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Pfizer Pulls Bextra; Additional Mourners Allowed to Pay Final Respects to Pope; Interview With Shimon Peres

Aired April 07, 2005 - 12:00   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, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. Thanks very much for joining us.
Unfolding this hour on NEWS FROM CNN, millions of mourners, thousands of police, hundreds of world leaders all crowding Rome for the funeral of Pope John Paul II. We're live from the Vatican on word on the pontiff's -- the late pontiff's will.

Also, more pain for painkillers. Bextra is taken off the market, Celebrex faces stronger scrutiny. Information you need to know.

CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen standing by. She'll join us with an explanation of what's going on.

And if you think you're paying a lot for gas now, simply wait until summer heats up. The latest forecast predicts more record highs.

We'll get to all of that. First, some other headlines "Now in the News."

A longtime opponent of Saddam Hussein is now the president of the new Iraq. The Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani assumed the ceremonial post, then nominated a Shiite to run the new government as an elected assembly drafts a constitution. A live report coming up.

An aide to Senate Republican Mel Martinez of Florida has acknowledged writing the memo that suggested the Terri Schiavo case could be exploited for political reasons. Martinez says he accepted the resignation of his legal assistant, identified by the "Washington Post" as Brian Darling. The admission puts an end to Republican allegations that the document was a hoax designed to embarrass the GOP.

We have a live report coming up on this story.

The Space Shuttle Discovery now on its launch pad. It arrived early this morning after a 10-hour trip from its nearby hangar. Discovery is due to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in mid May. It will be the first shuttle mission since the Columbia disaster two years ago.

Among the most popular stories on CNN.com this hour, Americans may see more daylight saving time. Lawmakers crafting energy legislation approved an amendment Wednesday to extend daylight saving time by two months. It would start on the first Sunday in March and end on the last Sunday in November.

You want to read the details? Go to CNN.com.

Final preparations under way at the Vatican for the funeral of Pope John Paul II. You're looking at these live pictures coming in now.

People still waiting in line to go past John Paul II's body and pay their respects. We'll have more on this story coming up in just a couple minutes.

First, though, there is important medical news that you need to know about. The drugmaker Pfizer is pulling its arthritis painkiller Bextra off the market. The Food and Drug Administration asked for the recall. The FDA also called for the strongest possible warning on Pfizer's other big arthritis painkiller, Celebrex.

Our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen standing by with important details.

Elizabeth, what's going on?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, well the Food and Drug Administration has just had a press conference, and issued this statement. And in it they say the FDA has asked Pfizer to withdraw Bextra from the market because the overall risk versus the benefit profile for the drug is unfavorable.

Well, that's a fancy way of saying that when they looked at the data, Bextra did more harm than good. And the harm, specifically, is an increased risk of having a heart attack or stroke while taking Bextra, and also an increased risk of having a potentially life- threatening skin condition.

So, now, of course, the big question for Bextra users is, what do I do? Well, Pfizer says stop taking Bextra. Stop taking it and talk to your doctor, those are the instructions from Pfizer. And they also say, when you talk to your doctor about alternatives, remember that other painkillers also carry risks.

Wolf, you mentioned Celebrex, and the FDA has said that Celebrex now needs to carry -- it's called a black box warning. That's a warning in a big prominent black box that talks about the heart attack and stroke risk and also the increased risk of having gastrointestinal bleeding.

The sales for Bextra have been very high, of course won't be high much longer. 12.8 million prescriptions for Bextra were written in 2004. $1.2 billion in sales.

Now, Wolf, another thing that people need to remember is, if they're take Celebrex, or even if they're taking over-the-counter painkillers, which also carries some increased risk, for some people those risks are worth it. Some people are going to say, "My pain is so bad I can't really live my life the way I want to." And they and their doctor together might decide that it's worth them continuing to take these drugs -- Wolf.

BLITZER: What about the people who would take these painkillers, especially the over-the-counter painkillers? What are they supposed to do now?

COHEN: Right. Well, they also should talk to their doctor, and they should follow the Food and Drug Administration's advice. And that advice specifically is to take the dose that's recommended on the label. Take it for no longer than two weeks. If you want to take it for longer than two weeks, you need to talk to your doctor.

Wolf, the problems that the FDA found when people were taking over-the-counter drugs like Advil or Alleve, they tended to be when people took them for a long time and at high doses.

BLITZER: The FDA asked for Bextra to come off the market, but Celebrex still staying on the market. Why?

COHEN: What tipped the scales apparently, according to the FDA, is that Bextra seemed to have a more severe relationship with this life-threatening skin condition. In fact, in December, they said that four people had died because of this skin condition when they were taking Bextra.

So it was the skin condition, not the heart attack and stroke risk. The heart attack and stroke risk seems to be the same with Celebrex and Bexra, but the skin condition seems to be worse for people taking Bextra.

BLITZER: Elizabeth Cohen reporting for us important information, medical information. Thanks, Elizabeth, very much.

And we're just getting this story in from Canton, Texas -- that's about 57 miles east of Dallas.

CNN has confirmed that a high school football coach there has been shot. Gary Kinney is the coach, taken to a local hospital in Tyler, Texas. In surgery right now, we're told.

We don't know the condition, but we do that know police are looking for a suspect, unidentified. Armed and dangerous, according to local authorities.

We have no word on motive, we have no word on the nature of the suspect that police are looking out for. We only know that a high school football coach in Canton, Texas, has been shot and is in surgery right now at a nearby hospital. We'll watch this story for you, get some more information as it becomes available.

But we'll move on now to the scene at Vatican. It's only a matter of hours now, and the viewing of the pope will conclude in only a few hours to allow preparations for his funeral scheduled for tomorrow morning.

In these final moments, the crush of pilgrims descending on Rome has only increased, with a massive influx from John Paul II's native Poland. Most all of these pilgrims are displaying remarkable patience.

Let's start our coverage with CNN's Jennifer Ecclesston. She's standing by in St. Peter's Square.

Set the scene for us, Jennifer.

JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Vatican officials and Rome city officials appear to have surmounted some of the logistic glitches which forced them to announce last night that the line would be closed at 10:00 p.m., and only those who had been there before 10:00 would be allowed to go in and pass through and pay their respects to the body of Pope John Paul II. Now, overnight, something happened.

They were able to move the crowds quickly along, and they decided to reopen the line. So early this morning, tens of thousands of people came back to line and were able now to stand in it and get a chance to walk through the basilica and say their final farewells. And this comes with great relief, as you mentioned, to the hundreds of thousands of Poles whoa re descending upon Rome.

I'm going to ask my cameraman now to pan over to the crowd, because there really are some extraordinary scenes. You see the national flag of Poland flying amongst the crowds, all the way down the street as far as the eye can see.

There was great concern early this morning that they wouldn't be able to come, and yet they did come. They waited, and Italian officials, Rome officials, city officials, said, OK, we can do this.

This the problem was last night, Wolf, that it was taking between 10 to 15 hours for those at the back of the line to actually get to the basilica. That number now is between five and six hours.

But I recently spoke to a police official who told me that starting 10:00 tonight, that line will be closed. No more pilgrims will be allowed to get on. But everybody on the line right now will be able to get in and pay their final respects to the pope -- Wolf.

BLITZER: What's the mood among these people who are waiting so long to try to catch a glimpse of pope?

ECCLESTON: It is an extraordinary scene. I mean, it is not only the Poles, I might add. There are people from all over the world, from the United States, from here in Europe, mainly, a lot of people from Italy as well, and from Asia and South America.

And the mood amongst the crowd is one of extraordinary patience. And while it is silent and it is respectful, it is also very joyful, and there's a lot of excitement. So many people here, whether they're Catholics or they're not, realize that they are taking part in a piece of history, a moment that they may not witness again.

And while they are very cold at night -- it drops down into the 40s here -- and during the day it is very hot, but the officials, some of the people that have volunteered, have been passing out water, passing out blankets, giving them some shade as well. Also, a little bit of food.

People are extraordinarily tolerant and extraordinarily respectful. And again, very excited that they have this opportunity to once again say goodbye to a man that was so loved by so many people here in this crowd -- Wolf.

BLITZER: CNN's Jennifer Eccleston reporting for us from the Vatican. Thank you, Jennifer, very much.

The pope's will was published today, and it contains a brief suggestion that he entertained thoughts of resigning several years ago.

Delia Gallagher is our CNN Vatican analyst. She joining us now live.

This is a huge surprise, I take it, Delia, that the pope was even thinking about resignation.

