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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports
More Al Qaeda Targets Arrested; Interview With Gary Hart; Hearing For Pvt. 1st Class Lynndie England; 13 Men Under Arrest In Britain Anti-Terror Raids; 11-year-old boy Recovering From Shark Attack; Describing Synesthetes
Aired August 03, 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.
JUDY WOODRUFF, HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": Happening now: The case of a pregnant woman thought to be murdered moves from police to prosecutors. In a statement to the media, the district attorney zeros in on Lori Hacking's husband.
And we have breaking news on terror arrests overseas: 13 people rounded up in Great Britain.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): Al Qaeda plot: Will new arrests in Pakistan reveal a timetable for an attack on America?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They were inside this country, inside these targets, crawling all over them, making sure they understood those buildings better than we did.
WOODRUFF: Kobe Bryant case: public transcripts and privacy rights. Could prosecutors call it quits before a trial begins?
Close call: The first hurricane of the season right off the Atlantic coast.
Sharks and gators: Why are we hearing about so many attacks? We'll do a reality check.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Tuesday, August 3, 2004.
WOODRUFF (on camera): Hello, I'm Judy Woodruff in Washington. Wolf Blitzer is off today.
There is breaking news happening right now in Britain. Scotland Yard telling CNN that 13 people were arrested today in anti-terrorism raids around Britain. Officials say the men were arrested on suspicion of being, quote, "Concerned in the commission, preparation, or instigation of acts of terrorism."
They said the raids were part of a pre-planned, ongoing intelligence-led operation. Searchers are still being conducted and are expected to take some time to complete. We'll bring you more details when they become available.
Back here in America, barricades, bag checks, and officers in body armor. Are these new security measures based on old intelligence? There was word today that al Qaeda's surveillance of U.S. cities dates back several years.
But there's also word of new arrests. Pakistani sources say that at least seven more al Qaeda suspects have been seized. One of them is said to have carried coded messages on computer disks. And he is identified as an associate of an alleged al Qaeda computer expert.
On top of that, there's word of newly revealed targets. Our justice correspondent Kelli Arena picks up the story -- Kelli.
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Judy, I reported last night that there were more targets than the five publicly mentioned by officials. And sources now tell us there were about 20.
They're broken down into three categories, depending upon how much information was gathered on them. For example, officials say the New York Stock Exchange is in in category one. Al Qaeda had collected a lot of detail and conducted extensive surveillance. The Bank of America in San Francisco is in category two, meaning there's less information in databases.
While the potential targets have received a lot of attention, U.S. and Pakistani officials say the real intelligence coup is coming from interrogations of alleged al Qaeda computer expert Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHEIKH RASHID AHMED, PAKISTANI INFORMATION MINISTER: We have some valuable information from them, and we are interrogating an investigation this case. And I think this is a great achievement of the security forces.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARENA: As one source put it, Khan is emerging as the communications backbone of al Qaeda. According to intelligence officials, Khan told interrogators al Qaeda used couriers to get messages and computer disks to him. He then posted coded messages on Web sites and quickly deleted the files.
According to Khan, he used e-mail addresses in Turkey, Nigeria, and tribal areas of Pakistan to send the information. And those addresses were used only a few times to avoid detection.
Now, Khan's arrest is significant because it gives investigators a look into how al Qaeda has adapted to the war on terror. It's also a reminder that dangerous terror cells remain intact, even in countries like Pakistan, where experts say officials have been especially aggressive, Judy.
WOODRUFF: All right. Kelli Arena, thank you very much. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge got a first-hand look at the security in Manhattan's financial centers today. He's defending the latest alert and the information on which it is based.
Let's go live now to CNN's Deborah Feyerick. She's in New York. Hi, Deborah.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Judy. Well, the secretary was here to reassure members of the financial community, meeting with a number of those that Kelli just mentioned. However, that reassurance turned into more of a defense.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): With armed guards patrolling financial institutions in New York...
TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: ... opportunity to get a call about something like that, you get everybody else on the horn and review it.
FEYERICK: The head of Homeland Security met with corporate executives and security directors from major banking firms. Tom Ridge later defending intelligence that has thrown parts of New York, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C., into a kind of lockdown.
RIDGE: Al Qaeda often plans well, well in advance. We also know that they like to update their information before a potential attack. So, I don't want anyone to disabuse themselves of the seriousness of this information simply because there are some reports that much of it is dated. It might be two or three years old.
FEYERICK: Secretary Ridge saying intelligence shows terror operatives were updating details of potential targets as recently as January, saying also the terrorists are patient and will strike when they can be successful.
RIDGE: We just assume that there are operatives here. Obviously, the law enforcement community has their eyes on people they believe are connected or sympathetic to the cause.
FEYERICK: Missing in the latest intelligence is the timing of a possible attack. But officials, citing several sources, have added concern about the Republican National Convention in New York, starting in late august.
RIDGE: There has been an expressed intention to disrupt the Democratic process: Could be interpreted throughout the election year; could be interpreted to Election Day.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK (on camera): Now, the Homeland Security chief was asked whether somehow the release of this intelligence was politically motivated. He answered that this is not about politics, it's about good government. He also said that had they not released the information, that it would have been the wrong thing to do, a sentiment reissued by New York City's Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who said officials would have been criticized had they not put out these warnings -- Judy.
WOODRUFF: Deborah Feyerick, thank you very much. Deborah Feyerick in New York.
Well, former Democratic Senator and Presidential Candidate Gary Hart was quick to criticize President Bush's general endorsement of the 9/11 Commission's recommendations. Hart, who was an advisor on security issues to the Kerry campaign, said the president acted to avoid a fight with Congress before the November election.
Hart is the author of the new book, "The Fourth Power: A Grand Strategy for the United States in the 21st Century." Gary Hart joins us now from New York.
Senator Hart, first of all, is the administration doing the right thing by ratcheting up the security around these major financial institutions?
GARY HART, AUTHOR, "THE FOURTH POWER": Only the administration would know, because they have access to the classified files and information. I can only say if they do attempt, in this or future occasions, to politicize such warnings, it will come back to haunt them. And I have to believe in the best interest of national security they would not do that.
WOODRUFF: Well, there's already an accusation out there -- Howard Dean and perhaps others, saying he believes there is an element of politics in all this. What do you think?
HART: Well, as I say, if they do, I know enough people in the security services and both in active duty and retirees who will correct the record in the American press. And I think that's exactly what happened today as to the -- how dated this information is.
So, I would think the administration will be prudent about this and not try to hype any warnings in its own political interests.
WOODRUFF: But you're not saying whether -- what they've done up until now was politically...
HART: We have no way of knowing. I think if you're an individual citizen without access to the classified information, there's no way to know.
WOODRUFF: Senator Hart, you were critical, as I mentioned, of President Bush's announcement that he wants a new national intelligence chief, the way it would be structured. What is your difficulty with what he's...
HART: Well, it dates back to the creation of the CIA in 1947 and the passage of the National Security Act of that date. The great debate then was would that -- would the director of Central Intelligence have control of all intelligence budgets, and the Pentagon won that fight. And 80% to 85% of all intelligence expenditures are carried out not by the CIA but by the Defense Department.
If the president and the Congress give a new official that kind of authority -- that is, get the intelligence budgets out of the Defense Department, which I doubt they can do -- then you might as well give it to the current director of Central Intelligence and not create a new official.
WOODRUFF: Senator, I want to ask you about your new book. Again, the title is "The Fourth Power: A Grand Strategy for the U.S. in the 21st Century."
I was reading a review of it today. Among other things, the reviewer says you seem so prepared to give other countries the benefit of the doubt that they're going to go along that America can't export its so-called goodness and goodwill to other countries. But he said there's some naivete in believing that's going happen that way.
HART: Well, I think the reviewer didn't read the book very clearly, nor does -- I'm not familiar with the review, but I don't think that reviewer is familiar either with my positions on foreign policy and defense over the years.
No, I don't think there's any naivete. Seven or eight presidents depended on the Atlantic Alliance to defend us during the Cold War. There was nothing naive about that. I'm simply arguing that we have to restore those relationships. And for the rest of the world that is not part of that alliance, part of what we have to offer is not just our economic, political, and military power, it's our Constitutional principles.
I've traveled the world, and I know that is what people admire the most about us.
WOODRUFF: When you talk, Senator, in the book about America living up to its own principles versus America advocating that other countries live up to American principles, what are you really saying here? Are you talking about the Bush world view versus something else?
HART: Well, in part, yes. Part of my strong feelings about a principled American policy in the world and position in the world is not only based on my travel, but my experience in the Congress when I first went to the Senate, serving on the Senate Select Committee to investigate the intelligence community.
And it was then we discovered -- in '75 and '76, a quarter century ago -- that we were trying to assassinate foreign leaders, overthrow governments, buy off presses, and do a lot of things that were against America's principles. It always came out, and we always suffered from it.
And so, my point, my view on America in the world is very much conditioned on the bad experiences our country has had. And what it seems to me the Bush administration is arguing is that whether we live up to our principles or not, everyone else should.
WOODRUFF: Former Senator Gary Hart -- he has a new book, "The Fourth Power." Senator, thank you very much for being with us.
