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Freeway Shootings; Military Readiness; Is America Ready?

Aired May 03, 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: Unfolding this hour on NEWS FROM CNN, protecting America. New reports indicate U.S. defenses may be stretched too thin worldwide and too shallow right here at home. We'll examine the nation's possible weaknesses.
Also, another case of brain damage, only this time a Buffalo firefighter ends his 10-year silence with a startling question -- and I'm quoting now -- "How long have I been away?" We'll hear from a local reporter who's covering the story.

Then, the first lady as a solo act, with an approval rating nearly double the president's. Laura Bush shares her views with CNN.

First, some headlines.

Iraq has taken its first step toward installing the new government. Transitional prime minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari took the oath of office today. Swearing in of new cabinet members followed, but the full government is not in place, at least not yet. Some key ministry posts remain unfilled.

A plea of not guilty, it was entered for Dennis Rader by the judge in Wichita, Kansas, this morning. The alleged BTK serial killer chose to stand mute during his arrangement. A trial date was set for June 27.

Tougher standards for drivers. Congress is considering legislation that would require proof of citizenship or legal immigration status in order to get a driver's license. Some states complain the measure would be too expensive to enforce.

Among the most popular stories this hour on CNN.com, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates says he regrets that his company ever used stock options to reward his employees. You want to find out why? Simple. Click onto CNN.com.

Up first, the shocking story out of Los Angeles. More shots fired on a southern California freeway. The eighth -- eighth such incident in two months. Are they connected?

The state's highway patrol has set up a new unit to track down leads. Reporter Eric Spillman with CNN affiliate KTLA is joining us alongside one of the LA freeways.

What's going on there, Eric?

ERIC SPILLMAN, REPORTER, KTLA: Well, as you mentioned, there's been eight shootings on various freeways here in southern California over the last couple of months. Four people have been killed, four others were wounded.

The most recent example happening during the afternoon commute yesterday, when in a busy freeway interchange 20 or miles or so north of downtown LA, somebody was driving along and somebody else fired a bullet that went through their windshield. Now, thankfully, the person inside of the car wasn't hurt, but California Highway Patrol had to close down a very busy freeway during the afternoon commute to walk around the freeway and search for bullet casings.

And authorities are trying to calm down the public. Naturally, folks are very, very nervous about this whole thing.

The freeways are where everyone comes together in southern California. You cannot avoid them. So people are scared.

But the highway patrol, Wolf, is telling people here, look, put this in perspective. Consider the number of people who are using the freeways here, and actually when you do some -- some math, we are actually on track to have fewer freeway shoots this year as compared to last year at this time.

BLITZER: Eric, what about the victims in this case? Do they share anything in common? For example, their ethnic origins, their race, or are they just representative of the population as a whole?

SPILLMAN: Well, a lot of them are younger. Sort 18 to 19-year- old victims. But the geography is wide-ranging.

You sort of have to keep this in mind. I mean, one of these incidents happened in Riverside, which is about 70, 80 miles east of downtown LA. One happened in Orange County, south of LA, and some here in the San Fernando Valley.

So a lot of different areas where these things are taking place. Authorities are saying, look, we don't think they're connected.

BLITZER: And in terms of the racial background, the minority -- are they minorities, or are they just of all races and ethnic origins as far as -- as far as the pictures that we've seen of the victims?

SPILLMAN: I think it's a pretty good cross-section of the population here. And, you know, that's what makes it even more scary for folks who live here.

BLITZER: That's something that we lived through in the Washington, D.C., area. Let's hope it's just something random that's going on, and not some sort of serial sniper or something along those lines.

SPILLMAN: Yes.

BLITZER: We'll be watching this story for our viewers. Eric Spillman of our affiliate KTLA joining us now. Eric, thank you very much. Let's move on to a question of readiness. Is America's military able to handle conflicts outside of Iraq and Afghanistan?

The president in a primetime news conference last week indicated no problem. At least that's what he was told by the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. An assessment by the military's highest rank officer, though, appears to be painting a rather different picture.

Our Kathleen Koch is over at the Pentagon with more on what -- what's being said over there.

Kathleen, what is being said over there?

