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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Low-Flying Plane Gives New Yorkers a Scare

Aired May 15, 2003 - 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.


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): New terror warnings. Americans urged to be on alert in several hot spots. A major airline halts service to one of them.

The ban on assault weapons set to expire. Who's taking the heat?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that Tom DeLay is not in tune with the American people.

PHILLIPS: And who's firing back?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The law has had no impact on crime.

PHILLIPS: And a New York grandmother goes public about her relationship with JFK, and so do her friends.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now she is the least likely person I ever would have expected to have had a romance.

PHILLIPS: It's easy to use, no pills, no dieting. The latest fad in weight loss. Does it work?

And Cybill Shepherd as Martha Stewart.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Have you heard from her since you've done this?

CYBILL SHEPHERD, ACTRESS: No, but I've -- she sent me pie to taste. I wouldn't taste it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: It's Thursday, May 15, 2003. Hello from the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips reporting. Wolf Blitzer is off today.

We begin with a skyline scare, an airplane flying low over New York City. For a moment, the New Yorkers thought it was deja vu. The fly-by is causing quite a controversy. Now we've just received a home video. CNN's Patty Davis covers the aviation beat for us. Patty, what do you know?

PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, it was Continental Flight 3021 bringing troops back from Iraq Wednesday morning. They thought it was a good idea. Fly low over Manhattan.

Here's video, a home video from somebody who was on a ferry at the time. A special treat for the troops. A bird's-eye view of the Statue of Liberty and lower Manhattan where the World Trade Center was located.

The flight was approved by the FAA, but instead it was a terrible reminder for people on the ground of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg blasted the FAA for allowing the flight and said it shows a lack of sensitivity.

Here's what people who saw the flight had to say about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It just looked very low. And I was like, what the hell is that doing there? You know. Why is that so low? Here we go again or what? I didn't know what to expect.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a terrible feeling that we had. The five of us that were standing there were saying, This is it, it's happening again. And in light of what just happened the other day with the bombing over in Saudi Arabia we said could it be happening now?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAVIS: The FAA says it received a request from Continental, a local air traffic control center OK'ed it. And they say because of the reaction from people on the ground, it will never happen again -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Patty Davis, thank you.

Now to a surprise development in the Peterson murder case. The autopsy report supposed to be released today has been ordered sealed. Prosecution and defense lawyers agreed they want forensic test results on Laci Peterson and her unborn son kept private. News media want to see it and a hearing for that is scheduled for May 27. Laci's husband, Scott Peterson, is accused of the killing and he's awaiting two count of murder and could get the death penalty.

So what's in the autopsy report that neat needs to be kept secret and which side has most at stake? Let's turn to our legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin. Jeffrey, why keep this report sealed?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Very simple reason. Because there is so much public interest in this case the possibility that the jury pool could be tainted by this very important evidence in the case was judged by both parties, by the prosecution and the defense, as too great. So keep it sealed. Let it be revealed in the courtroom when the time comes before the jury.

PHILLIPS: So what's in the report that could be damaging to the prosecution or the defense?

TOOBIN: Well, this is a very important piece of evidence because, remember, this is a case with no eyewitnesses. And there is -- the cause of death is extremely important. How did Laci Peterson die? Did she drown? Was this -- was there some injuries to her? Were there injuries to her bones? What could be determined after all those months under water? It's very important evidence. And, I mean, the whole case could turn on it. So it's I think understandable why both sides would want it sealed.

PHILLIPS: When do you think details could be released?

TOOBIN: Well, at this rate it could not be in time -- until the preliminary hearing or even the trial. Probably the preliminary hearing. But that hasn't scheduled yet, likely to be very -- several months to go.

PHILLIPS: And who do you think this favors more, the defense or prosecution? What's your take?

TOOBIN: Well I think it favors the defense, probably, because just keeping this -- keeping additional facts out of the news, keeping -- making people not focus on the details of the case I think helps the defense.

But obviously the most important thing is what's in the autopsy report. The timing isn't really all that important. It's whether any cause of death in there can be tied to Scott Peterson. That's the most important thing.

PHILLIPS: Our legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin. Thank you.

Now to the war on terror. Days after deadly terror attacks in Saudi Arabia and that warning that proceeded it, there's a new terror alert out today. The State Department says there are credible threats that terror attacks are being planned in Kenya and Malaysia. It's warning Americans traveling to those countries to be on alert. U.K. transportation officials put out a similar warning on Kenya prompting British Airways to suspend service there.

At the same time Attorney General John Ashcroft announced the indictment of two suspected al Qaeda members in the bombing of the USS Cole. The men escaped last month from a prison in Yemen and are at large. If caught and convicted they could face the death penalty. Seventeen American sailors died in that October 2000 attack in Yemen.

Now to Saudi Arabia where U.S. investigators have finally arrived after being delayed by red tape. CNN Justice correspondent Kelli Arena is in Washington with a look at the job that they're facing -- Kelli.

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, the team is made up of agents from the CIA, the FBI and the State Department. They come from a wide range of units from bomb and lab technicians to intelligence experts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARENA (voice-over): U.S. investigators are now in Saudi Arabia to help hunt down the terrorists who killed eight Americans. But it's still unclear how much of a role the Saudis will let the U.S. team have.

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: We expect full cooperation in the investigation. And I think all indications are from the FBI assessment team that Saudi Arabia's cooperating.

ARENA: A top priority, reconstructing the truck bombs. Just as FBI agents did in the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing.

DAVE WILLIAMS, FRM. FBI SPECIAL AGENT: We were able to determine exactly what it was. And based on the way it was put together we had a fairly good idea who may have laid that down.

ARENA: There is still some question about what the U.S. told the Saudis before the attacks. U.S. government sources say when top White House aide Stephen Hadley met urgently with Crown Prince Abdullah, he did not provide intelligence about a specific target.

Instead, a senior U.S. official says the Saudis were given an analysis that al Qaeda was in the final faces of planning a major attack in Saudi Arabia. And that it would most likely try to hit targets like businesses and housing compounds.

PRINCE BANDAR BIN SULTAN, SAUDI AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: Our security agencies took the request seriously, assessed the situation and decided the measures were adequate.

ARENA: A week before the attacks, the Saudis did discover a safe house and weapons cache near one of the compounds hit. And some U.S. government officials say it is very likely the terrorist used it to case the targets.

JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: Saudi Arabia must deal with the fact that it has terrorists inside its country.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ARENA: U.S. officials say that is imperative because sources say all indications are that al Qaeda is planning more attacks in the kingdom. Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: Justice correspondent Kelli Arena, thank you.

Well new developments in another troubled relationship. A French diplomat tells CNN his country's ambassador to the U.S. is complaining directly to the White House about what he perceives as a smear campaign. CNN's White House correspondent Dana Bash has the details -- Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, you know, there's been an extremely strained relationship between the United States and France since -- over differences on how to deal with Iraq, over whether or not the military campaign was appropriate.

But today, as you mentioned, the ambassador to the United States launched his own P.R. offensive against what he calls false allegations against his country.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASH (voice-over): France could have been upset with any number of things. Elected officials taking "French" off the menu.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Throughout the Capitol it'll be freedom fries and freedom toast.

BASH: Ribbing from the White House podium.

ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: I have heard people, particularly some of those who wear these type of shirts, weather wonder whether you call it a freedom cuff shirt or not.

BASH: But the French ambassador's letter to the White House and Capital Hill complaining of a, quote, "disinformation campaign aimed at sullying the French image and misleading the public," points to eight media reports he calls ugly and false attempts to link France to Saddam Hussein's regime.

A story that French companies sold spare parts to Iraq for military use. One quoting Bush officials alleging a French company brokered a deal to supply Iraq with long-range missiles through Syria. And what France says was the last straw, a report that last week that the French government supplied fleeing Iraqi officials with passports.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because it's attributed to officials, it raises a question mark. What is the purpose of these false accusations against France?

BASH: Paris is concerned that the allegations left unanswered could mushroom and even lead to Congressional investigations. The White House denies there's a concerted effort to slander France, but does admit their rapport has seen better days, pointing reporters to this comment from the Secretary of State.

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: Now the United States and France, we've been in marriage counseling for 225 years. We just want -- the marriage is there. And it will be there.

BASH: Privately, sources on both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue, designed by French architect Pierre L'Enfant, say this move of could backfire because anti-French sentiment is already rampant in the United States.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: And just three weeks from now there is an opportunity for an reproachment (ph) because President Bush is headed to France for the G-8 Summit -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Dana Bash at the White House.

Well, here's your turn to weigh in on this story. Our "Web Question of the Day": "Do you think the French were unfairly smeared?" We'll have the results later in this broadcast. Vote at cnn.com/wolf.

And while you're there, we'd like to hear from you. Send us your comments and we might read some of them at the end of program. Also, of course, where you can read our daily online column, cnn.com/wolf.