HART: Great pleasure, thank you.
WOODRUFF: We appreciate it.
Well, now here's your turn to weigh in on this important story. Our Web question of the day is this: Do you think the government was justified in issuing the latest terror threat warning? You can vote right now at cnn.com/wolf. We'll have the results later in the broadcast.
She has a notorious reputation, but was she joking around or following orders? A high-stakes hearing for Private Lynndie England, key defendant in the Iraq prison abuse case. We're going to go live to Ft. Bragg just ahead.
Also ahead...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRAIG SILVERMAN, COLORADO TRIAL ATTORNEY: I will believe that this trial is occurring when I'm in the courtroom watching the opening statement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOODRUFF: A case in trouble? Why are prosecutors in the Kobe Bryant case worried about a potential ruling by the judge?
And still ahead...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AARON PEREZ, SHARK ATTACK VICTIM: I caught one, and I turned around to tell my dad, and when I did, that shark just started biting my arm.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOODRUFF: A narrow escape for an 11-year-old. But what kind of a menace have sharks and alligators really posed this summer? A reality check just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOODRUFF: It's been another deadly day in the battle for Iraq. Over a 24-hour period, at least 10 people were killed, including four American Marines. The total of U.S. troops killed in the war now stands at 921.
In another incident, a car bomb attack killed four Iraqi National Guard members. It happened at the same checkpoint where a car bombing killed 70 people almost one week ago. In Baghdad, an Iraqi police chief and another police official were killed in a roadside bomb attack. A third officer was wounded. They were patrolling a neighborhood when the bomb exploded.
Officials in northern Iraq are blaming saboteurs for the bombing of a pipeline. Workers were set to resume pumping from oil fields in Kirkuk to a point in Turkey. Officials now expect pumping to resume in a few days. The bulk of Iraq's oil comes from southern oil fields.
Turning now to the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal, a hearing is underway to determine whether Private First Class Lynndie England should be court-martialed for her actions at the Abu Ghraib prison.
CNN National Correspondent Bob Franken is at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, with the latest. Hello, Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Judy. There's a potential of 19 charges, a potential of 38 years in prison in addition to dishonorable discharge. This is the hearing to decide which of those go forward.
Lynndie England came in this morning, and the first witness was the chief investigator, who said that, in the initial interrogation, England had said that the pictures that showed alleged mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners were, quote, "just for fun." The defense is now arguing that these were done at the behest of others, that she was simply following orders.
As far as Lynndie England is concerned, she's seven months pregnant. She says, as a matter of fact, the infamous picture which shows her holding a detainee on a leash was done at the behest of Corporal Charles Graner.
Now, Charles Graner is accused of being one of the ringleaders of the treatment of the Iraqi prisoners, also identified as the father of Lynndie England. She's seven months pregnant.
As a matter of fact, she missed the afternoon session. The explanation was that she had talked to her doctor. Her doctor said she should come in, and so she did come in, was not here for the session this afternoon.
Here is how her lawyer described her mental condition.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD HERNANDEZ, ATTORNEY FOR LYNNDIE ENGLAND: She's as stressed as anyone else would be if you were a 20-year-old -- 21-year- old young lady who's facing 30 years for pictures, intimate photographs that are -- you would see at Mardi Gras on Spring Break. But not in this case; she's facing 30 years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKEN: He was describing other evidence. Some of the charges concern pictures, pictures that show Lynndie England in a variety of sexual acts, according to the accusations. And these are the pictures that the defense attorney says are absolutely unnecessary.
This was the first day of the hearing. It will continue tomorrow, Judy.
WOODRUFF: All right. Bob Franken, reporting from Ft. Bragg, thanks very much.
Well, Alex is now a category two hurricane, but how much of a threat does it pose to the east coast?
There is newly surfaced surveillance tape of Mark Hacking, and the district attorney in Utah is speaking out this hour. We'll have the latest on the suspected murder of Lori Hacking.
Also ahead...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE PARNHAM, ANDREA YATES' ATTORNEY: I think it's devastating to her. I mean, you know, she loved Rusty dearly and still does.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOODRUFF: Three years after Andrea Yates killed their children, Rusty Yates is leaving the marriage. We'll have details just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOODRUFF: Happening now, the National Hurricane Center reports that Hurricane Alex is moving further out to sea at this hour after battering North Carolina's Outer Banks.
CNN's Chad Myers is in Atlantic Beach.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Things have calmed down here in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina. Earlier today, we had wind gusts to 60 miles per hour.
As we go a little bit further east into what we call down east North Carolina and then over to Cape Hatteras, winds were gusting to 90 miles per hour this afternoon. And as we look down the beach and as we looked up the beach, winds and waves were between 50 and 60 miles per hour and those waves were eight to 10 feet. Obviously, things have calmed down now.
Folks have gone back into the water. It will be kind of a rough- and-tumble day for some of the beaches from, let's say, Virginia right through Chincoteague, Assateague, and even on up into parts of New Jersey. And then, for that matter, right around to Boston in Massachusetts and Maine.
This storm is headed out to sea, but surf will still be up in many of those areas. Rip currents, obviously, for tomorrow and all the way through the day on Friday. From Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, Chad Myers, CNN News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOODRUFF: And now for a closer look at Alex and where it's expected to go, let's check in with Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras. She's at the CNN Weather Center in Atlanta.
Hi, Jacqui.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Judy. Well, the worst is definitely over with, but we're still going to be seeing some very strong winds, likely for another hour or two north of Cape Hatteras, extending farther on northward towards Nag's Head.
So, this will be our area of concern over the next couple of hours, an additional one to three inches of rainfall on top of what you already had. The worst came through about 1:00 this afternoon. And in a very localized area across Ocracoke Island and also around Cape Hatteras, where we had the strongest of wind gusts.
This is the 5:00 advisory on Alex. It's about 65 miles now northeast of Cape Hatteras, still packing a punch, though, of -- maximum sustained winds are still 100 miles per hour. It's moving to the northeast at 17 miles per hour. So, by the time everybody goes to bed tonight, this thing is going to be out of here.
The winds were incredible. Earlier this afternoon, 120 miles an hour at Ocracoke, 102 around Cape Hatteras. We'll look at winds about 40, maybe 50 miles per hour for the rest of this evening.
Pulls on out for tomorrow and then becomes a fishing storm and won't be anything to worry about for you. But one other note, Judy, is that we have a new tropical depression. This is T.D. Number Two, just east of the Leeward Islands, likely to become a Tropical Storm Bonnie by tomorrow.
Back to you.
WOODRUFF: It's the season. Jacqui Jeras, thanks very much.
So, secret transcripts are released in the Kobe Bryant case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SILVERMAN: There are so many reasons why this trial will not go forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOODRUFF: Is the Bryant prosecution in trouble?
Stepped-up security in the nation's capital. How much is enough? How much is too much?
Also ahead... (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLAS PEREZ, FATHER OF SHARK ATTACK VICTIM: If you've seen "Jaws," that's what it looked like.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOODRUFF: A shark attack victim tells his story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOODRUFF: Welcome back. I'm Judy Woodruff, sitting in for Wolf.
The court rules Kobe Bryant's accuser's sexual history is admissible in court. Is the prosecution planning to abandon its case? New details ahead of the trial's start.
But first, a quick check of stories now in the news.
Bush administration officials say al Qaeda reconnaissance documents on possible terror targets in New York, New Jersey, and Washington are three or more years old. But they say some of the information has been updated this year.
A new National Intelligence Chief must have real power, or the post should not be created at all -- that from a member of the 9/11 Commission testifying at Congressional hearings in Washington. President Bush has announced support for the new post, but does not want it to be a cabinet position.
Six people are dead after a small plane slammed into a house northwest of Austin, Texas. All six of the dead are thought to have been on board the plane with no casualties on the ground.
A rude awakening for the latest incarnation of the Dream Team. America's star-studded Olympic basketball squad was routed by Italy in an Olympic warm-up in Germany. The 95-78 loss was the worst for Team USA since NBA players joined international competition.
Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.
Is the prosecution on the verge of dropping the rape case against Kobe Bryant? That is one of the dramatic issues contained in a 94- page transcript released by the judge.
CNN national correspondent Gary Tuchman is at the CNN Center with details. Hi, Gary.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Judy, hello to you. The Kobe Bryant trial is scheduled to begin on August 27. But for the first time since this case broke more than 13 months ago, we learned something about prosecutors through these transcripts: that they are concerned with how this case is going.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) (voice-over): Does the release of once-secret transcripts make it less likely that Kobe Bryant's sexual assault trial will take place?
SILVERMAN: I will believe this trial is occurring when I'm in the courtroom watching the opening statement. There are so many reasons why this trial will not go forward.
TUCHMAN: One of those reasons may involve the fact that prosecutors, who have always been publicly confident, told the judge privately their case could be vulnerable if he would allow trial testimony about the accuser's sexual history.
"I'm thinking the prosecution is going to sit down and reevaluate the quality of its case and its chances of a successful prosecution." Those words from a prosecutor came one month before the judge ruled such testimony will be allowed.
