS: Absolutely. Besides Reagan here, which is closed, you got La Guardia closed; Newark and JFK are open, but we're talking major delays. Now even though we have seen some ten inches at least in Boston, there have been 300 cancellations that's helped a lot. No major delays there. Philadelphia has opened, but they're not looking to do any commercial flights until the morning. So that's how things stand. Progressively working its way up the coast.
CHUNG: And Amtrak seems to be the way to go.
DAVIS: Well, Amtrak is the big success story so far of this storm. At least in the northeast. It kept the northeast corridor open which goes from Washington to New York to Boston.
Of course, it is only running a holiday schedule, so it's reduced, running some 20 to 60 minute delays. But they're still running. And they said their secret was that they were able to run trains that were empty over the tracks, and that kept them open. They've been able to keep people moving on those train tracks. Unlike the airlines.
CHUNG: Patty Davis, thank you so much.
Still ahead, Iraq. After millions of protesters took to the streets, Washington puts pressure on the UN. Stay with us.
ANNOUNCER: Next, Clara Harris, now facing 20 years in jail.
MAGNESS: Every single one of them told you, I saw her run over the body.
ANNOUNCER: How the prosecutor won the case, when CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: Why did a Houston jury give Clara Harris the maximum sentence for running over her husband? On Friday the jurors found that Harris acted in sudden passion last July, when she killed her cheating husband. But they nevertheless gave her 20 years, the longest sentence allowed for a sudden passion conviction. Her attorney is planning an appeal. Why did they throw the book at her? Dan Walker sat on the jury, and joins us now from Houston. Thank you, Mr. Walker, for being with us. What convinced you that Clara Harris was guilty of murder?
DAN WALKER, JUROR, CLARA HARRIS MURDER TRIAL: Connie, it was a culmination of things. The eyewitness testimonies, the evidence that was presented by the prosecution, the videotape. Just all of it together is what we, as the jury, agreed upon unanimously that we needed to convict her of murder in the first degree.
CHUNG: What part did her stepdaughter's testimony play? Because it was quite damaging.
WALKER: Lindsay testified twice. during the murder phase of the trial, her testimony, I think, had a very large impact on all the jury, particularly when she indicated that she had felt the body under the car. That was very compelling. It was substantiated by all the additional eyewitness testimonies of having seen the accident occur, the incident.
CHUNG: You know, a lot of people who have analyzed juries believe that the women on the jury would either sympathize with Clara Harris, or they could be harder on her. There were nine women on the jury, three men. What would you say was the result of their discussions? Did the women sympathize with Clara Harris?
WALKER: I think everyone on the jury had some sympathetic emotions for Clara. It wasn't just the women. Everyone listened to the defense's position.
CHUNG: And her testimony as well, did that seem to move people?
WALKER: It may or may not have. I couldn't put a whole lot of -- I didn't feel like her testimony was truthful.
CHUNG: Oh, really? why not?
WALKER: I just -- I seen that -- I felt like she was angry and enraged during the whole affair, and she denied it every time the prosecution asked her about that. She couldn't remember what she had told the police during her police report. There were just things that she was denying that felt apparent to me, as a juror, that she was not being truthful.
CHUNG: Now, you deliberated for a very short time in both cases, for the verdict itself, and then during the sentencing. You came back and decided that she should serve 20 years in prison. What was going on behind closed doors that brought you to that conclusion?
WALKER: Well, it didn't seem look a short time to us. It seemed like an awfully long time. But basically we all shared our feelings and our opinions about what we had seen. We shared all the information with one another. And collectively, we come to an agreement that during the murder phase, and the punishment phase, we all collectively agreed on what we had decided to do.
CHUNG: Did you all talk about the fact that she had two boys? Did that play any part, two boys who are 4 years old each?
WALKER: Everyone is sympathetic to the two boys. And I don't think anyone wanted to take a mother away from their children.
CHUNG: Dan Walker, thank you.
One of the points hammered home in closing arguments was that David Harris did cheat on his wife, and that was wrong. But Harris County Prosecutor, Mia Magness, reminded jurors that did not justify the murder.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAGNESS: David's bad judgment, his bad choices, shouldn't result in his death. For heaven's sakes, the man is cheating on you, you do what every other woman in this county does. Take him to the cleaners. Take his house, take his car, take his kids, take his respect in the community, and you can make him wish he were dead. But you don't get to kill him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHUNG: And we have prosecutor Mia Magness with us tonight for an exclusive interview. Thank you, Mia, for being with us.