Assault weapons under fire. Should these weapons be allowed back on the street? Congress may let it happen. We'll go live to a firing range where police are saying absolutely not.

Plus, the Martha Stewart it will-all movie. Cybill Shepherd dishes the dirt on the queen of clean.

And presidential sexual sag. A woman who says she was Kennedy's intern comes forward after 41 years.

But first, today's "News Quiz."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS (voice-over): Who was the only president to have been married in the White House? Ronald Reagan? Grover Cleveland? James Buchanan? Abraham Lincoln? The answer coming up.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm John Zarrella. Coming up, the ban on assault weapons heats up. We'll take you live to the firing range.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Mixed signals on Capitol Hill on the assault weapons ban that expires next year and House GOP leader Tom DeLay has indicated he won't bring it up for renewal. House Speaker Dennis Hastert says no decision has been on that vote and that DeLay was caught off guard when he made his comments.

The 1994 law banned 19 types of semi-automatic guns.

CNN Miami bureau chief, John Zarrella, looks at what the controversy is over these weapons -- John.

ZARRELLA: Kyra, we're out at -- in western Broward County at Marcam Park at the Broward sheriff's office firearms training range and Sheriff Ken Jenne has been gracious to join us out here today and to demonstrate for our viewers exactly what the issue is with assault weapons.

I guess the first question, sheriff, that I would ask you is -- I know you'd like to see this ban remain in place. Why? SHERIFF KEN JENNE, BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA: Because I think guns are the tools of hunters, but these weapons are really the tools to kill people and there's a major, major difference.

You're going to see a magazine with 30 rounds in it compared to a magazine with 10. There's a major difference in how these weapons will operate, how it will be affected and frankly, my deputies volunteer every day to be on those streets -- lives for greater danger.

ZARRELLA: Let's get to the demonstration with your detective, Chris Worth (ph). And first, what is he going to demonstrate for us, first?

JENNE: First, the deputy is going to demonstrate a AK-47, the Chinese version, which is the pre-banned version.

ZARRELLA: It's currently banned, then?

JENNE: It's currently banned.

(CROSSTALK)

JENNE: Absolutely.

ZARRELLA: OK. OK, we'll, let the detective show us.

(GUN SHOTS)

ZARRELLA: That's into a cinderblock.

JENNE: That's into a cinderblock.

ZARRELLA: And now into a bulletproof vest.

JENNE: And this is a vest similar to the ones that our deputies have worn. It's a used one, but one that's similar.

(GUN SHOTS)

ZARRELLA: Now that bullet's clearly fired right through that.

JENNE: Right through and there's paneling on the front end and the back.

ZARRELLA: Now he's going to change to another weapon and while he changes, let me ask you then -- you know, a lot of the critics are saying, there's no evidence that the ban has really reduced crime. What do you think?

JENNE: Well, this is what I can tell you. I've got a heck of a lot of people in my jails that would like to get their hands on weapons like this. So that tells me it's doing something good.

ZARRELLA: Now this weapon now is legal under the current laws. JENNE: Absolutely. This is an AK-47 also, but a civilian model. It has some differences and right now this only has a clip of 10 in the magazine -- or 10 rounds in the magazine. So this is a big difference than the 30 rounds in the previous magazine.

ZARRELLA: OK.

(GUN SHOTS)

ZARRELLA: So what makes the big difference here is the amount of firepower, then.

JENNE: Absolutely. When deputies and people are on the street, or people that are subjected to drive-by shootings, these weapons are not that particularly accurate to begin with. When the more rounds you have, the more firepower you have, the more danger it is to law enforcement as well as the general public.

ZARRELLA: Sheriff, as we wrap up real quickly, do you believe, then, the ban should be extended and do you believe that most sheriffs and police officers are -- and deputies are in agreement? What do you think?

JENNE: I would hope that most law enforcement officers across this country would be in agreement with it. I'd like to see it extended.

You know, frankly, no one is suggesting long guns. No one is suggesting handguns should be banned. They -- a matter of fact, a lot of us go hunting on a regular basis in Florida.

ZARRELLA: Sheriff, thank you so very much for joining us.

Kyra, a pretty powerful demonstration of the firepower of these weapons that police, at least Sheriff Ken Jenne and the Broward sheriff's office, want to see kept off the streets -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: No doubt. It puts in perspective. Our John Zarrella, great report. Thanks, John.

Well, you probably remember this scene: the 1997 shootout between two men armed with a cache of assault weapons and Los Angeles police. It followed a botched bank robbery and amazingly ended with only the two suspects killed.

Bernard Parks became chief of the LAPD shortly afterward. He is now a Los Angeles city councilman. He joins us live to talk about the ban.

Councilmember Parks, we both remember that well. You were on the force. I was a reporter at that time. That really changed the face of how everyone looked at those weapons, didn't it?

BERNARD PARKS, LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL: I think it was the most graphic illustration of why assault weapons have no place in domestic society. PHILLIPS: So what would letting the assault weapons ban expire do?

PARKS: I think it gives really a license and an indication to the criminal element that we can go back to the days of prior to '94, that everything goes and that the communities are going to be victimized by these high-powered weapons and a criminal community that will be in charge of our cities.

PHILLIPS: Now councilmember, some gun control groups say police are more likely to be killed by an assault weapon than the average citizen. Are we putting police at risk?

PARKS: I think we're putting police, but the overall community. We lose several thousand people in the United States each year and about 80 plus percent is by gun violence and the I think the issue of talking about gun control really doesn't capture the issue. It's the gun violence that really hits at the heart of every community in our country.

PHILLIPS: Well, you were a police officer for 38 years. How difficult is it to defend against an assault weapon?

PARKS: It is very difficult because generally the first responding officer is totally unaware of the circumstances and the firepower. You may later be able to bring a SWAT unit or someone that can match that firepower, but there's nothing that an officer or first responder carries with them that can compete with that. And there's certainly nothing in the community that a citizen or community member can compete with. So you are at a total disadvantage when confronted with something of this high power.

PHILLIPS: So can you think of any reason to have an assault weapon.

PARKS: There's no reason. As the sheriff said earlier in your report there's. Only one reason for it. You cannot hunt with it. It's only one reason and that is that it kills people. It's a military weapon. It should be kept in a military arsenal and out of the domestic society.

PHILLIPS: Well, sir, as police chief I know the homicide rates fell, the robbery rate, the rape rate, you really did know how to handle crime. I have to ask you about a new project you're working on as council member there in Los Angeles.

PARKS: We are working on bringing football back to the city of Los Angeles although Atlanta has the Atlanta Falcon, we have been without football since '94, the same year that the assault ban went in place. But we want to bring football back to the Colosseum, the historical site, the community and the economic benefits would be tremendous for a city that's the second largest media market in the country.

PHILLIPS: From police chief to council member, still making inroads in all types of ways. Bernard Parks thank you. PARKS: Thank you Kyra, nice seeing you.

PHILLIPS: Great seeing you too.

Texas death trap is what they're calling it. A truck driver is accused of leaving men, women and children to die in the back of his rig. Also President Kennedy's intern speaks out. Hear what she says about her relationship with JFK.

And the fat patch, miracle or mirage for people trying to lose weight? Elizabeth Cohen with a CNN consumer alert.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: We're starting to hear what it was like inside that big rig truck in Texas where 18 illegal immigrants suffocated and scores of others feared they would die. CNN national correspondent Gary Tuchman now from Victoria, Texas -- Gary.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, hello to you.

A New York State man remains in prison without bond after his initial court appearance after being arrested on smuggling charges. His name is Tyrone Williams. We got first glimpse of him today. He is being charged with participant in the plan that lead to the death of 18 illegal immigrants, that police say he was driving from the Mexican border to here in Victoria, Texas.

After an affidavit released to us today in which Tyrone Williams told police he entered into an agreement with two men at the Mexican border to transport the illegal immigrants. He said that while he was driving he heard banging and screaming in the back of his trailer and he opened the trailer door at this service station, we are at right now, and told police there appeared to be something wrong with them referring the people in the back of the very hot trailer. Says a female was yelling el nino, which in Spanish means a little boy. And indeed a 7-year-old boy was one of the 18 illegal immigrants who die as a result of the ride from the Mexican border. He say he panicked at that point at the service station, unhooked his tractor from the trailer and abandoned the trailer with the immigrants, drove his tractor to a hospital in Houston where he went into the hospital in Houston.

Well he went into the hospital, nurses said he looked panicked, he looked nervous, and according to the affidavit told the story to police and was taken into custody. The trailer that the immigrants were in, up to 100 immigrants of a refrigerated trailer because this man apparently used it to transport watermelons and milk, but the refrigeration was not on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL SHELBY, MAYOR U.S. ATTORNEY: The internal temperature of the truck was well beyond a 100 degrees for an extended period of time. And the scene within the truck was one of the most gruesome things I've ever witnessed personally. These people were obviously in a great deal of distress and panic before they died.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TUCHMAN: Williams has told authorities that he was to be paid $5,000 to take the immigrants from Texas on the Mexican border to Houston. One of the people inside the truck talked to police and said he paid $1,000 for the ride. They are still looking for other suspects in this case. At least three other people involved in this.

Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: We'll continue to follow the search for those individuals.

Gary Tuchman, Victoria, Texas, thank you.

In Florida another drama played itself out in the water. Six illegal Cuban immigrants hoping to find freedom on the other side of the Florida Keys never made it to shore. Instead they were intercepted by the Coast Guard less than four miles the men started waving a machete and oars, then jumped into the water and tried to swim away. But within hours, all six of them were in custody.

Before there was Monica there was Mimi. A Kennedy intern speaks out about her presidential love affair.

Also Martha, Martha, Martha. Cybill Shepherd tells all about a new role as the queen of clean.

And weight loss in a patch? A CNN consumer alert still to come.

But first, a look at other news making headlines around the world.

The United Nations is pleading for urgent attention to escalating violence in northeastern Congo, fighting between rival militias is stirring up ethnic hatred with scores of civilians already killed.

Lebanese authorities tell CNN they thwarted a planned rocket attempt on a U.S. embassy in Beirut. Nine people, Lebanese and Palestinian are in custody.

China's state-run media say the country's supreme court has affirmed harsh punishment for anyone violating quarantine laws, including those now in place for SARS. Punishments range from 10 years in prison to death.

The Israel defense forces say they've entered Gaza to knock out positions used to fire rockets on Israeli communities. Palestinians say three people have been killed in the operation including a 12- year-old boy.

In Italy, work is under way on the Moses project aimed at sparing Venice from flooding. Barriers are being installed offshore that will rise when high tied threatened that city. And the "Matrix Reloaded" was in the spotlight at the Cannes Film Festival. The stars were there for a screening of the anticipated blockbuster. It got mixed views. And that's our look around the world.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Welcome back to WOLF BLITZER REPORTS. I'm Kyra Phillips.

In a moment, JFK's secret lover. The woman who says she was his intern comes forward after 41 years of hiding.

(NEWSBREAK)

PHILLIPS: There are only a few lines in a new JFK biography detailing an alleged affair with an intern, but those few lines have a lot of people talking, including the now 60-year-old grandmother who says she that was intern.

CNN's Jason Carroll lives in New York now -- Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Kyra, the woman in question works here at this church. She lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and she's not revealing many details about her alleged affair with President Kennedy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL (voice-over): Marianne Fahnestock, Mimi for short, is a Manhattan grandmother, mother and churchgoer. She is also a former White House intern who says that when she was 19-years-old she had an affair with president John F. Kennedy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why are you admitting this now?

CARROLL: Now 60, she released a statement saying, "From June 1962 to November 1963 I was involved in a sexual relationship with President Kennedy. For the last 41 years, it is a subject that I have not discussed. In view of the recent media coverage, I have now discussed the relationship with my children and my family, and they are completely supportive."

So are members of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, where Fahnestock works as a Web site manager.

TOM TEWELL, PASTOR: She's a very respected, trusted member of our church and our staff family and we all love her and we stand behind her 100 percent.

CARROLL: Fahnestock grew up as Marian Beardsley (ph) in a wealthy New Jersey suburb. One childhood friend, who is now her neighbor, was surprised to hear the revelation.

JOAN TATNALL, CHILDHOOD FRIEND: She is the least likely person I ever would have expected to have had a romance. But I think probably Jack Kennedy would have gone to bed with anybody, so -- not that Mimi is just anybody. She's very attractive. Smartest girl in our class, very good at track.

CARROLL: Fahnestock went to a prep school in Connecticut, Miss Porter's, also attended by the future first lady, Jacqueline Bouvier.

Fahnestock attended Wheaton College but did not graduate. She spent her freshman and sophomore summers in the White House. According to an oral history by a former Kennedy press aide, who also alluded to the affair. Historian Robert Dallek uncovered it while doing research for his new biography of the former president.

ROBERT DALLEK, AUTHOR: She had 17 blacked out pages and the oral history in the Kennedy library. I asked her and she gave me access to them. I guess almost 40 years later she felt there was no harm in doing it.

CARROLL: The alleged affair gets only a few lines of attention in a 700-plus page book. Dallek did not name the intern, but described her as a tall, slender, beautiful 19-year-old college sophomore, quoting a press aide who said she had no skills and she couldn't type. The unnamed former intern came forward only after the "New York Daily News" tracked her down.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: And Fahnestock has asked the media to respect her privacy as well as the privacy of her family. That may be difficult given the statements she has made about her alleged relations with one of the most popular and scrutinized presidents -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Jason Carroll live in New York, thank you.

Well, Celeste Katz, the "New York Daily News" reporter who broke the story of this woman's identity says she met with Mimi Fahnestock. Celeste joins us to talk about what that was like.

Celeste, I guess I first want to know how the two of you connected and understand you did the interview in this church where Fahnestock works, a bit of an ironic twist. A bit of a confession to a reporter, I guess you could say.

CELESTE KATZ, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: Basically what happened was through various documents and so on, we had been able to track her down and so I had -- we had found out that she worked at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church. So I just walked in. I waited until she arrived and I said -- and I asked to speak with her. I said, "Have you been following our coverage of John Kennedy?" And she said, "Yes" And I said, "Well are you the Mimi in the story?" And she said, "Yes, I am the Mimi."

And then she said she would like it if we could sit down in the pews of the church and we sat there for awhile and she told me her story.

PHILLIPS: Celeste, why did you believe her? Did she have any kind of evidence or mementos or pictures? Why -- why do you believe that her story is true?

KATZ: I think that there were things that were not necessarily out there that she knew.

For example, the school -- in some of the documents the school that she had attended was incorrectly cited as the Chapin School (ph) and she correctly mentioned that she had been at Miss Porter's school and that she had been the editor of the newspaper there.

PHILLIPS: Is there anything that she told you that you didn't get a chance to publish?

KATZ: Not -- not as of yet. I mean, the story continues to unfold, I guess.

PHILLIPS: Are there things that you know that we don't know?

KATZ: Is it fresh if I say buy a paper?

PHILLIPS: Tell us. Yes, we will buy the paper. But tell our viewers right now that are watching and want to know about your story and want to know about this meeting you had with this woman who's been keeping this secret for 40-plus years.

KATZ: Well, basically, when we sat down, she really -- I think what she was really emphatic about was the fact that she was very young at the time, very innocent, very naive. This was her first job and -- but she wasn't very worldly at the time. But that the greatest thing about all these things coming out now that was she was able to share, you know, very recently with her two married daughters and with the rest of her family. She does have four grandchildren. You know, this -- this information, this episode that had been a part of her personal history and her life.

PHILLIPS: Celeste, what did she tell you about JFK? What kind of man did she think he was?

KATZ: Well, to tell you the truth she actually chose to keep most of the details about the president to herself. She said that she thinks the world knows what kind of a man he is and that she doesn't want to elaborate on that.

PHILLIPS: Where did she spend time with him?

KATZ: I'm sorry? Where?

PHILLIPS: Where did she spend time with him? Was it just in the oval office? Did they leave together?

KATZ: Right, I mean, from -- from our earlier reports, which she did confirm to us, she was traveling with the president. There were various parties and things that took place. She was with him at the White House and elsewhere. There was one notable anecdote about her being found sort of hiding on the floor of the presidential car or the limousine by some of the president's attendants. So she did spend time with him in a variety of places. PHILLIPS: So did she receive a lot of support from JFK's staff? Did they protect her and allow her into places and let her come along without anybody knowing?

KATZ: I _- I think that -- I mean, it's hard for me to say. But I think that certainly if the president had chosen to be with her that their might have been people who facilitated that. But I really can't speculate on that at all.

PHILLIPS: What did JFK say to her? Did she tell you anything about their conversations, their dialogue? Did he say that he loved her?

KATZ: You know, I really think that what she's trying to do now is say, Look, OK, this secret has come out into the open. I acknowledge that. I acknowledge the reports that I did have an intimate relationship with President Kennedy and that I've told my family about this and that I was very young and innocent at the time. And that's about as far as she's taking it right now.

PHILLIPS: You don't think she knew what she was doing? You say that she says was young and innocent, but she's having a sexual affair with the president of the United States.

KATZ: Not having been there, I really couldn't say.

PHILLIPS: How did she get this position? I understand she came to Washington to actually interview Jackie Kennedy. Is that right?

KATZ: Yes, at the time she had been the editor of her high school paper and Jackie Kennedy had also attended the same schools. So she was given an opportunity to interview Mrs. Kennedy and so that's how she went to Washington. And it was after that that she met the president.

PHILLIPS: And does she feel guilty? Does she have any regrets about this relationship?

KATZ: Again, she just said that she's happy, actually she's very relieved that this has finally come out into the open so that she could share it with her family. And that she really just wants to go on living what she described as a very happy, full, phenomenal life.