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: Well, you know, Wolf, I think it's very interesting because it's a paragraph which shows the pope in some doubt about what his mission is.

He says, you know, in 1978, when he was elected the primate of Poland, Cardinal Wyszynski who was a sort of mentor to the pope, told him, "Your job is to take the church into the third millennium."

And then the pope, we see him in 2000, he's rewriting this will, he's adding to it, and he says, well, I'm here. It's the third millennium, it's the year 2000, I'm 80 years old. And I don't understand now what am I supposed to do.

And he makes the comparison between himself and a man in the Bible called Simeon, who was an old man that saw the baby Jesus and then said, "I can go now. I'm done."

And so it's this kind of concept of his mission being completed, and yet he's unsure where he's supposed to go from here. He follows on that by saying, however, since my assassination attempt in 1981, I have totally entrusted myself to God's hands. My life is in his hands, and I will ask him to let me know when is the time to complete my service in the Chair of Peter.

So this, of course, does suggest that the pope considered some sort of resignation. But it also suggests a sort of meditation on death -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Quick question. A couple quick questions, Delia.

The personal notes, the pope asked that all of his personal notes or most of his personal notes be burned? Is that right?

GALLAGHER: Yes, that is correct. That is really not such a surprise.

Paul VI made the same request. And I think it's just a question of not having anything published posthumously that might be misinterpreted that the pope did not have time to review.

Let's remember, Wolf, that this is a pope who took a long time to write his articles. He liked to just go over and over them. So these would be writings that he did not have a chance to finish. And so he doesn't want them published because they're incomplete, more or less -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Although, for historians they would be fascinating. There's no doubt about that. I'm sure you'd love to see those personal notes. So would I.

Another aspect that the pope in his will, he went out of his way to thank people of other faiths for their help, their support, their cooperation. Talk a little bit about that.

GALLAGHER: Well, let me tell you, the last paragraph says, and I embrace -- he says, I embrace obviously his College of Cardinals and all of the Catholics in the world. But I also embrace non-Christians.

I embrace the rabbi of Rome and the Jewish people. I embrace the media, for example, politicians, scientists. He included everyone in this big embrace, and that's the end of his will -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes. Actually, Pope John Paul II said he would embrace the media? Is that right? Is that what you just said?

GALLAGHER: Yes, that's exactly right. He embraced the media. No doubt about it, he loved the media. And he remembered us in his last will and testament.

BLITZER: He may be the only world leader who has that thought. But good for John Paul II. Delia, thank you very much. Delia Gallagher is our Vatican analyst, doing an outstanding job, helping us better understand what's going on during these historic days at the Vatican.

And to our viewers, please stay tuned with CNN for continuing live coverage of Pope John Paul II's funeral. Our coverage tomorrow begins, get this, 3:00 a.m. Eastern, and will continue throughout the morning. Stay with CNN for all the coverage.

When we come back, an Israeli politician at the Vatican. And an audience with John Paul II. Up next, the former Israeli prime minister, now the vice premier, Shimon Peres, shares his thoughts on the late pontiff. He's here with me. He'll join us live.

Also, don't look now, prices on the pump are on the rise again. And the summer forecast doesn't look any better. Details straight ahead.

You're watching NEWS FROM CNN, and we're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. Pope John Paul II constantly pushed for peace in the Middle East. His views were respected, if not always welcomed by the various parties. He visited the Holy Land once as pope, but met numerous times with its leaders -- among them Shimon Peres, who's been a key figure in Israel's long history of war and peace.

Israel's vice premier is here in Washington. He's seeking additional U.S. help in the latest peace effort, and he's joining us now live.

Mr. Vice Premier, thank you very much for joining us.

SHIMON PERES: Thank you.

BLITZER: Reflect a little bit on that meeting. You met once with Pope John Paul II.

PERES: We met several times.

BLITZER: Several times with him?

PERES: Yes.

BLITZER: All right. Talk a little bit about this man, what he meant to Israel, what he meant to the Jewish people.

PERES: I can't recall any other Christian leader that created such a warm attitude toward them as the pope did. By all Jewish people, by all Muslims, he transferred our differences into a common hope. He globalized tolerance.

He reminded us that all of us are son of the same father of Abraham. He once told me we're the same family, we made the same voyage, and now we arrived. I told him, "Your Holiness, our ticket was extremely expensive." He said, "Yes, but we are here."

BLITZER: We just saw pictures we were showing our viewers, when he went to the Western Wall in Jerusalem, the holiest site for Jews, and he took a piece of paper out and wrote a little note, which is the custom there among Jews, to make a wish, if you will...

PERES: Yes, his wish was for peace. Jerusalem was center in his hopes and engagements.

He told me that the Lord gave him life and health so he should be able to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, which he did. It was moving for him, and moving for us.

And he really transferred the face of religion. Not a confrontation among them, but an understanding with them.

BLITZER: The fact that he had this special relationship with Israel and the Jewish people certainly didn't negate the fact that he was the first pope to visit a mosque. He went to a mosque in Damascus and he tried to reach out to the Muslims of the world as well. PERES: Well, he wanted to show that religion is not separation, but in a way unity, in spite of the differences. And when he came to visit Israel, the reception, the warm reception for him, was done by all walks of life, including the Muslims, the Jews, the Christians. He arrived like a warm wind, like something that we have never experienced before. And we are genuinely sad because of his death.

BLITZER: He established during his tenure that -- diplomatic relations between the Vatican and Israel were established. Israel always wanted those relations. The Vatican resisted.

PERES: Right. We negotiated with him the diplomatic relations. I was then the prime minister.

He was extremely forthcoming and understanding. He didn't insist on every detail. He really wanted to have a historic rapprochement because he represented the oldest values of our tradition with the newest technology of our life.

And he really was as old as the Ten Commandments and as modern as the Internet. And his serenity was evident in a private meeting, not in a public appearance. He really showed us that all of us can be better human beings and the lord has created all of us in the same image.

BLITZER: And Israel's official delegation to the funeral will be the president of Israel and the foreign minister of Israel?

PERES: Right, yes.

BLITZER: A two-man delegation, is that right?

PERES: We are limited. There would be many others that would like to come, but, you know, it's quite complicated in Rome because of the number of people who came to participate in the funeral.

BLITZER: We know that from our experience. The U.S. delegation was limited to five official people. Jimmy Carter was not on that list because of space limitations.

Let's talk a little bit about the peace process, because you've been in the forefront over these years of trying to advance Israeli- Palestinian peace. Everyone seems to think there's a moment right now, an opportunity, a great opportunity with Mahmoud Abbas, the new Palestinian president, and the Israeli government to get the process going. Is that your sense that there is an opportunity right now?

PERES: Yes. It's -- you don't have to take it for granted. It wasn't yet done, but the opportunity is here.

I'm afraid that vis-a-vis the size of the opportunity, we have the weakness of the political structure on both sides. But, you know, many people that are pessimistic. They say (INAUDIBLE) we saw it, we talked about it. I don't share their pessimism.

BLITZER: Because after Arafat came to the White House in '93, you were there, you won a Nobel Peace Prize, together with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat. There was great hope then, too, which dissipated.

PERES: I can say, in al fairness about Arafat, without him the process would never start. With him, the process would never be completed.

He was excellent in the beginning and disappointed on the continuation of the negotiations. Among other things, because he couldn't bring himself to stop being a head of (INAUDIBLE) and become a head of a state.

BLITZER: And what about Mahmoud Abbas?

PERES: He's a very serious man. His performance is a pleasant surprise to us.

He practically didn't do many mistakes until now. He has shown courage and determination. His problem is that there's a great deal of weaknesses that he didn't create but he can't escape.

BLITZER: He's appealing to you, to the Israeli government, stop the settlements, stop the building of this barrier, this fence, this wall, whatever it's called, in order to demonstrate that Israel is ready to reach out as well.

PERES: It's an understandable call. And we pay attention to it. But Israel is also overburdened with problems.

You know, the withdrawal from Gaza created such a great outcry and resentment and emotional feelings. We must take one story at a time. We cannot do everything, because Israel officially is against building new settlements. Israel officially promised to dismantle the illegal settlements.

BLITZER: But that's not happening. They're building more settlements, they're expanding existing settlements, and they're not dismantling the settlements that earlier had been promised.

PERES: We are not building new settlements.

BLITZER: But you're expanding in some of the West Bank towns.

PERES: Well, there is a problem about (INAUDIBLE). I mean, if a couple is going to be married, they need a home. You have to build a kindergarten, other public services.

