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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Could Cheney's Health Affect Ticket?; Osama bin Laden's Former Sister-in-Law Writes Book; Police Misidentify Teens in Tragic Accident; Judge to Allow Taped Statements in Kobe Bryant Trial; Martha Stewart Socializes While Waiting for Sentencing

Aired July 15, 2004 - 17:00 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Happening now. Responding to rumors. Vice President Cheney's office issues a response about his health but what are doctors saying?
And home again. The United States marine who went missing in Iraq has now touched down in the United States only a short while ago. What's he doing right now at a military base outside Washington?

Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Stepping up the attacks. Insurgents make it another deadly day across Iraq.

Now a vow to end to end the violence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are not going to win. Definitely, we are going to prevail.

BLITZER: Hostage hold-up. Dramatic new tape of Angelo dela Cruz. His captors say he'll be free when the last Filipino leaves Iraq.

Mortal mistake. Two families face a double tragedy and a community is left stunned.

Media mogul. Controversial and flamboyant. He's a man who's always done things his own way. I'll speak with Ted Turner.

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Thursday, July 15, 2004.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Iraq's interim government plans new steps to crack down and annihilate insurgents, one that involves a new government agency. The announcement follows a series of attacks that claimed several more lives. CNN's Michael Holmes reports from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Taking the fight to the insurgents, that was the message from Iraq's interim government Thursday.

IYAD ALLAWI, IRAQI INTERIM PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We are determined to bring down all the hurdles that lay in the way of our democratic march and our freedom.

HOLMES: Part of the plan, the formation of an internal intelligence, the general security directorate. Its job to infiltrate the insurgency, gather information, help wipe it out.

Allawi also said he would be trying to seal his country's poorest borders from foreign fighters, adding that security in Iraq had improved, despite another day of violence and death.

A car bombing thwarted in Karbala when the vehicle was spotted but the bombers blew themselves up and no one else. But northwest of Baghdad in Haditha, another car bomb killed 10 Iraqis and wounded 30. A massive bomb apparently directed at a local police station.

And in Kirkuk, mortars apparently aimed at a police station fell on a house instead, killing five members of a single family, including three children.

Another pipeline attack, too, south of Kirkuk, a common tactic by insurgents as they work to destabilize the country's economy. Prime Minister Allawi said he will visit a number of Middle East neighbors, including Kuwait and later Iran. He also plans to go to Europe and Pakistan. All looking for training assistance, money, and troops from some countries to help tackle the insurgency he says is doomed to fail. Michael Holmes, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: A United States marine corporal who vanished in Iraq is back in the United States right now, but questions remain over what exactly happened to him and how he made it out. Our senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre has the latest -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, Corporal Hassoun was smiling, he looked relaxed. Not at all like a man who could be in trouble for possibly deserting, but it's still not clear that that picture is accurate.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE (voice-over): Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun arrived at this sprawling Quantico marine base outside Washington D.C. on a military flight that began in Germany. The Marines suspect Hassoun left his post in Iraq voluntarily last month with the intention of deserting and joining relatives in Lebanon but publicly the Marine Corps is playing it by the book, insisting that Corporal Hassoun is simply going through the normal repatriation process for any former hostage.

LT. COL. DAVID LAPAN, U.S. MARINE CORPS SPOKESMAN: Repatriation is the process of decompression, debriefing, and integration of individuals who have been captured or detained. The length of this process can vary from weeks to months, depending on the circumstances of the individual case.

MCINTYRE: The spokesman said Hassoun arrived tired, but healthy and in good spirits. Otherwise the Marines are saying little publicly about what explanation Hassoun has offered for his disappearance from Iraq June 19 and his reappearance in Lebanon July 7 when he turned himself over to U.S. embassy officials. Sources say Hassoun insists he was abducted but in a brief statement issued in Germany, he made no mention of that, simply thanking the hospital staff and saying he was excited about going home. But Hassoun won't be going anywhere anytime soon, not until Navy investigators determine if he should be subject to any military discipline.

LAPAN: Corporal Hassoun will remain at Quantico until the repatriation team decides that he is able to return to full duty.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE: So far, Corporal Hassoun has not been accused of any wrongdoing nor has he been assigned a military attorney which would be a necessary first step if any charges were to be brought -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon. Thanks, Jamie, very much.

A Filipino hostage held in Iraq spoke out today on the Philippine government's decision to give into demands of the militants holding him. The statement was aired by the Al-Jazeera television network along with a new condition from the hostage takers. CNN's Maria Ressa is in Manila with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARIA RESSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 46-year-old Angelo dela Cruz was wearing civilian clothes not the orange jumpsuit he wore in earlier taped messages. He thanked Phillipine President Gloria Arroyo for promising to pull out the 51 Filipino soldiers and police in Iraq and he told his wife and eight children, quote, "wait for me, I'm coming back to you."

A short while later, another message also aired on Al-Jazeera, the kidnappers saying dela Cruz would be released only after the last Filipino soldier leaves Iraq and it must be before the end of the month. In effect, making sure The Philippines stick to its word.

That's been a key part of this week's negotiations. The Philippines pursued a high-risk strategy, issuing statements aimed simultaneously at appeasing the kidnappers's demands and maintaining its international commitments.

The statements have been carefully worded, deliberately ambiguous, sometimes conflicting, often confusing. Like this one Wednesday.

DELIA ALBERT, FOREIGN AFFAIRS SECRETARY: The foreign affairs ministry is coordinating the pull out of the humanitarian contingent with the ministry of national defense. As of today, our head count is down from 51 to 43.

RESSA: The statement implied the soldiers had actually left Iraq. Sources in Manila say that wasn't the case but whatever the reality, it gave the terrorists a powerful psychological victory.

Now, the terrorists themselves are making sure there is no ambiguity. If the government wants to save dela Cruz's life, The Philippines will have no choice but to pull its troops out exactly as the terrorists demand. Maria Ressa, CNN, Manila.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: He's one of the world's best-known moguls and never, never shy about speaking his mind. CNN founder Ted Turner joins us up live to talk about politics, television news, his charitable contributions, and more.

Is Dick Cheney's heart strong enough for him to stay on as vice president? Find out what some doctors are saying.

And the day before she's sentenced, Martha Stewart loses again in court. Find out what happened to her today and what's most likely to happen to her tomorrow.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: All in the family. Once Osama bin Laden's sister-in- law, now she's telling her family secrets. We'll have those details. We'll be back in 90 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: There's no shortage of words used to describe Ted Turner, many of them seemingly at odds. The man reserved to at times as a brash billionaire and a media mogul, is also a leading philanthropist and environmentalist. But if it hadn't been for Ted Turner, you wouldn't be seeing this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED TURNER: I dedicate the news channel for America, the Cable News Network.

BLITZER: It was an improbable experiment in an unproven medium. Relatively few people had cable in 1980, and no one thought there was an audience for a 24-hour news channel, except Ted Turner. But it was hardly his first challenge. He won the America's Cup in 1977 while he was parlaying his father's failing billboard company into cable's first superstation, TBS. His empire would continue to grow, encompassing sports teams, and movie studios, all of that sold to Time Warner 1995, all of that sold to AOL 2000, ultimately leaving Turners with titles and shares, but relatively little power. Along the way, he amassed superlatives, becoming the largest private landholder in the country, and making what was then the largest charitable donation ever, $1 billion to support the United Nations.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And thank you for caring about the U.N. and the principles of the U.N. too.

BLITZER: His philanthropic milestone, the Goodwill Games, launch in Moscow in the waning days of the Cold War as a peace jester. But his good works aren't the only things that have attracted attention over the years. His 1991 marriage to Jane Fonda made headlines, they divorced in 2001. And then there's his penchant for colorfully speaking his mind which has earned him the nickname of the "Mouth of the South." Over the years his remarks have offended Americans, Poles, Israelis, Palestinians, and Catholics, to name a few. He's even taken a swipe at his fellow men.

TURNER: I've said for years a personal feeling of mine, that men should be barred from public office in every country and everywhere, should be out of government for a 100 years.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And Ted Turner is joining us live. Ted Turner is joining us live now from Denver, Colorado.