PHILLIPS: Celeste, how did the affair end?

KATZ: I'm not sure exactly at what point the affair ended. I do know that soon after that she did marry.

PHILLIPS: Do you know what she went on and did with her life? Once she left the Oval Office did she continue communication with JFK?

KATZ: I'm not really sure about how far their communications went. I think that she went on with her life, had jobs, finished her college education and has come to work in the church.

PHILLIPS: Celeste Katz, "New York Daily News" reporter. I must say you definitely got the scoop of the week, Celeste.

KATZ: I couldn't have don done it without Dave Goldner (ph) and everybody else at "The Daily News."

PHILLIPS: Well, we thank you for your time and thank you for giving us an interview.

KATZ: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Cybill Shepherd does Martha Stewart.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHEPHERD: Who opened four bottles of wine? This is ridiculous! Do you know how much red wine costs?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The new it tell-all movie spills dirt on the queen of clean. Cybill Shepherd is our guest when we return.

But first, the answer to today's "News Quiz."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS (voice-over): Earlier we asked who was the only president to have been married in the White House. The answer, Grover Cleveland. At 49-years-old he married the daughter of his former law partner, 21-year-old Frances Folsom. James Buchanan never married, Ronald Reagan was married twice, but never in the White House.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: A CNN consumer alert. Does the "fat patch" really help you lose weight?

Also what does it take to play Martha Stewart? Learn what Cybill Shepherd thinks of that gourmet guru.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Martha Stewart has played a lot of roles in her life, domestic diva, style icon and most recently embattled investor. All those images have made her the subject of media scrutiny and of a new made for TV movie. She's being played by someone who's no stranger to controversy, Cybill Shepherd. She spoke to Daryn Kagan about the art of being Martha.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: It's great to be have you with us.

SHEPHERD: I'm always happy to be back.

KAGAN: Could you have picked a more controversial woman to play than Martha Stewart? I don't think so.

SHEPHERD: Well, I think it's the part of a lifetime. I wanted to play her when I met her seven years ago, just briefly met her. I thought if a movie's ever done about this woman, I should be the one to play her.

KAGAN: Even before she became as controversial as she is today you saw a great story in her?

SHEPHERD: I just thought that she was really interesting. I found her to have an edge. I found her to be regal as if she was royal blood. When I was playing the part I imagined I was Queen Elizabeth I. Off with their heads! I don't need them anymore.

KAGAN: Well, and I think that's the part that most people associate with Martha Stewart. So many stories have either leaked out or come out how she's not been the most pleasant person to work with. And yet, from what i understand, the movie is sympathetic of her rise to power and fame.

SHEPHERD: It's very sympathetic because you know, everybody has their demons. And these were Martha's demons and it's very interesting for me to play because everyone thinks I'm like Martha is. But I'm not. So I love playing it and I love screaming at people and raging.

KAGAN: It sounds like you feel like were born or you've been working many years to play this part. Like you kind of maybe have an inner Martha. Can you share with us a little bit of how you portrayed her? Like your best Martha imitation. Your best Martha imitation right now or how you interpreted her character.

SHEPHERD: OK. OK. It's a good thing.

KAGAN: What about the more angry Martha? Where's that character?

SHEPHERD: Who opened four bottles of wine? This is ridiculous! Do you know how much red wine costs!

KAGAN: With all due respect, Cybill, from some of the things that have come out in the media some people might say is this the pot calling the kettle black? That there have been some stories that you have high standards of people that you work with and can be very insistent on what you expect out of people. Do you think that that's fair?

SHEPHERD: Well, expecting high standards of people is very different than screaming and humiliating them and calling them stupid, which I've never done.

KAGAN: And so you can understand what it feels like to have bad media come out about you. And this TV movie of the week is actually based on an unauthorized biography. Did you have trouble taking a part like that? SHEPHERD: Not at all. She tried to stop the publication of the book and if there were -- if there were lies in there, she could have stopped it.

KAGAN: Have you heard from her since you've done this?

SHEPHERD: No, but I've -- if she sent me a pie to taste. I wouldn't taste it, I don't think.

KAGAN: Do you think that she'll be pleased with the portrayal?

SHEPHERD: Well, I really wanted to do justice all her sides. She's a brilliant -- she's a genius. She has her demons. We've never seen her be vulnerable, but she's been through hell. I mean her husband dumped her after almost 30 years of marriage and ran off with her assistant. And she's had a rough time. I mean, I think we show her vulnerability and we show her strength. And I admire her survival. She's going to survive all of this.

KAGAN: After this project would you like to meet with her again?

SHEPHERD: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- I don't know -- I don't know that she'd want to meet me. Maybe -- I don't know, I'd be kind of scared. I might have to have a few bodyguards.

KAGAN: Perhaps her mind will change after she sees the movie when it runs on Monday night 9:00 p.m., NBC. A pleasure to get to talk with you, Cybill Shepherd, thanks for being with us.

SHEPHERD: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: All right, straight ahead on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS, medical news every woman should here. Find out why breast exams are now being called optional.

And the skinny on the fat patch. Does this so-called cure for weight loss really do the trick? A CNN consumer alert when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: In health news, a story for women and all the men who love them, like my producer, Eric Sherling (ph). The American Cancer Society is issuing controversial new guidelines regarding breast self exams. The group once recommended monthly self exams but now says women should consider them optional.

There have been studies which show that self exams are know as effective at catching breast cancer as other screening methods, including mammograms and breast ultrasounds. The guidelines recommend that women under 40 with no risk factors get a breast exam from their doctor every few years. Women over 40 are advised to get an annual checkup as well as a mammogram. Could a little Band Aid patch really help you shed those unwanted pounds? Well, CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has the latest on the so-called fat patch. .

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: The results are incredible.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Could it really be this easy?

Look at these Web sites selling fat patches. They say, "Put it on and burn the fat."; "The miracle you've been waiting for."; "Lose two to four pounds per week."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) about the diet patch is that you can just put it on your skin. It's easy to use. No pills, no dieting.

COHEN: So these things really work?

The patches contain seaweed and herbs. Many claim they stimulate the thyroid to boost metabolism.

We showed these Web sites to Jim Hill, a nutrition and weight loss and expert at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.

JIM HILL, UNIV. OF COLORADO HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER: Putting a patch on isn't going to help you lose weight. People are wasting their time and their money on products that aren't going to give them success.

COHEN: Hill says people should be careful about taking products that claim to affect the thyroid.

HILL: I would be very leary of taking something that affected my thyroid, because it's equally likely it can affect it in a bad way.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You want to go ahead and try the patch?

COHEN: Carla Jarrett (ph) runs a company that sells patches. She and other people who sell the patches point to a study they say the patch works and is safe.

(on camera): But no one we asked could actually show us a published copy of the study or lead us to the doctor who wrote it. Usually finding the finding the author of a medical study is easy. But in this case when we tried to locate the doctor we couldn't find him or any trace of him.

(voice-over): Another company, which has since stopped running this ad, says other studies show their patchworks when used as part of their four-part program that includes diet and exercise.

Hill says it's the diet and exercise that work, not the patch.

HILL: It's not easy. It's hard work. It takes time and it takes consistency.

COHEN: A message, it seems, Americans would rather not hear. Judging by the proliferation of patches, they'd rather hear about the quick, the easy and the effortless.

Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Now our hot "Question of the Day," our "Web Question of the Day": "Do you think the French were unfairly smeared? " Vote now at cnn.com/wolf. The results when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. Live pictures now in Tennessee. If you are a resident in that area you better listen up and take a look at these live shots that we have for you. We are told now that actually it's taped, not live pictures. Our affiliate in Tennessee -- this is the storm damage that's taken place. We've just received word also that there's a tornado warning for Knox County, Tennessee. Pictures that you are looking at now via WATE out of Tennessee showing storm damage from that weather coming through that area. We'll follow this story, of course, as it progresses.

Now here's how you're weighing in on our "Web Question of the Day." Remember, we've been asking you this: "Do you think the French were unfairly smeared?" Seventy-two percent of you said yes, while 28 percent of you said no. You can find the exact vote tally and continue to vote, by the way, on our Web site, cnn.com/wolf. This is not, of course, a scientific poll. Remember that.

Now time to hear from you and read some of your e-mails. Yesterday's Web question asked if you thought the media are reliable.

Jo Ann writes, "There hasn't been accurate information from the media in years. We are subjected either to White House releases that bear little or no resemblance to the truth or to hysterical, rude men trying to out-shout one another."

Wheaton sends this: "Reliability is not the problem. It is not the amount of bias, slant and deception which have struck objective reporting."

And from David: "There are a few honest journalists out there, like Wolf Blitzer, even though he is forced to operate within the confines of CNN's mad dash for ratings. He finds ways to get some of the facts out there. Thank you for doing that."

David, believe me, we have standards and practices folks here and they're breathing down all our backs.

