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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

More than 300,000 people may have been affected by a LexisNexis security breach. More testimony in John Bolton nomination hearing.

Aired April 12, 2005 - 17:00   ET

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

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


WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Happening now, security in the skies. Is one of the nations busiest airports -- if not the busiest -- about to lose hundreds of screeners? And what does this say about security at other airports across the country?
Standby for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Your secret information exposed, 300,000 names and numbers may have been stolen from a massive data base. Can you protect yourself?

Terror target, from Wall Street to the World Bank, who's now changed with plotting to attack America.

Virus fears.

DR. DANIEL BLUMENTHAL, MOREHOUSE UNIVERSITY: After five to seven days the patient deteriorates, kidneys fail, liver fails. And the patient begins to bleed from every place.

BLITZER: Could this country soon face a very deadly threat from another continent?

Undiplomatic diplomat? Stunning testimony as the nominee for United Nations ambassador is described as a serial abuser.

CARL FORD, FORMER ASST. SECY OF STATE: Secretary Bolton chose to reach five or six levels below him in the bureaucracy, bring an analyst into his office, and give him a tongue-lashing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Tuesday, April 12th, 2005.

BLITZER: Thanks for joining us.

If it's not your worst nightmare it may soon be -- personal sensitive information stolen by identity thieves. LexisNexis, a company that stores this information, now says more than 300,000 people may have been affected by a security breach.

CNN technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg is live at the CNN Center with the latest in our CNN "Security Watch" report. Daniel, what's going on?

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, just because a lot of people haven't heard of these companies, doesn't mean they haven't heard of you and aren't watching you. On this latest security breach, LexisNexis and one of its units, Seisint, says an additional 280,000 personal records have been stolen, that's in addition to the original 30,000. And that's nearly 10 times the number previously reported by the company last month.

You know, LexisNexis and other company collect this data and then qualified third parties like insurance companies or lenders or collection companies pay them to access it. It could be for something like a background check, looking at employment history, verifying address information, or even checking criminal records to see if someone is telling the truth on an employment application. Now, LexisNexis says individuals were able to get the necessary passwords to access this information, possibly by simply looking over someone's shoulder. It could be that low-tech or tricking people to turn the passwords over.

It's very similar to a situation you might remember, that happened two months ago with Choice Point. In both cases these companies have millions of records. I know you're looking at some shelves here, it looks like just a bunch of data. This is your information. These shelves contain information about you. This is all your personal data here. Driver's license number, Social Security numbers, that kind of information.

LexisNexis released a statement saying "We are taking action to notify individuals where we found some indication that they might have some risk of identity theft or fraud." We should point out that LexisNexis says they are not aware of anyone becoming a victim of I.D. theft because of this breach. The bottom line here, Wolf, if you do exist in the world, you're at risk. And no matter how careful you are as a consumer -- a lot of us do things like shred documents or protect sensitive details online. Your information can still be compromised. And Wolf, I know you'll be talking more about how to protect yourself in just a minute.

BLITZER: Daniel Sieberg reporting for us. This is chilling information. Daniel, thank you very much. So why is it apparently so easy for I.D. thieves to steal your personal information? It may have a lot to do with what you do every single day.

CNN's Mary Snow standing by live in New York. She has more on what puts all of us at risk -- Mary.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, consumers could be putting themselves at risk every day without even knowing it. And security experts say for a thief all it takes is a few keyboard strokes, within a few minutes some very personal information could become very public.

(END VIDEOTAPE) SNOW (voice-over): We do it at banks, at stores, online, even with the papers we throw out in our garbage, we share private information. It has led to an estimated 9.3 million cases of identity theft in the U.S. over the past year, according to government statistics. Experts say there is little you can do to protect yourself. But one thing that can be done is to get a credit report at least once a year to monitor accounts.

ROBERT SICILIANO, AUTHOR, "THE SAFETY MINUTE": Unfortunately, you might have to pay for one. Usually somewhere between $25 and $150 a year to monitor the activity. Or your bank might offer one for free.

SNOW: Experts also say that many people assume that if they don't bank online, for example, they are safe. But that's not the case.

SICILIANO: It doesn't make any difference whether you bank online or whether you've ever bought anything online or even if you own a computer or not. If you exist, if you have a Social Security number, if you make transactions, if you have a license of any kind, there's going to be a record of you. And that record is going to be at risk.

SNOW: Security experts say there are organized groups waiting to get their hands on information to carry out a number of transactions.

SICILIANO: They can apply for credit cards, bank accounts, mortgages, all kinds of financial transactions, using your personal information.

SNOW: Experts say thieves use traditional methods like posing as companies asking for information over the phone. And they say your Social Security number should only be given out to a select few.

SICILIANO: People that get Social Security numbers are the government, your employer, and anytime you're going to open up a financial account of any type. It could be a credit card. It could be buying a house, a car, or whatever.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: And one piece of advice from one of the experts we interviewed, who said the consumers should put their names on a credit fraud watch list. This could be inconvenient, because you won't be able to apply for a credit card and get it instantly. But it will also prevent thieves from doing the same -- Wolf.

BLITZER: CNN's Mary Snow reporting for us. Mary, thank you very much.

And we'll have much more on this topic. Coming up this hour I'll speak live with the author of the new book "No Place to Hide." Robert O'Hara Jr. He's standing by to give us some more practical information, information all of us need to consider very carefully right now. And to our viewers here's your chance to weigh in on this story. Our web "Question of the Day" is this -- how concerned are you about I.D. theft? You can vote right now. Go to CNN.com/Wolf. We'll have the results later this hour.

Other news we're following. It's been another tough day on Capitol Hill for John Bolton, the man picked by the president to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. A former State Department official minced no words in telling the Senate Foreign Relations Committee why he thinks Bolton is not he fit for the job.

Our State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel standing by live with the latest -- Andrea.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Democrats had hoped to call up as many as seven witnesses to testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but Chairman Lugar, Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana, only approved one of them. He's a 30-year veteran of the intelligence community.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOPPEL (voice-over): A self-described loyal Republican, conservative to the core, Carl Ford made clear he was a reluctant witness. But Ford said, he felt compelled to testify that John Bolton was a, quote, "Serial abuser" who bullied subordinates.

FORD: He's a quintessential kissup, kick-down sort of guy. There are a lot of them around. I'm sure you've met them.

KOPPEL: Ford is the former chief of the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research, where he supervised an analyst who butted heads with Bolton in 2002 over intelligence on Castro's Cuba. Democrats hoped Ford would give credence to allegations Bolton tried to pressure the analyst to change his findings. And when the analyst refused, sought to fire him -- a charge Bolton denies.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), FOR RELATIONS COMMITTEE: I want to just be clear that from your testimony today you are quite certain that Mr. Bolton actively sought to have this gentleman removed from his position?

FORD: Yes.

OBAMA: You don't know whether he said fire that guy, get rid of that guy, you know, this is unacceptable?

You don't know exactly what the phraseology was, but...

FORD: I got the message.

OBAMA: You got the message.

SNOW: Republicans countered this was only one heated exchange and not a pattern of troubling behavior. SEN. MEL MARTINEZ (R), FOR. RELATIONS COMMITTEE: But you really cannot in good faith under oath suggest that you have the ability to tell this committee that this now represents a broader character flaw in Mr. Bolton's part, can you?

FORD: You're absolutely correct.

SNOW: Democrats argued with U.S. credibility at the United Nations already severely damaged over misleading U.S. intelligence on Iraq's WMD, questions about Bolton's alleged manipulation of intelligence would further damage U.S. interests.

SEN. JOSEPH BIDEN (D), FOR. RELATIONS COMMITTEE: This is the very man who may have to take the case to the world on Korea and on Iran based upon intelligence.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: Chairman Lugar said questions about Bolton's past demeanor were legitimate, but said that the most important issue in his words, the paramount issue, was U.N. reform and said senators should support the president's choice, Mr. Bolton, as the instrument to carry that out -- Wolf.

BLITZER: CNN's Andrea Koppel reporting. Thank you, Andrea, very much.

Another nominee is having much smoother sailing in his confirmation hearing. That would be John Negroponte, named to the new post of director of national intelligence. He was told that things would get a lot rougher once he actually starts his job. Repeatedly, he was told that. Senators warned that he'll face turf wars trying to oversee 15 U.S. intelligence agencies. But Negroponte -- most recently the ambassador to Iraq -- vowed to use all the powers that come with the post. He's widely expected to be approved overwhelmingly.

Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

Two years and a couple days after Saddam Hussein was toppled, the Defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, paid a surprise post-anniversary visit to Iraq. He met with U.S. troops today and joined a re- enlistment ceremony. He also met with Iraq's new president and the prime-minister designate. But even as Rumsfeld urged the new government to move forward with nation-building, insurgents struck once again today. Car bombings took a heavy toll among Iraqi civilians.

President Bush was at Ft. Hood, Texas, today where he spoke to a crowd of cheering soldiers, some just back from Iraq, others headed there later this year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: More than 150,000 Iraqi security forces have been trained and equipped, and for the first time the Iraqi Army, police, and other security forces now outnumber U.S. forces in Iraq. Like free people everywhere, Iraqis want to be defended and led by their own countrymen. We'll help them achieve this objective so Iraqis can secure their own nation, and then our troops will come home with the honor they have earned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Before flying back to Washington, the president met privately with families of soldiers killed in Iraq.

When we come back, new fears over a deadly outbreak in Africa. Could the Marburg virus make its way to the United States? I'll speak live with the head of the CDC, Dr. Julie Gerberding. She's standing by.

Terror targets: three men held in connection with scouting U.S. financial buildings in preparation for a possible attack. We'll have details.

And security cutbacks at one of the nation's largest airports. Will you find longer lines when you travel this summer?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back.

World health officials are worried about an epidemic of one of the world's deadliest viruses -- Marburg, a close relative of the infamous Ebola virus. A Marburg outbreak in Angola in Africa has already killed 200 people. But could it happen here?

CNN's Brian Todd joining us now live with more on this story -- Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it's a legitimate concern, one that top health officials in the U.S. are already dealing with, a concern that's heightened when you see what Marburg does to victims and how fast it moves.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): At first, it may feel like a cold or a routine fever: spiking temperatures, head and muscle aches. Later, experts say, the so-called Marburg fever gets worse, much worse.

BLUMENTHAL: After five to seven days the patient deteriorates, kidneys fail, liver fails, and the patient begins to bleed from every place.

TODD: Then, for most, the end comes quickly. Of the more than 200 people reported to have caught the virus during the current outbreak in Angola, more than 90 percent have died. Officials at the World Health Organization tell CNN it's an uphill battle to get to patients while they're still alive and to safely bury those who've died. Getting patients isolated and avoiding transmission in hospital settings, they say, has also been a problem.

DR. MIKE RYAN, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: Unfortunately, in this case, there is evidence that this disease has been amplified actually in the very hospitals where people should be cared for.

TODD: W.H.O. officials say the majority of cases are geographically confined to Uige province in northwestern Angola, where most locals don't travel far. But they've also identified two cases in the capital city, Luanda, which has an international airport. Could Marburg fever, in the same deadly family as the Ebola virus, spread to the United States? Experts say it's theoretically possible, but not likely.

BLUMENTHAL: If somebody got on a plane while they were incubating the illness, they wouldn't be likely to transmit it to anybody else. If they got to the U.S. and got sick, we have the ability to isolate people effectively here, which is an ability they really don't have in the rural African hospitals where we are finding this disease now.

TODD: And officials at the Centers for Disease Control say they've got a handle on this outbreak. The only direct flights between Angola and the U.S., they say, are private routes taken by petroleum companies. And CDC officials are watching all ports of entry, looking for people with symptoms.

Experts also point out the virus doesn't spread easily, even at ground zero. It's transmitted through the exchange of blood, sweat, and other body fluids. Many people who've gotten Marburg fever have cared for others with the virus or disposed of their bodies.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (on camera): Experts say the people exposed to the virus, who are most likely to travel to the Western Hemisphere, health care workers currently in Angola, and they have more awareness of the danger than virtually anyone else. Wolf?

BLITZER: Brian Todd reporting for us. Thank you, Brian, very much.

For more on the Marburg virus, we're joined now here in Washington by Dr. Julie Gerberding. She's the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Gerberding, welcome to Washington. Thanks very much for joining us.

First of all, do you have anything to dispute in the report that Brian just said? Was he basically on target on these specific matters?

DR. JULIE GERBERDING, CDC DIRECTOR: Absolutely. This is a tragic virus, but it is mainly there in that province and is a very low threat to people in this country.

BLITZER: How do you make sure it remains a low threat?

GERBERDING: Well, one of the things we need to do is to be on the alert to the people who have actually been in the affected area. So travelers, within ten days of return, if they've been in contact with infected patients or infected animals, they should be monitoring their health and of course see a clinician at the first sign of illness. But other than that we're mainly concentrating on what we can do at CDC and the World Health Organization to stop the transmission that's ongoing in Angola.

BLITZER: So what are you doing? Because there's a lot of issues involved, including embarrassment. People over there, we take it, in Angola, are reluctant to even talk about it because they're afraid they're going to be ostracized if other people hear that one of their family members for example, came down with this Marburg virus.

GERBERDING: People are frightened, and people are embarrassed to be associated with this, but I think the important message is that we need to identify those who are sick, get them into care and teach the health care workers how to protect themselves from the blood and body fluid exposure.

Of course, this is a mysterious virus, and we don't know where in nature it hides out. So preventing it from emerging, presumably from an animal source still remains part of our scientific agenda.

BLITZER: How similar is this virus to the Ebola virus?

GERBERDING: It's a close cousin of Ebola. They have the same family characteristics, and they cause similar diseases -- fever, headaches, and then followed by this severe illness, often bleeding. And it's that phase when the body fluids are difficult to control, because the bleeding and diarrhea, that the people become so infectious to others and really spread the epidemic person to person.

BLITZER: The numbers are pretty awful. What, 90 percent of those who've come down with this Marburg virus have died?

GERBERDING: This is a little bit different than the last time we saw Marburg. Normally, the mortality rate is about 25 percent. This would be a hint to me that we're not finding people early enough and they're not getting into the hospital where they can get the kind of supportive care with fluids and other resuscitative measures to save their lives. So that's another very important target of the World Health Organization collaboration -- get people treated.

BLITZER: Well, we know the World Health Organization, doctors and other specialists, are on the scene. They're dealing with this Marburg virus. What is the CDC doing in Africa, if anything?

GERBERDING: Well, we have eight scientists there who are part of the disease detectives team. They're also teaching health care workers how to protect themselves, to use the proper infection control precautions, and of course ultimately we're going to be on the search for the animal host, to see if we can't figure out what the source of this is and help protect the people in the first place. BLITZER: When you say the animal host, is that what you're saying? Does that mean like monkeys? Because that's the wide suspicion, that this virus originated with monkeys.

GERBERDING: Well, there is a suspicion that there's some kind of a primate source, and one of the cautions to the people in the region is don't eat bush meat or other primate sources, where you may be coming in contact with the virus in the wild kingdom.

BLITZER: When you say bush meat, what does that mean?

GERBERDING: Well, it's a kind of preparation of primate for cooking purposes, and sometimes people don't cook it well, so they can even eat it raw. And that may pose a particular risk.

BLITZER: And that's where this whole thing may have originated?

GERBERDING: Well, that's just a theory. I think the important thing is the scientists need to get out in the field. What they do is they trap animals and they look for potential sources in nature, so that they can pin down the ultimate reservoir.

BLITZER: Dr. Julie Gerberding, welcome to Washington once again. Unfortunately, we had to talk about an ugly subject, but one critically important, potentially obviously deadly. So let's just hope it stays very, very restricted and you get down to the bottom of it.

GERBERDING: Well, we're optimistic about this one.

BLITZER: Good.

GERBERDING: Thank you.

BLITZER: Dr. Gerberding, thank you very much.

When we come back, anniversary of the polio vaccine, referred to as the AIDS of its day. Could this dreaded disease actually make a comeback?

And terror targets in the United States. Three men held for allegedly going after high-profile buildings in the New York area and right here in Washington, D.C.

Plus, more on your personal information. It's at risk. A security breach may have compromised the privacy of hundreds of thousands of Americans. Tips on how you can protect yourself. All that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: In our "CNN Security Watch," federal authorities today took the wraps off charges against three men accused of scouting out terror targets in America, including some of this country's most important financial centers. Let's get details now. CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena joining us live -- Kelli. KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, you may remember when investigators overseas found those surveillance reports on several buildings here in the United States. Well, we reported then that there was evidence that three of those men had personally conducted that surveillance. And today, the government moved to indict them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARENA (voice-over): The surveillance of financial buildings, including the Citigroup Center in New York City, was startling in its detail. Discovered last summer in Pakistan and Britain, government officials say it is the surest sign of al Qaeda's determination to again strike the United States. Now, the men who allegedly came to the U.S. to conduct that surveillance have been indicted.