PROSECUTOR: Thank you for having me.
CHUNG: I have to tell you, when I was watching your closing arguments, I felt as if -- like I was watching "The Practice," and David Kelley had written these carefully crafted words. So we'll get to your closing arguments in just a moment. But first question, were you expecting a 20-year sentence?
MAGNESS: No. I wasn't. I think I was as surprised by the 20 years as everybody else was.
CHUNG: You asked that the jurors not give her life in prison. Why?
MAGNESS: Well, I thought it was important. I was telling them that probation wasn't an appropriate punishment in this case. And I thought it was important to tell them, neither was life. I didn't want them to spend time talking about, and deliberating on, the possibility of a life sentence, when even I didn't think it was appropriate.
CHUNG: Did you think that 20 years was appropriate?
MAGNESS: For her conduct, yes, I do. I think that early on when we valued the case and we tried to make a determination as to what what we thought the case was worth, that's about where we ended up, 20, 25 years. The fact that the jury arrived at that conclusion was a little surprising, because I really anticipated the sympathy factor to play more of a role. But they came back with a punishment that we thought was deserving. CHUNG: It was very little sympathy based on the verdicts, on the actual verdict and on the sentencing. It appeared as if the jury was not swayed by Clara Harris' testimony.
MAGNESS: Well, I think that they felt sympathy for her, and that they could relate to, and understand why she acted in the way that she did. But, you know, I'm so proud of this jury, because even though they connected with her and felt the human aspects of what she had been through, they were also very clear in the message that they sent. And that was just that, you know, they weren't going to excuse her conduct. They understood it, but they weren't going to excuse it.
CHUNG: Clara Harris broke down several times in tears, and I remember a couple of the jurors teared up. You even choked up when you were talking about Lindsay, the stepdaughter. Let's look at a clip here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAGNESS: I guess nobody had thought to go get his things out of the trash, because she knelt down, and she gets his clothing out of the garbage, and she goes to his closet and to his bathroom and she gets his personal effects. And what did she tell you she did with them? She took them up to her room, and spread them out on her bed, just so she could feel like he was there with her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHUNG: Did you expect so much emotion emerging?
MAGNESS: No. Frankly I did get a little choked up. And it surprised even me.
CHUNG: What happened, do you think?
MAGNESS: Well, I -- you know, during the guilt/innocence phase of the trial, it was all about the facts, and it was all about the evidence and the emotional aspect of it was really sort of separated from what eyewitness testimony and physical evidence and medical evidence showed. But by the time we came around to the punishment phase of trial, a lot more of the emotional aspects were revealed and it was appropriate for the jury to consider it at that point.
And, you know, I had spoken to Lindsay, and talked to her about what she had been through and what she had experienced. And I think at that point it just -- it was overwhelming. It was what she went through and what she shared about going down and getting her father's things out of the trash. It was just pitiful. And I think anyone who has ever had to go through personal effects of a loved one could almost relate to how she was feeling.
CHUNG: Tell me, did you feel sorry for Clara Harris?
MAGNESS: Oh, absolutely. I don't think that anybody who, you know, who knew anything about the case couldn't help but feel sympathy for her. CHUNG: In your closing arguments, did you plot out everything you wanted to say?
MAGNESS: No. I didn't. I had sort of made myself an outline and knew the topics that I wanted to cover, but as to exactly what I was going to say, I hadn't. I hadn't scripted it because from experience that doesn't work well for me. And a lot of my closing argument was really in response to Mr. Parnham's statements.
CHUNG: Let's take a look at another part of your closing argument. Because you essentially did not want Clara Harris to play on the sympathies of the jurors by saying they only have one parent left, and there are these two twin boys who need raising. Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAGNESS: She's coming forward to you, and saying to you, I'm all the boys have left. Don't take me away from those boys. I'm the only parent they have left. Well, she ought not get credit for making herself a single parent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHUNG: That was really put perfectly, if indeed that was your feeling. Were you concerned, though, that the jury might sympathize with the fact she was a mother?
MAGNESS: Absolutely. How could you not? I don't think anybody wants to take children away from a person who is obviously a loving and caring mother.
CHUNG: Did you find it extraordinary that David Harris' parents were supportive of Clara, the very person who killed their son?
MAGNESS: It was certainly an unusual position for me to be in. I had not experienced that before as a prosecutor. And I have nothing but good things to say about Gerald and Mildred Harris. They are very warm, loving, kind, Christian people, and I was -- I just -- I wasn't about to second guess the choice that they made. Or be critical of it in any fashion.