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







Aired May 15, 2003 - 17:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): New terror warnings. Americans urged to be on alert in several hot spots. A major airline halts service to one of them.

The ban on assault weapons set to expire. Who's taking the heat?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that Tom DeLay is not in tune with the American people.

PHILLIPS: And who's firing back?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The law has had no impact on crime.

PHILLIPS: And a New York grandmother goes public about her relationship with JFK, and so do her friends.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now she is the least likely person I ever would have expected to have had a romance.

PHILLIPS: It's easy to use, no pills, no dieting. The latest fad in weight loss. Does it work?

And Cybill Shepherd as Martha Stewart.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Have you heard from her since you've done this?

CYBILL SHEPHERD, ACTRESS: No, but I've -- she sent me pie to taste. I wouldn't taste it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: It's Thursday, May 15, 2003. Hello from the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips reporting. Wolf Blitzer is off today.

We begin with a skyline scare, an airplane flying low over New York City. For a moment, the New Yorkers thought it was deja vu. The fly-by is causing quite a controversy. Now we've just received a home video. CNN's Patty Davis covers the aviation beat for us. Patty, what do you know?

PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, it was Continental Flight 3021 bringing troops back from Iraq Wednesday morning. They thought it was a good idea. Fly low over Manhattan.

Here's video, a home video from somebody who was on a ferry at the time. A special treat for the troops. A bird's-eye view of the Statue of Liberty and lower Manhattan where the World Trade Center was located.

The flight was approved by the FAA, but instead it was a terrible reminder for people on the ground of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg blasted the FAA for allowing the flight and said it shows a lack of sensitivity.

Here's what people who saw the flight had to say about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It just looked very low. And I was like, what the hell is that doing there? You know. Why is that so low? Here we go again or what? I didn't know what to expect.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a terrible feeling that we had. The five of us that were standing there were saying, This is it, it's happening again. And in light of what just happened the other day with the bombing over in Saudi Arabia we said could it be happening now?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAVIS: The FAA says it received a request from Continental, a local air traffic control center OK'ed it. And they say because of the reaction from people on the ground, it will never happen again -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Patty Davis, thank you.

Now to a surprise development in the Peterson murder case. The autopsy report supposed to be released today has been ordered sealed. Prosecution and defense lawyers agreed they want forensic test results on Laci Peterson and her unborn son kept private. News media want to see it and a hearing for that is scheduled for May 27. Laci's husband, Scott Peterson, is accused of the killing and he's awaiting two count of murder and could get the death penalty.

So what's in the autopsy report that neat needs to be kept secret and which side has most at stake? Let's turn to our legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin. Jeffrey, why keep this report sealed?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Very simple reason. Because there is so much public interest in this case the possibility that the jury pool could be tainted by this very important evidence in the case was judged by both parties, by the prosecution and the defense, as too great. So keep it sealed. Let it be revealed in the courtroom when the time comes before the jury.

PHILLIPS: So what's in the report that could be damaging to the prosecution or the defense?

TOOBIN: Well, this is a very important piece of evidence because, remember, this is a case with no eyewitnesses. And there is -- the cause of death is extremely important. How did Laci Peterson die? Did she drown? Was this -- was there some injuries to her? Were there injuries to her bones? What could be determined after all those months under water? It's very important evidence. And, I mean, the whole case could turn on it. So it's I think understandable why both sides would want it sealed.

PHILLIPS: When do you think details could be released?

TOOBIN: Well, at this rate it could not be in time -- until the preliminary hearing or even the trial. Probably the preliminary hearing. But that hasn't scheduled yet, likely to be very -- several months to go.

PHILLIPS: And who do you think this favors more, the defense or prosecution? What's your take?

TOOBIN: Well I think it favors the defense, probably, because just keeping this -- keeping additional facts out of the news, keeping -- making people not focus on the details of the case I think helps the defense.

But obviously the most important thing is what's in the autopsy report. The timing isn't really all that important. It's whether any cause of death in there can be tied to Scott Peterson. That's the most important thing.

PHILLIPS: Our legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin. Thank you.

Now to the war on terror. Days after deadly terror attacks in Saudi Arabia and that warning that proceeded it, there's a new terror alert out today. The State Department says there are credible threats that terror attacks are being planned in Kenya and Malaysia. It's warning Americans traveling to those countries to be on alert. U.K. transportation officials put out a similar warning on Kenya prompting British Airways to suspend service there.

At the same time Attorney General John Ashcroft announced the indictment of two suspected al Qaeda members in the bombing of the USS Cole. The men escaped last month from a prison in Yemen and are at large. If caught and convicted they could face the death penalty. Seventeen American sailors died in that October 2000 attack in Yemen.

Now to Saudi Arabia where U.S. investigators have finally arrived after being delayed by red tape. CNN Justice correspondent Kelli Arena is in Washington with a look at the job that they're facing -- Kelli.

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, the team is made up of agents from the CIA, the FBI and the State Department. They come from a wide range of units from bomb and lab technicians to intelligence experts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARENA (voice-over): U.S. investigators are now in Saudi Arabia to help hunt down the terrorists who killed eight Americans. But it's still unclear how much of a role the Saudis will let the U.S. team have.

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: We expect full cooperation in the investigation. And I think all indications are from the FBI assessment team that Saudi Arabia's cooperating.

ARENA: A top priority, reconstructing the truck bombs. Just as FBI agents did in the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing.

DAVE WILLIAMS, FRM. FBI SPECIAL AGENT: We were able to determine exactly what it was. And based on the way it was put together we had a fairly good idea who may have laid that down.

ARENA: There is still some question about what the U.S. told the Saudis before the attacks. U.S. government sources say when top White House aide Stephen Hadley met urgently with Crown Prince Abdullah, he did not provide intelligence about a specific target.

Instead, a senior U.S. official says the Saudis were given an analysis that al Qaeda was in the final faces of planning a major attack in Saudi Arabia. And that it would most likely try to hit targets like businesses and housing compounds.

PRINCE BANDAR BIN SULTAN, SAUDI AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: Our security agencies took the request seriously, assessed the situation and decided the measures were adequate.

ARENA: A week before the attacks, the Saudis did discover a safe house and weapons cache near one of the compounds hit. And some U.S. government officials say it is very likely the terrorist used it to case the targets.

JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: Saudi Arabia must deal with the fact that it has terrorists inside its country.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ARENA: U.S. officials say that is imperative because sources say all indications are that al Qaeda is planning more attacks in the kingdom. Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: Justice correspondent Kelli Arena, thank you.

Well new developments in another troubled relationship. A French diplomat tells CNN his country's ambassador to the U.S. is complaining directly to the White House about what he perceives as a smear campaign. CNN's White House correspondent Dana Bash has the details -- Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, you know, there's been an extremely strained relationship between the United States and France since -- over differences on how to deal with Iraq, over whether or not the military campaign was appropriate.

But today, as you mentioned, the ambassador to the United States launched his own P.R. offensive against what he calls false allegations against his country.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASH (voice-over): France could have been upset with any number of things. Elected officials taking "French" off the menu.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Throughout the Capitol it'll be freedom fries and freedom toast.

BASH: Ribbing from the White House podium.

ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: I have heard people, particularly some of those who wear these type of shirts, weather wonder whether you call it a freedom cuff shirt or not.

BASH: But the French ambassador's letter to the White House and Capital Hill complaining of a, quote, "disinformation campaign aimed at sullying the French image and misleading the public," points to eight media reports he calls ugly and false attempts to link France to Saddam Hussein's regime.

A story that French companies sold spare parts to Iraq for military use. One quoting Bush officials alleging a French company brokered a deal to supply Iraq with long-range missiles through Syria. And what France says was the last straw, a report that last week that the French government supplied fleeing Iraqi officials with passports.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because it's attributed to officials, it raises a question mark. What is the purpose of these false accusations against France?

BASH: Paris is concerned that the allegations left unanswered could mushroom and even lead to Congressional investigations. The White House denies there's a concerted effort to slander France, but does admit their rapport has seen better days, pointing reporters to this comment from the Secretary of State.

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: Now the United States and France, we've been in marriage counseling for 225 years. We just want -- the marriage is there. And it will be there.

BASH: Privately, sources on both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue, designed by French architect Pierre L'Enfant, say this move of could backfire because anti-French sentiment is already rampant in the United States.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: And just three weeks from now there is an opportunity for an reproachment (ph) because President Bush is headed to France for the G-8 Summit -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Dana Bash at the White House.

Well, here's your turn to weigh in on this story. Our "Web Question of the Day": "Do you think the French were unfairly smeared?" We'll have the results later in this broadcast. Vote at cnn.com/wolf.

And while you're there, we'd like to hear from you. Send us your comments and we might read some of them at the end of program. Also, of course, where you can read our daily online column, cnn.com/wolf.