But the government still insists the case will go forward. District Attorney Spokeswoman Krista Flannigan telling CNN, quote, "This is one small piece of an entire case that will be presented at trial in front of a jury.
Bryant's attorney say there is DNA evidence the woman had sex with a different man one day after being with Bryant. Prosecutors say the presence of another man's DNA in her body at a rape exam can be explained. They say it was transferred from a pair of underwear she had previously worn.
SILVERMAN: This transfer theory, at best, is a possibility. Prosecutors don't win cases with possibilities. They need to have overwhelming probabilities to prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN (on camera): But what may be the most important piece of evidence is something we know very little about. And that is the testimony from the alleged victim. If she's believable, if she's influential, it could take the prosecution a long way in this case. And if there is a trial, she will be testifying -- Judy.
WOODRUFF: All right, Gary Tuchman, thank you very much.
To Salt Lake City now, where the Associated Press is reporting that witnesses from a psychiatric hospital told police that Mark Hacking spoke of killing his wife as she slept. Investigators are expected to resume their search for Lori Hacking's body tomorrow. And Mark Hacking is being held on suspicion of murder.
Miguel Marquez is covering the case for us where the district attorney is speaking out -- hello, Miguel.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello there, Judy.
It's a bit of a stunner of a development in the case that seems to have had so many stunners along the way, a probable cause statement released today by police. That's the form that police use in order to charged Mark Hacking, where he's been charged with aggravated murder.
It says in that report that Mark Hacking told a witness on the 24th of July, just a few days after his wife was reported missing and while everybody was still searching the area around Salt Lake, that a witness, according to the police report, told a reliable citizen, as the police say, that Hacking admitted to killing Lori while she slept and put her body into a Dumpster. In that report, it also details that police found human blood and a knife in the bedroom.
It was on the bed board and also along the bed railing, that blood. They also found blood in Lori's car. Police have said all along that they did recover evidence from Lori's car. His bail has been set at a half-million dollars, cash bail only, and all of this as some new video also has developed, video of Mark Hacking in a convenience store hours before he told police that his wife was missing early on the morning of Monday the 19th.
In the video, you can see Mark Hacking enter the store. He goes in and he buys a pack of Camel Lime Twist cigarettes, according to a store representative. He walks into the store. He goes to the candy aisle first and then he goes to the clerk, once another customer who was unrelated to Hacking had left and the clerk was alone, buys his cigarettes, can be seen sort of looking at his hands while he's waiting for the clerk and waiting for his cigarettes, tries to leave and then comes back because he realizes he's forgotten his change.
And then the last thing we see in the video is Mark Hacking driving away in Lori Hacking's car, a car that he said he went to the -- when he went to the park where he said that she was jogging, he said he went there and her car was there, but he could find her nowhere.
Mark Hacking is in jail right now awaiting formal charges from the district attorney's office, the district attorney saying that those charges, it looks like, won't come until next week, because they're putting this case together so quickly, said that because Mark Hacking was being released from that psychiatric hospital, it forced police's hand.
They then charged him immediately before he got released. And now, the case is with the district attorney and they're trying to build it against Mark Hacking. His lawyer, Mr. Hacking's lawyer, Gil Athay, who is a local lawyer here, has only said that he hasn't received a lot of information from the police and that a guilty plea -- or a plea of insanity is a possibility. But all of that is still up in the air until he sees all of the evidence -- Judy.
WOODRUFF: All right, Miguel Marquez, fast-moving developments -- Miguel, thank you very much.
Well, you probably remember the case of Andrea Yates. She was a Texas woman who drowned her five children in the family bathtub three years ago. With Yates now serving life in prison, her husband has filed for divorce.
Rachel McNeil of CNN affiliate KPRC has the story in Houston. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RACHEL MCNEIL, REPORTER, KPRC (voice-over): Three years after Andrea Yates took the lives of her five children, her husband, Rusty, wants out of their marriage.
JOHN O'SULLIVAN, ATTORNEY FOR ANDREA YATES: I don't think she's really going to fight the fact of a divorce, but she doesn't want a divorce. That's for sure.
MCNEIL: Attorney John O'Sullivan is representing Andrea in the divorce proceedings. He says her family has seen this coming and in the last few months have watched Andrea's health decline, dropping nearly 30 pounds while in jail.
O'SULLIVAN: She went down a few weeks ago and she's coming back, but she's still not doing well. She can talk and communicate, but she's kind of just -- she's very upset.
MCNEIL: Her defense attorney, George Parnham, believes Rusty wanting a divorce is the factor that precipitated her freefall. He tells News 2 Houston: "We knew this was coming. It wasn't dropped out of the blue. We were we were just trying to soften the blow for Andrea."
Rusty, who stood by his wife during their devastating ordeal, is filing on grounds of no fault, meaning the two parties can't get along and want a divorce. O'Sullivan says this won't be easy for Andrea.
O'SULLIVAN: I think it's devastating to her. She loved Rusty dearly and still does. And any time anybody goes through a divorce, it's a traumatic for anybody, just a tremendous impact on her. And you don't realize that until you go through it yourself.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOODRUFF: That was reporter Rachel McNeil of CNN affiliate KPRC in Houston.
A symbol of the difficult choices in the war on terror. Some people think security precautions on Capitol Hill have gone too far. We'll tell you why.
President Bush courts the Catholic vote with an appearance in Texas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY HARREN, MUSIC DIRECTOR, 99X RADIO: Tuesday's a dark blue. Wednesday's a light blue. Thursday's a dark green.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOODRUFF: And a rare but real medical condition, when sounds look like colors.
But first, a quick look at some other news making headlines around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOODRUFF (voice-over): Thirty-five thousand tons of Russian wheat have arrived in North Korea under a United Nations effort to ease the communist country's food shortage. The aid ends a two-month interruption in rations to pregnant and nursing women and to children in nurseries, schools, orphanages and hospitals.
Nuclear rivals: In a bid to ease years of hostility, India and Pakistan are holding talks on relaxing visa restrictions and promoting tourism. Bus, train, and air links recently were reopened after being cut two years ago. India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947.
Doves of peace: Italian and Greek officials released doves carrying messages of peace for the Summer Olympic Games in Athens. The birds are expected to reach Athens August 10, the day before the Games start.
No more corks: An Australian company is turning a centuries-old tradition upside down by selling wine by the can. It's just the latest dramatic new way of marketing wine. Some producers already have switched to synthetic corks and screw-cap bottles.
And that's our look around the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOODRUFF: Updating you now on that breaking news in Britain, 13 men are under arrest following police anti-terror raids across the country.
ITN correspondent Dan Rivers is standing by live at Scotland Yard with the latest -- hello, Dan.
DAN RIVERS, ITN REPORTER: Hi there.
Details are still fairly sketchy here at the moment. What we do know is that 13 men, as you say, have been arrested in a series of coordinated raids, four coordinated raids across Britain. All of the men are believed to be British, aged between 20 and 30 years old.
The raids occurred in northwest London in Hertfordshire in the middle of England, in Luton and Bedfordshire to the north of London, and up in Blackburn, Lancashire, up in the northwest of England. And that's pretty much as much as we know at the moment.
They've all been arrested under the Terrorism Act here, which means that the police think they may have been involved in orchestrating in some way or involved somehow with some sort of terrorist attack. But at the moment, police aren't really saying very much from the building behind me.
WOODRUFF: Dan, is it known whether these arrests are in any way linked to the al Qaeda arrests in Pakistan?
RIVERS: Well, it certainly seems a pretty big coincidence, if they aren't linked. This suspect, Muhammad Noor Khan, was arrested in Pakistan a few hours ago. He's believed to be a major al Qaeda player. And the Pakistani authorities also seized computer records and phones and so on and so forth.
So it certainly seems pretty coincidental, let's put it that way, that just a few hours after this what's believed to be a key al Qaeda intelligence asset, to use the intelligence jargon, was arrested in Pakistan, suddenly the police sweep on four locations here in Britain and arrest 13 people.
This is one of the biggest raids in this country since the spring, when they arrested a whole load more of people and seized a load of fertilizer that could have been used for explosives.
At the moment, we have no word yet on if they found any explosives or guns or anything of that sort. At the moment, it looks unlikely. But we certainly know they did drag some of the suspects out from their cars and armed police arrested them in the street in broad daylight.
WOODRUFF: All right, Dan Rivers, ITN correspondent with us from Scotland Yard, thank you very much.
A question, are local residents paying the price for stepped-up security? Our Homeland Security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, looks at Capitol Hill as an example of the tough choices governments face in the war on terror.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The reopening of the Statue of Liberty a symbol to some that the nation has not surrendered to terrorists.
TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We will not become fortress America.
MESERVE: But in Washington, some said a fortress had been built, overnight, around the U.S. Capitol. Each and every vehicle heading for the Hill was stopped and checked and one heavily traveled street shut down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we need the security. I think this is needed.
MESERVE: But traffic snarls in parts of the city left some motorists angry, even incredulous.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that's just stupid, but you think a terrorist would wait in line for the vehicle trick?
MESERVE: D.C.'s delegate to Congress vented her anger at the U.S. Capitol Police chief and to the public at a press conference. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON (D), WASHINGTON, D.C. DELEGATE: Close down all the streets. Close down the city. You can make it real safe.