JAMES COMEY, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: All of us know that terrorists looking to harm Americans will work for a very long period of time, conducting sophisticated surveillance, and they are very, very patient.

ARENA: The three men are already in custody in Britain, facing terror-related charges there. One of them, Dhiran Barot, also known as Issa al-Hindi, is described as a senior al Qaeda operative who helped train terrorists, and reported directly to September 11th mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed.

RAY KELLY, COMMISSIONER, NYPD: Issa al-Hindi is a major player and major al Qaeda operative. So he was in fact here in New York City, doing that sort of surveillance. So it's a very significant case.

ARENA: Al-Hindi and two of his associates are charged with conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction against the United States, namely bombs, and with conspiring to and providing material support to terrorists.

The government says the men were scoping out targets in New York, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. in 2000 and 2001. But prosecutors say the conspiracy continued way past then.

COMEY: This conspiracy was alive and kicking up until August of 2004.

ARENA: Those surveillance reports the suspects allegedly prepared were so thorough, the government initially raised the terror alert last year for the financial sectors.

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: They had looked for structural weaknesses. They made recommendations about where you would place a bomb to bring the building down. They made efforts to understand what the casualty level would be. For example, they counted the number of people passing in front of the building every day.

(END VIDEOTAPE) ARENA: The prosecution in Britain is in its early stages. Officials say when that's over, the U.S. plans on seeking extradition. But Wolf, that could be years from now.

BLITZER: Could take some time. Thanks very much, Kelli Arena, for that report. And to our viewers, remember, please stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

When we come back, identity theft. It's a security problem at a large data company that's raising serious questions about all of our privacy.

Safety in the skies. A cutback of hundreds of screeners at one of the world's busiest airports. What does this mean?

Plus, a controversial proposal. Get this: There's a huge battle over whether to legalize hunting wild cats in one U.S. state. We'll have details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: There's a new development in the manhunt for an ex-con accused of two murders and a sexual assault. Details coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: From our studios in Washington, once again, Wolf Blitzer.

BLITZER: Welcome back.

Protecting your personal information: tips on how to keep your identity safe. We'll get to that. First, though, a quick check of some other stories, "Now in the News."

A manhunt has ended in Augusta, Georgia. Authorities say a 37- year-old ex-convict, Stephen Stanko, was arrested without incident in a shopping mall parking lot. Stanko is suspected of killing two people and sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl in South Carolina. He served eight-and-a-half years in prison for kidnapping and co-wrote a book about that experience.

Minnesota's Red Lake High School reopened today, but only about one third of the students showed up. Officials acknowledged that many students are reluctant to return to the building following last month's deadly shooting spree. Authorities say 16-year-old Jeff Weise killed a teacher, a security guard, and five students before committing suicide.

As we told you at the top of this program, Lexis-Nexis, a company which sells personal data on consumers, said today that information on 300,000 Americans may have been looted. Several weeks ago, another information broker, ChoicePoint, revealed that 145,000 Americans may have had their personal data stolen. For many that was the start of a nightmare, as CNN's Rusty Dornin first reported in February.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN REPORTER: What would you do if you found out your identity had been inadvertently sold to criminals by a company you'd never even heard of? When Warren Lambert received a letter from that company, ChoicePoint, telling him exactly that, he panicked.

How many hours so far have you spent trying to see -- protect your identity?

WARREN LAMBERT, IDENTITY THEFT VICTIM: I just couldn't count it. Days. Hours. Complete days. Yesterday I went to bed at 1:00.

DORNIN: For film restorer Tony Monroe, the worst has already happened. Someone charged $12,000 on his Discover card. His card number, police say, was discovered in the house of the only suspect they have identified so far in the ChoicePoint case.

Monroe is no stranger to crime. He's been mugged, robbed at gunpoint, and shot at while driving a cab. So this didn't faze him.

TONY MONROE, IDENTITY THEFT VICTIM: I sort of shrug, and I go, well, at least they didn't hack into my bank account and steal cash.

DORNIN: And he knows that the credit card charges aren't really a problem. As required by law, Discover has already refunded all but $50. Monroe is more irritated he still hasn't gotten a letter from ChoicePoint informing him of his risk. The company says letters to 145,000 people who might be victims are still going out.

JAMES LEE, CHOICEPOINT: We don't know how much of that information actually made it into the hands of the people who are conducting this fraud and if they ever used any of it. But the potential existed for them to get access to that information.

DORNIN: ChoicePoint will do free credit monitoring for a year for anyone whose personal information turns out to have been compromised. The company is also advising people to contact the credit bureaus and check for suspicious activity, things consumer advocates say we should all be regularly checking for anyway.

Rusty Dornin, CNN, San Francisco.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: We contacted ChoicePoint today. ChoicePoint tells CNN it's reviewing credentials of 17,000 small businesses that purchased the use of its database in hopes to prevent any further abuse. ChoicePoint also says it has enlisted the help of identity theft experts. ChoicePoint says Anthony Monroe, the person featured in Rusty Dornin's report, is not on its list of potentially affected consumers and does not believe his personal information was compromised through ChoicePoint. Finally, since Rusty Dornin's report first aired, all of ChoicePoint's notifications to the public have been sent out.

For more on the growing threat of identity theft, we're joined now by "Washington Post" reporter Robert O'Harrow. He's written an important new book called "No Place to Hide" that covers this problem and a lot more.

Robert, thanks very much for joining us. Give us in your view the scheme of -- the perspective on the scheme of things, how big of a deal is this?

ROBERT O'HARROW, AUTHOR, "NO PLACE TO HIDE": Well, let's look at the numbers, first of all. Just two years ago the top estimate on identity theft, the number of victims, was approximately 750,000. Now, government officials say they believe the number is closer to 10 million a year. Even discounting for some hype, that's a lot of folks who are victims. But what we all need to recognize is that identity theft, as unsettling as it is, is really just the very tip of the iceberg of a huge change that's taking place in society, something we call a data revolution, and a lot of that's occurring outside the public scrutiny, so people don't understand it.

BLITZER: Well, people don't understand that, what, their most personal information, how much money, for example, they have in a bank account, what their medical records are, all this kind of information potentially is very vulnerable to almost anyone.

O'HARROW: There was a shoe store, a shoe store chain that was hit. There's a marketing data warehouser that got hit. Banks -- virtually anybody that keeps records is vulnerable. And unfortunately, the power of collecting information and sharing it through networks and making sense of it has increased way beyond our understanding. And so the information is not being cared for nearly as well as most of us assume.

BLITZER: A lot of people are hearing all of this information, and they're going to become reluctant, for example, to go online to pay their bills or do their banking. They're going to do it the old- fashioned way, go to the bank or write out checks. What do you say to those people?

O'HARROW: Well, ironically, when you send a payment or an e-mail across the Internet, in many or most cases it's encrypted. I actually feel very comfortable personally doing business online. I think what people ought to think about is the broader picture of how often they willingly share information about themselves to businesses or other people. And they have no idea what's being done with that information. And in many cases it's actually in fact fueling the data revolution, it's fueling these repositories -- and I'm not going to exaggerate here -- of billions and billions of records, about nearly every adult, which means something very simple. Every one of us is vulnerable to identity theft, and few of us will understand why it happened.

BLITZER: Give us, just in the brief time we have left, one or two of the most important recommendations you think our viewers should follow because you know this subject about as well as anyone.

O'HARROW: Well, first of all, there's no reason for hysteria. We shouldn't turn our backs on the wonderful benefits that we get from the Internet and from computing because it's -- we're living through a miraculous age. But people have got to have good information habits, the same way that they balance their checkbook and they have other good habits. So don't share your Social Security number with anybody unless you absolutely have to. Grind up your records. Tear them up so that people can't go dumpster diving in your trash. And just be more careful about giving your phone number out, answering telephone calls, and sharing information, filling out warranties or surveys, because all of that is being gathered and shared willy-nilly. You have to have good information habits these days.

Robert O'Harrow's book is called "No Place to Hide," a good book. He writes for the "Washington Post." Thanks very much for joining us, Robert.

O'HARROW: Thank you very much.

BLITZER: Let's take a quick look at some other news making headlines around the world.

Four school children in Germany are free and unhurt after being held hostage for five hours. The four girls were pulled off a public bus taking them home from school, by a man armed with two knives. They were held in the basement of a home. The alleged kidnapper was arrested.