CHUNG: If you were defending Clara Harris, would you have put her on the stand?
MAGNESS: I don't -- I don't know. I think, you know, Mr. Parnham almost seemed to be in a catch-22. It's the kind of case that any juror is likely to want to hear from the defendant. They would expect to have the defendant offer some sort of explanation or justification. Everybody, every juror on this jury, qualified themselves that they would not hold it against the defendant if she did not testify.
But I guess from a strategic standpoint, you know, you're in a tight spot. You know that she should probably say something, but you also know that if she doesn't do well on the stand, it could blow you out of the water. So, I'm not sure what I would have done. I don't know what call I would have made. And ultimately, the decision was the defendant's.
CHUNG: When the jury was selected, did you think nine women, three men, this is going to help me, or hurt me? Because it has been said that some women are tougher on women, and it also has been said that women are sympathetic with women defendants. What do you think?
MAGNESS: You know, I did not have a clear read on this jury. When they got in the box, and I took my first look at them, I wasn't sure what to think. I have seen cases where women have been harder on women defendants. I've seen cases where women have been very sympathetic and lenient. I think really, ultimately, what it came down to and the reason that this jury should be commended is that they were able to separate competing and conflicting feelings. They made their decisions based on the facts and based on the evidence, but they still acknowledged that there was a sympathetic factor involved.
CHUNG: Were you at all concerned that Clara Harris would not serve any time in prison?
MAGNESS: Oh, sure. I was concerned that she might not even be found guilty of murder.
CHUNG: Really? You had doubts?
MAGNESS: As to her guilt, no.
CHUNG: No, no.
MAGNESS: As to whether or not a jury would convict her, yes. You know, it is impossible to predict what a jury is going to do. You get 12 people that are a cross section of the community. You put them all in jury box, they all hear the same evidence, they all look at the same photographs. And then they may not necessarily all have or be in agreement as to the proper verdict, or the appropriate verdict. You know, nothing is guaranteed. I didn't take anything for granted in the prosecution of this case.
CHUNG: All right. Mia Magness, I thank you so much for being with us. Thank you.
MAGNESS: Thank you for having me.
CHUNG: Still ahead: What touched off a nightclub stampede that killed 21 people? We'll go to Chicago in search of some answers.
Stay with us.
ANNOUNCER: Next:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: There is no problem with people protesting and expressing their views. But we need to keep focused on the nature of the regime that we're talking about here. This is a regime that cuts people's tongues out for protests.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: War with Iraq, inevitable? Tonight: the millions across the globe who are hoping to be heard.
CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT continues in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: Iraq, for first time today, allowed American U-2 spy planes to fly overhead, helping U.N. weapons inspectors in their search. The Iraqi concession came as France declared it will oppose the U.S. if it sponsors a resolution in the U.N. authorizing war with Iraq. Bush administration officials tell CNN the president will give the Security Council two weeks to support such a resolution before deciding whether to move against Iraq without U.N. backing.
The prospect of a U.S. invasion of Iraq drew millions of protesters to the streets of the cities around the world this weekend. San Francisco's protests turned violent last night, as marchers hurled rocks and bottles at police. Earlier protests, such as New York's showing of more than 100,000 people who oppose the war with Iraq, went mostly peacefully, though there were some arrests in New York as well.
French protesters made clear that they support their government's opposition to an American invasion of Iraq. And a half-million British protesters targeted Prime Minister Tony Blair for his backing of President Bush, even though Blair has urged Bush to seek U.N. approval before taking military action.
There is a more subtle form of protest tonight in New York City. It is called "Poems Not Fit for the White House." It was organized after a poetry symposium at the White House was canceled. In response to some poetic criticism of Bush administration policy on Iraq, the first lady said she didn't want the symposium politicized.
So, tonight's event brings together artists and performers as diverse at rapper Mos Def and the legendary playwright who looked into America's heart with "Death of a Salesman" and pricked America's conscience with "The Crucible," Arthur Miller.
Thank you so much for being with us.
ARTHUR MILLER, PLAYWRIGHT: Thank you, Connie.
CHUNG: Mr. Miller, you went to the protests this Saturday in New York for a brief time. Were you surprised at how many people were there?
MILLER: It was amazing. I never expected that many. But even more surprising was that they -- it seemed like a cross-section of the city.
CHUNG: Do you think that the president will actually listen to these people? MILLER: I don't know how he backs away from this now. That's the problem. I think he's got to do something to mitigate the situation. I think it's -- I think most people don't want this war.