MESERVE: Though the Capitol is regarded as a potential terrorist target, it wasn't mentioned when officials raised the threat level Sunday. Because the World Bank and International Monetary Fund were cited, the mayor raised the entire city's threat level.
But he says, the new Capitol Police security measures not only disrupt traffic. They impede first-responders and send the wrong public signal.
ANTHONY WILLIAMS, D.C. MAYOR: We will end up with fortress America if we allow this stuff to continue.
MESERVE: The Capitol police reject the criticism.
SGT. CONTRICIA SELLERS-FORD, U.S. CAPITOL POLICE: It's still open. We've not closed down any streets that prohibit people from going through the area.
MESERVE: The Capitol Police have contemplated taking these security steps for some time and have no plans to modify them, as the Capitol struggles to balance security and freedom.
Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOODRUFF: To a different story. Both President Bush and his opponent were on the campaign trail today.
Here's a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOODRUFF (voice-over): Democrat John Kerry called for a return to a balanced budget during a stop in Beloit, Wisconsin.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When Bill Clinton left office, we had a $5.6 trillion surplus. Surplus. That has now been turned into a deficit as far as the eyes can see.
WOODRUFF: This evening, the Democratic presidential nominee will attend a rally in Dubuque, Iowa.
President Bush traveled home to Texas for a Republican fund- raiser in Dallas. This afternoon, he spoke to the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic men's organization. Even though John Kerry is Catholic, the president hopes to win Catholic votes with his position on abortion and same-sex marriages.
The Bush/Cheney campaign has shifted its commercial emphasis from ads targeting Kerry to ads touting the president's leadership. A new campaign commercial debuted today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, BUSH-CHENEY CAMPAIGN AD)
ANNOUNCER: What gives us optimism and hope? Freedom, faith, families, and sacrifice.
President Bush, moving America forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOODRUFF: Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards had to shout at times to be heard offer over the chants of Bush supporters at a rally in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Edwards will spend the night in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Vice President Cheney was in Arkansas earlier today campaigning in Hot Springs and Fort Smith. Cheney is ending the day with appearances in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOODRUFF: A look at the campaign trail.
A harrowing moment in the water.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLAS PEREZ, AARON'S FATHER: The shark was -- it was way bigger than me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOODRUFF: And way bigger than his son, who was bitten. How bad is it this summer for shark and alligator attacks? We'll tell you just ahead.
Plus, a post-September 11 milestone for the symbol of American freedom.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOODRUFF: Run-ins between humans and wild animals, they can make dramatic, riveting stories, but do they distort the real picture?
Brian Todd joins us with the answer.
I'm dying to hear the answer.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Judy, this is the time of year that we always hear about it.
In our business, people often make a big deal out of shark attacks. Lately, we're reporting alligator attacks as well. Here's the reality of what these two predators are doing this summer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice-over): Eleven-year-old Aaron Perez is lucky, if you can say that about a boy whose arm nearly got bitten off. Fishing off a beach in Freeport, Texas, last week, he came face to face with a predator.
A. PEREZ: There was a bunch of school of fish and they all moved in. And I caught one and I turned around to tell my dad, and when I did that, a shark just started biting my arm.
TODD: Doctors have successfully reattached Aaron's forearm and they say his recovery is ahead of schedule; 54-year-old Janie Melsek did not escape her encounter with an alligator.
She was attacked by a nearly 12-foot-long gator as she trimmed bushes by a pond on Sanibel Island, Florida, last month. The gator pulled her under water, inflicted severe bites on her arms, legs and midsection. When police and neighbors got there, the beast still had her in its jaws.
JIM ANHOT, NEIGHBOR OF VICTIM: Had one part of her and the alligator had the other part. And we pulled each other like that, like a tug-of-war almost.
TODD: In a scene one officer described to CNN as horrifying, police wrestled Melsek from the gator's grasp and killed the animal. Melsek died the next day from the wounds and infection.
You hear stories by Melsek's and Aaron Perez's and you might get a distorted picture. The reality is, this has been an average to mild year for both shark and alligator attacks. Unprovoked shark attacks have decreased every year since 2000. This year, more than 30 have occurred worldwide, four of them fatal. As for alligators in Florida:
LUIS DELGADO, FLORIDA FISH & WILDLIFE: This year has been particularly slow.
TODD: Florida Fish and Wildlife officials report about half a dozen attacks this year in a state with more than one million alligators spread out over nearly seven million acres. Still, the alligators' resurgence, coupled with human population growth, brings the two species into uneasy proximity.
To avoid attacks, officials say, don't swim outside posted areas in lakes, rivers, ponds, or canals. Don't swim with pets. Don't swim at night, dawn or dusk. Didn't go near the water's edge outside posted areas. And the worst mistake you can make, feeding them.
DELGADO: That's what makes them associate humans with food and that's when we come into problems.
TODD: If you're attacked, Florida Wildlife officials say, fight back hard to cause confusion and intimidate the gator. Hit it in the eyes. When it comes to those deep sea predators, experts say, don't do what Aaron Perez did.
You shouldn't go near so-called bait fish, those schools that swim near shore that sharks feed on. Don't swim near birds diving toward the water. That may signify a feeding frenzy. Don't swim at dawn our dusk. Stay away from areas where rivers meet the ocean. That's where dead animals can wash out and sharks are often around. And it helps to swim in groups to potentially scare them away. If you are attacked, you can do what Aaron Perez did, hit the shark in the gills, nose or eyes.
And Aaron, you might want to think twice about this plan.
A. PEREZ: I'm going to get him.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: Experts believe that shark that attacked Aaron Perez may have been a bull shark. Bulls, tigers and great whites are the most aggressive, but bulls can actually thrive in fresh water and often swim up rivers, creeks and canals. So, Judy, if you're near those areas near an ocean, be a little bit careful.
WOODRUFF: They may be rare, but I'm staying on dry land.
(LAUGHTER)
TODD: Good idea.
WOODRUFF: Brian Todd, thank you very much. We appreciate it.
So have you ever tasted a triangle or smelled the color purple? Can you see the bark of a dog? If so, you know, you're not alone.
CNN medical correspondent Holly Firfer explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLLY FIRFER, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What color is your Monday?
HARREN: It's the color yellow. It's like a banana yellow kind of color. Tuesday's a dark blue. Wednesday's a light blue. Thursday's a dark green.
FIRFER: Deejay Jay Harren is not a freak. He's literally seeing the words of the days of the week spelled out in different colors. It's a condition called synesthesia. Although he and fellow deejays joke about this neurological disorder, it's quite common.
In fact, doctors say as many as one in 200 people are synesthetes. What causes it? Well, our senses are connected in the brain during development. At birth, these connections are sheared. But a genetic defect will often cause a couple to remain attached. When that happens and one sense is triggered, the other responds as well. Whenever Catheryn hears music, she sees colored shapes.
CATHERYN ZARO, SYNESTHETE: Ooh, it's got all kinds of blues and lavenders.
FIRFER: Dr. V.S. Ramachandran talks about a patient who had to break up with his girlfriend, because every time he heard her name, he tasted broccoli.
DR. V.S. RAMACHANDRAN, AUTHOR: Why did this gene survive? We think it may be involved in creativity, because if you ask yourself what is creativity, what is metaphor, what's analogy, it's the ability to link seemingly unrelated things.
FIRFER: Dr. Ramachandran says we don't know what makes us creative thinkers, but this condition is one explanation. He adds, nonsynesthetes have the ability to understand this thinking.
RAMACHANDRAN: You taste a piece of cheese and what do you say? It's sharp. It's a taste. Why do you call it sharp or dull, which is a touch sensation? So our language, our experience of the world is replete with metaphorical associations and indeed synesthetic metaphors.
FIRFER: Synesthesia is more common in women than in men and eight times more common among artists, poets and novelists. This is how people live.
Holly Firfer CNN, San Diego, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOODRUFF: On the other hand, if it's chocolate, not so bad.
Results of our Web question of the day ahead.
Plus, Lady Liberty, officially back in business.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOODRUFF: Well, here's how you're weighing in on our Web question of the day. Remember, this is not a scientific poll. Yes, 50 percent, no, 50 percent.
As we mentioned earlier, the Statue of Liberty reopened today for the first time since the 9/11 attacks. Our picture of the day, the sights and sounds of that celebration.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALES (singing): This is my country, land of my birth. This is my country.
AARON BROWN, MASTER OF CEREMONIES: We gather here today to officially reopen her, but the fact is, she's never really been closed.
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (R), NEW YORK CITY: We're really saying to the rest of the world, this is America, and Americans are strong and Americans value their freedoms.
GOV. GEORGE PATAKI (R), NEW YORK: And today, people will have the opportunity for the first time in almost three years to walk into the tower and see the statue from the inside. But throughout the days of September 11 and thereafter, that torch shined brightly.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lady Liberty is a triumphant symbol of freedom in the world. She represents the American dream, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. She stands for freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of speech, a government of the people, by the people and for the people.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOODRUFF: She's a great lady.