Assault weapons under fire. Should these weapons be allowed back on the street? Congress may let it happen. We'll go live to a firing range where police are saying absolutely not.

Plus, the Martha Stewart it will-all movie. Cybill Shepherd dishes the dirt on the queen of clean.

And presidential sexual sag. A woman who says she was Kennedy's intern comes forward after 41 years.

But first, today's "News Quiz."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS (voice-over): Who was the only president to have been married in the White House? Ronald Reagan? Grover Cleveland? James Buchanan? Abraham Lincoln? The answer coming up.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm John Zarrella. Coming up, the ban on assault weapons heats up. We'll take you live to the firing range.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Mixed signals on Capitol Hill on the assault weapons ban that expires next year and House GOP leader Tom DeLay has indicated he won't bring it up for renewal. House Speaker Dennis Hastert says no decision has been on that vote and that DeLay was caught off guard when he made his comments.

The 1994 law banned 19 types of semi-automatic guns.

CNN Miami bureau chief, John Zarrella, looks at what the controversy is over these weapons -- John.

ZARRELLA: Kyra, we're out at -- in western Broward County at Marcam Park at the Broward sheriff's office firearms training range and Sheriff Ken Jenne has been gracious to join us out here today and to demonstrate for our viewers exactly what the issue is with assault weapons.

I guess the first question, sheriff, that I would ask you is -- I know you'd like to see this ban remain in place. Why? SHERIFF KEN JENNE, BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA: Because I think guns are the tools of hunters, but these weapons are really the tools to kill people and there's a major, major difference.

You're going to see a magazine with 30 rounds in it compared to a magazine with 10. There's a major difference in how these weapons will operate, how it will be affected and frankly, my deputies volunteer every day to be on those streets -- lives for greater danger.

ZARRELLA: Let's get to the demonstration with your detective, Chris Worth (ph). And first, what is he going to demonstrate for us, first?

JENNE: First, the deputy is going to demonstrate a AK-47, the Chinese version, which is the pre-banned version.

ZARRELLA: It's currently banned, then?

JENNE: It's currently banned.

(CROSSTALK)

JENNE: Absolutely.

ZARRELLA: OK. OK, we'll, let the detective show us.

(GUN SHOTS)

ZARRELLA: That's into a cinderblock.

JENNE: That's into a cinderblock.

ZARRELLA: And now into a bulletproof vest.

JENNE: And this is a vest similar to the ones that our deputies have worn. It's a used one, but one that's similar.

(GUN SHOTS)

ZARRELLA: Now that bullet's clearly fired right through that.

JENNE: Right through and there's paneling on the front end and the back.

ZARRELLA: Now he's going to change to another weapon and while he changes, let me ask you then -- you know, a lot of the critics are saying, there's no evidence that the ban has really reduced crime. What do you think?

JENNE: Well, this is what I can tell you. I've got a heck of a lot of people in my jails that would like to get their hands on weapons like this. So that tells me it's doing something good.

ZARRELLA: Now this weapon now is legal under the current laws. JENNE: Absolutely. This is an AK-47 also, but a civilian model. It has some differences and right now this only has a clip of 10 in the magazine -- or 10 rounds in the magazine. So this is a big difference than the 30 rounds in the previous magazine.

ZARRELLA: OK.

(GUN SHOTS)

ZARRELLA: So what makes the big difference here is the amount of firepower, then.

JENNE: Absolutely. When deputies and people are on the street, or people that are subjected to drive-by shootings, these weapons are not that particularly accurate to begin with. When the more rounds you have, the more firepower you have, the more danger it is to law enforcement as well as the general public.

ZARRELLA: Sheriff, as we wrap up real quickly, do you believe, then, the ban should be extended and do you believe that most sheriffs and police officers are -- and deputies are in agreement? What do you think?

JENNE: I would hope that most law enforcement officers across this country would be in agreement with it. I'd like to see it extended.

You know, frankly, no one is suggesting long guns. No one is suggesting handguns should be banned. They -- a matter of fact, a lot of us go hunting on a regular basis in Florida.

ZARRELLA: Sheriff, thank you so very much for joining us.

Kyra, a pretty powerful demonstration of the firepower of these weapons that police, at least Sheriff Ken Jenne and the Broward sheriff's office, want to see kept off the streets -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: No doubt. It puts in perspective. Our John Zarrella, great report. Thanks, John.

Well, you probably remember this scene: the 1997 shootout between two men armed with a cache of assault weapons and Los Angeles police. It followed a botched bank robbery and amazingly ended with only the two suspects killed.

Bernard Parks became chief of the LAPD shortly afterward. He is now a Los Angeles city councilman. He joins us live to talk about the ban.

Councilmember Parks, we both remember that well. You were on the force. I was a reporter at that time. That really changed the face of how everyone looked at those weapons, didn't it?

BERNARD PARKS, LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL: I think it was the most graphic illustration of why assault weapons have no place in domestic society. PHILLIPS: So what would letting the assault weapons ban expire do?

PARKS: I think it gives really a license and an indication to the criminal element that we can go back to the days of prior to '94, that everything goes and that the communities are going to be victimized by these high-powered weapons and a criminal community that will be in charge of our cities.

PHILLIPS: Now councilmember, some gun control groups say police are more likely to be killed by an assault weapon than the average citizen. Are we putting police at risk?

PARKS: I think we're putting police, but the overall community. We lose several thousand people in the United States each year and about 80 plus percent is by gun violence and the I think the issue of talking about gun control really doesn't capture the issue. It's the gun violence that really hits at the heart of every community in our country.

PHILLIPS: Well, you were a police officer for 38 years. How difficult is it to defend against an assault weapon?

PARKS: It is very difficult because generally the first responding officer is totally unaware of the circumstances and the firepower. You may later be able to bring a SWAT unit or someone that can match that firepower, but there's nothing that an officer or first responder carries with them that can compete with that. And there's certainly nothing in the community that a citizen or community member can compete with. So you are at a total disadvantage when confronted with something of this high power.

PHILLIPS: So can you think of any reason to have an assault weapon.

PARKS: There's no reason. As the sheriff said earlier in your report there's. Only one reason for it. You cannot hunt with it. It's only one reason and that is that it kills people. It's a military weapon. It should be kept in a military arsenal and out of the domestic society.

PHILLIPS: Well, sir, as police chief I know the homicide rates fell, the robbery rate, the rape rate, you really did know how to handle crime. I have to ask you about a new project you're working on as council member there in Los Angeles.

PARKS: We are working on bringing football back to the city of Los Angeles although Atlanta has the Atlanta Falcon, we have been without football since '94, the same year that the assault ban went in place. But we want to bring football back to the Colosseum, the historical site, the community and the economic benefits would be tremendous for a city that's the second largest media market in the country.

PHILLIPS: From police chief to council member, still making inroads in all types of ways. Bernard Parks thank you. PARKS: Thank you Kyra, nice seeing you.

PHILLIPS: Great seeing you too.

Texas death trap is what they're calling it. A truck driver is accused of leaving men, women and children to die in the back of his rig. Also President Kennedy's intern speaks out. Hear what she says about her relationship with JFK.

And the fat patch, miracle or mirage for people trying to lose weight? Elizabeth Cohen with a CNN consumer alert.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: We're starting to hear what it was like inside that big rig truck in Texas where 18 illegal immigrants suffocated and scores of others feared they would die. CNN national correspondent Gary Tuchman now from Victoria, Texas -- Gary.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, hello to you.

A New York State man remains in prison without bond after his initial court appearance after being arrested on smuggling charges. His name is Tyrone Williams. We got first glimpse of him today. He is being charged with participant in the plan that lead to the death of 18 illegal immigrants, that police say he was driving from the Mexican border to here in Victoria, Texas.

After an affidavit released to us today in which Tyrone Williams told police he entered into an agreement with two men at the Mexican border to transport the illegal immigrants. He said that while he was driving he heard banging and screaming in the back of his trailer and he opened the trailer door at this service station, we are at right now, and told police there appeared to be something wrong with them referring the people in the back of the very hot trailer. Says a female was yelling el nino, which in Spanish means a little boy. And indeed a 7-year-old boy was one of the 18 illegal immigrants who die as a result of the ride from the Mexican border. He say he panicked at that point at the service station, unhooked his tractor from the trailer and abandoned the trailer with the immigrants, drove his tractor to a hospital in Houston where he went into the hospital in Houston.

Well he went into the hospital, nurses said he looked panicked, he looked nervous, and according to the affidavit told the story to police and was taken into custody. The trailer that the immigrants were in, up to 100 immigrants of a refrigerated trailer because this man apparently used it to transport watermelons and milk, but the refrigeration was not on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL SHELBY, MAYOR U.S. ATTORNEY: The internal temperature of the truck was well beyond a 100 degrees for an extended period of time. And the scene within the truck was one of the most gruesome things I've ever witnessed personally. These people were obviously in a great deal of distress and panic before they died.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TUCHMAN: Williams has told authorities that he was to be paid $5,000 to take the immigrants from Texas on the Mexican border to Houston. One of the people inside the truck talked to police and said he paid $1,000 for the ride. They are still looking for other suspects in this case. At least three other people involved in this.

Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: We'll continue to follow the search for those individuals.

Gary Tuchman, Victoria, Texas, thank you.

In Florida another drama played itself out in the water. Six illegal Cuban immigrants hoping to find freedom on the other side of the Florida Keys never made it to shore. Instead they were intercepted by the Coast Guard less than four miles the men started waving a machete and oars, then jumped into the water and tried to swim away. But within hours, all six of them were in custody.

Before there was Monica there was Mimi. A Kennedy intern speaks out about her presidential love affair.

Also Martha, Martha, Martha. Cybill Shepherd tells all about a new role as the queen of clean.

And weight loss in a patch? A CNN consumer alert still to come.

But first, a look at other news making headlines around the world.

The United Nations is pleading for urgent attention to escalating violence in northeastern Congo, fighting between rival militias is stirring up ethnic hatred with scores of civilians already killed.

Lebanese authorities tell CNN they thwarted a planned rocket attempt on a U.S. embassy in Beirut. Nine people, Lebanese and Palestinian are in custody.

China's state-run media say the country's supreme court has affirmed harsh punishment for anyone violating quarantine laws, including those now in place for SARS. Punishments range from 10 years in prison to death.

The Israel defense forces say they've entered Gaza to knock out positions used to fire rockets on Israeli communities. Palestinians say three people have been killed in the operation including a 12- year-old boy.

In Italy, work is under way on the Moses project aimed at sparing Venice from flooding. Barriers are being installed offshore that will rise when high tied threatened that city. And the "Matrix Reloaded" was in the spotlight at the Cannes Film Festival. The stars were there for a screening of the anticipated blockbuster. It got mixed views. And that's our look around the world.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Welcome back to WOLF BLITZER REPORTS. I'm Kyra Phillips.

In a moment, JFK's secret lover. The woman who says she was his intern comes forward after 41 years of hiding.

(NEWSBREAK)

PHILLIPS: There are only a few lines in a new JFK biography detailing an alleged affair with an intern, but those few lines have a lot of people talking, including the now 60-year-old grandmother who says she that was intern.

CNN's Jason Carroll lives in New York now -- Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Kyra, the woman in question works here at this church. She lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and she's not revealing many details about her alleged affair with President Kennedy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL (voice-over): Marianne Fahnestock, Mimi for short, is a Manhattan grandmother, mother and churchgoer. She is also a former White House intern who says that when she was 19-years-old she had an affair with president John F. Kennedy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why are you admitting this now?

CARROLL: Now 60, she released a statement saying, "From June 1962 to November 1963 I was involved in a sexual relationship with President Kennedy. For the last 41 years, it is a subject that I have not discussed. In view of the recent media coverage, I have now discussed the relationship with my children and my family, and they are completely supportive."

So are members of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, where Fahnestock works as a Web site manager.

TOM TEWELL, PASTOR: She's a very respected, trusted member of our church and our staff family and we all love her and we stand behind her 100 percent.

CARROLL: Fahnestock grew up as Marian Beardsley (ph) in a wealthy New Jersey suburb. One childhood friend, who is now her neighbor, was surprised to hear the revelation.

JOAN TATNALL, CHILDHOOD FRIEND: She is the least likely person I ever would have expected to have had a romance. But I think probably Jack Kennedy would have gone to bed with anybody, so -- not that Mimi is just anybody. She's very attractive. Smartest girl in our class, very good at track.

CARROLL: Fahnestock went to a prep school in Connecticut, Miss Porter's, also attended by the future first lady, Jacqueline Bouvier.

Fahnestock attended Wheaton College but did not graduate. She spent her freshman and sophomore summers in the White House. According to an oral history by a former Kennedy press aide, who also alluded to the affair. Historian Robert Dallek uncovered it while doing research for his new biography of the former president.

ROBERT DALLEK, AUTHOR: She had 17 blacked out pages and the oral history in the Kennedy library. I asked her and she gave me access to them. I guess almost 40 years later she felt there was no harm in doing it.

CARROLL: The alleged affair gets only a few lines of attention in a 700-plus page book. Dallek did not name the intern, but described her as a tall, slender, beautiful 19-year-old college sophomore, quoting a press aide who said she had no skills and she couldn't type. The unnamed former intern came forward only after the "New York Daily News" tracked her down.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: And Fahnestock has asked the media to respect her privacy as well as the privacy of her family. That may be difficult given the statements she has made about her alleged relations with one of the most popular and scrutinized presidents -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Jason Carroll live in New York, thank you.

Well, Celeste Katz, the "New York Daily News" reporter who broke the story of this woman's identity says she met with Mimi Fahnestock. Celeste joins us to talk about what that was like.

Celeste, I guess I first want to know how the two of you connected and understand you did the interview in this church where Fahnestock works, a bit of an ironic twist. A bit of a confession to a reporter, I guess you could say.

CELESTE KATZ, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: Basically what happened was through various documents and so on, we had been able to track her down and so I had -- we had found out that she worked at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church. So I just walked in. I waited until she arrived and I said -- and I asked to speak with her. I said, "Have you been following our coverage of John Kennedy?" And she said, "Yes" And I said, "Well are you the Mimi in the story?" And she said, "Yes, I am the Mimi."

And then she said she would like it if we could sit down in the pews of the church and we sat there for awhile and she told me her story.

PHILLIPS: Celeste, why did you believe her? Did she have any kind of evidence or mementos or pictures? Why -- why do you believe that her story is true?

KATZ: I think that there were things that were not necessarily out there that she knew.

For example, the school -- in some of the documents the school that she had attended was incorrectly cited as the Chapin School (ph) and she correctly mentioned that she had been at Miss Porter's school and that she had been the editor of the newspaper there.

PHILLIPS: Is there anything that she told you that you didn't get a chance to publish?

KATZ: Not -- not as of yet. I mean, the story continues to unfold, I guess.

PHILLIPS: Are there things that you know that we don't know?

KATZ: Is it fresh if I say buy a paper?

PHILLIPS: Tell us. Yes, we will buy the paper. But tell our viewers right now that are watching and want to know about your story and want to know about this meeting you had with this woman who's been keeping this secret for 40-plus years.

KATZ: Well, basically, when we sat down, she really -- I think what she was really emphatic about was the fact that she was very young at the time, very innocent, very naive. This was her first job and -- but she wasn't very worldly at the time. But that the greatest thing about all these things coming out now that was she was able to share, you know, very recently with her two married daughters and with the rest of her family. She does have four grandchildren. You know, this -- this information, this episode that had been a part of her personal history and her life.

PHILLIPS: Celeste, what did she tell you about JFK? What kind of man did she think he was?

KATZ: Well, to tell you the truth she actually chose to keep most of the details about the president to herself. She said that she thinks the world knows what kind of a man he is and that she doesn't want to elaborate on that.

PHILLIPS: Where did she spend time with him?

KATZ: I'm sorry? Where?

PHILLIPS: Where did she spend time with him? Was it just in the oval office? Did they leave together?

KATZ: Right, I mean, from -- from our earlier reports, which she did confirm to us, she was traveling with the president. There were various parties and things that took place. She was with him at the White House and elsewhere. There was one notable anecdote about her being found sort of hiding on the floor of the presidential car or the limousine by some of the president's attendants. So she did spend time with him in a variety of places. PHILLIPS: So did she receive a lot of support from JFK's staff? Did they protect her and allow her into places and let her come along without anybody knowing?

KATZ: I _- I think that -- I mean, it's hard for me to say. But I think that certainly if the president had chosen to be with her that their might have been people who facilitated that. But I really can't speculate on that at all.

PHILLIPS: What did JFK say to her? Did she tell you anything about their conversations, their dialogue? Did he say that he loved her?

KATZ: You know, I really think that what she's trying to do now is say, Look, OK, this secret has come out into the open. I acknowledge that. I acknowledge the reports that I did have an intimate relationship with President Kennedy and that I've told my family about this and that I was very young and innocent at the time. And that's about as far as she's taking it right now.

PHILLIPS: You don't think she knew what she was doing? You say that she says was young and innocent, but she's having a sexual affair with the president of the United States.

KATZ: Not having been there, I really couldn't say.

PHILLIPS: How did she get this position? I understand she came to Washington to actually interview Jackie Kennedy. Is that right?

KATZ: Yes, at the time she had been the editor of her high school paper and Jackie Kennedy had also attended the same schools. So she was given an opportunity to interview Mrs. Kennedy and so that's how she went to Washington. And it was after that that she met the president.

PHILLIPS: And does she feel guilty? Does she have any regrets about this relationship?

KATZ: Again, she just said that she's happy, actually she's very relieved that this has finally come out into the open so that she could share it with her family. And that she really just wants to go on living what she described as a very happy, full, phenomenal life.