Ted, thanks very much for joining us. This full disclosure, you hired me here at CNN way back in 1990, and for that, I will forever be grateful. But what did you mean when you said that men should be barred from public office. That was tongue-in-cheek? Do you think that women should be in charge?

TED TURNER: Yes. I really feel like that men have been running the world from a governmental basis since the beginning of time, and we still are living with war and weapons of mass destruction and high military budgets all over the world.

And I think if women ran the world for 100 years, we would see more money going into education and health care and home for the homeless, and so forth, and less into the military, and I think we'd be a safer and better world with women in charge for a while.

BLITZER: Speaking of war, what do you make of the war in Iraq? Is the world better off right now without Saddam Hussein in power?

TURNER: Well, yes, I think that Saddam Hussein is pretty well -- everyone agrees, he was a very bad person, but there are a lot of countries run by bad people, and we didn't attack them.

I think it was -- you know, I don't really understand why Iraq exactly. But I'm against war, and particularly wars that are not necessary, and I do not believe this war was necessary.

I didn't believe it at the time, and I don't believe it now. And I think the world is less safe and more of a mess today than it was before we started drop dropping the bomb.

BLITZER: But you admit that there are some wars that are just. For example, World War II against Hitler, that was a just war? TURNER: Sure. Yes, and in that war, we were attacked, too. We were attacked. We did not enter that war for several years after it began. We didn't enter until we were bombed at Pearl Harbor, so we not jump into that war by any manner of means. We waited until we were attacked. And that certainly is a difference. When you are attacked, you have to fight back.

How actively are you involved in politics right now, for example, in the presidential campaign, Bush versus Kerry?

TURNER: Well, I'm not involved directly, other than that I follow the race very carefully, watch a lot of CNN, too, Wolf. And I'm trying to -- I like to make my decision -- my final decision of who I'm going to vote for close to Election Day after the conventions are over and after I've heard what everybody has to say about the issues. Because there could be some changes on positions in the next three months, but I'm intensely interested in the campaign.

BLITZER: So you haven't decided whether you're going to vote to re-elect President Bush or vote for John Kerry?

TURNER: Well, I haven't finally decided. I know which way I'm heavily leaning.

BLITZER: Which way is that?

TURNER: What do you think?

BLITZER: I think you're leaning towards John Kerry.

TURNER: Well, you're close.

(LAUGHTER)

BLITZER: Well, unless you tell me you're leaning towards Ralph Nader.

TURNER: No. No, I think he just messes things up.

BLITZER: All right. So basically you're supporting John Kerry. There was some talk a few years ago, and I don't know if this was serious, that you yourself were -- at one point in your life, when you were a younger man, thinking of running for president. Was there any truth for that?

TURNER: Yes, I thought about it a couple times, but I thought about, you know, doing everything; being a fireman, an Indian chief, you name it. I've done a lot of different things in my life. I would have liked to have done even more, but I never really got real serious about it, as far as running for president.

BLITZER: But don't you think if you were going to run for president, you should run for, let's say, a lesser office first and try your hand in politics before you go ahead and run for president?

TURNER: Well, that's the normal case, but I was really -- I didn't really -- when I thought about running, I didn't really think I would get elected. I thought that I could bring the environmental and the peace agenda higher up on -- as far as the American conscience was concerned, and that was the main reason that I was going to do it. I'm blinking now because there's a real bright light shining in my eye.

BLITZER: That's because we want to make sure you look as good as possible on this shot from Denver. Ted Turner, stand by, we're going to...

TURNER: I'm not in Denver. I'm in Aspen.

BLITZER: You're in Aspen?

TURNER: I'm in Aspen, yes.

BLITZER: Aspen is a lovely place not far from Denver. All right. Ted Turner, stand by...

TURNER: There's a conference here.

BLITZER: I know, the "Fortune" magazine conference. We'll talk a little bit about that, talk about some other issues, including the state of cable news which you invented.

We are going to take quick break. When we come back, more of my conversation with Ted Turner

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We're back with Ted Turner who's joining us from beautiful Aspen, Colorado. I was just there during the July Fourth week. A great place to vacation.

Ted, let's talk a little bit about what you've created, cable news, CNN. The world of cable news, 24-hour news television has changed dramatically since 1980 when you started CNN. What do you make of the current state of it?

TURNER: Well, as I understand it, more people now get their news from cable than from -- their network news, anyway -- than they do from the broadcast networks and that is a big change and a very positive one for CNN.

BLITZER: Are you happy with the way CNN has evolved? Obviously, you're no longer involved in the leadership of CNN but since you left, are you happy with what you're seeing?

TURNER: Well, quite frankly, Wolf, as you can imagine, I really miss it, miss it terribly but I think CNN generally is doing a very good job. I watch it all the time.

BLITZER: You caused quite an uproar when you made those comments before the war about Connie Chung. Do you remember that? You didn't like the way that show was developing on CNN.

TURNER: No, it was way too tabloid to primetime on CNN, I felt.

BLITZER: What about getting back involved in the world of television news? Do you have any desire to try to do that? There have been rumors, speculation you might want to do something, buy something. You still have a few billion dollars.

TURNER: No, I don't. I've got a little over one. I don't really have enough money and I've already done that but I'm emotionally very involved with CNN and Headline News and CNN International and CNNfn, and you and all the rest of the gang that were such good friends of mine.

BLITZER: When you say you just have a little bit more than $1 billion, years ago I used to read that you had $5 billion or $8 billion. What happened to all that money?

TURNER: Well, you know, the AOL merger destroyed 85 percent of my wealth along with most of the other Time Warner shareholders.

BLITZER: So that's it. So how does it feel to lose billions, of dollars, literally?

TURNER: Well, it doesn't make a whole lot of difference except that I had to cut back my giving some. I haven't with the United Nations Foundation but I had to cut back on the Turner Foundation and the nuclear threat initiative, and I'm sorry about that, but I've learned to live with it. It was kind of easy come, easy go. While I did have billions, I gave half of it away anyway so it really doesn't make that much difference.

BLITZER: So what are you doing nowadays? What keeps you busiest?

TURNER: Well, I'm out here at a conference on global affairs that Fortune is hosting. We've got 250 leaders from all over the world and it's been -- I spoke last night, or at least I was interviewed by Charlie Rose and I've been attending the sessions.

I keep up with what's going on in the world. I read the magazines, I keep up with what's going on in the broadcast and the entertainment business because I'm still a major shareholder of Time Warner. Then I've got a restaurant business with a partner and we've got 25 restaurants and we're expanding rapidly and that's a lot of fun and gives me -- that lets me express my entrepreneurial instincts.

BLITZER: Tomorrow, Martha Stewart is going to find out -- I assume she's going to wind up going to spend a little bit of time in jail. Is that, in your opinion, fair that she's going to have to serve some time in a prison?

TURNER: The rules are the rules. I was very upset and disappointed that there was so much corruption in the business community when it first broke a couple years ago. And, you know, when I was running Turner Broadcasting for the 30 years that I ran it, we never even thought about cutting any corners to cheat on earnings or taxes, just to do anything illegal or wrong. BLITZER: So a major comeback splash by Ted Turner in the field of news media or other media, movies, whatever. Is there a surprise in store for our viewers who have grown accustomed to your involvement, shall we say, over the years?

TURNER: Well, it would have to be something that Dick Parsons and the board of Time Warner wanted to do and they haven't approached me so I think I'm not a candidate for anything at this time.

BLITZER But you're still a huge shareholder in Time Warner?

TURNER: Yes, I've still got several million shares.

BLITZER: All right. Ted turner, the man who brought me to CNN and for that I will forever be grateful. Thanks for joining us. Enjoy Aspen.

TURNER: Thank you. Thank you, Wolf. Nice talking to you.

BLITZER: Appreciate it very much.

It's the political buzz in Washington circles -- will Dick Cheney be taken off the Republican ticket? It's a rumor some are quick to quash, but is there any truth to it at all?

Plus he's the world's most wanted man. I'll speak to a woman who married into his family. You'll hear what she has to same about Osama bin Laden.

And she hears her fate tomorrow, as we've been reporting, but that's not stopping Martha Stewart from staying in the spot light. We'll have details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOLF BLITZER, HOST: This just in to CNN. It looks like the former first lady, the United States senator from New York, Hillary Rodham Clinton, will after all address the Democratic national convention.