And a reminder: You can always watch WOLF BLITZER REPORTS weekdays at 5:00 Eastern.
Join me here tomorrow. Until then, thanks for joining us.
"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 August 3, 2004 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": Happening now: The case of a pregnant woman thought to be murdered moves from police to prosecutors. In a statement to the media, the district attorney zeros in on Lori Hacking's husband.
And we have breaking news on terror arrests overseas: 13 people rounded up in Great Britain.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): Al Qaeda plot: Will new arrests in Pakistan reveal a timetable for an attack on America?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They were inside this country, inside these targets, crawling all over them, making sure they understood those buildings better than we did.
WOODRUFF: Kobe Bryant case: public transcripts and privacy rights. Could prosecutors call it quits before a trial begins?
Close call: The first hurricane of the season right off the Atlantic coast.
Sharks and gators: Why are we hearing about so many attacks? We'll do a reality check.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Tuesday, August 3, 2004.
WOODRUFF (on camera): Hello, I'm Judy Woodruff in Washington. Wolf Blitzer is off today.
There is breaking news happening right now in Britain. Scotland Yard telling CNN that 13 people were arrested today in anti-terrorism raids around Britain. Officials say the men were arrested on suspicion of being, quote, "Concerned in the commission, preparation, or instigation of acts of terrorism."
They said the raids were part of a pre-planned, ongoing intelligence-led operation. Searchers are still being conducted and are expected to take some time to complete. We'll bring you more details when they become available.
Back here in America, barricades, bag checks, and officers in body armor. Are these new security measures based on old intelligence? There was word today that al Qaeda's surveillance of U.S. cities dates back several years.
But there's also word of new arrests. Pakistani sources say that at least seven more al Qaeda suspects have been seized. One of them is said to have carried coded messages on computer disks. And he is identified as an associate of an alleged al Qaeda computer expert.
On top of that, there's word of newly revealed targets. Our justice correspondent Kelli Arena picks up the story -- Kelli.
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Judy, I reported last night that there were more targets than the five publicly mentioned by officials. And sources now tell us there were about 20.
They're broken down into three categories, depending upon how much information was gathered on them. For example, officials say the New York Stock Exchange is in in category one. Al Qaeda had collected a lot of detail and conducted extensive surveillance. The Bank of America in San Francisco is in category two, meaning there's less information in databases.
While the potential targets have received a lot of attention, U.S. and Pakistani officials say the real intelligence coup is coming from interrogations of alleged al Qaeda computer expert Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHEIKH RASHID AHMED, PAKISTANI INFORMATION MINISTER: We have some valuable information from them, and we are interrogating an investigation this case. And I think this is a great achievement of the security forces.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARENA: As one source put it, Khan is emerging as the communications backbone of al Qaeda. According to intelligence officials, Khan told interrogators al Qaeda used couriers to get messages and computer disks to him. He then posted coded messages on Web sites and quickly deleted the files.
According to Khan, he used e-mail addresses in Turkey, Nigeria, and tribal areas of Pakistan to send the information. And those addresses were used only a few times to avoid detection.
Now, Khan's arrest is significant because it gives investigators a look into how al Qaeda has adapted to the war on terror. It's also a reminder that dangerous terror cells remain intact, even in countries like Pakistan, where experts say officials have been especially aggressive, Judy.
WOODRUFF: All right. Kelli Arena, thank you very much. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge got a first-hand look at the security in Manhattan's financial centers today. He's defending the latest alert and the information on which it is based.
Let's go live now to CNN's Deborah Feyerick. She's in New York. Hi, Deborah.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Judy. Well, the secretary was here to reassure members of the financial community, meeting with a number of those that Kelli just mentioned. However, that reassurance turned into more of a defense.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): With armed guards patrolling financial institutions in New York...
TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: ... opportunity to get a call about something like that, you get everybody else on the horn and review it.
FEYERICK: The head of Homeland Security met with corporate executives and security directors from major banking firms. Tom Ridge later defending intelligence that has thrown parts of New York, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C., into a kind of lockdown.
RIDGE: Al Qaeda often plans well, well in advance. We also know that they like to update their information before a potential attack. So, I don't want anyone to disabuse themselves of the seriousness of this information simply because there are some reports that much of it is dated. It might be two or three years old.
FEYERICK: Secretary Ridge saying intelligence shows terror operatives were updating details of potential targets as recently as January, saying also the terrorists are patient and will strike when they can be successful.
RIDGE: We just assume that there are operatives here. Obviously, the law enforcement community has their eyes on people they believe are connected or sympathetic to the cause.
FEYERICK: Missing in the latest intelligence is the timing of a possible attack. But officials, citing several sources, have added concern about the Republican National Convention in New York, starting in late august.
RIDGE: There has been an expressed intention to disrupt the Democratic process: Could be interpreted throughout the election year; could be interpreted to Election Day.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK (on camera): Now, the Homeland Security chief was asked whether somehow the release of this intelligence was politically motivated. He answered that this is not about politics, it's about good government. He also said that had they not released the information, that it would have been the wrong thing to do, a sentiment reissued by New York City's Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who said officials would have been criticized had they not put out these warnings -- Judy.
WOODRUFF: Deborah Feyerick, thank you very much. Deborah Feyerick in New York.
Well, former Democratic Senator and Presidential Candidate Gary Hart was quick to criticize President Bush's general endorsement of the 9/11 Commission's recommendations. Hart, who was an advisor on security issues to the Kerry campaign, said the president acted to avoid a fight with Congress before the November election.
Hart is the author of the new book, "The Fourth Power: A Grand Strategy for the United States in the 21st Century." Gary Hart joins us now from New York.
Senator Hart, first of all, is the administration doing the right thing by ratcheting up the security around these major financial institutions?
GARY HART, AUTHOR, "THE FOURTH POWER": Only the administration would know, because they have access to the classified files and information. I can only say if they do attempt, in this or future occasions, to politicize such warnings, it will come back to haunt them. And I have to believe in the best interest of national security they would not do that.
WOODRUFF: Well, there's already an accusation out there -- Howard Dean and perhaps others, saying he believes there is an element of politics in all this. What do you think?
HART: Well, as I say, if they do, I know enough people in the security services and both in active duty and retirees who will correct the record in the American press. And I think that's exactly what happened today as to the -- how dated this information is.
So, I would think the administration will be prudent about this and not try to hype any warnings in its own political interests.
WOODRUFF: But you're not saying whether -- what they've done up until now was politically...
HART: We have no way of knowing. I think if you're an individual citizen without access to the classified information, there's no way to know.
WOODRUFF: Senator Hart, you were critical, as I mentioned, of President Bush's announcement that he wants a new national intelligence chief, the way it would be structured. What is your difficulty with what he's...
HART: Well, it dates back to the creation of the CIA in 1947 and the passage of the National Security Act of that date. The great debate then was would that -- would the director of Central Intelligence have control of all intelligence budgets, and the Pentagon won that fight. And 80% to 85% of all intelligence expenditures are carried out not by the CIA but by the Defense Department.
If the president and the Congress give a new official that kind of authority -- that is, get the intelligence budgets out of the Defense Department, which I doubt they can do -- then you might as well give it to the current director of Central Intelligence and not create a new official.
WOODRUFF: Senator, I want to ask you about your new book. Again, the title is "The Fourth Power: A Grand Strategy for the U.S. in the 21st Century."
I was reading a review of it today. Among other things, the reviewer says you seem so prepared to give other countries the benefit of the doubt that they're going to go along that America can't export its so-called goodness and goodwill to other countries. But he said there's some naivete in believing that's going happen that way.
HART: Well, I think the reviewer didn't read the book very clearly, nor does -- I'm not familiar with the review, but I don't think that reviewer is familiar either with my positions on foreign policy and defense over the years.
No, I don't think there's any naivete. Seven or eight presidents depended on the Atlantic Alliance to defend us during the Cold War. There was nothing naive about that. I'm simply arguing that we have to restore those relationships. And for the rest of the world that is not part of that alliance, part of what we have to offer is not just our economic, political, and military power, it's our Constitutional principles.
I've traveled the world, and I know that is what people admire the most about us.
WOODRUFF: When you talk, Senator, in the book about America living up to its own principles versus America advocating that other countries live up to American principles, what are you really saying here? Are you talking about the Bush world view versus something else?
HART: Well, in part, yes. Part of my strong feelings about a principled American policy in the world and position in the world is not only based on my travel, but my experience in the Congress when I first went to the Senate, serving on the Senate Select Committee to investigate the intelligence community.
And it was then we discovered -- in '75 and '76, a quarter century ago -- that we were trying to assassinate foreign leaders, overthrow governments, buy off presses, and do a lot of things that were against America's principles. It always came out, and we always suffered from it.
And so, my point, my view on America in the world is very much conditioned on the bad experiences our country has had. And what it seems to me the Bush administration is arguing is that whether we live up to our principles or not, everyone else should.
WOODRUFF: Former Senator Gary Hart -- he has a new book, "The Fourth Power." Senator, thank you very much for being with us.
HART: Great pleasure, thank you.
WOODRUFF: We appreciate it.