Pulling out of Iraq: Poland makes it official, saying it will withdraw its 1700 troops in Iraq after their UN mandate expires at the end of this year. However, the defense minister says the mission could be extended if asked by Iraq or the U.N. approves a new mandate. Seventeen Polish soldiers have died in Iraq.

Indonesia eruption. A volcano on Sumatra island erupted today, shooting hot ash high into the air. Officials say it poses no immediate threat, but villagers living on its slopes fled their homes in panic.

Party time. Thousands of people in Taiwan are taking part in an eight-day festival honoring a sea goddess believed to guard fishermen and sailors.

And that's our look around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: When we come back, are federal authorities scrimping on airport screeners? One airport boss worries that could mean long lines, or something far worse.

Polio. Just the word used to strike fear in the hearts of American parents. Fifty years ago today, all that changed. We'll look back.

The pope's tomb. We'll take you inside the Vatican crypt where John Paul was laid to rest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: It's not the news air travelers wanted to hear, much less have to deal with, but the possibility of fewer security personnel at one of the world's busiest airports could cause some major problems. Our Homeland Security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, reports.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Expect a heightened hassle factor at Atlanta's airport. Management says travelers at Hartsfield-Jackson will find longer lines at security checkpoints, because the Transportation Security Administration is cutting a big chunk of the airport's 1,400 screeners.

BEN DECOSTA, HARTSIFELD-JACKSON ATLANTA AIRPORT: We could lose between 350 and 400 screeners. That, at a busy airport like ours, would spell a disaster.

MARK HATFIELD, TSA: Well, I think that's a gross exaggeration, and in fact, what you see in Atlanta today is a tempest in a teapot. It's a premature discussion of a very thoughtful program that we have, which is reallocation on an annual basis.

MESERVE: Congress has capped the number of screeners nationally at 45,000. Every year, the TSA looks at passenger load, hours of operation, and other factors to determine which of the nation's 450 airports should get more screeners and which should get fewer.

HATFIELD: The market's very dynamic. The airport -- airline industry is very dynamic. And throughout a year, you'll see those loads shift as airlines cut back in one city or add to another city, or brand new airlines start business. So we've got to be very flexible and react to those shifts in load.

MESERVE: With 84 million passengers last year and projections for growth this year, experts say Atlanta does not seem a logical place to cut. And they say a reduced screener workforce could impact the quality of security.

CLARK ERVIN, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: The longer the workday, the longer the workweek, the more fatigued screeners become, the less alert, less sharp they are in terms of detecting suspicious passengers or deadly weapons.

MESERVE: The TSA says at the end of the reallocation process, the nation will have the same number of screeners. Small comfort to Hartsfield-Jackson, which says it needs more screeners, not fewer.

Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And of course, stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security. When you fly, one of the things you don't want to happen is for parts of the plane to fall off. But that's just what happened to a Northwest Airlines DC-10 on Saturday. Shortly after taking off from Minneapolis for a routine flight to Hawaii, a 200-pound part of the engine fell off and landed in a field. An FAA spokeswoman says the crew didn't notice that the cone-shaped thrust reverser nozzle was missing, until the plane landed safely. There were no injuries.

Coming up at the top of the hour, "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT." Kitty Pilgrim standing by with a preview -- Kitty.

KITTY PILGRIM, GUEST HOST, LOU DOBBS TONIGHT: Thanks, Wolf. Well, tonight at the top of the hour, exporting your security. We'll be reporting on the dangers of overseas outsourcing to your money, and also to your privacy. Even money in our biggest banks is not safe. We'll have a special report on that.

And "Broken Borders." The Minutemen say they have dramatically cut illegal immigration into Arizona. The Border Patrol says that's nonsense. So, who's right? We'll have a report from Arizona. All that and more, 6:00 p.m. Eastern. Join us. But for now, back to Wolf.

BLITZER: Thanks very much, Kitty. We'll be watching.

When we come back, grasping the fear once associated with polio. Is the dreaded disease still a threat?

Also ahead -- inside the crypt of Pope John Paul II. We'll show you what's going on.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We often hear announcements of medical discoveries. Sometimes, the impact is unclear or only incremental. But on this day half a century ago, there was a medical announcement that had a profound and lasting effect on America and the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Polio most frequently strikes very young children. But today, the vast majority of polio survivors are middle- aged or older. That's the direct result of a breakthrough announced 50 years ago today.

DR. JONAS SALK, DEVELOPED POLIO VACCINE: This gigantic experiment is symbolic of the equally great foundations, both scientific and philanthropic, without which it could not have been conceived or executed.

BLITZER: Dr. Jonas Salk had developed a polio vaccine, and for thousands of frightened Americans the news couldn't be more welcome.

It's hard for younger Americans to grasp the fear, some say the hysteria, that polio engendered during the first half of the 20th century. While most polio patients, people like former "Washington Post" editor Ben Bradlee, suffered only temporary symptoms, one out of every 200, including President Franklin Roosevelt, suffered irreversible paralysis. Sometimes, the paralysis spread to the breathing muscles, forcing polio patients into iron lungs, huge mechanical cylinders that did the breathing for them.

There were nearly 60,000 cases of polio in the United States in 1952 and more than 3,000 deaths. In communities where outbreaks occurred, swimming pools and movie houses were closed -- anything to prevent the disease from spreading.

Looking back on that era, one expert describes polio as the AIDS of its day.

The last big U.S. outbreak was in the Boston area. Thousands of cases were reported in Massachusetts the summer of 1955, the same year the vaccine was approved. After that, there was a steady decline. As a result of Salk's vaccine and later an oral vaccine developed by Dr. Albert Sabin, polio had all but disappeared from the United States by 1979, and scientists turned their attention to eradicating polio worldwide. That goal has proven more elusive.

DR. BRENT BURKHOLDER, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: Certainly, areas where sanitation and overall health conditions are optimum, like in the United States, it wasn't necessary to really get such high coverage levels, and probably we were able to eradicate polio there with coverage only maybe in the 80, 90 percent. But areas such as India, where it's so easy to transmit, we feel we need to get probably close to 97 percent of kids immunized.

BLITZER: There were 1,263 confirmed cases of polio last year around the world, including some cases in countries previously declared polio-free.

In most places, however, polio is a fading memory. It's frequently discussed only in past tense, and it's no longer a word that haunts parents of young children.

And that's a process that began 50 years ago today.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And let's hope we can do the same thing to eradicate cancer and other killer diseases as well.

The tomb of Pope John Paul II will open for public viewing tomorrow morning. But a select news media group, including CNN, were allowed inside the crypt beneath St. Peter's Basilica earlier today. The tomb consists of a simple white marble slab, bearing the late pontiff's name in Latin, and behind it a marble relief of the Virgin Mary and infant Jesus.

When we return, a battle over a proposal to legalize hunting wild cats and killing them. Could your pet wind up in the line of fire? There's a huge debate in Wisconsin right now. We'll have details. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Now, a controversial plan to control Wisconsin's wild cat population. At issue -- should killing wild cats be legalized?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE), let me speak.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So much love. He's so fluffy. And the collar, the collar can't be seen on him.

BLITZER (voice-over): It's enough to drive cat lovers crazy. In Madison, Wisconsin, a public hearing with more than 1,300 people. For many, the thought of shooting cats, wild or not, was intolerable.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They don't have to kill them, no. That's terrible.

BLITZER: More than a million feral, or wild cats, are believed to live in Wisconsin, and some say the population is out of control. They're proposing that feral cats be removed from the state's protected species list, which could make it legal to shoot them, like skunks or possums.

The Wisconsin Conservation Congress, a neutral group which sponsored the meetings, took a non-binding vote on the issue, which will be passed on to the State Department of Natural Resources.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These people that are here voting against it aren't realizing the whole question. We're not shooting cats in the city. We're shooting cats out in the wild.

BLITZER: Proponents say feral cats are wiping out some bird populations, while competing with owls and hawks for food. They also say feral cats can spread disease to other animals and even humans.

Opponents of the proposal don't buy it, and say it puts people's pets in danger.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Although there are inherent risks to being outdoors for any pet, being legally shot should not be one of them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's almost impossible, for somebody, especially at a distance, to determine if a cat is somebody's beloved companion or a feral cat.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: At last check, 11 out of the 72 counties in Wisconsin have counted their ballots. Results so far mixed. Final results pending.

Kitty Pilgrim standing by with "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT." Kitty, what's going on?

PILGRIM: All right, thanks, Wolf, have a great evening.