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry has asked her to introduce former President Bill Clinton before he makes his speech. Some party members had complained earlier when it appeared that Mrs. Clinton would not address the convention in primetime.

Earlier today, Kerry addressed the NAACP. Let's go on the campaign trail.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): It was a political punch with an intended target. John Kerry today addressing the NAACP in Philadelphia.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Some people may have better things to do, but there's no place that I'd rather be right now than right here in Philadelphia with the NAACP. BLITZER: His comments come after President Bush declined to address the nation's largest civil rights group. The White House noted the hostility of the NAACP's leadership to the president.

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: The president is committed to continuing to reaching out to the African-American community and committed to continuing reaching out to NAACP members.

BLITZER: White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan says President Bush will address the Urban League and other civil rights groups next week, but today his opponent seized the opportunity.

KERRY: The president may be too busy to speak to you now, but I've got news for you. He's going to have plenty of time after November 2.

BLITZER: The civil rights group says it's committed to helping Kerry win in November, welcome news for a candidate looking to attract African-American voters. Already his campaign has released this new ad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you really make a difference for me and my family?

BLITZER: After his speech, Kerry launched what he's calling his "Front Porch" Tour in the Philadelphia suburbs. Employing the politics of the past, it's designed to allow the candidate more time- sharing concerns with regular Americans.

His running mate, on the same theme, stumped down South, visiting voters on a front porch in New Orleans.

Is John Edwards' southern charm working? One new poll from North Carolina shows the race there tightening, to within three points.

From Louisiana, Edwards heads to Bush country tonight: Houston, Texas.

As for the president, he's off the campaign trail today, and signed legislation that increases penalties for identity theft.

But the first lady is on the trail in the key battleground state of Florida, visiting a Jacksonville hospital, where she gave her opinion on Wednesday's Senate vote on the gay marriage ban.

LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY: This is an issue that's very touchy. It's very close to people's hearts on both sides. And that it's a time for us to respect each other and to respect each other's opinions.

BLITZER: And a political flag on the play in Illinois. It turns out Mike Ditka won't run for the U.S. Senate after all.

MIKE DITKA, FORMER CHICAGO BEARS COACH: And if I thought I could affect government or change people's opinion, then I probably would have done it, but I don't think I can. BLITZER: With Ditka now on the sidelines, the search goes on for a GOP candidate to face Democrat Barack Obama.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And the latest rumor to hit the United States here in the nation's capital is both wild, some would say intriguing. It has to do with two key questions about Vice President Dick Cheney's future.

CNN's Brian Todd is joining us now live with more on the story.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, those two key questions: will Dick Cheney stay on the reelection ticket and will his health be a deciding factor?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): The Washington rumormongers simply won't leave Dick Cheney or his family alone on the status of his future on the reelection ticket.

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's made it very clear that he wants me to run it again. The way I got here in the first place is he persuaded me four years ago that I was the man he wanted in that post.

LYNNE CHENEY, DICK CHENEY'S WIFE: This is a discussion that isn't going anywhere. The president has made his decision. Dick has accepted. That's the ticket.

TODD: The latest rumor, reported in "The New York Times," says the vice president fired one of his physicians so that he could see a new doctor who'd tell him that his heart problems make him unfit to run for reelection.

Dr. Gary Malakoff was, in fact, removed from Cheney's teams amid reports that Malakoff had abused prescription drugs.

We spoke to Cheney's cardiologist, Dr. Jonathan Reiner, who tells us the idea of Cheney seeking out a new doctor to tell him he's unfit is patent nonsense and laughable.

Dr. Reiner wouldn't give specifics on the vice president's condition, but Cheney's office gave us this statement. "The vice president's health is monitored closely by a team of physicians from George Washington University Medical Center and the White House. The results of the vice president's most recent routine comprehensive checkup were very good. He was advised by his physicians that there is no health issue that would interfere with his running for reelection or holding office for a second term."

That last checkup was on May 11.

Dick Cheney has had four heart attacks. The last one, in November of 2000, was considered minor. In March of 2001, Cheney checked himself into a hospital with chest pains and ended up getting an angioplasty to reopen an artery. He has a stent in place to keep an artery open, and a pacemaker to regulate his heartbeat.

CHENEY: A little tender in the shoulder. It will pass.

TODD: We asked a cardiologist at Emory University Medical Center what the risks are for someone who's had four heart attacks and a job as stressful as Cheney's.

DR. RANDY MARTIN, EMORY UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER: If you looked at the surface, a gentleman who's had four heart attacks, who's had bypass, you certainly would be concerned about them in a stressful situation.

Vice President Cheney has been in stress, though, all of his -- just about all of his adult life. But most importantly, we know in June of 2001, he had an implantable cardiac defibrillator, a device that's inside his heart that could literally be like a paramedic in his chest.

TODD: And we spoke to another prominent cardiologist familiar with Cheney's case, who was consulted on the procedures in 2001. He says Cheney's coronary status is stable and sees no reason why he couldn't run again or hold office.

But as a point of comparison he offers this. Normally the heart squeezes 60 percent of the blood from the body's main pumping chamber, the left ventricle, into the bloodstream with each beat. Cheney's heart, he says, squeezes only 40 percent of his blood out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: That cardiologist says Cheney can function normally with that percentage and adds that Cheney's on the best medications now and is taking much better care of himself.

But he says flat-out, unlike a normal person who might have heart muscle strength in reserve, Dick Cheney simply cannot withstand another significant heart attack -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Let's hope he doesn't have one. Good health to the vice president of the United States.

Good report. Thanks very much, Brian Todd.

And to our viewers, here's your chance to weigh in on this important story. Our Web question of the day is this: "Is Dick Cheney the best running mate for President Bush?"

You can vote right now. Go to CNN.com/Wolf. We'll have the results for you later in this broadcast.

While you're there, by the way, I'd love to hear directly from you. Send me your comments anytime. I'll try to read some of them on the air each day at the end of this program. That's also, of course, where you can real our daily online column. Go to it: CNN.com/Wolf.

Homeland security officials warn there's a very real possibility of a new al Qaeda attack in the United States this summer. Very few westerners have ever had contact with al Qaeda's leader Osama bin Laden, but a woman living in Switzerland married one of bin Laden's brothers.

Carmen bin Ladin still uses her married name, but she spells Ladin with an "i" instead of an "e." Now she's written a new book about her experiences, entitled "Inside the Kingdom."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARMEN BIN LADEN, OSAMA BIN LADEN'S FORMER SISTER-IN-LAW: I was married in '74, and my divorce proceeding is still pending.

BLITZER (voice-over): Carmen bin Ladin is the daughter of a Swiss father and an Iranian mother. In 1974, she married one of Osama bin Laden's brothers, and they lived with their children in Saudi Arabia among other members of the large, wealthy bin Laden clan.

She says she saw Osama bin Laden twice, but as a woman, she was not allowed to address him.

BIN LADIN: He was a very tall man. And I got a glimpse at him. Osama was somebody who you could feel him. When I saw him, I was struck by his -- his presence.

BLITZER: Carmen bin Ladin describes her infamous brother-in-law as a very religious man, and says when she once met him at the door without wearing a veil, he turned his back on her.

Carmen's estranged husband denies having any remaining ties with Osama bin Laden. Carmen is skeptical about that.

BIN LADIN: For me, it's knowing that society and knowing how this society works, for me it's very difficult to believe that all the members of the bin Laden family have completely cut ties with Osama.

BLITZER: Osama bin Laden was a hero in Saudi Arabia by the time Carmen and her husband split up in the mid-1980s. Carmen hasn't been in Saudi Arabia since then, but she says she finds it hard to believe opinions there have changed.

BIN LADIN: He was very much admired, and I think the admiration of the Saudi has not faded. He -- he succeeded at making a name for himself as being a very -- very good Muslim.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And you can see my complete interview with Carmen bin Ladin on CNN's "LATE EDITION," the last word in Sunday talk. That will be this Sunday, noon Eastern.

It's a double tragedy either way, made only worse with a horrible, terrible mix-up. Find out what's left two families and an entire community stunned.

Plus, secret recording, new evident against Kobe Bryant could prove damning for the NBA star.