We don't expand the borders of the settlement, we build within the settlements because life is not standstill. I mean, it develops.

BLITZER: The prime minister of Israel is going to be meeting on Monday in Crawford, Texas, with President Bush, Prime Minister Sharon. All the expectation is that he and you are here in the United States seeking additional U.S. economic assistance to help fund the withdrawal from Gaza. PERES: Not necessarily to help fund the withdrawal, but, on one hand, to help the Palestinians to prepare themselves for the day that we should be out. I mean, the time is very short.

All we have is four months before the withdrawal will be completed. Four month is a very short period of time. And the Palestinians are competing with Hamas.

None of us would like to see Hamas winning their actions for the Palestinian legislative body. And you have to provide first aid in order to prevent it. And you have to show the Palestinian people who resided in Gaza that the minute we shall leave, there will be attention, and the withdrawal...

BLITZER: So how much are you asking the U.S. government for?

PERES: We didn't mention any figures. Actually, what we are asking in our central demand is to come up with economic aid, not less than financial aid.

You see, the greatest success in the Middle East are the industrial zones. There is an industrial zone in Jordan that was formed six years ago, then (INAUDIBLE) $25 million, now a billion dollars. It created 40,000 jobs.

And we would like to see the private sector, with the support of the American government, come in, build branches, build industrial plants, industrial zones. You have to privatize space. You know, private life is by far richer and more flexible than governments are.

BLITZER: We are almost out of time. One final question. When the approximately 8,000 or 10,000 Jewish settlers leave Gaza and their homes, will the Israeli government, the Israeli military, bulldoze, destroy those homes, or leave them standing for Palestinians to take over?

PERES: We shall not destroy them. And furthermore, we should try to do whatever we can.

The economic infrastructure, including the greenhouses, will remain intact for the use of the Palestinians because the Palestinians need work. We cannot take Palestinian workers, many of them, to Israel. And we want to reduce the unemployment in Gaza.

We are not running Gaza. But Gaza in a poor shape is a problem for Gaza and for Israel. We would like to have a two-state solution, but not necessarily one state rich and another state...

BLITZER: Has the Palestinian Authority accepted this? Do they want to you leave those houses, those factories, whatever you're leaving behind, in shape?

PERES: We didn't get from them a clear answer. They say it's a unilateral withdrawal, so you will decide.

It's unilateral in theory because the minute that Sharon and Abbas, Abu Mazen, met in Sharm el Sheikh, it, in fact, became bilateral.

But we didn't get official answers. Yesterday (INAUDIBLE) trying to bridge over the differences. And I think we shall have to face a double situation. One by the lips, and the other by the hands.

So I wouldn't pay too much attention just to the declarations. I would watch carefully what's taking place on the ground.

BLITZER: As we say, actions speak louder than words.

PERES: Right.

BLITZER: The vice premier of Israel, Shimon Peres. Thanks very much for joining us.

PERES: Thank you.

BLITZER: When we come back, get ready to dig a little bit deeper into your pockets this summer. Up next, new information on how much you'll be paying at the pumps.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back to NEWS FROM CNN. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. More fallout today from the Schiavo case. It was only about a week or so ago that Terri Schiavo died at a hospice in Florida. This new reverberation is rumbling through the nation's capital.

With the story for us, from Capitol Hill, our congressional correspondent Joe Johns.

Update our viewers, Joe -- what has happened?

JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, as you know, this was a document that came out at the height of the Terri Schiavo controversy on Capitol Hill and caused some heartburn for Republicans, because it suggested a political motivation for bringing the case to Capitol Hill.

Well, now, what has come to light is Senator Mel Martinez is saying a senior member of his staff was responsible for that document. That staff member, we're told, has resigned. Martinez says he apparently had a copy of that document in his lapel pocket and did not know it, apparently gave it to Senator Tom Harkin, the Democrat of Iowa, thinking that document was, in fact, something else. Senator Harkin's office confirms he did, in fact, receive the memo on the Senate floor, but has said he will have no further comment on the matter.

Senator Mel Martinez's office put out a statement last night. We have a graphic that shows you what it says in part, "I learned that a senior member of my staff was unilaterally responsible for this document. It was not approved by me or any other member of my staff. The person responsible for drafting and circulating this document has tendered their resignation and I have accepted it." He also says in that statement, as a senator, "I am ultimately responsible for the work of my staff and the product that comes out of this office. I take full responsibility for the situation. It in no way reflects how I intend to conduct my business as a United States senator."

If you will remember, of course, that document said in part, "This is an important moral issue, and the pro-life base will be excited, a great political issue that is tough for Democrats."

BLITZER: The document went onto say, because we got a copy of it as well, that it was a great opportunity to go after the Democratic incumbent senator from Florida, Bill Nelson, who's up for re-election, try to make this a big issue and try to undermine Bill Nelson.

As you know, Joe, the bloggers, at least lot of conservative bloggers in recent days, have been suggesting that this memo was a forgery designed to embarrass the Republicans. But now we know it was not a forgery; it was actually written by a senior aide to Senator Martinez.

JOHNS: Certainly, there was finger-pointing back and forth. As you say, the bloggers did get ahold of it, and really ran with it for a while. Also you mentioned the other senator from Florida. There was, of course, a direct apology in that statement from Mel Martinez to Senator Nelson. So they're trying to put a quick and easy end to this matter and clearing up any confusion as to the source of it -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Mel Martinez coming clean right now, doing so quickly after this got out relatively quickly, I should say.

Thanks you very much, Joe Johns, with word of this story.

Sticker shock at pump: gasoline prices have reached an all-time high, and a new government report says it's going to get worse. AAA says the average price for regular unleaded climbed to $2.25 a gallon.

CNN's Chris Huntington is joining us now live from New York with more on the government's summer gasoline price outlook.

What should we expect, Chris?

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, you can expect to add another dime to that at least. What is not surprising is that gas prices are going higher. What is surprising is by how much the Department of Energy had to raise its forecast. Just a couple of weeks ago, the Department of Energy was saying that peak prices might average around $2.15 a gallon. The new peak monthly average that the Department of Energy predicts will hit in May, $2.35 a gallon. That's 40 cents more than last year. The average for the entire so-called summer driving season, $2.28 a gallon, up 38 cents a year ago.

One of the big problems, gasoline demands shows no sign of declining. It's rising, and what traditionally has been the historical increase, annual increase, 1.8 percent. No sign that that's going to taper off this summer. More vehicle miles being traveled. I know that's a fancy term, but frankly, we're just out there driving as much or more than ever have before. And of course the biggest factor crude oil prices sharply higher. The Department of Energy boils it down to basically 37 cents a gallon additional price for crude oil, which of course pretty much accounts for most of the price hike at the retail pumps for gasoline, but it really also depends on driver demand and the type of cars that we drive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GUY CARUSO, ADMINISTRATOR EIA: A leveling off of the average efficiency of our vehicles with the increasing amount of heavier vehicles being purchased, light-duty trucks, as they're called, but SUVs are in that category, as well as increasing horsepower. Every year the average vehicles' weight and horsepower have been increasing over the last five to 10 years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTINGTON: Now a quick review of why gasoline prices go up and down. As I mentioned, the biggest single component is the price of crude oil. That accounts for more than half of the price that you see at the pump. Also of course there is what refiners and oil companies do to price. This is simply known as zone pricing. We all know it ourselves. You drive 10 blocks or a half a mile and the price can vary 10 percent, or even more. This is simply the oil companies doing what they can to get the most out of an individual market. Finally, there are oil and gasoline investors in the market. There's a whole new flurry of interest in gas and oil markets on Wall Street. Many of the big brokerage firms, Wolf, have substantially ramped up their trading activity in the markets, and that certainly adds to the momentum of prices, and in this case the prices are going higher -- Wolf.

BLITZER: There's no doubt, Chris, that perhaps the biggest reason why the price of gas, a gallon of gas, the price of a barrel of oil is going up is, for Americans is the weakness of the U.S. dollar. When the dollar goes down in value compared to other currencies, then it becomes much more expensive to import, import those commodities like a barrel of oil. And the dollar is certainly declined dramatically in recent months. That's an enormous factor in all of this as well?

HUNTINGTON: It's a huge factor, Wolf. In terms of the overall petroleum we use in this country, oil and gas and other fuels, we import about half of it. What a lot of people don't know is that we're also importing about 10 percent of the gasoline that we use. The refining capacity -- many people probably do know this -- is pretty much maxed out in this country. No new big refineries built in this country in 30 years. We import 10 percent of the gasoline we use every day. We're very vulnerable to overseas supplies. And of course if we're importing gas, we're paying with a weak dollar. It all ties in.