END

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 April 12, 2005 - 17:00:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Happening now, security in the skies. Is one of the nations busiest airports -- if not the busiest -- about to lose hundreds of screeners? And what does this say about security at other airports across the country?
Standby for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Your secret information exposed, 300,000 names and numbers may have been stolen from a massive data base. Can you protect yourself?

Terror target, from Wall Street to the World Bank, who's now changed with plotting to attack America.

Virus fears.

DR. DANIEL BLUMENTHAL, MOREHOUSE UNIVERSITY: After five to seven days the patient deteriorates, kidneys fail, liver fails. And the patient begins to bleed from every place.

BLITZER: Could this country soon face a very deadly threat from another continent?

Undiplomatic diplomat? Stunning testimony as the nominee for United Nations ambassador is described as a serial abuser.

CARL FORD, FORMER ASST. SECY OF STATE: Secretary Bolton chose to reach five or six levels below him in the bureaucracy, bring an analyst into his office, and give him a tongue-lashing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Tuesday, April 12th, 2005.

BLITZER: Thanks for joining us.

If it's not your worst nightmare it may soon be -- personal sensitive information stolen by identity thieves. LexisNexis, a company that stores this information, now says more than 300,000 people may have been affected by a security breach.

CNN technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg is live at the CNN Center with the latest in our CNN "Security Watch" report. Daniel, what's going on?

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, just because a lot of people haven't heard of these companies, doesn't mean they haven't heard of you and aren't watching you. On this latest security breach, LexisNexis and one of its units, Seisint, says an additional 280,000 personal records have been stolen, that's in addition to the original 30,000. And that's nearly 10 times the number previously reported by the company last month.

You know, LexisNexis and other company collect this data and then qualified third parties like insurance companies or lenders or collection companies pay them to access it. It could be for something like a background check, looking at employment history, verifying address information, or even checking criminal records to see if someone is telling the truth on an employment application. Now, LexisNexis says individuals were able to get the necessary passwords to access this information, possibly by simply looking over someone's shoulder. It could be that low-tech or tricking people to turn the passwords over.

It's very similar to a situation you might remember, that happened two months ago with Choice Point. In both cases these companies have millions of records. I know you're looking at some shelves here, it looks like just a bunch of data. This is your information. These shelves contain information about you. This is all your personal data here. Driver's license number, Social Security numbers, that kind of information.

LexisNexis released a statement saying "We are taking action to notify individuals where we found some indication that they might have some risk of identity theft or fraud." We should point out that LexisNexis says they are not aware of anyone becoming a victim of I.D. theft because of this breach. The bottom line here, Wolf, if you do exist in the world, you're at risk. And no matter how careful you are as a consumer -- a lot of us do things like shred documents or protect sensitive details online. Your information can still be compromised. And Wolf, I know you'll be talking more about how to protect yourself in just a minute.

BLITZER: Daniel Sieberg reporting for us. This is chilling information. Daniel, thank you very much. So why is it apparently so easy for I.D. thieves to steal your personal information? It may have a lot to do with what you do every single day.

CNN's Mary Snow standing by live in New York. She has more on what puts all of us at risk -- Mary.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, consumers could be putting themselves at risk every day without even knowing it. And security experts say for a thief all it takes is a few keyboard strokes, within a few minutes some very personal information could become very public.

(END VIDEOTAPE) SNOW (voice-over): We do it at banks, at stores, online, even with the papers we throw out in our garbage, we share private information. It has led to an estimated 9.3 million cases of identity theft in the U.S. over the past year, according to government statistics. Experts say there is little you can do to protect yourself. But one thing that can be done is to get a credit report at least once a year to monitor accounts.

ROBERT SICILIANO, AUTHOR, "THE SAFETY MINUTE": Unfortunately, you might have to pay for one. Usually somewhere between $25 and $150 a year to monitor the activity. Or your bank might offer one for free.

SNOW: Experts also say that many people assume that if they don't bank online, for example, they are safe. But that's not the case.

SICILIANO: It doesn't make any difference whether you bank online or whether you've ever bought anything online or even if you own a computer or not. If you exist, if you have a Social Security number, if you make transactions, if you have a license of any kind, there's going to be a record of you. And that record is going to be at risk.

SNOW: Security experts say there are organized groups waiting to get their hands on information to carry out a number of transactions.

SICILIANO: They can apply for credit cards, bank accounts, mortgages, all kinds of financial transactions, using your personal information.

SNOW: Experts say thieves use traditional methods like posing as companies asking for information over the phone. And they say your Social Security number should only be given out to a select few.

SICILIANO: People that get Social Security numbers are the government, your employer, and anytime you're going to open up a financial account of any type. It could be a credit card. It could be buying a house, a car, or whatever.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: And one piece of advice from one of the experts we interviewed, who said the consumers should put their names on a credit fraud watch list. This could be inconvenient, because you won't be able to apply for a credit card and get it instantly. But it will also prevent thieves from doing the same -- Wolf.

BLITZER: CNN's Mary Snow reporting for us. Mary, thank you very much.

And we'll have much more on this topic. Coming up this hour I'll speak live with the author of the new book "No Place to Hide." Robert O'Hara Jr. He's standing by to give us some more practical information, information all of us need to consider very carefully right now. And to our viewers here's your chance to weigh in on this story. Our web "Question of the Day" is this -- how concerned are you about I.D. theft? You can vote right now. Go to CNN.com/Wolf. We'll have the results later this hour.

Other news we're following. It's been another tough day on Capitol Hill for John Bolton, the man picked by the president to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. A former State Department official minced no words in telling the Senate Foreign Relations Committee why he thinks Bolton is not he fit for the job.

Our State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel standing by live with the latest -- Andrea.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Democrats had hoped to call up as many as seven witnesses to testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but Chairman Lugar, Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana, only approved one of them. He's a 30-year veteran of the intelligence community.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOPPEL (voice-over): A self-described loyal Republican, conservative to the core, Carl Ford made clear he was a reluctant witness. But Ford said, he felt compelled to testify that John Bolton was a, quote, "Serial abuser" who bullied subordinates.

FORD: He's a quintessential kissup, kick-down sort of guy. There are a lot of them around. I'm sure you've met them.

KOPPEL: Ford is the former chief of the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research, where he supervised an analyst who butted heads with Bolton in 2002 over intelligence on Castro's Cuba. Democrats hoped Ford would give credence to allegations Bolton tried to pressure the analyst to change his findings. And when the analyst refused, sought to fire him -- a charge Bolton denies.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), FOR RELATIONS COMMITTEE: I want to just be clear that from your testimony today you are quite certain that Mr. Bolton actively sought to have this gentleman removed from his position?

FORD: Yes.

OBAMA: You don't know whether he said fire that guy, get rid of that guy, you know, this is unacceptable?

You don't know exactly what the phraseology was, but...

FORD: I got the message.

OBAMA: You got the message.

SNOW: Republicans countered this was only one heated exchange and not a pattern of troubling behavior. SEN. MEL MARTINEZ (R), FOR. RELATIONS COMMITTEE: But you really cannot in good faith under oath suggest that you have the ability to tell this committee that this now represents a broader character flaw in Mr. Bolton's part, can you?

FORD: You're absolutely correct.

SNOW: Democrats argued with U.S. credibility at the United Nations already severely damaged over misleading U.S. intelligence on Iraq's WMD, questions about Bolton's alleged manipulation of intelligence would further damage U.S. interests.

SEN. JOSEPH BIDEN (D), FOR. RELATIONS COMMITTEE: This is the very man who may have to take the case to the world on Korea and on Iran based upon intelligence.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: Chairman Lugar said questions about Bolton's past demeanor were legitimate, but said that the most important issue in his words, the paramount issue, was U.N. reform and said senators should support the president's choice, Mr. Bolton, as the instrument to carry that out -- Wolf.

BLITZER: CNN's Andrea Koppel reporting. Thank you, Andrea, very much.

Another nominee is having much smoother sailing in his confirmation hearing. That would be John Negroponte, named to the new post of director of national intelligence. He was told that things would get a lot rougher once he actually starts his job. Repeatedly, he was told that. Senators warned that he'll face turf wars trying to oversee 15 U.S. intelligence agencies. But Negroponte -- most recently the ambassador to Iraq -- vowed to use all the powers that come with the post. He's widely expected to be approved overwhelmingly.

Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

Two years and a couple days after Saddam Hussein was toppled, the Defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, paid a surprise post-anniversary visit to Iraq. He met with U.S. troops today and joined a re- enlistment ceremony. He also met with Iraq's new president and the prime-minister designate. But even as Rumsfeld urged the new government to move forward with nation-building, insurgents struck once again today. Car bombings took a heavy toll among Iraqi civilians.

President Bush was at Ft. Hood, Texas, today where he spoke to a crowd of cheering soldiers, some just back from Iraq, others headed there later this year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: More than 150,000 Iraqi security forces have been trained and equipped, and for the first time the Iraqi Army, police, and other security forces now outnumber U.S. forces in Iraq. Like free people everywhere, Iraqis want to be defended and led by their own countrymen. We'll help them achieve this objective so Iraqis can secure their own nation, and then our troops will come home with the honor they have earned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Before flying back to Washington, the president met privately with families of soldiers killed in Iraq.

When we come back, new fears over a deadly outbreak in Africa. Could the Marburg virus make its way to the United States? I'll speak live with the head of the CDC, Dr. Julie Gerberding. She's standing by.

Terror targets: three men held in connection with scouting U.S. financial buildings in preparation for a possible attack. We'll have details.

And security cutbacks at one of the nation's largest airports. Will you find longer lines when you travel this summer?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back.

World health officials are worried about an epidemic of one of the world's deadliest viruses -- Marburg, a close relative of the infamous Ebola virus. A Marburg outbreak in Angola in Africa has already killed 200 people. But could it happen here?

CNN's Brian Todd joining us now live with more on this story -- Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it's a legitimate concern, one that top health officials in the U.S. are already dealing with, a concern that's heightened when you see what Marburg does to victims and how fast it moves.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): At first, it may feel like a cold or a routine fever: spiking temperatures, head and muscle aches. Later, experts say, the so-called Marburg fever gets worse, much worse.

BLUMENTHAL: After five to seven days the patient deteriorates, kidneys fail, liver fails, and the patient begins to bleed from every place.

TODD: Then, for most, the end comes quickly. Of the more than 200 people reported to have caught the virus during the current outbreak in Angola, more than 90 percent have died. Officials at the World Health Organization tell CNN it's an uphill battle to get to patients while they're still alive and to safely bury those who've died. Getting patients isolated and avoiding transmission in hospital settings, they say, has also been a problem.

DR. MIKE RYAN, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: Unfortunately, in this case, there is evidence that this disease has been amplified actually in the very hospitals where people should be cared for.

TODD: W.H.O. officials say the majority of cases are geographically confined to Uige province in northwestern Angola, where most locals don't travel far. But they've also identified two cases in the capital city, Luanda, which has an international airport. Could Marburg fever, in the same deadly family as the Ebola virus, spread to the United States? Experts say it's theoretically possible, but not likely.

BLUMENTHAL: If somebody got on a plane while they were incubating the illness, they wouldn't be likely to transmit it to anybody else. If they got to the U.S. and got sick, we have the ability to isolate people effectively here, which is an ability they really don't have in the rural African hospitals where we are finding this disease now.

TODD: And officials at the Centers for Disease Control say they've got a handle on this outbreak. The only direct flights between Angola and the U.S., they say, are private routes taken by petroleum companies. And CDC officials are watching all ports of entry, looking for people with symptoms.

Experts also point out the virus doesn't spread easily, even at ground zero. It's transmitted through the exchange of blood, sweat, and other body fluids. Many people who've gotten Marburg fever have cared for others with the virus or disposed of their bodies.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (on camera): Experts say the people exposed to the virus, who are most likely to travel to the Western Hemisphere, health care workers currently in Angola, and they have more awareness of the danger than virtually anyone else. Wolf?

BLITZER: Brian Todd reporting for us. Thank you, Brian, very much.

For more on the Marburg virus, we're joined now here in Washington by Dr. Julie Gerberding. She's the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Gerberding, welcome to Washington. Thanks very much for joining us.

First of all, do you have anything to dispute in the report that Brian just said? Was he basically on target on these specific matters?

DR. JULIE GERBERDING, CDC DIRECTOR: Absolutely. This is a tragic virus, but it is mainly there in that province and is a very low threat to people in this country.

BLITZER: How do you make sure it remains a low threat?

GERBERDING: Well, one of the things we need to do is to be on the alert to the people who have actually been in the affected area. So travelers, within ten days of return, if they've been in contact with infected patients or infected animals, they should be monitoring their health and of course see a clinician at the first sign of illness. But other than that we're mainly concentrating on what we can do at CDC and the World Health Organization to stop the transmission that's ongoing in Angola.

BLITZER: So what are you doing? Because there's a lot of issues involved, including embarrassment. People over there, we take it, in Angola, are reluctant to even talk about it because they're afraid they're going to be ostracized if other people hear that one of their family members for example, came down with this Marburg virus.

GERBERDING: People are frightened, and people are embarrassed to be associated with this, but I think the important message is that we need to identify those who are sick, get them into care and teach the health care workers how to protect themselves from the blood and body fluid exposure.

Of course, this is a mysterious virus, and we don't know where in nature it hides out. So preventing it from emerging, presumably from an animal source still remains part of our scientific agenda.

BLITZER: How similar is this virus to the Ebola virus?

GERBERDING: It's a close cousin of Ebola. They have the same family characteristics, and they cause similar diseases -- fever, headaches, and then followed by this severe illness, often bleeding. And it's that phase when the body fluids are difficult to control, because the bleeding and diarrhea, that the people become so infectious to others and really spread the epidemic person to person.

BLITZER: The numbers are pretty awful. What, 90 percent of those who've come down with this Marburg virus have died?

GERBERDING: This is a little bit different than the last time we saw Marburg. Normally, the mortality rate is about 25 percent. This would be a hint to me that we're not finding people early enough and they're not getting into the hospital where they can get the kind of supportive care with fluids and other resuscitative measures to save their lives. So that's another very important target of the World Health Organization collaboration -- get people treated.

BLITZER: Well, we know the World Health Organization, doctors and other specialists, are on the scene. They're dealing with this Marburg virus. What is the CDC doing in Africa, if anything?

GERBERDING: Well, we have eight scientists there who are part of the disease detectives team. They're also teaching health care workers how to protect themselves, to use the proper infection control precautions, and of course ultimately we're going to be on the search for the animal host, to see if we can't figure out what the source of this is and help protect the people in the first place. BLITZER: When you say the animal host, is that what you're saying? Does that mean like monkeys? Because that's the wide suspicion, that this virus originated with monkeys.

GERBERDING: Well, there is a suspicion that there's some kind of a primate source, and one of the cautions to the people in the region is don't eat bush meat or other primate sources, where you may be coming in contact with the virus in the wild kingdom.

BLITZER: When you say bush meat, what does that mean?

GERBERDING: Well, it's a kind of preparation of primate for cooking purposes, and sometimes people don't cook it well, so they can even eat it raw. And that may pose a particular risk.

BLITZER: And that's where this whole thing may have originated?

GERBERDING: Well, that's just a theory. I think the important thing is the scientists need to get out in the field. What they do is they trap animals and they look for potential sources in nature, so that they can pin down the ultimate reservoir.

BLITZER: Dr. Julie Gerberding, welcome to Washington once again. Unfortunately, we had to talk about an ugly subject, but one critically important, potentially obviously deadly. So let's just hope it stays very, very restricted and you get down to the bottom of it.

GERBERDING: Well, we're optimistic about this one.

BLITZER: Good.

GERBERDING: Thank you.

BLITZER: Dr. Gerberding, thank you very much.

When we come back, anniversary of the polio vaccine, referred to as the AIDS of its day. Could this dreaded disease actually make a comeback?

And terror targets in the United States. Three men held for allegedly going after high-profile buildings in the New York area and right here in Washington, D.C.

Plus, more on your personal information. It's at risk. A security breach may have compromised the privacy of hundreds of thousands of Americans. Tips on how you can protect yourself. All that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: In our "CNN Security Watch," federal authorities today took the wraps off charges against three men accused of scouting out terror targets in America, including some of this country's most important financial centers. Let's get details now. CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena joining us live -- Kelli. KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, you may remember when investigators overseas found those surveillance reports on several buildings here in the United States. Well, we reported then that there was evidence that three of those men had personally conducted that surveillance. And today, the government moved to indict them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARENA (voice-over): The surveillance of financial buildings, including the Citigroup Center in New York City, was startling in its detail. Discovered last summer in Pakistan and Britain, government officials say it is the surest sign of al Qaeda's determination to again strike the United States. Now, the men who allegedly came to the U.S. to conduct that surveillance have been indicted.