And Martha Stewart in the spotlight. Find out why the domestic diva's living it up.

First, though, a quick look at some other news making headlines around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): An explosion and fire knocked out power in wide areas of Madrid, forcing police to evacuate buildings and streets. The cause of the blaze, which started at an electrical substation, is being investigated.

AIDS conference. Former South African President Nelson Mandela is calling for billions of more dollars to fight AIDS. He spoke to the International AIDS Conference in Thailand, which has seen daily protests against the Bush administration's policies on AIDS.

Dirt on the tour. Lance Armstrong lashed out at French reporters, accusing them of looking for dirt in his hotel room in a bid to find drugs. Hot on the course, Armstrong continued his quest for a record sixth straight Tour de France titles, finishing ninth in the 11th stage of the race.

Amazing shot. South African Ernie Els kicked off the British Open in a huge way, scoring a hole in one on the famed postage stamp hole at the Royal Troon course in Scotland.

And that's our look around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Two families suffered a wrenching emotional ordeal in western Michigan, where a tragic car wreck was followed up by a shocking mix-up.

CNN's Sara Dorsey is joining us now live from the CNN Center in Atlanta -- Sara.

SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, both families are trying to figure out what happened.

Earlier in the week, one family was planning a funeral that won't take place after all. The other was dealt a blow they never saw coming.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DORSEY (voice-over): This car accident killed one Michigan boy and left another with the fight of his life. The Antrim County sheriff's office originally said 17-year-old Patrick Bement was killed, identified by the location of his wallet. And his friend, 16-year-old Nathaniel Smith, was in the hospital, but that turned out to be a horrible mistake.

SHERIFF TERRY JOHNSON, ANTRIM COUNTY, MICHIGAN: The error has caused added stress and grief to the family and friends of the two young men. We will continue and investigate this incident and how the error may have occurred and find ways to prevent it from occurring in the future.

DORSEY: The Bement family feared that the police had made a mistake immediately after seeing the boy in the casket, but those were downplayed by the funeral home because the boy's injuries were so massive.

After two visitations and only days before the funeral, the Bements urged the Smiths to check a few scars on the toes of the boy in the hospital. That's when the mistake was discovered.

Patrick Bement was alive, and Nathaniel Smith was dead.

STEVE HARVEY, TEACHER: On the one hand, you're somewhat relieved for Patrick's family that he still has -- has hope, and then that also means that another student has passed away. And so there's tremendous sadness on that part.

DORSEY: The sheriff's office took fingerprints and dental records from both boys. Now they are trying to figure out just what happened.

JOHNSON: Our complete, complete apologies to the family and the family members of all who are involved in this unfortunate circumstance.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DORSEY: I talked to Patrick Bement's stepmother today. She said her family has mixed emotions about all of this. They're happy to have Patrick back, but she says their hearts break for the Smith family. Only days ago, they were in the same position, planning a funeral.

She said the Smiths are being strong and trying to get through all of this -- Wolf.

BLITZER: A double tragedy, instead. Sara Dorsey, thanks very much for that report.

The ruling today only helped set the stage for her sentencing tomorrow. Can Martha Stewart expect to get jail time? And if so, where and how much? We'll have details.

Also, while Kobe Bryant makes one decision about his basketball career, he hears another big decision from a judge, one that could influence whether he can continue his basketball career. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The Los Angeles Lakers announced today that Kobe Bryant will sign a new contract and remain with the team. But there's news of a very different sort in Bryant's rape case, which is set to go to trial next month.

CNN'S Keith Oppenheim is in Chicago, joining us live with the story -- Keith.

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Wolf.

It was on July 1 of last year that Kobe Bryant had conversations with police just after a woman had accused him of rape. And those conversations were recorded.

His legal team has wanted to keep those conversations from a jury, but a judge ruled that those conversations can be heard by a jury and also ruled that Bryant's clothing with blood stains on it can be admitted at trial.

Here's what we know. The ruling from Judge Terry Ruckriegle says that Bryant willingly gave police some of his clothing, and that that clothing included a bloodstained T-shirt, which prosecutors could point to as evidence that the sex was nonconsensual.

The judge ruled that Bryant consented to give the clothing to police so that it can be admitted.

And Bryant's attorneys also argued that the police tape of the conversations should be thrown out, because Bryant's rights were not read to him. The judge rejected that argument and said that he believed police when they said they told Bryant that he was not under arrest and that his statements were not coerced.

But Judge Ruckriegle did throw out some other evidence that the prosecution wanted to submit, namely some conclusions of a medical examination. The judge said that the detectives in this case told Bryant they wanted to take him to a hospital. Bryant said that he didn't want to go. And the detectives said they had a court order to make him go.

And essentially because the detectives did not read Kobe Bryant his rights at that point, then everything afterwards, Wolf, including statements as well as the physical examination itself, according to this ruling, will be suppressed in court.

So some significant rulings, Wolf. At the same time a mixed bag for the Bryant team.

BLITZER: All right. Keith Oppenheim, reporting for us. Thanks, Keith, very much.

A last-minute bid by Martha Stewart's lawyers has been shot down. They wanted sentencing guidelines tossed out as unconstitutional, but the judge rejected that and will likely give Stewart up to 16 months in prison tomorrow.

You wouldn't know it from Stewart's social calendar, though.

CNN's Chris Huntington joining us now live from New York with more on that -- Chris.

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, Martha Stewart may have only a few remaining moments of freedom before tomorrow's sentencing, but she certainly is making the most of it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTHA STEWART, MARTHA STEWART LIVING FOUNDER: I'm a true believer in the due process of law.

HUNTINGTON (voice-over): Martha Stewart may be headed for prison, but she's holding her head up high, and in a very public way.

Last month she attended the New York premiere of "Fahrenheit 9/11." In May she made it to the Daytime Emmy Awards, looking and sounding confident.

STEWART: I'm a believer in American justice.

HUNTINGTON: In April, it was a front-row box seat at the Yankees' home opener.

For the past several months, while her lawyers unsuccessfully pushed for a mistrial, Stewart has kept up a dizzying social calendar, particularly out in the Hamptons at the Eastern end of Long Island, where the rich, famous and socially ambitious rub elbows and where Stewart is a society fixture.

JASON NIXON, "HAMPTONS MAGAZINE": She's present, but she's not gripping and grinning as much. What do we expect? That she's going to be wearing a scarlet letter and putting herself into the convent?

I say great. It shows a real strength of character and conviction that she's out there, putting herself forward.

HUNTINGTON: Practicing what she is famous for preaching, Stewart has also been getting her house in order, literally. This week she once again put on the market her duplex apartment in this trendy, celebrity-packed glass tower in Manhattan. She paid more than $6 million before it was built in 2000 but never moved in.

And she's also putting her financial house in order, selling more than $4.5 million worth of her own company's stock in mid-June, the first time she's ever cashed out of the business she founded.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTINGTON: Now, legal analysts say that Stewart is likely to receive about one year prison sentence, but pending an appeal, she's also not likely to have to serve that sentence right away, which, Wolf, means that she could well be out and about for some time to come.

BLITZER: Chris Huntington, with that report, we'll be watching obviously very, very carefully and closely. Thanks, Chris, very much.

This programming note, sentencing tomorrow morning. Of course, CNN will have live coverage. Our coverage will start 10 a.m. Eastern. That would be 7 a.m. Pacific.

Still ahead, man's best friend and how a man returned the favor to one lucky pooch provides our picture of the day. We'll have that.

Plus the results of our Web question of the day. That's coming up, right after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Here's how you're weighing in on our Web question of the day. Remember, we've been asking you this question: "Is Dick Cheney the best running mate for President Bush?"

Take a look. Forty-one percent of you say yes. Fifty-nine percent of you say no. But we always remind you, this is not a scientific poll. You can continue voting, by the way, on our Web page, CNN.com/Wolf.

Two days after a puppy named Sassy fell down a 33-foot well on a Louisiana farm, firefighters made a last ditch effort to rescue her. They concocted a device made out of glow sticks, pipe and rope, and as somebody put it, went fishing.

Took a couple of hours and a lot of maneuvering, but somehow it worked. A successful rescue, a happy ending. And that's our picture of the day.