But frankly, if all of us just look in the rearview mirror and ask ourselves how we're driving or what we're driving, that can make a huge difference -- Wolf.

BLITZER: An example of where a weak dollar really has an impact on the cost of something critically important right here at home.

Chris Huntington reporting for us. Chris, thank you very much.

When we come back, Jalal Talabani now officially Iraq's new president. Up next, we'll get an inside look at President Talabani from his son, Qubad Talabani. He's standing by. He'll join us live to talk about the road ahead for Iraq's new democracy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. A new leadership for a new Iraq and a promise to make it Democratic. Let's get the latest from CNN's Aneesh Raman. He's joining us now from Baghdad -- Aneesh.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, good afternoon.

It's a moment Iraqis have been waiting months to see. Jalal Talabani this morning sworn in as Iraq's transitional president. Also sworn in, his two deputies, Sunni Ghazi al Yawer and Adel Mahdi, a Shia. The three men, the Presidency Council, wasted no time naming a prime minister designate, Ibrahim al Jaafari, who is now charged with coming up with a cabinet.

Both Jaafari and that cabinet will go to the National Assembly for a majority vote. That will essentially end the process of forming this transitional government and begin the governance for Talabani and Jaafari. Today Talabani really taking on the air of his office, speaking of inclusiveness, reaching out to all segments of Iraq's diverse population with specific reference to the Sunnis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT JALAL TALABANI, IRAQ (through translator): We greatly hope that the Arab Sunnis will participate with us, having acknowledged the dangers of the black terrorism that is imported from outside that was in coalition with those offers of the old regime. So the Sunni Arabs will participate with everybody to destroy and approach that terrorism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAMAN: Now, Wolf, a further sign the transfer of power is well under way, this morning, Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi phoning Jalal Talabani not just to congratulate him, but also to submit his resignation, something that will take immediate effect when Jaafari and his cabinet are voted in. Allawi now likely to emerge as the leading opposition voice -- Wolf.

BLITZER: So is it all a done deal, already, Aneesh, this new government? Is everything in place, all the cabinet slots, or are there still some vacancies?

RAMAN: Not quite yet. Depending on who you talk to, the cabinet positions that remain unresolved are still oil and defense. Jaafari has up to a month, potentially, to name his cabinet. It's likely he'll do it in a matter of days. All sides hoping that they can agree on those two ministries within the two ministries within the coming days and that this government can take shape.

BLITZER: Aneesh Raman reporting for us. Aneesh, thank you very much.

President Talabani is considered by many a shrewd politician, skilled at forming alliances, a determined Kurdish leader who battled Saddam Hussein for decades. Many Kurds call him Mom or Uncle Jalal.

Joining us now, someone who knows him quite well. Qubad Talabani. He's the president's son. He's also the spokesman for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan here in Washington. Qubad, congratulations to you. How does this feel to know that your father, a Kurd, not an Arab, an Iraqi Kurd, is now the president of Iraq?

QUBAD TALABANI, SON OF IRAQI PRES. TALABANI: It's something that really not many people thought could ever happen. It's really too big to take in. The reaction from everybody has been wonderful. And it's really the start of a new Iraq.

BLITZER: They say this is largely a symbolic role, the president of Iraq. The real power will be in the hands of the prime minister, who's expected to be al Jaafari. But what about that? Is the president and the two vice presidents who are sworn in will they have substantive involvement in the decisions of the new Iraq?

TALABANI: I'm sure they will, Wolf. There's a Presidency Council that has quite considerable powers, and creates a check and a balance against the different power structures that we'll have in the new Iraqi government. And really it depends on the Presidency Council and how much they wish to get involved in Iraqi affairs and Iraqi politics. But I don't think that they'll sit idly while the insurgency is as strong as it is right now.

BLITZER: So you would agree with Aneesh, it's virtually a done deal now. Ibrahim al Jaafari will be prime minister. There's a couple little vacancies in cabinet slots, but everything is falling into place for the new government?

TALABANI: Right, and the Presidency Council today submitted their nomination of the Jaafari, that Jaafari is the prime minister and he is now tasked with forming his cabinet. It's -- there is still some balancing to do to make sure the new government is inclusive and represents the diversity of Iraqi politics, but we do anticipate that this discussion will be resolved in a very short period of time.

BLITZER: In addition to Arabic, will Kurdish be an official -- the official language of Iraq?

TALABANI: According to the transitional administrative law, the current constitution of Iraq, Kurdish is an official language of Iraq, yes. BLITZER: We also were -- have been told the past couple of days that Saddam Hussein and other of his henchmen were shown pictures, were shown the televised swearing-in, the election of your father, Jalal Talabani, as president. What do you think the purpose of that was?

TALABANI: I think to show him that it's finished. He's finished, we have a new Iraq. And I think it's fitting because Saddam once offered a general amnesty to every Kurdish fighter except Jalal Talabani. And it's fitting now that Jalal Talabani is in the presidency. Saddam's in jail and will seek an amnesty from him.

BLITZER: Did Saddam Hussein try to kill your father?

TALABANI: I mean, there were several attempts. We were always aware that the Iraqi regime thought of him as a major threat, and it was a constant threat.

BLITZER: As a lot of our viewers remember, there were often splits between Kurds, Iraq Kurds, between your father's faction, Jalal Talabani's faction, Masoud Barzani's faction, now they seem to have worked out a sort of modus operandi, if you will, an agreement to get along. But there were occasional Kurdish alliances with Saddam Hussein and other Kurds fighting Saddam Hussein.

TALABANI: We've had some dark days in our history, the Kurds. And we had an unfortunate period in the mid-90s where we turned our guns on each other. And this hurt nobody but us, and I think the Kurdish leadership knows this now. They've put the past behind them. We are quite united now, as far as Iraqi politics are concerned. When you look at north, all politics is local. There is a rivalry between the two parties, but the rivalry today is healthy. It's a rivalry on who builds more hospitals, who builds more schools, not who has more guns.

BLITZER: We -- the last time we spoke, when you were on this program, you mentioned there was a very significant issue involving Kirkuk, the northern Iraqi town, oil rich, a very wealthy town, which had almost been ethnically cleansed by Saddam Hussein. Kurds who had been living there for centuries were kicked out, Iraqi Arabs were moved in. This was a very sensitive issue in the negotiations leading up to this new Iraqi government. What has been resolved, as far as Kirkuk is concerned?

TALABANI: The issue that's been resolved is that the new government will have to begin implementing an article of the Transitional Administrative Law, Article 58, which basically refers to the repatriation or creating a mechanism that will allow people that have been forcibly evicted from their homes to return and set up a compensation fund for anyone that has to be moved because of this relocation. Kirkuk is going to require a long strategy to resolve. There are many complications to Kirkuk. The one thing we do have to get started straight away is this repatriation process. People must have the right to return to their homes.

BLITZER: And one final question because we're almost out of time. The notion of a separate Kurdish state in the northern part of Iraq. Has that now gone away now that it looks like everything is falling into place for this new Iraqi government?

TALABANI: Well, the majority of the Kurdish population always dream of independence, but the political leadership and the people of Kurdistan really are giving a Iraq a go. We're committed to make Iraq work and we've shown this in our involvement in the interim Iraqi government. We now have a Kurdish president. And we will do our best to make Iraq succeed.

BLITZER: Qubad Talabani, thanks very much for joining us. Once again, congratulations, good luck to you. Good to luck to all the people of Iraq.

TALABANI: Thank you.

BLITZER: We'll take a quick break. We'll be back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Checking some of the most popular stories this hour on CNN, on CNN.com that is once again, a story sure to titillate many Internet surfers and prompt snickers on Fleet Street. That would be in London. Royal officials there say Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles will acknowledge their, quote, sins and wickedness when their wedding is blessed by the Archbishop of Canterbury on Saturday. You want to know more right now? Here's a good idea. Go to CNN.com.

We'll take another quick break. When we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

I'll be back later today, every weekday, 5:00 p.m. Eastern for "WOLF BLITZER REPORTS." Among my guest later, Melanie Bloom. She's the widow of the former NBC News correspondent David Bloom. This week marks the second anniversary of his tragic death in Iraq. We'll talk about that and more, 5:00 p.m. Eastern.

Until then, thank you very much for watching NEWS FROM CNN. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. LIVE FROM with Kyra Phillips. That's coming up next.