CHUNG: What took the anti-war protest so long to galvanize?
MILLER: I think they didn't think it was real. I think they couldn't believe that we would actually launch an attack. That's the only explanation I can think of.
CHUNG: Are you against war with Iraq in general or would you support it if the U.N. backs a U.S. invasion of Iraq?
MILLER: I would go with the U.N.
But when this whole thing started, I was at a loss to understand why suddenly we were on Iraq's case. Nothing had happened that seemed to indicate that some attack from them was imminent. We were really supposed to be looking for bin Laden.
And Iraq, of course, ideologically, is not bin Laden territory. They are not religious. They are not -- the Baathist Party of Saddam is an absolutely unreligious organization. And bin Laden is a religious fanatic. So, I couldn't understand why it started.
CHUNG: Well, actually, you mentioned bin Laden in your poem tonight. I would love you to read two portions of it. Would you? First...
MILLER: All right.
"For a few months after 9/11, we had the heartfelt sympathy of the world. Even the French paper "Le Monde" declared, 'We are all Americans now.' By what alchemy of far-right arrogance have we managed to set a bloody dictator on the moral high ground? And who says there are no miracles? The message we have been sending out to the world is that we are absolutely right and really don't need the rest of the world. Unfortunately, this implies that everybody else is absolutely wrong. It now looks like this is no way to treat a customer."
CHUNG: All right, and the very end, I think, says a lot.
MILLER: "We are speaking in codes, these days. If we could only speak outside the code, perhaps we could understand why we absolutely have to do this now, rather than waiting until the inspectors finish their work. Why can't this wait for a month or six months or maybe long enough for Saddam Hussein to just die? And when he does, maybe we can get around to bin Laden, who, incidentally, was the one who murdered 3,000 Americans."
CHUNG: Arthur Miller, I thank you so much for braving the weather and coming in to see us tonight.
MILLER: Thank you.
CHUNG: We appreciate it.
The secretary of homeland security, Tom Ridge, says the nation's terror alert may be downgraded. Ridge did not say when or precisely why the nation's terror alert would move from orange, or high, down to yellow, or elevated.
But the Muslim hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, which had been cited as a reason for raising the alert in the first place, ended last week and there was no apparent terrorist activity.
Right now, tonight's look at "The World in: 60" focuses on other countries combating terrorism.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHUNG (voice-over): In Gaza, Israeli soldiers shot and killed a senior leader of the militant group Hamas, this after six Hamas militants were killed by Israeli forces on Sunday.
Colombian and U.S. forces are searching for three U.S. citizens believed kidnapped by leftist guerrillas after their plane crashed last week. Another American and a Colombian were found executed near the crash site.
Starting today, drivers to central London will have to pay the equivalent of an $8 daily charge. The toll is an attempt to reduce traffic and pay for repairs.
Using super-sensitive sound equipment, NASA wants to create a timeline of the Columbia's last minutes. As the shuttle began to break up, NASA's instruments may have recorded sound waves that differ from normal flight patterns.
Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler died today from complications arising from heat stroke. The 23-year-old right-hander collapsed during spring training on Sunday.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Next: tragedy at a Chicago nightclub. A rush for the exits left more than 20 people dead. What went wrong?
CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT continues in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: Chicago police are reviewing tapes from inside the nightclub where 21 people died this morning. They're trying to determine exactly what set off the stampede that killed those people and injured at least 30 more. They want to know whether exits were blocked and why the club was still operating despite a court order several months ago shutting it down.
CNN Chicago bureau chief Jeff Flock has been covering the aftermath.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a horrific scene: lifeless bodies being carried from the E2 nightclub on Chicago's near South Side, others gasping for air, lying in the street. And they just kept coming.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a fight and security abused their privileges, sprayed mace.
FLOCK: The people inside say there was a stampede for the door down a steep staircase. That's where bodies began to stack up at the bottom.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They got one entrance/exit. They would not open the back door.
FLOCK: And now Chicago city attorneys say the club shouldn't have been open at all. The city says owners were in violation of a court order not to open the second-floor nightclub, which is above the Epitome restaurant.
COMM. JAMES JOYCE, CHICAGO FIRE DEPARTMENT: The owner knows damn well that he is not to open that second-floor facility. And he has chosen to at least on one occasion that we know of. And that was last night.
FLOCK: The city now wants the owners to be for cited for criminal contempt. The management of the club says only that it is cooperating completely with the authorities.