A reminder: you can always catch our program weekdays at this time, 5 p.m. Eastern. I'm also on the air weekdays at noon Eastern.

Until tomorrow, thanks very much for joining us. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.

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

Aired July 15, 2004 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Happening now. Responding to rumors. Vice President Cheney's office issues a response about his health but what are doctors saying?
And home again. The United States marine who went missing in Iraq has now touched down in the United States only a short while ago. What's he doing right now at a military base outside Washington?

Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Stepping up the attacks. Insurgents make it another deadly day across Iraq.

Now a vow to end to end the violence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are not going to win. Definitely, we are going to prevail.

BLITZER: Hostage hold-up. Dramatic new tape of Angelo dela Cruz. His captors say he'll be free when the last Filipino leaves Iraq.

Mortal mistake. Two families face a double tragedy and a community is left stunned.

Media mogul. Controversial and flamboyant. He's a man who's always done things his own way. I'll speak with Ted Turner.

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Thursday, July 15, 2004.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Iraq's interim government plans new steps to crack down and annihilate insurgents, one that involves a new government agency. The announcement follows a series of attacks that claimed several more lives. CNN's Michael Holmes reports from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Taking the fight to the insurgents, that was the message from Iraq's interim government Thursday.

IYAD ALLAWI, IRAQI INTERIM PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We are determined to bring down all the hurdles that lay in the way of our democratic march and our freedom.

HOLMES: Part of the plan, the formation of an internal intelligence, the general security directorate. Its job to infiltrate the insurgency, gather information, help wipe it out.

Allawi also said he would be trying to seal his country's poorest borders from foreign fighters, adding that security in Iraq had improved, despite another day of violence and death.

A car bombing thwarted in Karbala when the vehicle was spotted but the bombers blew themselves up and no one else. But northwest of Baghdad in Haditha, another car bomb killed 10 Iraqis and wounded 30. A massive bomb apparently directed at a local police station.

And in Kirkuk, mortars apparently aimed at a police station fell on a house instead, killing five members of a single family, including three children.

Another pipeline attack, too, south of Kirkuk, a common tactic by insurgents as they work to destabilize the country's economy. Prime Minister Allawi said he will visit a number of Middle East neighbors, including Kuwait and later Iran. He also plans to go to Europe and Pakistan. All looking for training assistance, money, and troops from some countries to help tackle the insurgency he says is doomed to fail. Michael Holmes, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: A United States marine corporal who vanished in Iraq is back in the United States right now, but questions remain over what exactly happened to him and how he made it out. Our senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre has the latest -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, Corporal Hassoun was smiling, he looked relaxed. Not at all like a man who could be in trouble for possibly deserting, but it's still not clear that that picture is accurate.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE (voice-over): Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun arrived at this sprawling Quantico marine base outside Washington D.C. on a military flight that began in Germany. The Marines suspect Hassoun left his post in Iraq voluntarily last month with the intention of deserting and joining relatives in Lebanon but publicly the Marine Corps is playing it by the book, insisting that Corporal Hassoun is simply going through the normal repatriation process for any former hostage.

LT. COL. DAVID LAPAN, U.S. MARINE CORPS SPOKESMAN: Repatriation is the process of decompression, debriefing, and integration of individuals who have been captured or detained. The length of this process can vary from weeks to months, depending on the circumstances of the individual case.

MCINTYRE: The spokesman said Hassoun arrived tired, but healthy and in good spirits. Otherwise the Marines are saying little publicly about what explanation Hassoun has offered for his disappearance from Iraq June 19 and his reappearance in Lebanon July 7 when he turned himself over to U.S. embassy officials. Sources say Hassoun insists he was abducted but in a brief statement issued in Germany, he made no mention of that, simply thanking the hospital staff and saying he was excited about going home. But Hassoun won't be going anywhere anytime soon, not until Navy investigators determine if he should be subject to any military discipline.

LAPAN: Corporal Hassoun will remain at Quantico until the repatriation team decides that he is able to return to full duty.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE: So far, Corporal Hassoun has not been accused of any wrongdoing nor has he been assigned a military attorney which would be a necessary first step if any charges were to be brought -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon. Thanks, Jamie, very much.

A Filipino hostage held in Iraq spoke out today on the Philippine government's decision to give into demands of the militants holding him. The statement was aired by the Al-Jazeera television network along with a new condition from the hostage takers. CNN's Maria Ressa is in Manila with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARIA RESSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 46-year-old Angelo dela Cruz was wearing civilian clothes not the orange jumpsuit he wore in earlier taped messages. He thanked Phillipine President Gloria Arroyo for promising to pull out the 51 Filipino soldiers and police in Iraq and he told his wife and eight children, quote, "wait for me, I'm coming back to you."

A short while later, another message also aired on Al-Jazeera, the kidnappers saying dela Cruz would be released only after the last Filipino soldier leaves Iraq and it must be before the end of the month. In effect, making sure The Philippines stick to its word.

That's been a key part of this week's negotiations. The Philippines pursued a high-risk strategy, issuing statements aimed simultaneously at appeasing the kidnappers's demands and maintaining its international commitments.

The statements have been carefully worded, deliberately ambiguous, sometimes conflicting, often confusing. Like this one Wednesday.

DELIA ALBERT, FOREIGN AFFAIRS SECRETARY: The foreign affairs ministry is coordinating the pull out of the humanitarian contingent with the ministry of national defense. As of today, our head count is down from 51 to 43.

RESSA: The statement implied the soldiers had actually left Iraq. Sources in Manila say that wasn't the case but whatever the reality, it gave the terrorists a powerful psychological victory.

Now, the terrorists themselves are making sure there is no ambiguity. If the government wants to save dela Cruz's life, The Philippines will have no choice but to pull its troops out exactly as the terrorists demand. Maria Ressa, CNN, Manila.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: He's one of the world's best-known moguls and never, never shy about speaking his mind. CNN founder Ted Turner joins us up live to talk about politics, television news, his charitable contributions, and more.

Is Dick Cheney's heart strong enough for him to stay on as vice president? Find out what some doctors are saying.

And the day before she's sentenced, Martha Stewart loses again in court. Find out what happened to her today and what's most likely to happen to her tomorrow.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: All in the family. Once Osama bin Laden's sister-in- law, now she's telling her family secrets. We'll have those details. We'll be back in 90 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: There's no shortage of words used to describe Ted Turner, many of them seemingly at odds. The man reserved to at times as a brash billionaire and a media mogul, is also a leading philanthropist and environmentalist. But if it hadn't been for Ted Turner, you wouldn't be seeing this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED TURNER: I dedicate the news channel for America, the Cable News Network.

BLITZER: It was an improbable experiment in an unproven medium. Relatively few people had cable in 1980, and no one thought there was an audience for a 24-hour news channel, except Ted Turner. But it was hardly his first challenge. He won the America's Cup in 1977 while he was parlaying his father's failing billboard company into cable's first superstation, TBS. His empire would continue to grow, encompassing sports teams, and movie studios, all of that sold to Time Warner 1995, all of that sold to AOL 2000, ultimately leaving Turners with titles and shares, but relatively little power. Along the way, he amassed superlatives, becoming the largest private landholder in the country, and making what was then the largest charitable donation ever, $1 billion to support the United Nations.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And thank you for caring about the U.N. and the principles of the U.N. too.

BLITZER: His philanthropic milestone, the Goodwill Games, launch in Moscow in the waning days of the Cold War as a peace jester. But his good works aren't the only things that have attracted attention over the years. His 1991 marriage to Jane Fonda made headlines, they divorced in 2001. And then there's his penchant for colorfully speaking his mind which has earned him the nickname of the "Mouth of the South." Over the years his remarks have offended Americans, Poles, Israelis, Palestinians, and Catholics, to name a few. He's even taken a swipe at his fellow men.

TURNER: I've said for years a personal feeling of mine, that men should be barred from public office in every country and everywhere, should be out of government for a 100 years.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And Ted Turner is joining us live. Ted Turner is joining us live now from Denver, Colorado.

Ted, thanks very much for joining us. This full disclosure, you hired me here at CNN way back in 1990, and for that, I will forever be grateful. But what did you mean when you said that men should be barred from public office. That was tongue-in-cheek? Do you think that women should be in charge?