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Aired April 7, 2005 - 12:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. Thanks very much for joining us.
Unfolding this hour on NEWS FROM CNN, millions of mourners, thousands of police, hundreds of world leaders all crowding Rome for the funeral of Pope John Paul II. We're live from the Vatican on word on the pontiff's -- the late pontiff's will.

Also, more pain for painkillers. Bextra is taken off the market, Celebrex faces stronger scrutiny. Information you need to know.

CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen standing by. She'll join us with an explanation of what's going on.

And if you think you're paying a lot for gas now, simply wait until summer heats up. The latest forecast predicts more record highs.

We'll get to all of that. First, some other headlines "Now in the News."

A longtime opponent of Saddam Hussein is now the president of the new Iraq. The Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani assumed the ceremonial post, then nominated a Shiite to run the new government as an elected assembly drafts a constitution. A live report coming up.

An aide to Senate Republican Mel Martinez of Florida has acknowledged writing the memo that suggested the Terri Schiavo case could be exploited for political reasons. Martinez says he accepted the resignation of his legal assistant, identified by the "Washington Post" as Brian Darling. The admission puts an end to Republican allegations that the document was a hoax designed to embarrass the GOP.

We have a live report coming up on this story.

The Space Shuttle Discovery now on its launch pad. It arrived early this morning after a 10-hour trip from its nearby hangar. Discovery is due to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in mid May. It will be the first shuttle mission since the Columbia disaster two years ago.

Among the most popular stories on CNN.com this hour, Americans may see more daylight saving time. Lawmakers crafting energy legislation approved an amendment Wednesday to extend daylight saving time by two months. It would start on the first Sunday in March and end on the last Sunday in November.

You want to read the details? Go to CNN.com.

Final preparations under way at the Vatican for the funeral of Pope John Paul II. You're looking at these live pictures coming in now.

People still waiting in line to go past John Paul II's body and pay their respects. We'll have more on this story coming up in just a couple minutes.

First, though, there is important medical news that you need to know about. The drugmaker Pfizer is pulling its arthritis painkiller Bextra off the market. The Food and Drug Administration asked for the recall. The FDA also called for the strongest possible warning on Pfizer's other big arthritis painkiller, Celebrex.

Our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen standing by with important details.

Elizabeth, what's going on?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, well the Food and Drug Administration has just had a press conference, and issued this statement. And in it they say the FDA has asked Pfizer to withdraw Bextra from the market because the overall risk versus the benefit profile for the drug is unfavorable.

Well, that's a fancy way of saying that when they looked at the data, Bextra did more harm than good. And the harm, specifically, is an increased risk of having a heart attack or stroke while taking Bextra, and also an increased risk of having a potentially life- threatening skin condition.

So, now, of course, the big question for Bextra users is, what do I do? Well, Pfizer says stop taking Bextra. Stop taking it and talk to your doctor, those are the instructions from Pfizer. And they also say, when you talk to your doctor about alternatives, remember that other painkillers also carry risks.

Wolf, you mentioned Celebrex, and the FDA has said that Celebrex now needs to carry -- it's called a black box warning. That's a warning in a big prominent black box that talks about the heart attack and stroke risk and also the increased risk of having gastrointestinal bleeding.

The sales for Bextra have been very high, of course won't be high much longer. 12.8 million prescriptions for Bextra were written in 2004. $1.2 billion in sales.

Now, Wolf, another thing that people need to remember is, if they're take Celebrex, or even if they're taking over-the-counter painkillers, which also carries some increased risk, for some people those risks are worth it. Some people are going to say, "My pain is so bad I can't really live my life the way I want to." And they and their doctor together might decide that it's worth them continuing to take these drugs -- Wolf.

BLITZER: What about the people who would take these painkillers, especially the over-the-counter painkillers? What are they supposed to do now?

COHEN: Right. Well, they also should talk to their doctor, and they should follow the Food and Drug Administration's advice. And that advice specifically is to take the dose that's recommended on the label. Take it for no longer than two weeks. If you want to take it for longer than two weeks, you need to talk to your doctor.

Wolf, the problems that the FDA found when people were taking over-the-counter drugs like Advil or Alleve, they tended to be when people took them for a long time and at high doses.

BLITZER: The FDA asked for Bextra to come off the market, but Celebrex still staying on the market. Why?

COHEN: What tipped the scales apparently, according to the FDA, is that Bextra seemed to have a more severe relationship with this life-threatening skin condition. In fact, in December, they said that four people had died because of this skin condition when they were taking Bextra.

So it was the skin condition, not the heart attack and stroke risk. The heart attack and stroke risk seems to be the same with Celebrex and Bexra, but the skin condition seems to be worse for people taking Bextra.

BLITZER: Elizabeth Cohen reporting for us important information, medical information. Thanks, Elizabeth, very much.

And we're just getting this story in from Canton, Texas -- that's about 57 miles east of Dallas.

CNN has confirmed that a high school football coach there has been shot. Gary Kinney is the coach, taken to a local hospital in Tyler, Texas. In surgery right now, we're told.

We don't know the condition, but we do that know police are looking for a suspect, unidentified. Armed and dangerous, according to local authorities.

We have no word on motive, we have no word on the nature of the suspect that police are looking out for. We only know that a high school football coach in Canton, Texas, has been shot and is in surgery right now at a nearby hospital. We'll watch this story for you, get some more information as it becomes available.

But we'll move on now to the scene at Vatican. It's only a matter of hours now, and the viewing of the pope will conclude in only a few hours to allow preparations for his funeral scheduled for tomorrow morning.

In these final moments, the crush of pilgrims descending on Rome has only increased, with a massive influx from John Paul II's native Poland. Most all of these pilgrims are displaying remarkable patience.

Let's start our coverage with CNN's Jennifer Ecclesston. She's standing by in St. Peter's Square.

Set the scene for us, Jennifer.

JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Vatican officials and Rome city officials appear to have surmounted some of the logistic glitches which forced them to announce last night that the line would be closed at 10:00 p.m., and only those who had been there before 10:00 would be allowed to go in and pass through and pay their respects to the body of Pope John Paul II. Now, overnight, something happened.

They were able to move the crowds quickly along, and they decided to reopen the line. So early this morning, tens of thousands of people came back to line and were able now to stand in it and get a chance to walk through the basilica and say their final farewells. And this comes with great relief, as you mentioned, to the hundreds of thousands of Poles whoa re descending upon Rome.

I'm going to ask my cameraman now to pan over to the crowd, because there really are some extraordinary scenes. You see the national flag of Poland flying amongst the crowds, all the way down the street as far as the eye can see.

There was great concern early this morning that they wouldn't be able to come, and yet they did come. They waited, and Italian officials, Rome officials, city officials, said, OK, we can do this.

This the problem was last night, Wolf, that it was taking between 10 to 15 hours for those at the back of the line to actually get to the basilica. That number now is between five and six hours.

But I recently spoke to a police official who told me that starting 10:00 tonight, that line will be closed. No more pilgrims will be allowed to get on. But everybody on the line right now will be able to get in and pay their final respects to the pope -- Wolf.

BLITZER: What's the mood among these people who are waiting so long to try to catch a glimpse of pope?

ECCLESTON: It is an extraordinary scene. I mean, it is not only the Poles, I might add. There are people from all over the world, from the United States, from here in Europe, mainly, a lot of people from Italy as well, and from Asia and South America.

And the mood amongst the crowd is one of extraordinary patience. And while it is silent and it is respectful, it is also very joyful, and there's a lot of excitement. So many people here, whether they're Catholics or they're not, realize that they are taking part in a piece of history, a moment that they may not witness again.

And while they are very cold at night -- it drops down into the 40s here -- and during the day it is very hot, but the officials, some of the people that have volunteered, have been passing out water, passing out blankets, giving them some shade as well. Also, a little bit of food.

People are extraordinarily tolerant and extraordinarily respectful. And again, very excited that they have this opportunity to once again say goodbye to a man that was so loved by so many people here in this crowd -- Wolf.

BLITZER: CNN's Jennifer Eccleston reporting for us from the Vatican. Thank you, Jennifer, very much.

The pope's will was published today, and it contains a brief suggestion that he entertained thoughts of resigning several years ago.

Delia Gallagher is our CNN Vatican analyst. She joining us now live.

This is a huge surprise, I take it, Delia, that the pope was even thinking about resignation.

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: Well, you know, Wolf, I think it's very interesting because it's a paragraph which shows the pope in some doubt about what his mission is.