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, this is basically an annual status check, a reality check for the U.S. military, where they look at their ability to carry out their war plans as designed. And not surprisingly this time, the confidential report found the military is stretched thin.

A senior Pentagon official tells CNN that because of the two conflicts in Iraq and in Afghanistan, this annual report by General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, does indeed conclude that other armed conflicts would either likely last longer and they would produce higher casualties.

The official said that, for instance, if another attack -- another conflict, I should say -- did occur, you would likely not see a rapid ramp-up like you saw to the Iraq war, saying, "It would be harder to sprint that fast."

The report also concludes, though, that the U.S. would still have the ability to win another military face-off. Pentagon spokesman Brian Whitman (ph) saying, "What is certain is the U.S. military remains capable of executing every mission it is assigned."

The report does cite as particularly stressed areas the availability of precision weapons, of equipment, and also reserve units, which are providing the bulk of combat support activities in Iraq. It was just yesterday that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was quizzed about the U.S. ability to meet any emerging threats from North Korea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: The United States maintains significant, and I want to underline significant, deterrent capability of all kinds in the Asia-Pacific region. So I don't think there should be any -- any doubt about our ability to deter whatever the North Koreans are up to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: But Pentagon officials insist that there is no contradiction here between the findings of the report and between what Secretary Rice said. They point out that General Myers himself in an interview back in March said that if North Korean leader Kim Jong-il started anything, tried any aggressive moves in the peninsula, that it would mean basically the end of his regime.

General Myers saying, "They would lose, and they know that. And we're very confident about that."

As one official explained to me, Wolf, it is not a win-lose risk assessment that they put out to Congress yesterday. It's basically a "how well will we do it" assessment -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Kathleen Koch with that explanation, that report from the Pentagon. Thanks very much, Kathleen, for joining us.

KOCH: You bet.

BLITZER: I want to update our viewers on a story we've been following this morning out of Miami. There were five bomb threats at a senior high school, Miami Edison Senior High School, that had been reported earlier. We're now told everything is clear.

The students are back in their schools. They have checked it out, local authorities. No bombs, fortunately. Miami Edison Senior High School back in action right now. Good news down there.

Let's move over to Baghdad. Not such good news over there.

In south central Iraq, the search for a Marine fighter pilot has been halted because of a sandstorm. Military investigators say his fighter jet likely collided with another FA-18 Hornet overnight, also in bad weather. The body of the other pilot was recovered this morning. Both Marines flew from the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier.

A day after pleading guilty to abusing detainees at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, Private Lynndie England faces sentencing. She's asked for a military jury, not the judge, to decide punishment. The selection of that jury is now under way at Fort Hood, Texas.

England pleaded guilty to seven counts of prisoner mistreatment, charges which carry up to 11 years in prison. But her lawyers and prosecutors say they've agreed to a shorter term.

Leading our security watch segment, Iran shows no signs of backing down despite international concerns about its nuclear intentions. Delegates attending a U.N. conference on the nuclear nonproliferation treaty heard this morning from Iran's foreign minister. He insisted Iran's nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. He says his country will continue to pursue all legal areas of nuclear technology, including uranium enrichment.

The U.N. conference is taking a close look at potential nuclear threats, including the most frightening scenario, nuclear bombs in the hands of terrorists. In the event that did happen, an article in today's "Washington Post" is raising some serious questions about U.S. readiness.

I spoke to CNN security analyst Richard Falkenrath about that and other security related issues just a little while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Richard Falkenrath, thanks very much for joining us.

You saw the story in "The Washington Post," which is pretty alarming, that the country really isn't ready for what is probably, almost certainly the greatest potential threat, nuclear terrorism.

RICHARD FALKENRATH, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Well, the threat certainly would have the greatest damage if it occurred. It's probably not one of the most likely things to occur, because it's very difficult to do. And so this is an extremely high consequence sort of attack.

BLITZER: It's remote, but not impossible?

FALKENRATH: Not impossible at all.

BLITZER: There are loose nukes that potentially could be out there from the former Soviet Union, whether from Ukraine or Kazakhstan or other places, that might be available on the black market, some crude nuclear device, if you will.

FALKENRATH: Absolutely. It's a possibility. And we can never rule it out. But we have to say it's probably not the most likely form of attack. It's the worst possible event in an American city that you could ever imagine, but it's not the most likely thing that would happen.