At a prayer service, families begged authorities to find out how the tragedy that killed 12 men and nine women between the ages of 21 and 43 happened.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please, God, give us answers.
FLOCK: But, at this point, no one can say why the club, ordered shut last April, was still open. CNN obtained this letter from one community group called Bringing About Reform, written to the owner just 2 1/2 months ago. It refers to extreme overcrowding conditions and concludes, now eerily, "You must not sacrifice human beings for a profit." It is not known if the club owners got the letter.
I'm Jeff Flock, CNN, in Chicago.
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CHUNG: Joining us now is Dr. Christopher Beach. He's an emergency room physician at Chicago's Northwestern Memorial Hospital. And this morning, he was one of the first people on the scene at E2.
Thank you, sir, for being with us.
DR. CHRISTOPHER BEACH, CHICAGO NORTHWESTERN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL: My pleasure, Connie. Good evening.
CHUNG: When you arrived there, what were the victims telling you about what happened?
BEACH: It was such a chaotic scene. They were just so confused and upset about the situation that they had a very difficult time expressing themselves. It was a difficult and tragic event.
CHUNG: Were you able to revive anyone? Were the injuries quite severe for some people?
BEACH: Unfortunately, the 21 who had died, their injuries were somewhat immediate in association with the riot and the use of the riot-control agent.
Now, I don't believe that the riot-control agent was the cause of their death. It is most likely a traumatic asphyxiation from being squeezed so tightly in a packed crowd. Just, you can't expand your lungs and get oxygen to your brain and heart with a situation like that. And what ends up happening, in a very short period of time, usually about four or five minutes after that, you start developing brain injury. And it is a very unfortunate situation. And I believe these 21 probably died of that more than the direct effects from the riot-control agent.
CHUNG: How horrible.
Dr. Beach, thank you so much for being with us.
BEACH: You're very welcome.
CHUNG: We'll be right back.
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CHUNG: In case the holiday or a snowstorm weren't enough to keep you in bed today, listen to this. The Cincinnati Sleep Management Institute says what you lack in sleep, you might make up in pounds. Why? Lack of sleep can knock your hormones out of whack, overstimulating appetite or converting food into fat, rather than muscle. Sleep loss can also boost glucose...
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CHUNG (voice-over): Yet another Democrat has his eyes fixed on the White House. Sources say Congressman Dennis Kucinich of Ohio plans to file papers to form a committee to explore his chances.
The owner of a London magazine locked in a lawsuit with actor Michael Douglas and his wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, says he's sorry. He apologized in court for printing unauthorized photos of the couple's wedding, but says their claim of irreparable damage is a bit exaggerated.
Disturbing findings in a study about young adults and heart disease: It shows that almost one third of them die within 15 years. And for those with diabetes, the death rate doubles.
He racked up huge ratings with his grilling of Michael Jackson. Now a less flattering high for Martin Bashir: He shot to the top of a British TV station's list of people the British like to hate. Prime Minister Tony Blair is second.
Think you know the perfect "Bond" girl? Well, try this on for size: 35, 25, 34, brunette, brown-eyed and British. That's the scientific formula mathematicians have worked out.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Still ahead: our "Persons of the Day," a day of their own.
CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT continues in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: We're not the only ones who have chosen today's "Persons of the Day." There's the people's choice. And, frankly, it's an historic choice.
Stay with us.
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CHUNG: Today's "Persons of the Day" are the persons whose day this truly and officially is.
Here in the Northeast, the paralyzing effect of the snowstorm was mitigated quite a bit by the fact that most people were already staying home because it is Presidents Day. Washington and Lincoln used to have days of their own, but times are tight. So, now all the presidents have to share. And, besides, Congress wanted us to have a three-day weekend in February.
Still, we wanted to give these men their due. So, in chronological order, today's "Persons of the Day are:
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CHUNG (voice-over): George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, James Polk, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Chester A. Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, Grover Cleveland again, William McKinley, Teddy Roosevelt, William Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Bill Clinton, And George W. Bush.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHUNG: Well, like them or not, each of them held the office of president of the United States of America. And for today, at least, they are our "Persons of the Day."
Tomorrow: What is behind the national obsession with Michael Jackson?
And coming up next on "LARRY KING LIVE": an inspiring hour of Mattie Stepanek. He's a poet with a new book out. He's 12 years old. And he's dying. You'll meet him next.
Thank you so much for joining us. And for all of us at CNN, good night and we'll see you tomorrow.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
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