He says, you know, in 1978, when he was elected the primate of Poland, Cardinal Wyszynski who was a sort of mentor to the pope, told him, "Your job is to take the church into the third millennium."

And then the pope, we see him in 2000, he's rewriting this will, he's adding to it, and he says, well, I'm here. It's the third millennium, it's the year 2000, I'm 80 years old. And I don't understand now what am I supposed to do.

And he makes the comparison between himself and a man in the Bible called Simeon, who was an old man that saw the baby Jesus and then said, "I can go now. I'm done."

And so it's this kind of concept of his mission being completed, and yet he's unsure where he's supposed to go from here. He follows on that by saying, however, since my assassination attempt in 1981, I have totally entrusted myself to God's hands. My life is in his hands, and I will ask him to let me know when is the time to complete my service in the Chair of Peter.

So this, of course, does suggest that the pope considered some sort of resignation. But it also suggests a sort of meditation on death -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Quick question. A couple quick questions, Delia.

The personal notes, the pope asked that all of his personal notes or most of his personal notes be burned? Is that right?

GALLAGHER: Yes, that is correct. That is really not such a surprise.

Paul VI made the same request. And I think it's just a question of not having anything published posthumously that might be misinterpreted that the pope did not have time to review.

Let's remember, Wolf, that this is a pope who took a long time to write his articles. He liked to just go over and over them. So these would be writings that he did not have a chance to finish. And so he doesn't want them published because they're incomplete, more or less -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Although, for historians they would be fascinating. There's no doubt about that. I'm sure you'd love to see those personal notes. So would I.

Another aspect that the pope in his will, he went out of his way to thank people of other faiths for their help, their support, their cooperation. Talk a little bit about that.

GALLAGHER: Well, let me tell you, the last paragraph says, and I embrace -- he says, I embrace obviously his College of Cardinals and all of the Catholics in the world. But I also embrace non-Christians.

I embrace the rabbi of Rome and the Jewish people. I embrace the media, for example, politicians, scientists. He included everyone in this big embrace, and that's the end of his will -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes. Actually, Pope John Paul II said he would embrace the media? Is that right? Is that what you just said?

GALLAGHER: Yes, that's exactly right. He embraced the media. No doubt about it, he loved the media. And he remembered us in his last will and testament.

BLITZER: He may be the only world leader who has that thought. But good for John Paul II. Delia, thank you very much. Delia Gallagher is our Vatican analyst, doing an outstanding job, helping us better understand what's going on during these historic days at the Vatican.

And to our viewers, please stay tuned with CNN for continuing live coverage of Pope John Paul II's funeral. Our coverage tomorrow begins, get this, 3:00 a.m. Eastern, and will continue throughout the morning. Stay with CNN for all the coverage.

When we come back, an Israeli politician at the Vatican. And an audience with John Paul II. Up next, the former Israeli prime minister, now the vice premier, Shimon Peres, shares his thoughts on the late pontiff. He's here with me. He'll join us live.

Also, don't look now, prices on the pump are on the rise again. And the summer forecast doesn't look any better. Details straight ahead.

You're watching NEWS FROM CNN, and we're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. Pope John Paul II constantly pushed for peace in the Middle East. His views were respected, if not always welcomed by the various parties. He visited the Holy Land once as pope, but met numerous times with its leaders -- among them Shimon Peres, who's been a key figure in Israel's long history of war and peace.

Israel's vice premier is here in Washington. He's seeking additional U.S. help in the latest peace effort, and he's joining us now live.

Mr. Vice Premier, thank you very much for joining us.

SHIMON PERES: Thank you.

BLITZER: Reflect a little bit on that meeting. You met once with Pope John Paul II.

PERES: We met several times.

BLITZER: Several times with him?

PERES: Yes.

BLITZER: All right. Talk a little bit about this man, what he meant to Israel, what he meant to the Jewish people.

PERES: I can't recall any other Christian leader that created such a warm attitude toward them as the pope did. By all Jewish people, by all Muslims, he transferred our differences into a common hope. He globalized tolerance.

He reminded us that all of us are son of the same father of Abraham. He once told me we're the same family, we made the same voyage, and now we arrived. I told him, "Your Holiness, our ticket was extremely expensive." He said, "Yes, but we are here."

BLITZER: We just saw pictures we were showing our viewers, when he went to the Western Wall in Jerusalem, the holiest site for Jews, and he took a piece of paper out and wrote a little note, which is the custom there among Jews, to make a wish, if you will...

PERES: Yes, his wish was for peace. Jerusalem was center in his hopes and engagements.

He told me that the Lord gave him life and health so he should be able to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, which he did. It was moving for him, and moving for us.

And he really transferred the face of religion. Not a confrontation among them, but an understanding with them.

BLITZER: The fact that he had this special relationship with Israel and the Jewish people certainly didn't negate the fact that he was the first pope to visit a mosque. He went to a mosque in Damascus and he tried to reach out to the Muslims of the world as well. PERES: Well, he wanted to show that religion is not separation, but in a way unity, in spite of the differences. And when he came to visit Israel, the reception, the warm reception for him, was done by all walks of life, including the Muslims, the Jews, the Christians. He arrived like a warm wind, like something that we have never experienced before. And we are genuinely sad because of his death.

BLITZER: He established during his tenure that -- diplomatic relations between the Vatican and Israel were established. Israel always wanted those relations. The Vatican resisted.

PERES: Right. We negotiated with him the diplomatic relations. I was then the prime minister.

He was extremely forthcoming and understanding. He didn't insist on every detail. He really wanted to have a historic rapprochement because he represented the oldest values of our tradition with the newest technology of our life.

And he really was as old as the Ten Commandments and as modern as the Internet. And his serenity was evident in a private meeting, not in a public appearance. He really showed us that all of us can be better human beings and the lord has created all of us in the same image.

BLITZER: And Israel's official delegation to the funeral will be the president of Israel and the foreign minister of Israel?

PERES: Right, yes.

BLITZER: A two-man delegation, is that right?

PERES: We are limited. There would be many others that would like to come, but, you know, it's quite complicated in Rome because of the number of people who came to participate in the funeral.

BLITZER: We know that from our experience. The U.S. delegation was limited to five official people. Jimmy Carter was not on that list because of space limitations.

Let's talk a little bit about the peace process, because you've been in the forefront over these years of trying to advance Israeli- Palestinian peace. Everyone seems to think there's a moment right now, an opportunity, a great opportunity with Mahmoud Abbas, the new Palestinian president, and the Israeli government to get the process going. Is that your sense that there is an opportunity right now?

PERES: Yes. It's -- you don't have to take it for granted. It wasn't yet done, but the opportunity is here.

I'm afraid that vis-a-vis the size of the opportunity, we have the weakness of the political structure on both sides. But, you know, many people that are pessimistic. They say (INAUDIBLE) we saw it, we talked about it. I don't share their pessimism.

BLITZER: Because after Arafat came to the White House in '93, you were there, you won a Nobel Peace Prize, together with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat. There was great hope then, too, which dissipated.

PERES: I can say, in al fairness about Arafat, without him the process would never start. With him, the process would never be completed.

He was excellent in the beginning and disappointed on the continuation of the negotiations. Among other things, because he couldn't bring himself to stop being a head of (INAUDIBLE) and become a head of a state.

BLITZER: And what about Mahmoud Abbas?

PERES: He's a very serious man. His performance is a pleasant surprise to us.

He practically didn't do many mistakes until now. He has shown courage and determination. His problem is that there's a great deal of weaknesses that he didn't create but he can't escape.

BLITZER: He's appealing to you, to the Israeli government, stop the settlements, stop the building of this barrier, this fence, this wall, whatever it's called, in order to demonstrate that Israel is ready to reach out as well.

PERES: It's an understandable call. And we pay attention to it. But Israel is also overburdened with problems.

You know, the withdrawal from Gaza created such a great outcry and resentment and emotional feelings. We must take one story at a time. We cannot do everything, because Israel officially is against building new settlements. Israel officially promised to dismantle the illegal settlements.

BLITZER: But that's not happening. They're building more settlements, they're expanding existing settlements, and they're not dismantling the settlements that earlier had been promised.

PERES: We are not building new settlements.

BLITZER: But you're expanding in some of the West Bank towns.

PERES: Well, there is a problem about (INAUDIBLE). I mean, if a couple is going to be married, they need a home. You have to build a kindergarten, other public services.

We don't expand the borders of the settlement, we build within the settlements because life is not standstill. I mean, it develops.