BLITZER: Both President Bush and John Kerry said during the campaign, that's their worst nightmare, their worst fear, a nuclear device in the hands of terrorists.

All right. Let's talk about, since 9/11, what has the country been doing to train first responders, god forbid, for this possibility?

FALKENRATH: For this particular possibility, not too much. This has not really been the priority for first responder training.

They focus much more on chemical threats and anthrax, white powder sorts of incidents. A nuclear attack in the city is something that first responders have very few options.

Now, there's three main effects if you have a nuclear attack. You have heat, pressure and radiation. The heat and the pressure will cause an immediate physical effect right around the blast. And there's basically nothing that you can do.

It's instantaneous. And if you're there, you're going to die or be very badly hurt. It's the radiation where we have some limited consequence mitigating options. Basically, get out of the plume.

BLITZER: Then that radiation spreads though with the wind.

FALKENRATH: It goes down wind in a predictable way. And we now have the scientific capability to predict it in a fairly -- you know, to reasonably good levels. What we're not good at yet is telling the people who happen to be in that plume to get out and the people who are outside of it not to go in.

BLITZER: Why aren't we good at that?

FALKENRATH: It's very hard to do. First, you have no time. You've got a couple minutes, maybe 30 minutes to get these instructions out.

And you have no notice whatsoever. This is not like a hurricane or something where you have a little bit of notice coming in.

And second, we just really I think haven't gotten to it. I mean, there are a lot of vulnerabilities out there and a lot of things the federal government -- things they're doing. This one I think just sort of hasn't gotten to the top of the list yet.

BLITZER: So we just throw our hands up in the air and say, you know what? God forbid there's a nuclear device, a terror attack, there's really not much we can do, so forget about it?

FALKENRATH: Well, it's interesting. When the government conducts exercises, table tops, when they simulate these sorts of attacks, very quickly you overload the ability of the senior officials to deal with them. Because the possibilities are so awesome and the damage that is done is so enormous that you quickly cause people's eyes to just glaze over.

So, yes, this is a hugely difficult problem. And the better strategies are before the attack in all of the things you do to prevent it in the first place, to secure the fissile material, the plutonium and highly enriched uranium at its source, which we have been working on for over a decade, spending billions of dollars on, mostly in the former Soviet Union.

And also, to deploy sensors to detect the movement of radioactive materials and nuclear materials around the country. That is a new priority for the administration. That's something Secretary Chertoff has made a personal push on, and is a better strategy than mitigating the damage after the attack.

BLITZER: Do you have any doubt, though, that al Qaeda or other terrorist organizations would love to get their hands on a nuclear device and blow it up?

FALKENRATH: No doubt whatsoever. They would love to do this. Whether they can is the only thing that's stopping them from doing it, just the difficulty of it.

BLITZER: Let's switch gears for just a moment. This legislation going through Congress right now that would mandate all states, all 50 states, require that they give drivers' licenses only to legal residents, the citizens or legal residents, and check the legal status of everyone applying for drivers' licenses, is that going to make America more secure? FALKENRATH: Well, clearly it will improve the quality of drivers' licenses in the U.S., which are de facto national IDs and which right now are very poor sources of identification. And the problem is, is that states have very different and often very weak standards by which they can issue them.

Now, the interesting thing that the Congress did is, in addition to making it harder to get the driver's license in the first place for everybody, they've also imposed a citizenship check, or an immigration check. And that's new. And what that does is makes it both a security measure and an anti-illegal alien measure.

BLITZER: So this debate is going to continue. But from strict homeland security standpoint, you think it makes sense?

FALKENRATH: Yes. This does make sense from a strict homeland security point of view.

There were probably ways do this that weren't so problematic for illegal aliens in this country, which there are many. But this is going to help improve the quality of our identification, which we use at every checkpoint in the country.

BLITZER: Richard Falkenrath, our CNN security analyst, thanks for joining us.

FALKENRATH: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: And please stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

When we come back, yet another company is facing problems over misplaced personal data. And this time, CNN has a hand's-on perspective. Up next, we'll explain why this network's parent company is sending out an alert to its employees.

Plus, what you could do to protect yourself in the modern information age.