Well, now here's your turn to weigh in on this important story. Our Web question of the day is this: Do you think the government was justified in issuing the latest terror threat warning? You can vote right now at cnn.com/wolf. We'll have the results later in the broadcast.
She has a notorious reputation, but was she joking around or following orders? A high-stakes hearing for Private Lynndie England, key defendant in the Iraq prison abuse case. We're going to go live to Ft. Bragg just ahead.
Also ahead...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRAIG SILVERMAN, COLORADO TRIAL ATTORNEY: I will believe that this trial is occurring when I'm in the courtroom watching the opening statement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOODRUFF: A case in trouble? Why are prosecutors in the Kobe Bryant case worried about a potential ruling by the judge?
And still ahead...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AARON PEREZ, SHARK ATTACK VICTIM: I caught one, and I turned around to tell my dad, and when I did, that shark just started biting my arm.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOODRUFF: A narrow escape for an 11-year-old. But what kind of a menace have sharks and alligators really posed this summer? A reality check just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOODRUFF: It's been another deadly day in the battle for Iraq. Over a 24-hour period, at least 10 people were killed, including four American Marines. The total of U.S. troops killed in the war now stands at 921.
In another incident, a car bomb attack killed four Iraqi National Guard members. It happened at the same checkpoint where a car bombing killed 70 people almost one week ago. In Baghdad, an Iraqi police chief and another police official were killed in a roadside bomb attack. A third officer was wounded. They were patrolling a neighborhood when the bomb exploded.
Officials in northern Iraq are blaming saboteurs for the bombing of a pipeline. Workers were set to resume pumping from oil fields in Kirkuk to a point in Turkey. Officials now expect pumping to resume in a few days. The bulk of Iraq's oil comes from southern oil fields.
Turning now to the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal, a hearing is underway to determine whether Private First Class Lynndie England should be court-martialed for her actions at the Abu Ghraib prison.
CNN National Correspondent Bob Franken is at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, with the latest. Hello, Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Judy. There's a potential of 19 charges, a potential of 38 years in prison in addition to dishonorable discharge. This is the hearing to decide which of those go forward.
Lynndie England came in this morning, and the first witness was the chief investigator, who said that, in the initial interrogation, England had said that the pictures that showed alleged mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners were, quote, "just for fun." The defense is now arguing that these were done at the behest of others, that she was simply following orders.
As far as Lynndie England is concerned, she's seven months pregnant. She says, as a matter of fact, the infamous picture which shows her holding a detainee on a leash was done at the behest of Corporal Charles Graner.
Now, Charles Graner is accused of being one of the ringleaders of the treatment of the Iraqi prisoners, also identified as the father of Lynndie England. She's seven months pregnant.
As a matter of fact, she missed the afternoon session. The explanation was that she had talked to her doctor. Her doctor said she should come in, and so she did come in, was not here for the session this afternoon.
Here is how her lawyer described her mental condition.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD HERNANDEZ, ATTORNEY FOR LYNNDIE ENGLAND: She's as stressed as anyone else would be if you were a 20-year-old -- 21-year- old young lady who's facing 30 years for pictures, intimate photographs that are -- you would see at Mardi Gras on Spring Break. But not in this case; she's facing 30 years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKEN: He was describing other evidence. Some of the charges concern pictures, pictures that show Lynndie England in a variety of sexual acts, according to the accusations. And these are the pictures that the defense attorney says are absolutely unnecessary.
This was the first day of the hearing. It will continue tomorrow, Judy.
WOODRUFF: All right. Bob Franken, reporting from Ft. Bragg, thanks very much.
Well, Alex is now a category two hurricane, but how much of a threat does it pose to the east coast?
There is newly surfaced surveillance tape of Mark Hacking, and the district attorney in Utah is speaking out this hour. We'll have the latest on the suspected murder of Lori Hacking.
Also ahead...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE PARNHAM, ANDREA YATES' ATTORNEY: I think it's devastating to her. I mean, you know, she loved Rusty dearly and still does.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOODRUFF: Three years after Andrea Yates killed their children, Rusty Yates is leaving the marriage. We'll have details just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOODRUFF: Happening now, the National Hurricane Center reports that Hurricane Alex is moving further out to sea at this hour after battering North Carolina's Outer Banks.
CNN's Chad Myers is in Atlantic Beach.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Things have calmed down here in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina. Earlier today, we had wind gusts to 60 miles per hour.
As we go a little bit further east into what we call down east North Carolina and then over to Cape Hatteras, winds were gusting to 90 miles per hour this afternoon. And as we look down the beach and as we looked up the beach, winds and waves were between 50 and 60 miles per hour and those waves were eight to 10 feet. Obviously, things have calmed down now.
Folks have gone back into the water. It will be kind of a rough- and-tumble day for some of the beaches from, let's say, Virginia right through Chincoteague, Assateague, and even on up into parts of New Jersey. And then, for that matter, right around to Boston in Massachusetts and Maine.
This storm is headed out to sea, but surf will still be up in many of those areas. Rip currents, obviously, for tomorrow and all the way through the day on Friday. From Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, Chad Myers, CNN News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOODRUFF: And now for a closer look at Alex and where it's expected to go, let's check in with Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras. She's at the CNN Weather Center in Atlanta.
Hi, Jacqui.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Judy. Well, the worst is definitely over with, but we're still going to be seeing some very strong winds, likely for another hour or two north of Cape Hatteras, extending farther on northward towards Nag's Head.
So, this will be our area of concern over the next couple of hours, an additional one to three inches of rainfall on top of what you already had. The worst came through about 1:00 this afternoon. And in a very localized area across Ocracoke Island and also around Cape Hatteras, where we had the strongest of wind gusts.
This is the 5:00 advisory on Alex. It's about 65 miles now northeast of Cape Hatteras, still packing a punch, though, of -- maximum sustained winds are still 100 miles per hour. It's moving to the northeast at 17 miles per hour. So, by the time everybody goes to bed tonight, this thing is going to be out of here.
The winds were incredible. Earlier this afternoon, 120 miles an hour at Ocracoke, 102 around Cape Hatteras. We'll look at winds about 40, maybe 50 miles per hour for the rest of this evening.
Pulls on out for tomorrow and then becomes a fishing storm and won't be anything to worry about for you. But one other note, Judy, is that we have a new tropical depression. This is T.D. Number Two, just east of the Leeward Islands, likely to become a Tropical Storm Bonnie by tomorrow.
Back to you.
WOODRUFF: It's the season. Jacqui Jeras, thanks very much.
So, secret transcripts are released in the Kobe Bryant case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SILVERMAN: There are so many reasons why this trial will not go forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOODRUFF: Is the Bryant prosecution in trouble?
Stepped-up security in the nation's capital. How much is enough? How much is too much?
Also ahead... (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLAS PEREZ, FATHER OF SHARK ATTACK VICTIM: If you've seen "Jaws," that's what it looked like.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOODRUFF: A shark attack victim tells his story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOODRUFF: Welcome back. I'm Judy Woodruff, sitting in for Wolf.
The court rules Kobe Bryant's accuser's sexual history is admissible in court. Is the prosecution planning to abandon its case? New details ahead of the trial's start.
But first, a quick check of stories now in the news.
Bush administration officials say al Qaeda reconnaissance documents on possible terror targets in New York, New Jersey, and Washington are three or more years old. But they say some of the information has been updated this year.
A new National Intelligence Chief must have real power, or the post should not be created at all -- that from a member of the 9/11 Commission testifying at Congressional hearings in Washington. President Bush has announced support for the new post, but does not want it to be a cabinet position.
Six people are dead after a small plane slammed into a house northwest of Austin, Texas. All six of the dead are thought to have been on board the plane with no casualties on the ground.
A rude awakening for the latest incarnation of the Dream Team. America's star-studded Olympic basketball squad was routed by Italy in an Olympic warm-up in Germany. The 95-78 loss was the worst for Team USA since NBA players joined international competition.
Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.
Is the prosecution on the verge of dropping the rape case against Kobe Bryant? That is one of the dramatic issues contained in a 94- page transcript released by the judge.
CNN national correspondent Gary Tuchman is at the CNN Center with details. Hi, Gary.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Judy, hello to you. The Kobe Bryant trial is scheduled to begin on August 27. But for the first time since this case broke more than 13 months ago, we learned something about prosecutors through these transcripts: that they are concerned with how this case is going.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) (voice-over): Does the release of once-secret transcripts make it less likely that Kobe Bryant's sexual assault trial will take place?
SILVERMAN: I will believe this trial is occurring when I'm in the courtroom watching the opening statement. There are so many reasons why this trial will not go forward.
TUCHMAN: One of those reasons may involve the fact that prosecutors, who have always been publicly confident, told the judge privately their case could be vulnerable if he would allow trial testimony about the accuser's sexual history.
"I'm thinking the prosecution is going to sit down and reevaluate the quality of its case and its chances of a successful prosecution." Those words from a prosecutor came one month before the judge ruled such testimony will be allowed.
But the government still insists the case will go forward. District Attorney Spokeswoman Krista Flannigan telling CNN, quote, "This is one small piece of an entire case that will be presented at trial in front of a jury.