BLITZER: The prime minister of Israel is going to be meeting on Monday in Crawford, Texas, with President Bush, Prime Minister Sharon. All the expectation is that he and you are here in the United States seeking additional U.S. economic assistance to help fund the withdrawal from Gaza. PERES: Not necessarily to help fund the withdrawal, but, on one hand, to help the Palestinians to prepare themselves for the day that we should be out. I mean, the time is very short.

All we have is four months before the withdrawal will be completed. Four month is a very short period of time. And the Palestinians are competing with Hamas.

None of us would like to see Hamas winning their actions for the Palestinian legislative body. And you have to provide first aid in order to prevent it. And you have to show the Palestinian people who resided in Gaza that the minute we shall leave, there will be attention, and the withdrawal...

BLITZER: So how much are you asking the U.S. government for?

PERES: We didn't mention any figures. Actually, what we are asking in our central demand is to come up with economic aid, not less than financial aid.

You see, the greatest success in the Middle East are the industrial zones. There is an industrial zone in Jordan that was formed six years ago, then (INAUDIBLE) $25 million, now a billion dollars. It created 40,000 jobs.

And we would like to see the private sector, with the support of the American government, come in, build branches, build industrial plants, industrial zones. You have to privatize space. You know, private life is by far richer and more flexible than governments are.

BLITZER: We are almost out of time. One final question. When the approximately 8,000 or 10,000 Jewish settlers leave Gaza and their homes, will the Israeli government, the Israeli military, bulldoze, destroy those homes, or leave them standing for Palestinians to take over?

PERES: We shall not destroy them. And furthermore, we should try to do whatever we can.

The economic infrastructure, including the greenhouses, will remain intact for the use of the Palestinians because the Palestinians need work. We cannot take Palestinian workers, many of them, to Israel. And we want to reduce the unemployment in Gaza.

We are not running Gaza. But Gaza in a poor shape is a problem for Gaza and for Israel. We would like to have a two-state solution, but not necessarily one state rich and another state...

BLITZER: Has the Palestinian Authority accepted this? Do they want to you leave those houses, those factories, whatever you're leaving behind, in shape?

PERES: We didn't get from them a clear answer. They say it's a unilateral withdrawal, so you will decide.

It's unilateral in theory because the minute that Sharon and Abbas, Abu Mazen, met in Sharm el Sheikh, it, in fact, became bilateral.

But we didn't get official answers. Yesterday (INAUDIBLE) trying to bridge over the differences. And I think we shall have to face a double situation. One by the lips, and the other by the hands.

So I wouldn't pay too much attention just to the declarations. I would watch carefully what's taking place on the ground.

BLITZER: As we say, actions speak louder than words.

PERES: Right.

BLITZER: The vice premier of Israel, Shimon Peres. Thanks very much for joining us.

PERES: Thank you.

BLITZER: When we come back, get ready to dig a little bit deeper into your pockets this summer. Up next, new information on how much you'll be paying at the pumps.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back to NEWS FROM CNN. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. More fallout today from the Schiavo case. It was only about a week or so ago that Terri Schiavo died at a hospice in Florida. This new reverberation is rumbling through the nation's capital.

With the story for us, from Capitol Hill, our congressional correspondent Joe Johns.

Update our viewers, Joe -- what has happened?

JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, as you know, this was a document that came out at the height of the Terri Schiavo controversy on Capitol Hill and caused some heartburn for Republicans, because it suggested a political motivation for bringing the case to Capitol Hill.

Well, now, what has come to light is Senator Mel Martinez is saying a senior member of his staff was responsible for that document. That staff member, we're told, has resigned. Martinez says he apparently had a copy of that document in his lapel pocket and did not know it, apparently gave it to Senator Tom Harkin, the Democrat of Iowa, thinking that document was, in fact, something else. Senator Harkin's office confirms he did, in fact, receive the memo on the Senate floor, but has said he will have no further comment on the matter.

Senator Mel Martinez's office put out a statement last night. We have a graphic that shows you what it says in part, "I learned that a senior member of my staff was unilaterally responsible for this document. It was not approved by me or any other member of my staff. The person responsible for drafting and circulating this document has tendered their resignation and I have accepted it." He also says in that statement, as a senator, "I am ultimately responsible for the work of my staff and the product that comes out of this office. I take full responsibility for the situation. It in no way reflects how I intend to conduct my business as a United States senator."

If you will remember, of course, that document said in part, "This is an important moral issue, and the pro-life base will be excited, a great political issue that is tough for Democrats."

BLITZER: The document went onto say, because we got a copy of it as well, that it was a great opportunity to go after the Democratic incumbent senator from Florida, Bill Nelson, who's up for re-election, try to make this a big issue and try to undermine Bill Nelson.

As you know, Joe, the bloggers, at least lot of conservative bloggers in recent days, have been suggesting that this memo was a forgery designed to embarrass the Republicans. But now we know it was not a forgery; it was actually written by a senior aide to Senator Martinez.

JOHNS: Certainly, there was finger-pointing back and forth. As you say, the bloggers did get ahold of it, and really ran with it for a while. Also you mentioned the other senator from Florida. There was, of course, a direct apology in that statement from Mel Martinez to Senator Nelson. So they're trying to put a quick and easy end to this matter and clearing up any confusion as to the source of it -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Mel Martinez coming clean right now, doing so quickly after this got out relatively quickly, I should say.

Thanks you very much, Joe Johns, with word of this story.

Sticker shock at pump: gasoline prices have reached an all-time high, and a new government report says it's going to get worse. AAA says the average price for regular unleaded climbed to $2.25 a gallon.

CNN's Chris Huntington is joining us now live from New York with more on the government's summer gasoline price outlook.

What should we expect, Chris?

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, you can expect to add another dime to that at least. What is not surprising is that gas prices are going higher. What is surprising is by how much the Department of Energy had to raise its forecast. Just a couple of weeks ago, the Department of Energy was saying that peak prices might average around $2.15 a gallon. The new peak monthly average that the Department of Energy predicts will hit in May, $2.35 a gallon. That's 40 cents more than last year. The average for the entire so-called summer driving season, $2.28 a gallon, up 38 cents a year ago.

One of the big problems, gasoline demands shows no sign of declining. It's rising, and what traditionally has been the historical increase, annual increase, 1.8 percent. No sign that that's going to taper off this summer. More vehicle miles being traveled. I know that's a fancy term, but frankly, we're just out there driving as much or more than ever have before. And of course the biggest factor crude oil prices sharply higher. The Department of Energy boils it down to basically 37 cents a gallon additional price for crude oil, which of course pretty much accounts for most of the price hike at the retail pumps for gasoline, but it really also depends on driver demand and the type of cars that we drive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GUY CARUSO, ADMINISTRATOR EIA: A leveling off of the average efficiency of our vehicles with the increasing amount of heavier vehicles being purchased, light-duty trucks, as they're called, but SUVs are in that category, as well as increasing horsepower. Every year the average vehicles' weight and horsepower have been increasing over the last five to 10 years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTINGTON: Now a quick review of why gasoline prices go up and down. As I mentioned, the biggest single component is the price of crude oil. That accounts for more than half of the price that you see at the pump. Also of course there is what refiners and oil companies do to price. This is simply known as zone pricing. We all know it ourselves. You drive 10 blocks or a half a mile and the price can vary 10 percent, or even more. This is simply the oil companies doing what they can to get the most out of an individual market. Finally, there are oil and gasoline investors in the market. There's a whole new flurry of interest in gas and oil markets on Wall Street. Many of the big brokerage firms, Wolf, have substantially ramped up their trading activity in the markets, and that certainly adds to the momentum of prices, and in this case the prices are going higher -- Wolf.

BLITZER: There's no doubt, Chris, that perhaps the biggest reason why the price of gas, a gallon of gas, the price of a barrel of oil is going up is, for Americans is the weakness of the U.S. dollar. When the dollar goes down in value compared to other currencies, then it becomes much more expensive to import, import those commodities like a barrel of oil. And the dollar is certainly declined dramatically in recent months. That's an enormous factor in all of this as well?

HUNTINGTON: It's a huge factor, Wolf. In terms of the overall petroleum we use in this country, oil and gas and other fuels, we import about half of it. What a lot of people don't know is that we're also importing about 10 percent of the gasoline that we use. The refining capacity -- many people probably do know this -- is pretty much maxed out in this country. No new big refineries built in this country in 30 years. We import 10 percent of the gasoline we use every day. We're very vulnerable to overseas supplies. And of course if we're importing gas, we're paying with a weak dollar. It all ties in.