Also, this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He did initiate a question of, "How long have I been awake?" And we told him almost 10 years. And his response to that was that he thought it was only three months.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Silent no more. A brain-damaged Buffalo firefighter makes startling progress toward recovery. We'll have his story. That's coming up.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: Welcome back.

Personal data in security is hitting close to home, meaning right here at CNN. Our parent company, Time Warner, says tapes containing personal information on about 600,000 past and present employees are missing. This is but the latest of several recent security breaches and blunders involving other big companies and sensitive personal data.

CNN's Chris Huntington is covering this story for us. He is joining us now live from New York.

What's going on, Chris?

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, as you mentioned, this is the latest big revelation in what is sort of a disturbing trend of big companies losing track of very sensitive data for employees. In this case, of Time Warner, and it involves employees that go back as far back as 1986.

So back to Time Inc., before it came Time Warner, before it folded into Turner Broadcasting and AOL. What Time Warner tells its employees, tells all of us in an e-mail yesterday, and since in a public statement is that a cooler-size container carrying some 40 backup tapes was lost in transit.

And as Wolf mentioned, this contained personal information such as Social Security information and some limited financial information on 600,000 current and former Time Warner employees. Again, going back to 1986. These are folks who work in the United States, as well as abroad, and include nearly 85,000 current employees for the company.

The box was lost, so says Time Warner, on March 22 by the data storage firm that handles the backup, a firm called Iron Mountain, which we will get more into in just a second. Time Warner insists that this box of tapes was handed off to an Iron Mountain trucker on a date certain, March 22.

The tapes do not contain any customer data. And in the month or so since this has been known to be a problem, the U.S. Secret Service has been investigating.

Now, some statements issued by the companies involve, Time Warner chief of security, Larry Cockell, last night issuing a statement, in part saying that the investigation has not found any evidence that their tapes or their contents have been accessed or misused. And the word from Iron Mountain, "We believe it was the result of a human error. There was no evidence to suggest any foul play."

Wolf, some more details we have that this particular Iron Mountain delivery person, known in the business, at least as far as Iron Mountain is concerned, as a transportation specialist, was handling about 18 pickups and deliveries, and that the Time Warner pickup of the data was early in his day. Iron Mountain and other investigators have retraced the steps of that driver, have not found the box. That driver has been dismissed from Iron Mountain.

Iron Mountain also tells us that they have lost four boxes of data this year. Somewhat trying to comfort us by saying that that is on pace of what they normally lose, which is 12 -- 10 to 12 boxes per year.

Finally, after having a good conversation with Iron Mountain earlier today, asked them for some additional information and got this response: "We don't think it is really in our best interest or anyone's best interest to perpetuate the story. We think that it has been pretty well covered. And at the end of the day we are talking about a lost box."

So that is where the situation stands. Time Warner is, as you know, Wolf, as an employee, is making efforts to help -- to help all of us secure our personal data. That will be an ongoing process in the weeks and months ahead.

BLITZER: Tell our viewers what you and I as employees of Time Warner have been told to do.

HUNTINGTON: We have been offered here security protection with regard to oversight of our financial data by the major credit watch agencies. Sort of a security watch that can be put in place for up to a year.

The sticky point right now, and sort of the water cooler chatter, at least here at CNN, is that that service is not yet available because there's some promotional code that we are being told will be mailed out to us, not yet available. So right now we're not able to take part in that program.

There is also lots of advice out there being flashed around. Some of it good. Some of it perhaps you want to take with a grain of salt about what you can personally do, such as simply changing your personal ID codes, changing your bank account numbers. All of that you might want to consider if you feel at all vulnerable.

Again, right now, the thing to stress in this is this is -- they're pretty sure that this is lost due to human error, and there is no evidence that any of these tapes, which, by the way, these are computer tapes from sophisticated servers and main frames. It's not as if it's a box load of printouts with everybody's profile on it. This is stuff that would have to be accessed bid a very, very sophisticated and motivated thief.

BLITZER: Chris Huntington reporting for us. Thanks, Chris, very much.

Phone records taking center stage. They certainly don't represent the juiciest evidence introduced in the Michael Jackson trial. So why are prosecutors close to wrapping up their case with them? I will speak with an attorney, an "Inside Edition" legal analyst, my good friend, Jim Moret. That's coming up next.