TED TURNER: Yes. I really feel like that men have been running the world from a governmental basis since the beginning of time, and we still are living with war and weapons of mass destruction and high military budgets all over the world.

And I think if women ran the world for 100 years, we would see more money going into education and health care and home for the homeless, and so forth, and less into the military, and I think we'd be a safer and better world with women in charge for a while.

BLITZER: Speaking of war, what do you make of the war in Iraq? Is the world better off right now without Saddam Hussein in power?

TURNER: Well, yes, I think that Saddam Hussein is pretty well -- everyone agrees, he was a very bad person, but there are a lot of countries run by bad people, and we didn't attack them.

I think it was -- you know, I don't really understand why Iraq exactly. But I'm against war, and particularly wars that are not necessary, and I do not believe this war was necessary.

I didn't believe it at the time, and I don't believe it now. And I think the world is less safe and more of a mess today than it was before we started drop dropping the bomb.

BLITZER: But you admit that there are some wars that are just. For example, World War II against Hitler, that was a just war? TURNER: Sure. Yes, and in that war, we were attacked, too. We were attacked. We did not enter that war for several years after it began. We didn't enter until we were bombed at Pearl Harbor, so we not jump into that war by any manner of means. We waited until we were attacked. And that certainly is a difference. When you are attacked, you have to fight back.

How actively are you involved in politics right now, for example, in the presidential campaign, Bush versus Kerry?

TURNER: Well, I'm not involved directly, other than that I follow the race very carefully, watch a lot of CNN, too, Wolf. And I'm trying to -- I like to make my decision -- my final decision of who I'm going to vote for close to Election Day after the conventions are over and after I've heard what everybody has to say about the issues. Because there could be some changes on positions in the next three months, but I'm intensely interested in the campaign.

BLITZER: So you haven't decided whether you're going to vote to re-elect President Bush or vote for John Kerry?

TURNER: Well, I haven't finally decided. I know which way I'm heavily leaning.

BLITZER: Which way is that?

TURNER: What do you think?

BLITZER: I think you're leaning towards John Kerry.

TURNER: Well, you're close.

(LAUGHTER)

BLITZER: Well, unless you tell me you're leaning towards Ralph Nader.

TURNER: No. No, I think he just messes things up.

BLITZER: All right. So basically you're supporting John Kerry. There was some talk a few years ago, and I don't know if this was serious, that you yourself were -- at one point in your life, when you were a younger man, thinking of running for president. Was there any truth for that?

TURNER: Yes, I thought about it a couple times, but I thought about, you know, doing everything; being a fireman, an Indian chief, you name it. I've done a lot of different things in my life. I would have liked to have done even more, but I never really got real serious about it, as far as running for president.

BLITZER: But don't you think if you were going to run for president, you should run for, let's say, a lesser office first and try your hand in politics before you go ahead and run for president?

TURNER: Well, that's the normal case, but I was really -- I didn't really -- when I thought about running, I didn't really think I would get elected. I thought that I could bring the environmental and the peace agenda higher up on -- as far as the American conscience was concerned, and that was the main reason that I was going to do it. I'm blinking now because there's a real bright light shining in my eye.

BLITZER: That's because we want to make sure you look as good as possible on this shot from Denver. Ted Turner, stand by, we're going to...

TURNER: I'm not in Denver. I'm in Aspen.

BLITZER: You're in Aspen?

TURNER: I'm in Aspen, yes.

BLITZER: Aspen is a lovely place not far from Denver. All right. Ted Turner, stand by...

TURNER: There's a conference here.

BLITZER: I know, the "Fortune" magazine conference. We'll talk a little bit about that, talk about some other issues, including the state of cable news which you invented.

We are going to take quick break. When we come back, more of my conversation with Ted Turner

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We're back with Ted Turner who's joining us from beautiful Aspen, Colorado. I was just there during the July Fourth week. A great place to vacation.

Ted, let's talk a little bit about what you've created, cable news, CNN. The world of cable news, 24-hour news television has changed dramatically since 1980 when you started CNN. What do you make of the current state of it?

TURNER: Well, as I understand it, more people now get their news from cable than from -- their network news, anyway -- than they do from the broadcast networks and that is a big change and a very positive one for CNN.

BLITZER: Are you happy with the way CNN has evolved? Obviously, you're no longer involved in the leadership of CNN but since you left, are you happy with what you're seeing?

TURNER: Well, quite frankly, Wolf, as you can imagine, I really miss it, miss it terribly but I think CNN generally is doing a very good job. I watch it all the time.

BLITZER: You caused quite an uproar when you made those comments before the war about Connie Chung. Do you remember that? You didn't like the way that show was developing on CNN.

TURNER: No, it was way too tabloid to primetime on CNN, I felt.

BLITZER: What about getting back involved in the world of television news? Do you have any desire to try to do that? There have been rumors, speculation you might want to do something, buy something. You still have a few billion dollars.

TURNER: No, I don't. I've got a little over one. I don't really have enough money and I've already done that but I'm emotionally very involved with CNN and Headline News and CNN International and CNNfn, and you and all the rest of the gang that were such good friends of mine.

BLITZER: When you say you just have a little bit more than $1 billion, years ago I used to read that you had $5 billion or $8 billion. What happened to all that money?

TURNER: Well, you know, the AOL merger destroyed 85 percent of my wealth along with most of the other Time Warner shareholders.

BLITZER: So that's it. So how does it feel to lose billions, of dollars, literally?

TURNER: Well, it doesn't make a whole lot of difference except that I had to cut back my giving some. I haven't with the United Nations Foundation but I had to cut back on the Turner Foundation and the nuclear threat initiative, and I'm sorry about that, but I've learned to live with it. It was kind of easy come, easy go. While I did have billions, I gave half of it away anyway so it really doesn't make that much difference.

BLITZER: So what are you doing nowadays? What keeps you busiest?

TURNER: Well, I'm out here at a conference on global affairs that Fortune is hosting. We've got 250 leaders from all over the world and it's been -- I spoke last night, or at least I was interviewed by Charlie Rose and I've been attending the sessions.

I keep up with what's going on in the world. I read the magazines, I keep up with what's going on in the broadcast and the entertainment business because I'm still a major shareholder of Time Warner. Then I've got a restaurant business with a partner and we've got 25 restaurants and we're expanding rapidly and that's a lot of fun and gives me -- that lets me express my entrepreneurial instincts.

BLITZER: Tomorrow, Martha Stewart is going to find out -- I assume she's going to wind up going to spend a little bit of time in jail. Is that, in your opinion, fair that she's going to have to serve some time in a prison?

TURNER: The rules are the rules. I was very upset and disappointed that there was so much corruption in the business community when it first broke a couple years ago. And, you know, when I was running Turner Broadcasting for the 30 years that I ran it, we never even thought about cutting any corners to cheat on earnings or taxes, just to do anything illegal or wrong. BLITZER: So a major comeback splash by Ted Turner in the field of news media or other media, movies, whatever. Is there a surprise in store for our viewers who have grown accustomed to your involvement, shall we say, over the years?

TURNER: Well, it would have to be something that Dick Parsons and the board of Time Warner wanted to do and they haven't approached me so I think I'm not a candidate for anything at this time.

BLITZER But you're still a huge shareholder in Time Warner?

TURNER: Yes, I've still got several million shares.

BLITZER: All right. Ted turner, the man who brought me to CNN and for that I will forever be grateful. Thanks for joining us. Enjoy Aspen.

TURNER: Thank you. Thank you, Wolf. Nice talking to you.

BLITZER: Appreciate it very much.

It's the political buzz in Washington circles -- will Dick Cheney be taken off the Republican ticket? It's a rumor some are quick to quash, but is there any truth to it at all?

Plus he's the world's most wanted man. I'll speak to a woman who married into his family. You'll hear what she has to same about Osama bin Laden.

And she hears her fate tomorrow, as we've been reporting, but that's not stopping Martha Stewart from staying in the spot light. We'll have details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOLF BLITZER, HOST: This just in to CNN. It looks like the former first lady, the United States senator from New York, Hillary Rodham Clinton, will after all address the Democratic national convention.

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry has asked her to introduce former President Bill Clinton before he makes his speech. Some party members had complained earlier when it appeared that Mrs. Clinton would not address the convention in primetime.