But frankly, if all of us just look in the rearview mirror and ask ourselves how we're driving or what we're driving, that can make a huge difference -- Wolf.

BLITZER: An example of where a weak dollar really has an impact on the cost of something critically important right here at home.

Chris Huntington reporting for us. Chris, thank you very much.

When we come back, Jalal Talabani now officially Iraq's new president. Up next, we'll get an inside look at President Talabani from his son, Qubad Talabani. He's standing by. He'll join us live to talk about the road ahead for Iraq's new democracy.

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BLITZER: Welcome back. A new leadership for a new Iraq and a promise to make it Democratic. Let's get the latest from CNN's Aneesh Raman. He's joining us now from Baghdad -- Aneesh.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, good afternoon.

It's a moment Iraqis have been waiting months to see. Jalal Talabani this morning sworn in as Iraq's transitional president. Also sworn in, his two deputies, Sunni Ghazi al Yawer and Adel Mahdi, a Shia. The three men, the Presidency Council, wasted no time naming a prime minister designate, Ibrahim al Jaafari, who is now charged with coming up with a cabinet.

Both Jaafari and that cabinet will go to the National Assembly for a majority vote. That will essentially end the process of forming this transitional government and begin the governance for Talabani and Jaafari. Today Talabani really taking on the air of his office, speaking of inclusiveness, reaching out to all segments of Iraq's diverse population with specific reference to the Sunnis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT JALAL TALABANI, IRAQ (through translator): We greatly hope that the Arab Sunnis will participate with us, having acknowledged the dangers of the black terrorism that is imported from outside that was in coalition with those offers of the old regime. So the Sunni Arabs will participate with everybody to destroy and approach that terrorism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAMAN: Now, Wolf, a further sign the transfer of power is well under way, this morning, Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi phoning Jalal Talabani not just to congratulate him, but also to submit his resignation, something that will take immediate effect when Jaafari and his cabinet are voted in. Allawi now likely to emerge as the leading opposition voice -- Wolf.

BLITZER: So is it all a done deal, already, Aneesh, this new government? Is everything in place, all the cabinet slots, or are there still some vacancies?

RAMAN: Not quite yet. Depending on who you talk to, the cabinet positions that remain unresolved are still oil and defense. Jaafari has up to a month, potentially, to name his cabinet. It's likely he'll do it in a matter of days. All sides hoping that they can agree on those two ministries within the two ministries within the coming days and that this government can take shape.

BLITZER: Aneesh Raman reporting for us. Aneesh, thank you very much.

President Talabani is considered by many a shrewd politician, skilled at forming alliances, a determined Kurdish leader who battled Saddam Hussein for decades. Many Kurds call him Mom or Uncle Jalal.

Joining us now, someone who knows him quite well. Qubad Talabani. He's the president's son. He's also the spokesman for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan here in Washington. Qubad, congratulations to you. How does this feel to know that your father, a Kurd, not an Arab, an Iraqi Kurd, is now the president of Iraq?

QUBAD TALABANI, SON OF IRAQI PRES. TALABANI: It's something that really not many people thought could ever happen. It's really too big to take in. The reaction from everybody has been wonderful. And it's really the start of a new Iraq.

BLITZER: They say this is largely a symbolic role, the president of Iraq. The real power will be in the hands of the prime minister, who's expected to be al Jaafari. But what about that? Is the president and the two vice presidents who are sworn in will they have substantive involvement in the decisions of the new Iraq?

TALABANI: I'm sure they will, Wolf. There's a Presidency Council that has quite considerable powers, and creates a check and a balance against the different power structures that we'll have in the new Iraqi government. And really it depends on the Presidency Council and how much they wish to get involved in Iraqi affairs and Iraqi politics. But I don't think that they'll sit idly while the insurgency is as strong as it is right now.

BLITZER: So you would agree with Aneesh, it's virtually a done deal now. Ibrahim al Jaafari will be prime minister. There's a couple little vacancies in cabinet slots, but everything is falling into place for the new government?

TALABANI: Right, and the Presidency Council today submitted their nomination of the Jaafari, that Jaafari is the prime minister and he is now tasked with forming his cabinet. It's -- there is still some balancing to do to make sure the new government is inclusive and represents the diversity of Iraqi politics, but we do anticipate that this discussion will be resolved in a very short period of time.

BLITZER: In addition to Arabic, will Kurdish be an official -- the official language of Iraq?

TALABANI: According to the transitional administrative law, the current constitution of Iraq, Kurdish is an official language of Iraq, yes. BLITZER: We also were -- have been told the past couple of days that Saddam Hussein and other of his henchmen were shown pictures, were shown the televised swearing-in, the election of your father, Jalal Talabani, as president. What do you think the purpose of that was?

TALABANI: I think to show him that it's finished. He's finished, we have a new Iraq. And I think it's fitting because Saddam once offered a general amnesty to every Kurdish fighter except Jalal Talabani. And it's fitting now that Jalal Talabani is in the presidency. Saddam's in jail and will seek an amnesty from him.

BLITZER: Did Saddam Hussein try to kill your father?

TALABANI: I mean, there were several attempts. We were always aware that the Iraqi regime thought of him as a major threat, and it was a constant threat.

BLITZER: As a lot of our viewers remember, there were often splits between Kurds, Iraq Kurds, between your father's faction, Jalal Talabani's faction, Masoud Barzani's faction, now they seem to have worked out a sort of modus operandi, if you will, an agreement to get along. But there were occasional Kurdish alliances with Saddam Hussein and other Kurds fighting Saddam Hussein.

TALABANI: We've had some dark days in our history, the Kurds. And we had an unfortunate period in the mid-90s where we turned our guns on each other. And this hurt nobody but us, and I think the Kurdish leadership knows this now. They've put the past behind them. We are quite united now, as far as Iraqi politics are concerned. When you look at north, all politics is local. There is a rivalry between the two parties, but the rivalry today is healthy. It's a rivalry on who builds more hospitals, who builds more schools, not who has more guns.

BLITZER: We -- the last time we spoke, when you were on this program, you mentioned there was a very significant issue involving Kirkuk, the northern Iraqi town, oil rich, a very wealthy town, which had almost been ethnically cleansed by Saddam Hussein. Kurds who had been living there for centuries were kicked out, Iraqi Arabs were moved in. This was a very sensitive issue in the negotiations leading up to this new Iraqi government. What has been resolved, as far as Kirkuk is concerned?

TALABANI: The issue that's been resolved is that the new government will have to begin implementing an article of the Transitional Administrative Law, Article 58, which basically refers to the repatriation or creating a mechanism that will allow people that have been forcibly evicted from their homes to return and set up a compensation fund for anyone that has to be moved because of this relocation. Kirkuk is going to require a long strategy to resolve. There are many complications to Kirkuk. The one thing we do have to get started straight away is this repatriation process. People must have the right to return to their homes.

BLITZER: And one final question because we're almost out of time. The notion of a separate Kurdish state in the northern part of Iraq. Has that now gone away now that it looks like everything is falling into place for this new Iraqi government?

TALABANI: Well, the majority of the Kurdish population always dream of independence, but the political leadership and the people of Kurdistan really are giving a Iraq a go. We're committed to make Iraq work and we've shown this in our involvement in the interim Iraqi government. We now have a Kurdish president. And we will do our best to make Iraq succeed.

BLITZER: Qubad Talabani, thanks very much for joining us. Once again, congratulations, good luck to you. Good to luck to all the people of Iraq.

TALABANI: Thank you.

BLITZER: We'll take a quick break. We'll be back in a moment.

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BLITZER: Checking some of the most popular stories this hour on CNN, on CNN.com that is once again, a story sure to titillate many Internet surfers and prompt snickers on Fleet Street. That would be in London. Royal officials there say Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles will acknowledge their, quote, sins and wickedness when their wedding is blessed by the Archbishop of Canterbury on Saturday. You want to know more right now? Here's a good idea. Go to CNN.com.

We'll take another quick break. When we come back.

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I'll be back later today, every weekday, 5:00 p.m. Eastern for "WOLF BLITZER REPORTS." Among my guest later, Melanie Bloom. She's the widow of the former NBC News correspondent David Bloom. This week marks the second anniversary of his tragic death in Iraq. We'll talk about that and more, 5:00 p.m. Eastern.

Until then, thank you very much for watching NEWS FROM CNN. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. LIVE FROM with Kyra Phillips. That's coming up next.

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