JAMES COMEY, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: All of us know that terrorists looking to harm Americans will work for a very long period of time, conducting sophisticated surveillance, and they are very, very patient.

ARENA: The three men are already in custody in Britain, facing terror-related charges there. One of them, Dhiran Barot, also known as Issa al-Hindi, is described as a senior al Qaeda operative who helped train terrorists, and reported directly to September 11th mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed.

RAY KELLY, COMMISSIONER, NYPD: Issa al-Hindi is a major player and major al Qaeda operative. So he was in fact here in New York City, doing that sort of surveillance. So it's a very significant case.

ARENA: Al-Hindi and two of his associates are charged with conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction against the United States, namely bombs, and with conspiring to and providing material support to terrorists.

The government says the men were scoping out targets in New York, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. in 2000 and 2001. But prosecutors say the conspiracy continued way past then.

COMEY: This conspiracy was alive and kicking up until August of 2004.

ARENA: Those surveillance reports the suspects allegedly prepared were so thorough, the government initially raised the terror alert last year for the financial sectors.

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: They had looked for structural weaknesses. They made recommendations about where you would place a bomb to bring the building down. They made efforts to understand what the casualty level would be. For example, they counted the number of people passing in front of the building every day.

(END VIDEOTAPE) ARENA: The prosecution in Britain is in its early stages. Officials say when that's over, the U.S. plans on seeking extradition. But Wolf, that could be years from now.

BLITZER: Could take some time. Thanks very much, Kelli Arena, for that report. And to our viewers, remember, please stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

When we come back, identity theft. It's a security problem at a large data company that's raising serious questions about all of our privacy.

Safety in the skies. A cutback of hundreds of screeners at one of the world's busiest airports. What does this mean?

Plus, a controversial proposal. Get this: There's a huge battle over whether to legalize hunting wild cats in one U.S. state. We'll have details.

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BLITZER: There's a new development in the manhunt for an ex-con accused of two murders and a sexual assault. Details coming up.

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ANNOUNCER: From our studios in Washington, once again, Wolf Blitzer.

BLITZER: Welcome back.

Protecting your personal information: tips on how to keep your identity safe. We'll get to that. First, though, a quick check of some other stories, "Now in the News."

A manhunt has ended in Augusta, Georgia. Authorities say a 37- year-old ex-convict, Stephen Stanko, was arrested without incident in a shopping mall parking lot. Stanko is suspected of killing two people and sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl in South Carolina. He served eight-and-a-half years in prison for kidnapping and co-wrote a book about that experience.

Minnesota's Red Lake High School reopened today, but only about one third of the students showed up. Officials acknowledged that many students are reluctant to return to the building following last month's deadly shooting spree. Authorities say 16-year-old Jeff Weise killed a teacher, a security guard, and five students before committing suicide.

As we told you at the top of this program, Lexis-Nexis, a company which sells personal data on consumers, said today that information on 300,000 Americans may have been looted. Several weeks ago, another information broker, ChoicePoint, revealed that 145,000 Americans may have had their personal data stolen. For many that was the start of a nightmare, as CNN's Rusty Dornin first reported in February.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN REPORTER: What would you do if you found out your identity had been inadvertently sold to criminals by a company you'd never even heard of? When Warren Lambert received a letter from that company, ChoicePoint, telling him exactly that, he panicked.

How many hours so far have you spent trying to see -- protect your identity?

WARREN LAMBERT, IDENTITY THEFT VICTIM: I just couldn't count it. Days. Hours. Complete days. Yesterday I went to bed at 1:00.

DORNIN: For film restorer Tony Monroe, the worst has already happened. Someone charged $12,000 on his Discover card. His card number, police say, was discovered in the house of the only suspect they have identified so far in the ChoicePoint case.

Monroe is no stranger to crime. He's been mugged, robbed at gunpoint, and shot at while driving a cab. So this didn't faze him.

TONY MONROE, IDENTITY THEFT VICTIM: I sort of shrug, and I go, well, at least they didn't hack into my bank account and steal cash.

DORNIN: And he knows that the credit card charges aren't really a problem. As required by law, Discover has already refunded all but $50. Monroe is more irritated he still hasn't gotten a letter from ChoicePoint informing him of his risk. The company says letters to 145,000 people who might be victims are still going out.

JAMES LEE, CHOICEPOINT: We don't know how much of that information actually made it into the hands of the people who are conducting this fraud and if they ever used any of it. But the potential existed for them to get access to that information.

DORNIN: ChoicePoint will do free credit monitoring for a year for anyone whose personal information turns out to have been compromised. The company is also advising people to contact the credit bureaus and check for suspicious activity, things consumer advocates say we should all be regularly checking for anyway.

Rusty Dornin, CNN, San Francisco.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: We contacted ChoicePoint today. ChoicePoint tells CNN it's reviewing credentials of 17,000 small businesses that purchased the use of its database in hopes to prevent any further abuse. ChoicePoint also says it has enlisted the help of identity theft experts. ChoicePoint says Anthony Monroe, the person featured in Rusty Dornin's report, is not on its list of potentially affected consumers and does not believe his personal information was compromised through ChoicePoint. Finally, since Rusty Dornin's report first aired, all of ChoicePoint's notifications to the public have been sent out.

For more on the growing threat of identity theft, we're joined now by "Washington Post" reporter Robert O'Harrow. He's written an important new book called "No Place to Hide" that covers this problem and a lot more.

Robert, thanks very much for joining us. Give us in your view the scheme of -- the perspective on the scheme of things, how big of a deal is this?

ROBERT O'HARROW, AUTHOR, "NO PLACE TO HIDE": Well, let's look at the numbers, first of all. Just two years ago the top estimate on identity theft, the number of victims, was approximately 750,000. Now, government officials say they believe the number is closer to 10 million a year. Even discounting for some hype, that's a lot of folks who are victims. But what we all need to recognize is that identity theft, as unsettling as it is, is really just the very tip of the iceberg of a huge change that's taking place in society, something we call a data revolution, and a lot of that's occurring outside the public scrutiny, so people don't understand it.

BLITZER: Well, people don't understand that, what, their most personal information, how much money, for example, they have in a bank account, what their medical records are, all this kind of information potentially is very vulnerable to almost anyone.

O'HARROW: There was a shoe store, a shoe store chain that was hit. There's a marketing data warehouser that got hit. Banks -- virtually anybody that keeps records is vulnerable. And unfortunately, the power of collecting information and sharing it through networks and making sense of it has increased way beyond our understanding. And so the information is not being cared for nearly as well as most of us assume.

BLITZER: A lot of people are hearing all of this information, and they're going to become reluctant, for example, to go online to pay their bills or do their banking. They're going to do it the old- fashioned way, go to the bank or write out checks. What do you say to those people?

O'HARROW: Well, ironically, when you send a payment or an e-mail across the Internet, in many or most cases it's encrypted. I actually feel very comfortable personally doing business online. I think what people ought to think about is the broader picture of how often they willingly share information about themselves to businesses or other people. And they have no idea what's being done with that information. And in many cases it's actually in fact fueling the data revolution, it's fueling these repositories -- and I'm not going to exaggerate here -- of billions and billions of records, about nearly every adult, which means something very simple. Every one of us is vulnerable to identity theft, and few of us will understand why it happened.

BLITZER: Give us, just in the brief time we have left, one or two of the most important recommendations you think our viewers should follow because you know this subject about as well as anyone.

O'HARROW: Well, first of all, there's no reason for hysteria. We shouldn't turn our backs on the wonderful benefits that we get from the Internet and from computing because it's -- we're living through a miraculous age. But people have got to have good information habits, the same way that they balance their checkbook and they have other good habits. So don't share your Social Security number with anybody unless you absolutely have to. Grind up your records. Tear them up so that people can't go dumpster diving in your trash. And just be more careful about giving your phone number out, answering telephone calls, and sharing information, filling out warranties or surveys, because all of that is being gathered and shared willy-nilly. You have to have good information habits these days.

Robert O'Harrow's book is called "No Place to Hide," a good book. He writes for the "Washington Post." Thanks very much for joining us, Robert.

O'HARROW: Thank you very much.

BLITZER: Let's take a quick look at some other news making headlines around the world.

Four school children in Germany are free and unhurt after being held hostage for five hours. The four girls were pulled off a public bus taking them home from school, by a man armed with two knives. They were held in the basement of a home. The alleged kidnapper was arrested.