PHILLIPS: Celeste, how did the affair end?

KATZ: I'm not sure exactly at what point the affair ended. I do know that soon after that she did marry.

PHILLIPS: Do you know what she went on and did with her life? Once she left the Oval Office did she continue communication with JFK?

KATZ: I'm not really sure about how far their communications went. I think that she went on with her life, had jobs, finished her college education and has come to work in the church.

PHILLIPS: Celeste Katz, "New York Daily News" reporter. I must say you definitely got the scoop of the week, Celeste.

KATZ: I couldn't have don done it without Dave Goldner (ph) and everybody else at "The Daily News."

PHILLIPS: Well, we thank you for your time and thank you for giving us an interview.

KATZ: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Cybill Shepherd does Martha Stewart.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHEPHERD: Who opened four bottles of wine? This is ridiculous! Do you know how much red wine costs?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The new it tell-all movie spills dirt on the queen of clean. Cybill Shepherd is our guest when we return.

But first, the answer to today's "News Quiz."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS (voice-over): Earlier we asked who was the only president to have been married in the White House. The answer, Grover Cleveland. At 49-years-old he married the daughter of his former law partner, 21-year-old Frances Folsom. James Buchanan never married, Ronald Reagan was married twice, but never in the White House.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: A CNN consumer alert. Does the "fat patch" really help you lose weight?

Also what does it take to play Martha Stewart? Learn what Cybill Shepherd thinks of that gourmet guru.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Martha Stewart has played a lot of roles in her life, domestic diva, style icon and most recently embattled investor. All those images have made her the subject of media scrutiny and of a new made for TV movie. She's being played by someone who's no stranger to controversy, Cybill Shepherd. She spoke to Daryn Kagan about the art of being Martha.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: It's great to be have you with us.

SHEPHERD: I'm always happy to be back.

KAGAN: Could you have picked a more controversial woman to play than Martha Stewart? I don't think so.

SHEPHERD: Well, I think it's the part of a lifetime. I wanted to play her when I met her seven years ago, just briefly met her. I thought if a movie's ever done about this woman, I should be the one to play her.

KAGAN: Even before she became as controversial as she is today you saw a great story in her?

SHEPHERD: I just thought that she was really interesting. I found her to have an edge. I found her to be regal as if she was royal blood. When I was playing the part I imagined I was Queen Elizabeth I. Off with their heads! I don't need them anymore.

KAGAN: Well, and I think that's the part that most people associate with Martha Stewart. So many stories have either leaked out or come out how she's not been the most pleasant person to work with. And yet, from what i understand, the movie is sympathetic of her rise to power and fame.

SHEPHERD: It's very sympathetic because you know, everybody has their demons. And these were Martha's demons and it's very interesting for me to play because everyone thinks I'm like Martha is. But I'm not. So I love playing it and I love screaming at people and raging.

KAGAN: It sounds like you feel like were born or you've been working many years to play this part. Like you kind of maybe have an inner Martha. Can you share with us a little bit of how you portrayed her? Like your best Martha imitation. Your best Martha imitation right now or how you interpreted her character.

SHEPHERD: OK. OK. It's a good thing.

KAGAN: What about the more angry Martha? Where's that character?

SHEPHERD: Who opened four bottles of wine? This is ridiculous! Do you know how much red wine costs!

KAGAN: With all due respect, Cybill, from some of the things that have come out in the media some people might say is this the pot calling the kettle black? That there have been some stories that you have high standards of people that you work with and can be very insistent on what you expect out of people. Do you think that that's fair?

SHEPHERD: Well, expecting high standards of people is very different than screaming and humiliating them and calling them stupid, which I've never done.

KAGAN: And so you can understand what it feels like to have bad media come out about you. And this TV movie of the week is actually based on an unauthorized biography. Did you have trouble taking a part like that? SHEPHERD: Not at all. She tried to stop the publication of the book and if there were -- if there were lies in there, she could have stopped it.

KAGAN: Have you heard from her since you've done this?

SHEPHERD: No, but I've -- if she sent me a pie to taste. I wouldn't taste it, I don't think.

KAGAN: Do you think that she'll be pleased with the portrayal?

SHEPHERD: Well, I really wanted to do justice all her sides. She's a brilliant -- she's a genius. She has her demons. We've never seen her be vulnerable, but she's been through hell. I mean her husband dumped her after almost 30 years of marriage and ran off with her assistant. And she's had a rough time. I mean, I think we show her vulnerability and we show her strength. And I admire her survival. She's going to survive all of this.

KAGAN: After this project would you like to meet with her again?

SHEPHERD: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- I don't know -- I don't know that she'd want to meet me. Maybe -- I don't know, I'd be kind of scared. I might have to have a few bodyguards.

KAGAN: Perhaps her mind will change after she sees the movie when it runs on Monday night 9:00 p.m., NBC. A pleasure to get to talk with you, Cybill Shepherd, thanks for being with us.

SHEPHERD: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: All right, straight ahead on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS, medical news every woman should here. Find out why breast exams are now being called optional.

And the skinny on the fat patch. Does this so-called cure for weight loss really do the trick? A CNN consumer alert when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: In health news, a story for women and all the men who love them, like my producer, Eric Sherling (ph). The American Cancer Society is issuing controversial new guidelines regarding breast self exams. The group once recommended monthly self exams but now says women should consider them optional.

There have been studies which show that self exams are know as effective at catching breast cancer as other screening methods, including mammograms and breast ultrasounds. The guidelines recommend that women under 40 with no risk factors get a breast exam from their doctor every few years. Women over 40 are advised to get an annual checkup as well as a mammogram. Could a little Band Aid patch really help you shed those unwanted pounds? Well, CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has the latest on the so-called fat patch. .

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: The results are incredible.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Could it really be this easy?

Look at these Web sites selling fat patches. They say, "Put it on and burn the fat."; "The miracle you've been waiting for."; "Lose two to four pounds per week."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) about the diet patch is that you can just put it on your skin. It's easy to use. No pills, no dieting.

COHEN: So these things really work?

The patches contain seaweed and herbs. Many claim they stimulate the thyroid to boost metabolism.

We showed these Web sites to Jim Hill, a nutrition and weight loss and expert at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.

JIM HILL, UNIV. OF COLORADO HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER: Putting a patch on isn't going to help you lose weight. People are wasting their time and their money on products that aren't going to give them success.

COHEN: Hill says people should be careful about taking products that claim to affect the thyroid.

HILL: I would be very leary of taking something that affected my thyroid, because it's equally likely it can affect it in a bad way.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You want to go ahead and try the patch?

COHEN: Carla Jarrett (ph) runs a company that sells patches. She and other people who sell the patches point to a study they say the patch works and is safe.

(on camera): But no one we asked could actually show us a published copy of the study or lead us to the doctor who wrote it. Usually finding the finding the author of a medical study is easy. But in this case when we tried to locate the doctor we couldn't find him or any trace of him.

(voice-over): Another company, which has since stopped running this ad, says other studies show their patchworks when used as part of their four-part program that includes diet and exercise.

Hill says it's the diet and exercise that work, not the patch.

HILL: It's not easy. It's hard work. It takes time and it takes consistency.

COHEN: A message, it seems, Americans would rather not hear. Judging by the proliferation of patches, they'd rather hear about the quick, the easy and the effortless.

Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Now our hot "Question of the Day," our "Web Question of the Day": "Do you think the French were unfairly smeared? " Vote now at cnn.com/wolf. The results when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. Live pictures now in Tennessee. If you are a resident in that area you better listen up and take a look at these live shots that we have for you. We are told now that actually it's taped, not live pictures. Our affiliate in Tennessee -- this is the storm damage that's taken place. We've just received word also that there's a tornado warning for Knox County, Tennessee. Pictures that you are looking at now via WATE out of Tennessee showing storm damage from that weather coming through that area. We'll follow this story, of course, as it progresses.

Now here's how you're weighing in on our "Web Question of the Day." Remember, we've been asking you this: "Do you think the French were unfairly smeared?" Seventy-two percent of you said yes, while 28 percent of you said no. You can find the exact vote tally and continue to vote, by the way, on our Web site, cnn.com/wolf. This is not, of course, a scientific poll. Remember that.

Now time to hear from you and read some of your e-mails. Yesterday's Web question asked if you thought the media are reliable.

Jo Ann writes, "There hasn't been accurate information from the media in years. We are subjected either to White House releases that bear little or no resemblance to the truth or to hysterical, rude men trying to out-shout one another."

Wheaton sends this: "Reliability is not the problem. It is not the amount of bias, slant and deception which have struck objective reporting."

And from David: "There are a few honest journalists out there, like Wolf Blitzer, even though he is forced to operate within the confines of CNN's mad dash for ratings. He finds ways to get some of the facts out there. Thank you for doing that."

David, believe me, we have standards and practices folks here and they're breathing down all our backs.

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