Plus, one criminal's version of cash and carry. But in this version, no cash required. We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back to NEWS FROM CNN. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.

Smash-and-grab robbery doesn't necessarily get much bolder than what you are about to see. Check this out.

A pickup truck backed into the front door of a Costco discount department store in Durham, North Carolina, Sunday morning. A masked passenger jumped out, smashed a jewelry case with a hammer. The pair sped away with the contents. Police found the stolen truck abandoned blocks away.

It will soon be the defense's turn in the Michael Jackson trial. The prosecution is expected to wrap up its case soon, possibly as early as today.

Joining us now with a closer look the at case, Jim Moret, an attorney, senior correspondent for "Inside Edition." He's outside the courthouse in Santa Maria, California. To most of our viewers, they remember him from his days here at CNN.

Jim, thanks very much. Give us a little sense of where this trial stands right now as the prosecution is set to wrap up its case.

JIM MORET, LEGAL ANALYST: The prosecution was promising a big finish, and frankly, we're going to have to wait for that because they're waiting for their last witness to be called. In the meantime, what they're doing is establishing phone activity among Jackson's associates in the days surrounding this so-called conspiracy, in allegedly holding this accuser and his family hostage at Neverland while they made this so-called rebuttal tape to refute that anything untoward had happened between Michael Jackson and the young boy.

The problem is, frankly, Wolf, the phone records are taking so long to get through. Yesterday, for example, Katherine Jackson, Michael Jackson's mom, nodded off twice in the morning session alone. A couple of reporters nodded off.

It's taking a very long time. And frankly, it's not a really strong finish to this case as everyone had expected.

BLITZER: You would think at the end of the presentation by the prosecution, they would really want to end it with an impressive note. But what you're saying, it's ending on the down note for them?

MORET: Well, you have to remember, Debbie Rowe, Michael Jackson's former wife, took the stand last week. She was expected to be a tremendous witness for the prosecution. Unfortunately, on the stand she became perhaps the first in a line of defense witnesses by refuting everything the prosecution said she was going to say. So perhaps -- and this is just speculation -- but perhaps the prosecution was thrown for a loop because they very well could have ended on Debbie Rowe's testimony had she given what they had expected. But apparently they've had to regroup a bit. And they're still expected to end with a former Jackson associate who the prosecution believes will link Michael Jackson to this alleged conspiracy. And that could be very important.

Wolf, at end of the case, basically the prosecution is setting out all of these pieces to a puzzle. And they want to wrap up all the loose ends and fill in the missing pieces to that puzzle so that they can present to the jury of Michael Jackson that the prosecution contends is a child molester.

So that's really what prosecution is trying to do, tie up all of the loose ends. Right now they're on the phone records. But as I say, the big witness is still yet to come.

BLITZER: The big witness, certainly the huge witness, could be Michael Jackson himself if he takes the stand. Early on -- correct me if I'm wrong -- and you have been covering this story wall to wall from day one -- his lawyers suggested that the jury would be hearing directly from him. Is that likely, he will take the stand?

MORET: It's becoming less likely, and I'll tell you why. Debbie Rowe, as I mentioned before, was a tremendous witness for the defense. As the case for the defense becomes stronger and we've seen a number of so-called prosecution witnesses actually help the defense, it becomes less likely that Michael Jackson would take the stand, simply because you don't need to risk it. If you put Michael Jackson on the stand, and those who know Michael Jackson well strongly suggest he wants to take the stand, and a lawyer can't prevent their client from doing so. But Tom Mesereau, Jackson's attorney, would most likely suggest to Michael Jackson, if it looks like the defense case is solid, he would suggest he not take the stand. So after Debbie Rowe's testimony, I would suggest that it's less likely that he will take the stand.

BLITZER: I've heard some of the analysts suggest that the prosecution did a better job in presenting their case on certain charges as opposed to some of the more substantive charges. And I've heard vice versa, the exact opposite from other analyst. What does it looks like overall as far as the really hard charges that were leveled against him the way the prosecution worked itself out?