Earlier today, Kerry addressed the NAACP. Let's go on the campaign trail.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): It was a political punch with an intended target. John Kerry today addressing the NAACP in Philadelphia.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Some people may have better things to do, but there's no place that I'd rather be right now than right here in Philadelphia with the NAACP. BLITZER: His comments come after President Bush declined to address the nation's largest civil rights group. The White House noted the hostility of the NAACP's leadership to the president.

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: The president is committed to continuing to reaching out to the African-American community and committed to continuing reaching out to NAACP members.

BLITZER: White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan says President Bush will address the Urban League and other civil rights groups next week, but today his opponent seized the opportunity.

KERRY: The president may be too busy to speak to you now, but I've got news for you. He's going to have plenty of time after November 2.

BLITZER: The civil rights group says it's committed to helping Kerry win in November, welcome news for a candidate looking to attract African-American voters. Already his campaign has released this new ad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you really make a difference for me and my family?

BLITZER: After his speech, Kerry launched what he's calling his "Front Porch" Tour in the Philadelphia suburbs. Employing the politics of the past, it's designed to allow the candidate more time- sharing concerns with regular Americans.

His running mate, on the same theme, stumped down South, visiting voters on a front porch in New Orleans.

Is John Edwards' southern charm working? One new poll from North Carolina shows the race there tightening, to within three points.

From Louisiana, Edwards heads to Bush country tonight: Houston, Texas.

As for the president, he's off the campaign trail today, and signed legislation that increases penalties for identity theft.

But the first lady is on the trail in the key battleground state of Florida, visiting a Jacksonville hospital, where she gave her opinion on Wednesday's Senate vote on the gay marriage ban.

LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY: This is an issue that's very touchy. It's very close to people's hearts on both sides. And that it's a time for us to respect each other and to respect each other's opinions.

BLITZER: And a political flag on the play in Illinois. It turns out Mike Ditka won't run for the U.S. Senate after all.

MIKE DITKA, FORMER CHICAGO BEARS COACH: And if I thought I could affect government or change people's opinion, then I probably would have done it, but I don't think I can. BLITZER: With Ditka now on the sidelines, the search goes on for a GOP candidate to face Democrat Barack Obama.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And the latest rumor to hit the United States here in the nation's capital is both wild, some would say intriguing. It has to do with two key questions about Vice President Dick Cheney's future.

CNN's Brian Todd is joining us now live with more on the story.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, those two key questions: will Dick Cheney stay on the reelection ticket and will his health be a deciding factor?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): The Washington rumormongers simply won't leave Dick Cheney or his family alone on the status of his future on the reelection ticket.

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's made it very clear that he wants me to run it again. The way I got here in the first place is he persuaded me four years ago that I was the man he wanted in that post.

LYNNE CHENEY, DICK CHENEY'S WIFE: This is a discussion that isn't going anywhere. The president has made his decision. Dick has accepted. That's the ticket.

TODD: The latest rumor, reported in "The New York Times," says the vice president fired one of his physicians so that he could see a new doctor who'd tell him that his heart problems make him unfit to run for reelection.

Dr. Gary Malakoff was, in fact, removed from Cheney's teams amid reports that Malakoff had abused prescription drugs.

We spoke to Cheney's cardiologist, Dr. Jonathan Reiner, who tells us the idea of Cheney seeking out a new doctor to tell him he's unfit is patent nonsense and laughable.

Dr. Reiner wouldn't give specifics on the vice president's condition, but Cheney's office gave us this statement. "The vice president's health is monitored closely by a team of physicians from George Washington University Medical Center and the White House. The results of the vice president's most recent routine comprehensive checkup were very good. He was advised by his physicians that there is no health issue that would interfere with his running for reelection or holding office for a second term."

That last checkup was on May 11.

Dick Cheney has had four heart attacks. The last one, in November of 2000, was considered minor. In March of 2001, Cheney checked himself into a hospital with chest pains and ended up getting an angioplasty to reopen an artery. He has a stent in place to keep an artery open, and a pacemaker to regulate his heartbeat.

CHENEY: A little tender in the shoulder. It will pass.

TODD: We asked a cardiologist at Emory University Medical Center what the risks are for someone who's had four heart attacks and a job as stressful as Cheney's.

DR. RANDY MARTIN, EMORY UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER: If you looked at the surface, a gentleman who's had four heart attacks, who's had bypass, you certainly would be concerned about them in a stressful situation.

Vice President Cheney has been in stress, though, all of his -- just about all of his adult life. But most importantly, we know in June of 2001, he had an implantable cardiac defibrillator, a device that's inside his heart that could literally be like a paramedic in his chest.

TODD: And we spoke to another prominent cardiologist familiar with Cheney's case, who was consulted on the procedures in 2001. He says Cheney's coronary status is stable and sees no reason why he couldn't run again or hold office.

But as a point of comparison he offers this. Normally the heart squeezes 60 percent of the blood from the body's main pumping chamber, the left ventricle, into the bloodstream with each beat. Cheney's heart, he says, squeezes only 40 percent of his blood out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: That cardiologist says Cheney can function normally with that percentage and adds that Cheney's on the best medications now and is taking much better care of himself.

But he says flat-out, unlike a normal person who might have heart muscle strength in reserve, Dick Cheney simply cannot withstand another significant heart attack -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Let's hope he doesn't have one. Good health to the vice president of the United States.

Good report. Thanks very much, Brian Todd.

And to our viewers, here's your chance to weigh in on this important story. Our Web question of the day is this: "Is Dick Cheney the best running mate for President Bush?"

You can vote right now. Go to CNN.com/Wolf. We'll have the results for you later in this broadcast.

While you're there, by the way, I'd love to hear directly from you. Send me your comments anytime. I'll try to read some of them on the air each day at the end of this program. That's also, of course, where you can real our daily online column. Go to it: CNN.com/Wolf.

Homeland security officials warn there's a very real possibility of a new al Qaeda attack in the United States this summer. Very few westerners have ever had contact with al Qaeda's leader Osama bin Laden, but a woman living in Switzerland married one of bin Laden's brothers.

Carmen bin Ladin still uses her married name, but she spells Ladin with an "i" instead of an "e." Now she's written a new book about her experiences, entitled "Inside the Kingdom."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARMEN BIN LADEN, OSAMA BIN LADEN'S FORMER SISTER-IN-LAW: I was married in '74, and my divorce proceeding is still pending.

BLITZER (voice-over): Carmen bin Ladin is the daughter of a Swiss father and an Iranian mother. In 1974, she married one of Osama bin Laden's brothers, and they lived with their children in Saudi Arabia among other members of the large, wealthy bin Laden clan.

She says she saw Osama bin Laden twice, but as a woman, she was not allowed to address him.

BIN LADIN: He was a very tall man. And I got a glimpse at him. Osama was somebody who you could feel him. When I saw him, I was struck by his -- his presence.

BLITZER: Carmen bin Ladin describes her infamous brother-in-law as a very religious man, and says when she once met him at the door without wearing a veil, he turned his back on her.

Carmen's estranged husband denies having any remaining ties with Osama bin Laden. Carmen is skeptical about that.

BIN LADIN: For me, it's knowing that society and knowing how this society works, for me it's very difficult to believe that all the members of the bin Laden family have completely cut ties with Osama.

BLITZER: Osama bin Laden was a hero in Saudi Arabia by the time Carmen and her husband split up in the mid-1980s. Carmen hasn't been in Saudi Arabia since then, but she says she finds it hard to believe opinions there have changed.

BIN LADIN: He was very much admired, and I think the admiration of the Saudi has not faded. He -- he succeeded at making a name for himself as being a very -- very good Muslim.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And you can see my complete interview with Carmen bin Ladin on CNN's "LATE EDITION," the last word in Sunday talk. That will be this Sunday, noon Eastern.

It's a double tragedy either way, made only worse with a horrible, terrible mix-up. Find out what's left two families and an entire community stunned.

Plus, secret recording, new evident against Kobe Bryant could prove damning for the NBA star.

And Martha Stewart in the spotlight. Find out why the domestic diva's living it up.