Pulling out of Iraq: Poland makes it official, saying it will withdraw its 1700 troops in Iraq after their UN mandate expires at the end of this year. However, the defense minister says the mission could be extended if asked by Iraq or the U.N. approves a new mandate. Seventeen Polish soldiers have died in Iraq.

Indonesia eruption. A volcano on Sumatra island erupted today, shooting hot ash high into the air. Officials say it poses no immediate threat, but villagers living on its slopes fled their homes in panic.

Party time. Thousands of people in Taiwan are taking part in an eight-day festival honoring a sea goddess believed to guard fishermen and sailors.

And that's our look around the world.

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BLITZER: When we come back, are federal authorities scrimping on airport screeners? One airport boss worries that could mean long lines, or something far worse.

Polio. Just the word used to strike fear in the hearts of American parents. Fifty years ago today, all that changed. We'll look back.

The pope's tomb. We'll take you inside the Vatican crypt where John Paul was laid to rest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: It's not the news air travelers wanted to hear, much less have to deal with, but the possibility of fewer security personnel at one of the world's busiest airports could cause some major problems. Our Homeland Security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, reports.

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JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Expect a heightened hassle factor at Atlanta's airport. Management says travelers at Hartsfield-Jackson will find longer lines at security checkpoints, because the Transportation Security Administration is cutting a big chunk of the airport's 1,400 screeners.

BEN DECOSTA, HARTSIFELD-JACKSON ATLANTA AIRPORT: We could lose between 350 and 400 screeners. That, at a busy airport like ours, would spell a disaster.

MARK HATFIELD, TSA: Well, I think that's a gross exaggeration, and in fact, what you see in Atlanta today is a tempest in a teapot. It's a premature discussion of a very thoughtful program that we have, which is reallocation on an annual basis.

MESERVE: Congress has capped the number of screeners nationally at 45,000. Every year, the TSA looks at passenger load, hours of operation, and other factors to determine which of the nation's 450 airports should get more screeners and which should get fewer.

HATFIELD: The market's very dynamic. The airport -- airline industry is very dynamic. And throughout a year, you'll see those loads shift as airlines cut back in one city or add to another city, or brand new airlines start business. So we've got to be very flexible and react to those shifts in load.

MESERVE: With 84 million passengers last year and projections for growth this year, experts say Atlanta does not seem a logical place to cut. And they say a reduced screener workforce could impact the quality of security.

CLARK ERVIN, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: The longer the workday, the longer the workweek, the more fatigued screeners become, the less alert, less sharp they are in terms of detecting suspicious passengers or deadly weapons.

MESERVE: The TSA says at the end of the reallocation process, the nation will have the same number of screeners. Small comfort to Hartsfield-Jackson, which says it needs more screeners, not fewer.

Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Atlanta.

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BLITZER: And of course, stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security. When you fly, one of the things you don't want to happen is for parts of the plane to fall off. But that's just what happened to a Northwest Airlines DC-10 on Saturday. Shortly after taking off from Minneapolis for a routine flight to Hawaii, a 200-pound part of the engine fell off and landed in a field. An FAA spokeswoman says the crew didn't notice that the cone-shaped thrust reverser nozzle was missing, until the plane landed safely. There were no injuries.

Coming up at the top of the hour, "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT." Kitty Pilgrim standing by with a preview -- Kitty.

KITTY PILGRIM, GUEST HOST, LOU DOBBS TONIGHT: Thanks, Wolf. Well, tonight at the top of the hour, exporting your security. We'll be reporting on the dangers of overseas outsourcing to your money, and also to your privacy. Even money in our biggest banks is not safe. We'll have a special report on that.

And "Broken Borders." The Minutemen say they have dramatically cut illegal immigration into Arizona. The Border Patrol says that's nonsense. So, who's right? We'll have a report from Arizona. All that and more, 6:00 p.m. Eastern. Join us. But for now, back to Wolf.

BLITZER: Thanks very much, Kitty. We'll be watching.

When we come back, grasping the fear once associated with polio. Is the dreaded disease still a threat?

Also ahead -- inside the crypt of Pope John Paul II. We'll show you what's going on.

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BLITZER: We often hear announcements of medical discoveries. Sometimes, the impact is unclear or only incremental. But on this day half a century ago, there was a medical announcement that had a profound and lasting effect on America and the world.

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BLITZER (voice-over): Polio most frequently strikes very young children. But today, the vast majority of polio survivors are middle- aged or older. That's the direct result of a breakthrough announced 50 years ago today.

DR. JONAS SALK, DEVELOPED POLIO VACCINE: This gigantic experiment is symbolic of the equally great foundations, both scientific and philanthropic, without which it could not have been conceived or executed.

BLITZER: Dr. Jonas Salk had developed a polio vaccine, and for thousands of frightened Americans the news couldn't be more welcome.

It's hard for younger Americans to grasp the fear, some say the hysteria, that polio engendered during the first half of the 20th century. While most polio patients, people like former "Washington Post" editor Ben Bradlee, suffered only temporary symptoms, one out of every 200, including President Franklin Roosevelt, suffered irreversible paralysis. Sometimes, the paralysis spread to the breathing muscles, forcing polio patients into iron lungs, huge mechanical cylinders that did the breathing for them.

There were nearly 60,000 cases of polio in the United States in 1952 and more than 3,000 deaths. In communities where outbreaks occurred, swimming pools and movie houses were closed -- anything to prevent the disease from spreading.

Looking back on that era, one expert describes polio as the AIDS of its day.

The last big U.S. outbreak was in the Boston area. Thousands of cases were reported in Massachusetts the summer of 1955, the same year the vaccine was approved. After that, there was a steady decline. As a result of Salk's vaccine and later an oral vaccine developed by Dr. Albert Sabin, polio had all but disappeared from the United States by 1979, and scientists turned their attention to eradicating polio worldwide. That goal has proven more elusive.

DR. BRENT BURKHOLDER, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: Certainly, areas where sanitation and overall health conditions are optimum, like in the United States, it wasn't necessary to really get such high coverage levels, and probably we were able to eradicate polio there with coverage only maybe in the 80, 90 percent. But areas such as India, where it's so easy to transmit, we feel we need to get probably close to 97 percent of kids immunized.

BLITZER: There were 1,263 confirmed cases of polio last year around the world, including some cases in countries previously declared polio-free.

In most places, however, polio is a fading memory. It's frequently discussed only in past tense, and it's no longer a word that haunts parents of young children.

And that's a process that began 50 years ago today.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And let's hope we can do the same thing to eradicate cancer and other killer diseases as well.

The tomb of Pope John Paul II will open for public viewing tomorrow morning. But a select news media group, including CNN, were allowed inside the crypt beneath St. Peter's Basilica earlier today. The tomb consists of a simple white marble slab, bearing the late pontiff's name in Latin, and behind it a marble relief of the Virgin Mary and infant Jesus.

When we return, a battle over a proposal to legalize hunting wild cats and killing them. Could your pet wind up in the line of fire? There's a huge debate in Wisconsin right now. We'll have details. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Now, a controversial plan to control Wisconsin's wild cat population. At issue -- should killing wild cats be legalized?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE), let me speak.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So much love. He's so fluffy. And the collar, the collar can't be seen on him.

BLITZER (voice-over): It's enough to drive cat lovers crazy. In Madison, Wisconsin, a public hearing with more than 1,300 people. For many, the thought of shooting cats, wild or not, was intolerable.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They don't have to kill them, no. That's terrible.

BLITZER: More than a million feral, or wild cats, are believed to live in Wisconsin, and some say the population is out of control. They're proposing that feral cats be removed from the state's protected species list, which could make it legal to shoot them, like skunks or possums.

The Wisconsin Conservation Congress, a neutral group which sponsored the meetings, took a non-binding vote on the issue, which will be passed on to the State Department of Natural Resources.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These people that are here voting against it aren't realizing the whole question. We're not shooting cats in the city. We're shooting cats out in the wild.

BLITZER: Proponents say feral cats are wiping out some bird populations, while competing with owls and hawks for food. They also say feral cats can spread disease to other animals and even humans.

Opponents of the proposal don't buy it, and say it puts people's pets in danger.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Although there are inherent risks to being outdoors for any pet, being legally shot should not be one of them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's almost impossible, for somebody, especially at a distance, to determine if a cat is somebody's beloved companion or a feral cat.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: At last check, 11 out of the 72 counties in Wisconsin have counted their ballots. Results so far mixed. Final results pending.

Kitty Pilgrim standing by with "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT." Kitty, what's going on?

PILGRIM: All right, thanks, Wolf, have a great evening.

END

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