MORET: You basically have three allegations. You have molestation, you have conspiracy and you have false imprisonment. With respect to the molestation, it all comes down basically, do you believe the accuser? Has the accuser presented a case? And these are very difficult cases. Because very seldom do you have an eyewitness to a molestation. In this case, you have the accuser's brother, who allegedly witnessed two acts of molestation.

But as to the conspiracy and the false imprisonment, those charges basically rest on the shoulders of the boy's mom. And she was somewhat a loose canon on the stand. We saw her on the stand for five days. It was almost as if you saw five different witnesses. You never really knew what to expect from her. And, frankly, she was a very problematic witness for the prosecution.

So it's confused really because the prosecution is locked into a timeline, where they say that Michael Jackson and his associates kept these people at Neverland so they can make a rebuttal tape after this Martin Bashir video aired, and while Michael Jackson was under investigation by the sheriff's department, the D.A.'s office, the Department of Children and Family Services, after that, they allege Michael Jackson molested this boy. So the timeline is proving very problematic for the prosecution.

The question really is, how will the jurors weigh it? It's very difficult to tell. As you say, Wolf, and rightly so, it depends on your perspective. Some people say it one way. Some another. It all comes down to those 12 people on the jury.

BLITZER: Jim Moret, used to co-anchor "THE WORLD TODAY" here on CNN, together with me, my former partner in this business. But it's good to have you back on the program, Jim Moret joining us from Santa Maria, California. We'll definitely have you back.

MORET: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: The last time he truly spoke was way back in 1995, but that all changed this past weekend for a brain-damaged former firefighter. What does it mean for his long-term recovery? That story, that's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The family of an injured firefighter in Buffalo, New York is homing a seemingly remarkable recovery is permanent. Donald Herbert had been unable to communicate for nearly 10 years in December 1995, a burning roof collapsed on him. He was without oxygen for 12 minute. The brain damage took away his speech. This weekend, though, he suddenly started talking again, and kept talking literally for hours. Family members say he told them he thought he had been hurt only three months ago.

Reporter Stephanie Hoey of our excellent Buffalo affiliate, WKBW is covering this remarkable story. She's joining us now live.

What's going on over, Stephanie?

STEPHANIE HOEY, WKBW REPORTER: Well, it really is an amazing story, but the family is stopping short of calling it a miracle, because they are really cautious. They don't know if this was a one- day gift, or if this is permanent. We know that doctors came in last night and became evaluating Don Herbert. We know they're still there today. He has been living at Father Baker Manor, a nursing home in Orchard Park, a suburb of Buffalo for the last eight years. Before that, he was in several different facilities.

And again, as you said, he just started talking out of nowhere on Saturday afternoon. I guess his first words were, "I want to talk to my wife." And from there, it was a marathon of 14 hours just talking with family, and friends and fellow Buffalo firefighters.

BLITZER: Well, since then, has he been able to continue those conversations? or as you say, it's not so clear?

HOEY: Well, apparently since then, he has been resting. He basically stayed up all night Saturday, as I said, talking for 14 hours straight, a marathon session. And since then, he has been resting. I guess he has woken up from time to time, and he has said a few words. But there has not been that kind of lengthy discussion since Saturday.

BLITZER: During those nine-and-a-half years when he really didn't speak, what was he like? Was he in a coma? Was he able to understand what was going on? Did he utter some words?

HOEY: Well, he was in a coma initially after the accident happened for about two-and-a-half months, and then he did come out of it. He was severely brain damaged. And as a result, he did have some slurred speech, I guess you would say. A word between -- from now and then. But he didn't say too much. His cognitive ability was limited from what I'm told by family members. He was able to walk with a walker, but I think that his mobility was limited. From what I'm told, he spent most of his time sitting in a wheelchair in front of the television set.

BLITZER: And was there was any sense that he understood what he was watching on television during those years?

HOEY: You know, Wolf, I don't been that. But I was look at some old video that we had of Donald from years ago, and we have some video of his son talking to him, saying, dad, you know, I have a soccer tournament coming up, and he seems to connect with him on a limited basis. He says, "yes" in slurred speech. But it is limited.

BLITZER: He's supposedly near blind or blind, is that right?

HOEY: That's correct.

BLITZER: And there's no indication that when he started talking over the weekend that his vision came back, is there?