First, though, a quick look at some other news making headlines around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): An explosion and fire knocked out power in wide areas of Madrid, forcing police to evacuate buildings and streets. The cause of the blaze, which started at an electrical substation, is being investigated.

AIDS conference. Former South African President Nelson Mandela is calling for billions of more dollars to fight AIDS. He spoke to the International AIDS Conference in Thailand, which has seen daily protests against the Bush administration's policies on AIDS.

Dirt on the tour. Lance Armstrong lashed out at French reporters, accusing them of looking for dirt in his hotel room in a bid to find drugs. Hot on the course, Armstrong continued his quest for a record sixth straight Tour de France titles, finishing ninth in the 11th stage of the race.

Amazing shot. South African Ernie Els kicked off the British Open in a huge way, scoring a hole in one on the famed postage stamp hole at the Royal Troon course in Scotland.

And that's our look around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Two families suffered a wrenching emotional ordeal in western Michigan, where a tragic car wreck was followed up by a shocking mix-up.

CNN's Sara Dorsey is joining us now live from the CNN Center in Atlanta -- Sara.

SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, both families are trying to figure out what happened.

Earlier in the week, one family was planning a funeral that won't take place after all. The other was dealt a blow they never saw coming.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DORSEY (voice-over): This car accident killed one Michigan boy and left another with the fight of his life. The Antrim County sheriff's office originally said 17-year-old Patrick Bement was killed, identified by the location of his wallet. And his friend, 16-year-old Nathaniel Smith, was in the hospital, but that turned out to be a horrible mistake.

SHERIFF TERRY JOHNSON, ANTRIM COUNTY, MICHIGAN: The error has caused added stress and grief to the family and friends of the two young men. We will continue and investigate this incident and how the error may have occurred and find ways to prevent it from occurring in the future.

DORSEY: The Bement family feared that the police had made a mistake immediately after seeing the boy in the casket, but those were downplayed by the funeral home because the boy's injuries were so massive.

After two visitations and only days before the funeral, the Bements urged the Smiths to check a few scars on the toes of the boy in the hospital. That's when the mistake was discovered.

Patrick Bement was alive, and Nathaniel Smith was dead.

STEVE HARVEY, TEACHER: On the one hand, you're somewhat relieved for Patrick's family that he still has -- has hope, and then that also means that another student has passed away. And so there's tremendous sadness on that part.

DORSEY: The sheriff's office took fingerprints and dental records from both boys. Now they are trying to figure out just what happened.

JOHNSON: Our complete, complete apologies to the family and the family members of all who are involved in this unfortunate circumstance.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DORSEY: I talked to Patrick Bement's stepmother today. She said her family has mixed emotions about all of this. They're happy to have Patrick back, but she says their hearts break for the Smith family. Only days ago, they were in the same position, planning a funeral.

She said the Smiths are being strong and trying to get through all of this -- Wolf.

BLITZER: A double tragedy, instead. Sara Dorsey, thanks very much for that report.

The ruling today only helped set the stage for her sentencing tomorrow. Can Martha Stewart expect to get jail time? And if so, where and how much? We'll have details.

Also, while Kobe Bryant makes one decision about his basketball career, he hears another big decision from a judge, one that could influence whether he can continue his basketball career. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The Los Angeles Lakers announced today that Kobe Bryant will sign a new contract and remain with the team. But there's news of a very different sort in Bryant's rape case, which is set to go to trial next month.

CNN'S Keith Oppenheim is in Chicago, joining us live with the story -- Keith.

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Wolf.

It was on July 1 of last year that Kobe Bryant had conversations with police just after a woman had accused him of rape. And those conversations were recorded.

His legal team has wanted to keep those conversations from a jury, but a judge ruled that those conversations can be heard by a jury and also ruled that Bryant's clothing with blood stains on it can be admitted at trial.

Here's what we know. The ruling from Judge Terry Ruckriegle says that Bryant willingly gave police some of his clothing, and that that clothing included a bloodstained T-shirt, which prosecutors could point to as evidence that the sex was nonconsensual.

The judge ruled that Bryant consented to give the clothing to police so that it can be admitted.

And Bryant's attorneys also argued that the police tape of the conversations should be thrown out, because Bryant's rights were not read to him. The judge rejected that argument and said that he believed police when they said they told Bryant that he was not under arrest and that his statements were not coerced.

But Judge Ruckriegle did throw out some other evidence that the prosecution wanted to submit, namely some conclusions of a medical examination. The judge said that the detectives in this case told Bryant they wanted to take him to a hospital. Bryant said that he didn't want to go. And the detectives said they had a court order to make him go.

And essentially because the detectives did not read Kobe Bryant his rights at that point, then everything afterwards, Wolf, including statements as well as the physical examination itself, according to this ruling, will be suppressed in court.

So some significant rulings, Wolf. At the same time a mixed bag for the Bryant team.

BLITZER: All right. Keith Oppenheim, reporting for us. Thanks, Keith, very much.

A last-minute bid by Martha Stewart's lawyers has been shot down. They wanted sentencing guidelines tossed out as unconstitutional, but the judge rejected that and will likely give Stewart up to 16 months in prison tomorrow.

You wouldn't know it from Stewart's social calendar, though.

CNN's Chris Huntington joining us now live from New York with more on that -- Chris.

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, Martha Stewart may have only a few remaining moments of freedom before tomorrow's sentencing, but she certainly is making the most of it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTHA STEWART, MARTHA STEWART LIVING FOUNDER: I'm a true believer in the due process of law.

HUNTINGTON (voice-over): Martha Stewart may be headed for prison, but she's holding her head up high, and in a very public way.

Last month she attended the New York premiere of "Fahrenheit 9/11." In May she made it to the Daytime Emmy Awards, looking and sounding confident.

STEWART: I'm a believer in American justice.

HUNTINGTON: In April, it was a front-row box seat at the Yankees' home opener.

For the past several months, while her lawyers unsuccessfully pushed for a mistrial, Stewart has kept up a dizzying social calendar, particularly out in the Hamptons at the Eastern end of Long Island, where the rich, famous and socially ambitious rub elbows and where Stewart is a society fixture.

JASON NIXON, "HAMPTONS MAGAZINE": She's present, but she's not gripping and grinning as much. What do we expect? That she's going to be wearing a scarlet letter and putting herself into the convent?

I say great. It shows a real strength of character and conviction that she's out there, putting herself forward.

HUNTINGTON: Practicing what she is famous for preaching, Stewart has also been getting her house in order, literally. This week she once again put on the market her duplex apartment in this trendy, celebrity-packed glass tower in Manhattan. She paid more than $6 million before it was built in 2000 but never moved in.

And she's also putting her financial house in order, selling more than $4.5 million worth of her own company's stock in mid-June, the first time she's ever cashed out of the business she founded.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTINGTON: Now, legal analysts say that Stewart is likely to receive about one year prison sentence, but pending an appeal, she's also not likely to have to serve that sentence right away, which, Wolf, means that she could well be out and about for some time to come.

BLITZER: Chris Huntington, with that report, we'll be watching obviously very, very carefully and closely. Thanks, Chris, very much.

This programming note, sentencing tomorrow morning. Of course, CNN will have live coverage. Our coverage will start 10 a.m. Eastern. That would be 7 a.m. Pacific.

Still ahead, man's best friend and how a man returned the favor to one lucky pooch provides our picture of the day. We'll have that.

Plus the results of our Web question of the day. That's coming up, right after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Here's how you're weighing in on our Web question of the day. Remember, we've been asking you this question: "Is Dick Cheney the best running mate for President Bush?"

Take a look. Forty-one percent of you say yes. Fifty-nine percent of you say no. But we always remind you, this is not a scientific poll. You can continue voting, by the way, on our Web page, CNN.com/Wolf.

Two days after a puppy named Sassy fell down a 33-foot well on a Louisiana farm, firefighters made a last ditch effort to rescue her. They concocted a device made out of glow sticks, pipe and rope, and as somebody put it, went fishing.

Took a couple of hours and a lot of maneuvering, but somehow it worked. A successful rescue, a happy ending. And that's our picture of the day.

A reminder: you can always catch our program weekdays at this time, 5 p.m. Eastern. I'm also on the air weekdays at noon Eastern.

Until tomorrow, thanks very much for joining us. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.

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