Bryant's attorney say there is DNA evidence the woman had sex with a different man one day after being with Bryant. Prosecutors say the presence of another man's DNA in her body at a rape exam can be explained. They say it was transferred from a pair of underwear she had previously worn.
SILVERMAN: This transfer theory, at best, is a possibility. Prosecutors don't win cases with possibilities. They need to have overwhelming probabilities to prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN (on camera): But what may be the most important piece of evidence is something we know very little about. And that is the testimony from the alleged victim. If she's believable, if she's influential, it could take the prosecution a long way in this case. And if there is a trial, she will be testifying -- Judy.
WOODRUFF: All right, Gary Tuchman, thank you very much.
To Salt Lake City now, where the Associated Press is reporting that witnesses from a psychiatric hospital told police that Mark Hacking spoke of killing his wife as she slept. Investigators are expected to resume their search for Lori Hacking's body tomorrow. And Mark Hacking is being held on suspicion of murder.
Miguel Marquez is covering the case for us where the district attorney is speaking out -- hello, Miguel.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello there, Judy.
It's a bit of a stunner of a development in the case that seems to have had so many stunners along the way, a probable cause statement released today by police. That's the form that police use in order to charged Mark Hacking, where he's been charged with aggravated murder.
It says in that report that Mark Hacking told a witness on the 24th of July, just a few days after his wife was reported missing and while everybody was still searching the area around Salt Lake, that a witness, according to the police report, told a reliable citizen, as the police say, that Hacking admitted to killing Lori while she slept and put her body into a Dumpster. In that report, it also details that police found human blood and a knife in the bedroom.
It was on the bed board and also along the bed railing, that blood. They also found blood in Lori's car. Police have said all along that they did recover evidence from Lori's car. His bail has been set at a half-million dollars, cash bail only, and all of this as some new video also has developed, video of Mark Hacking in a convenience store hours before he told police that his wife was missing early on the morning of Monday the 19th.
In the video, you can see Mark Hacking enter the store. He goes in and he buys a pack of Camel Lime Twist cigarettes, according to a store representative. He walks into the store. He goes to the candy aisle first and then he goes to the clerk, once another customer who was unrelated to Hacking had left and the clerk was alone, buys his cigarettes, can be seen sort of looking at his hands while he's waiting for the clerk and waiting for his cigarettes, tries to leave and then comes back because he realizes he's forgotten his change.
And then the last thing we see in the video is Mark Hacking driving away in Lori Hacking's car, a car that he said he went to the -- when he went to the park where he said that she was jogging, he said he went there and her car was there, but he could find her nowhere.
Mark Hacking is in jail right now awaiting formal charges from the district attorney's office, the district attorney saying that those charges, it looks like, won't come until next week, because they're putting this case together so quickly, said that because Mark Hacking was being released from that psychiatric hospital, it forced police's hand.
They then charged him immediately before he got released. And now, the case is with the district attorney and they're trying to build it against Mark Hacking. His lawyer, Mr. Hacking's lawyer, Gil Athay, who is a local lawyer here, has only said that he hasn't received a lot of information from the police and that a guilty plea -- or a plea of insanity is a possibility. But all of that is still up in the air until he sees all of the evidence -- Judy.
WOODRUFF: All right, Miguel Marquez, fast-moving developments -- Miguel, thank you very much.
Well, you probably remember the case of Andrea Yates. She was a Texas woman who drowned her five children in the family bathtub three years ago. With Yates now serving life in prison, her husband has filed for divorce.
Rachel McNeil of CNN affiliate KPRC has the story in Houston. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RACHEL MCNEIL, REPORTER, KPRC (voice-over): Three years after Andrea Yates took the lives of her five children, her husband, Rusty, wants out of their marriage.
JOHN O'SULLIVAN, ATTORNEY FOR ANDREA YATES: I don't think she's really going to fight the fact of a divorce, but she doesn't want a divorce. That's for sure.
MCNEIL: Attorney John O'Sullivan is representing Andrea in the divorce proceedings. He says her family has seen this coming and in the last few months have watched Andrea's health decline, dropping nearly 30 pounds while in jail.
O'SULLIVAN: She went down a few weeks ago and she's coming back, but she's still not doing well. She can talk and communicate, but she's kind of just -- she's very upset.
MCNEIL: Her defense attorney, George Parnham, believes Rusty wanting a divorce is the factor that precipitated her freefall. He tells News 2 Houston: "We knew this was coming. It wasn't dropped out of the blue. We were we were just trying to soften the blow for Andrea."
Rusty, who stood by his wife during their devastating ordeal, is filing on grounds of no fault, meaning the two parties can't get along and want a divorce. O'Sullivan says this won't be easy for Andrea.
O'SULLIVAN: I think it's devastating to her. She loved Rusty dearly and still does. And any time anybody goes through a divorce, it's a traumatic for anybody, just a tremendous impact on her. And you don't realize that until you go through it yourself.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOODRUFF: That was reporter Rachel McNeil of CNN affiliate KPRC in Houston.
A symbol of the difficult choices in the war on terror. Some people think security precautions on Capitol Hill have gone too far. We'll tell you why.
President Bush courts the Catholic vote with an appearance in Texas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY HARREN, MUSIC DIRECTOR, 99X RADIO: Tuesday's a dark blue. Wednesday's a light blue. Thursday's a dark green.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOODRUFF: And a rare but real medical condition, when sounds look like colors.
But first, a quick look at some other news making headlines around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOODRUFF (voice-over): Thirty-five thousand tons of Russian wheat have arrived in North Korea under a United Nations effort to ease the communist country's food shortage. The aid ends a two-month interruption in rations to pregnant and nursing women and to children in nurseries, schools, orphanages and hospitals.
Nuclear rivals: In a bid to ease years of hostility, India and Pakistan are holding talks on relaxing visa restrictions and promoting tourism. Bus, train, and air links recently were reopened after being cut two years ago. India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947.
Doves of peace: Italian and Greek officials released doves carrying messages of peace for the Summer Olympic Games in Athens. The birds are expected to reach Athens August 10, the day before the Games start.
No more corks: An Australian company is turning a centuries-old tradition upside down by selling wine by the can. It's just the latest dramatic new way of marketing wine. Some producers already have switched to synthetic corks and screw-cap bottles.
And that's our look around the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOODRUFF: Updating you now on that breaking news in Britain, 13 men are under arrest following police anti-terror raids across the country.
ITN correspondent Dan Rivers is standing by live at Scotland Yard with the latest -- hello, Dan.
DAN RIVERS, ITN REPORTER: Hi there.
Details are still fairly sketchy here at the moment. What we do know is that 13 men, as you say, have been arrested in a series of coordinated raids, four coordinated raids across Britain. All of the men are believed to be British, aged between 20 and 30 years old.
The raids occurred in northwest London in Hertfordshire in the middle of England, in Luton and Bedfordshire to the north of London, and up in Blackburn, Lancashire, up in the northwest of England. And that's pretty much as much as we know at the moment.
They've all been arrested under the Terrorism Act here, which means that the police think they may have been involved in orchestrating in some way or involved somehow with some sort of terrorist attack. But at the moment, police aren't really saying very much from the building behind me.
WOODRUFF: Dan, is it known whether these arrests are in any way linked to the al Qaeda arrests in Pakistan?
RIVERS: Well, it certainly seems a pretty big coincidence, if they aren't linked. This suspect, Muhammad Noor Khan, was arrested in Pakistan a few hours ago. He's believed to be a major al Qaeda player. And the Pakistani authorities also seized computer records and phones and so on and so forth.
So it certainly seems pretty coincidental, let's put it that way, that just a few hours after this what's believed to be a key al Qaeda intelligence asset, to use the intelligence jargon, was arrested in Pakistan, suddenly the police sweep on four locations here in Britain and arrest 13 people.
This is one of the biggest raids in this country since the spring, when they arrested a whole load more of people and seized a load of fertilizer that could have been used for explosives.
At the moment, we have no word yet on if they found any explosives or guns or anything of that sort. At the moment, it looks unlikely. But we certainly know they did drag some of the suspects out from their cars and armed police arrested them in the street in broad daylight.
WOODRUFF: All right, Dan Rivers, ITN correspondent with us from Scotland Yard, thank you very much.
A question, are local residents paying the price for stepped-up security? Our Homeland Security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, looks at Capitol Hill as an example of the tough choices governments face in the war on terror.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The reopening of the Statue of Liberty a symbol to some that the nation has not surrendered to terrorists.
TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We will not become fortress America.
MESERVE: But in Washington, some said a fortress had been built, overnight, around the U.S. Capitol. Each and every vehicle heading for the Hill was stopped and checked and one heavily traveled street shut down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we need the security. I think this is needed.
MESERVE: But traffic snarls in parts of the city left some motorists angry, even incredulous.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that's just stupid, but you think a terrorist would wait in line for the vehicle trick?
MESERVE: D.C.'s delegate to Congress vented her anger at the U.S. Capitol Police chief and to the public at a press conference. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON (D), WASHINGTON, D.C. DELEGATE: Close down all the streets. Close down the city. You can make it real safe.