HOEY: No, we have not heard that, Wolf.

BLITZER: We'll be watching in story together with all of our viewers, a story from Buffalo, New York, my hometown having national interest. Stephanie Hoey of our affiliate WKBV joining us from buffalo.

Stephanie, stay in touch with us. We're anxious to get the latest information from there.

HOEY: Will do.

She may be the most powerful woman in Washington. Maybe the nation. After all, she does have the president's ear most nights, when he is not going to sleep too early. So why is Laura Bush only now starting to take a little bit more of a public role? The first lady in an interview with our Dana Bash that you will see only here on CNN. That's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CNN's "LIVE FROM" comes your way right at the top of the hour. Only a few minute away. Joining us now with a little preview, Miles O'Brien -- Miles, what have you got?

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Wolf.

We got a lot going on today. Good to see you. We're going to talking to Major General Don Shepperd. We'll ask him about that report, which came out from the chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, Richard Myers, about how spread thin the military is. General Shepperd says we got to start thinking about getting out of Iraq and soon, in '06. We'll see if we can do that.

Also, that story you've just been talking about, that amazing story of that firefighter, who for nine and a half years was silenced, suddenly starts talking a blue streak. We're going it talk to the fire commission. At the time of his injury, nine and a half years old. Obviously, a highly decorated guy who is finally having some things to say. It's really a remarkable story -- Wolf.

BLITZER: We'll be watching. Miles O'Brien standing by right at the top of the hour, about 15 minutes or so from now. Thanks, Miles, very much.

The president calls her his better half and now America is getting a chance to see more of Laura Bush. Never a shrinking violet, she is nonetheless, coming into her own as the first lady this second time around, that would be in the second term of the presidency.

Our White House correspondent Dana Bash recently sat down with the first lady, spent some days traveling with her. She's joining us now live from the White House -- Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Wolf. Well, you know, everybody knows that the president's plane is Air Force One, the vice president's plane is Air Force Two. Here's a trivia question: do you know what first lady's plane is called?

BLITZER: We will soon find out. Go ahead.

BASH: I'll tell you. It's called Brightstar. And actually, we were on Brightstar with the First Lady when she did a West Coast swing. And on that plane, she told us that she gets that she's now on America's radar and that she's learning do with that. was loud and clear with her comic act on Saturday night, but the reality, Wolf, is that she is still quite cautious.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A kiss good-bye from her husband. He gets on his plane, she boards hers for a three-day solo trip out West. Little did we know then, this detour to "The Tonight Show" was just a warm-up act.

LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: If I were you, I'd look out for Barbara Bush.

LENO: Barbara, yes, that's right. Yes.

BASH: The reluctant librarian is stepping out. She has a higher approval rating then the pope when he died, nearly double her husband's. Popularity she uses to soften the president's image and now reshape her own.

BUSH: 9:00, Mr. Excitement here is sound asleep, and I'm watching "Desperate Housewives"...

(LAUGHTER)

BUSH: ... with Lynne Cheney.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am a desperate housewife.

BASH: The reality is that maybe her stand-up, but in our sitdown just last week, we asked, does she have any guilty pleasures?

BUSH: No, not really.

BASH (on camera): Desperate Housewives maybe?

BUSH: No, not really, I don't watch "Desperate Housewives," but you I do have a stack of the DVDs.

BASH (voice-over): The most surprising thing the unscripted Laura Bush could say about herself?

BUSH: I like to listen to rock 'n' roll.

BASH: The classroom is still her comfort zone, but the teacher from rural Texas has one unlikely new project. She took her motorcade from Beverly Hills, home of Gucci, Bulgari (ph) and Tiffany to here. The first lady's fighting gangs. At this facility for gang members trying to make good, her first face-to-face meeting with the subjects of her new cause.

BUSH: Okay, I'll be thinking about y'all.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'll be thinking about you, too.

BUSH: Write me a let and teller me how you're doing.

BASH: It's risky territory, but carefully managed. Laura Bush's popularity is sustained by avoiding controversy.

On Brightstar, her Air Force One, a rare moment of public reflection.

BUSH: I have more of a forum, because people know me better than they did when I started. BASH: In theory, a wife with 80-plus approval would help a guy with a troubled agenda.