MESERVE: Though the Capitol is regarded as a potential terrorist target, it wasn't mentioned when officials raised the threat level Sunday. Because the World Bank and International Monetary Fund were cited, the mayor raised the entire city's threat level.
But he says, the new Capitol Police security measures not only disrupt traffic. They impede first-responders and send the wrong public signal.
ANTHONY WILLIAMS, D.C. MAYOR: We will end up with fortress America if we allow this stuff to continue.
MESERVE: The Capitol police reject the criticism.
SGT. CONTRICIA SELLERS-FORD, U.S. CAPITOL POLICE: It's still open. We've not closed down any streets that prohibit people from going through the area.
MESERVE: The Capitol Police have contemplated taking these security steps for some time and have no plans to modify them, as the Capitol struggles to balance security and freedom.
Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOODRUFF: To a different story. Both President Bush and his opponent were on the campaign trail today.
Here's a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOODRUFF (voice-over): Democrat John Kerry called for a return to a balanced budget during a stop in Beloit, Wisconsin.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When Bill Clinton left office, we had a $5.6 trillion surplus. Surplus. That has now been turned into a deficit as far as the eyes can see.
WOODRUFF: This evening, the Democratic presidential nominee will attend a rally in Dubuque, Iowa.
President Bush traveled home to Texas for a Republican fund- raiser in Dallas. This afternoon, he spoke to the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic men's organization. Even though John Kerry is Catholic, the president hopes to win Catholic votes with his position on abortion and same-sex marriages.
The Bush/Cheney campaign has shifted its commercial emphasis from ads targeting Kerry to ads touting the president's leadership. A new campaign commercial debuted today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, BUSH-CHENEY CAMPAIGN AD)
ANNOUNCER: What gives us optimism and hope? Freedom, faith, families, and sacrifice.
President Bush, moving America forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOODRUFF: Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards had to shout at times to be heard offer over the chants of Bush supporters at a rally in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Edwards will spend the night in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Vice President Cheney was in Arkansas earlier today campaigning in Hot Springs and Fort Smith. Cheney is ending the day with appearances in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOODRUFF: A look at the campaign trail.
A harrowing moment in the water.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLAS PEREZ, AARON'S FATHER: The shark was -- it was way bigger than me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOODRUFF: And way bigger than his son, who was bitten. How bad is it this summer for shark and alligator attacks? We'll tell you just ahead.
Plus, a post-September 11 milestone for the symbol of American freedom.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOODRUFF: Run-ins between humans and wild animals, they can make dramatic, riveting stories, but do they distort the real picture?
Brian Todd joins us with the answer.
I'm dying to hear the answer.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Judy, this is the time of year that we always hear about it.
In our business, people often make a big deal out of shark attacks. Lately, we're reporting alligator attacks as well. Here's the reality of what these two predators are doing this summer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice-over): Eleven-year-old Aaron Perez is lucky, if you can say that about a boy whose arm nearly got bitten off. Fishing off a beach in Freeport, Texas, last week, he came face to face with a predator.
A. PEREZ: There was a bunch of school of fish and they all moved in. And I caught one and I turned around to tell my dad, and when I did that, a shark just started biting my arm.
TODD: Doctors have successfully reattached Aaron's forearm and they say his recovery is ahead of schedule; 54-year-old Janie Melsek did not escape her encounter with an alligator.
She was attacked by a nearly 12-foot-long gator as she trimmed bushes by a pond on Sanibel Island, Florida, last month. The gator pulled her under water, inflicted severe bites on her arms, legs and midsection. When police and neighbors got there, the beast still had her in its jaws.
JIM ANHOT, NEIGHBOR OF VICTIM: Had one part of her and the alligator had the other part. And we pulled each other like that, like a tug-of-war almost.
TODD: In a scene one officer described to CNN as horrifying, police wrestled Melsek from the gator's grasp and killed the animal. Melsek died the next day from the wounds and infection.
You hear stories by Melsek's and Aaron Perez's and you might get a distorted picture. The reality is, this has been an average to mild year for both shark and alligator attacks. Unprovoked shark attacks have decreased every year since 2000. This year, more than 30 have occurred worldwide, four of them fatal. As for alligators in Florida:
LUIS DELGADO, FLORIDA FISH & WILDLIFE: This year has been particularly slow.
TODD: Florida Fish and Wildlife officials report about half a dozen attacks this year in a state with more than one million alligators spread out over nearly seven million acres. Still, the alligators' resurgence, coupled with human population growth, brings the two species into uneasy proximity.
To avoid attacks, officials say, don't swim outside posted areas in lakes, rivers, ponds, or canals. Don't swim with pets. Don't swim at night, dawn or dusk. Didn't go near the water's edge outside posted areas. And the worst mistake you can make, feeding them.
DELGADO: That's what makes them associate humans with food and that's when we come into problems.
TODD: If you're attacked, Florida Wildlife officials say, fight back hard to cause confusion and intimidate the gator. Hit it in the eyes. When it comes to those deep sea predators, experts say, don't do what Aaron Perez did.
You shouldn't go near so-called bait fish, those schools that swim near shore that sharks feed on. Don't swim near birds diving toward the water. That may signify a feeding frenzy. Don't swim at dawn our dusk. Stay away from areas where rivers meet the ocean. That's where dead animals can wash out and sharks are often around. And it helps to swim in groups to potentially scare them away. If you are attacked, you can do what Aaron Perez did, hit the shark in the gills, nose or eyes.
And Aaron, you might want to think twice about this plan.
A. PEREZ: I'm going to get him.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: Experts believe that shark that attacked Aaron Perez may have been a bull shark. Bulls, tigers and great whites are the most aggressive, but bulls can actually thrive in fresh water and often swim up rivers, creeks and canals. So, Judy, if you're near those areas near an ocean, be a little bit careful.
WOODRUFF: They may be rare, but I'm staying on dry land.
(LAUGHTER)
TODD: Good idea.
WOODRUFF: Brian Todd, thank you very much. We appreciate it.
So have you ever tasted a triangle or smelled the color purple? Can you see the bark of a dog? If so, you know, you're not alone.
CNN medical correspondent Holly Firfer explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLLY FIRFER, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What color is your Monday?
HARREN: It's the color yellow. It's like a banana yellow kind of color. Tuesday's a dark blue. Wednesday's a light blue. Thursday's a dark green.
FIRFER: Deejay Jay Harren is not a freak. He's literally seeing the words of the days of the week spelled out in different colors. It's a condition called synesthesia. Although he and fellow deejays joke about this neurological disorder, it's quite common.
In fact, doctors say as many as one in 200 people are synesthetes. What causes it? Well, our senses are connected in the brain during development. At birth, these connections are sheared. But a genetic defect will often cause a couple to remain attached. When that happens and one sense is triggered, the other responds as well. Whenever Catheryn hears music, she sees colored shapes.
CATHERYN ZARO, SYNESTHETE: Ooh, it's got all kinds of blues and lavenders.
FIRFER: Dr. V.S. Ramachandran talks about a patient who had to break up with his girlfriend, because every time he heard her name, he tasted broccoli.
DR. V.S. RAMACHANDRAN, AUTHOR: Why did this gene survive? We think it may be involved in creativity, because if you ask yourself what is creativity, what is metaphor, what's analogy, it's the ability to link seemingly unrelated things.
FIRFER: Dr. Ramachandran says we don't know what makes us creative thinkers, but this condition is one explanation. He adds, nonsynesthetes have the ability to understand this thinking.
RAMACHANDRAN: You taste a piece of cheese and what do you say? It's sharp. It's a taste. Why do you call it sharp or dull, which is a touch sensation? So our language, our experience of the world is replete with metaphorical associations and indeed synesthetic metaphors.
FIRFER: Synesthesia is more common in women than in men and eight times more common among artists, poets and novelists. This is how people live.
Holly Firfer CNN, San Diego, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOODRUFF: On the other hand, if it's chocolate, not so bad.
Results of our Web question of the day ahead.
Plus, Lady Liberty, officially back in business.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOODRUFF: Well, here's how you're weighing in on our Web question of the day. Remember, this is not a scientific poll. Yes, 50 percent, no, 50 percent.
As we mentioned earlier, the Statue of Liberty reopened today for the first time since the 9/11 attacks. Our picture of the day, the sights and sounds of that celebration.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALES (singing): This is my country, land of my birth. This is my country.
AARON BROWN, MASTER OF CEREMONIES: We gather here today to officially reopen her, but the fact is, she's never really been closed.
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (R), NEW YORK CITY: We're really saying to the rest of the world, this is America, and Americans are strong and Americans value their freedoms.
GOV. GEORGE PATAKI (R), NEW YORK: And today, people will have the opportunity for the first time in almost three years to walk into the tower and see the statue from the inside. But throughout the days of September 11 and thereafter, that torch shined brightly.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lady Liberty is a triumphant symbol of freedom in the world. She represents the American dream, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. She stands for freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of speech, a government of the people, by the people and for the people.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOODRUFF: She's a great lady.
And a reminder: You can always watch WOLF BLITZER REPORTS weekdays at 5:00 Eastern.
Join me here tomorrow. Until then, thanks for joining us.
"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.
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