(on camera): Why not take on issues that, to use your popularity, for example, to help your husband, like you did during the campaign, on an issue like Social Security.

BUSH (voice-over): Well, that's a very good question. Maybe I'll do that.

BASH: But probably not. She prefers her issues, schools and now gangs. So maybe she won't come to the rescue on Social Security, but in the rose garden Monday...

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Historical restoration is a job for -- yes.

LAURA BUSH: Eighteenth century.

BUSH: You've become a comedian and an editor.

BASH: And maybe a more vocal sidekick.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: And at that event, the president gave his wife a new nickname. That is, "Laura Leno Bush." And Wolf, I can tell you that I have talked to some senior Bush aides in the West Wing who say they do wish she would move beyond comedy, books and gangs, and help the president with his troubled agenda, namely on Social Security. We'll see if she actually does take that up. But it sounded from our conversation, it's unlikely.

BLITZER: Dana Bash, excellent report. Thanks very much. Dana Bash reporting from the White House.

So is the White House going to try to capitalize on the first lady's popularity? Or is Laura Bush simply more comfortable now with a higher public profile?

Joining us now to talk about that is Ann Gerhart. She's a writer with "The Washington Post" and author of the book "The Perfect Wife: The Life and Choices of Laura Bush." Ann, thanks very much for joining us.

Were you surprised when she took center stage Saturday night at the White House correspondents' dinner, and simply took over for the president, and did a remarkable, very funny stand-up job?

ANN GERHART, "WASHINGTON POST": I was surprised. I was sitting pretty close by and I watched him carefully and he seemed to be surprise. I mean, obviously, he knew she was going to do it, but I'm not sure he knew the lines and he was as red as I've ever seen him. I've never seen him blush like that before. She's always been very disinterested in having the attention focused on her, so for her, it was quite a departure to stand up and take charge like that, I think. BLITZER: So what do you think is happening? Why do you think she decided to do that?

GERHART: Well, I think they thought it would be kind a fun thing to do, and she agreed to do it that way. She practiced it. Her delivery was perfect. She's very much like that in private, apparently. I mean, I remember when I was doing a research for the book and her friends back in Texas would say, well, you know, Laura really has a wicked wit. And, you know, she's got this deadpan delivery and she's really very funny. And she can get off these zingers. And I'd say, well, give me an example. And they'd say, well, you know, I don't know.

So she's carefully shielded that. But part of it is, I think that she is willing to try to get a little more attention for herself because I do think she wants to have some impact with some of the things that she's chosen to work on. And I don't really think that we'll probably see take much up of the president's agenda. She wants to have an impact that's hers, for her legacy.

BLITZER: And the American public, or at least big chunks, huge chunks of the American public, really like her. She comes across as so nice and decent, with usually a smile. It's pretty impressive with the way she's handled herself, at least over these past four or five years in the White House.

GERHART: Well, she's had an incredible -- lot to deal with, too, just like all of America. She was in the a political wife who was a careerist about it. I mean, for much of their married life, he didn't tell her anything about wanting to run for public office. So in some ways, landing in the White House after only six years in the governor's mansion was a bit of a surprise, and then came September 11th, and the whole country changed, and certainty a administration. So I think that she's been quite serene through all of it, and people see that, and they admire it and they see an authenticity in her.

I do think she can't been quite as influential as she might have been because of a need to step back and it make sure that her husband won re-election. And now that that's happened, we may see her have some freedom to spend her political capital, too.

BLITZER: By almost all accounts, including yours in the book that you wrote, she had an -- a critically important, a dramatic impact on her husband's life, turning him in a different directions. Review a little bit for our viewers who don't know how influential she was in his life.

GERHART: Well, George Bush kicked around for a good long while before he finally found what it was he wanted to do. And he credits her with getting him to give up drinking. She, characteristically, always says, oh well, that's just a story George tells, I didn't get him do that, He did that on his own; he's really very disciplined. So her whole parent, their dynamic together has been she has given him a structure, or helped him find a structure for himself, and then stepped out of the way and let him take the credit for it. So that's why I find it so unusual she would actually push him out of the way literally on Saturday night, because that's not something that you ever see her do, and that's not the pattern for them.

BLITZER: Some people, some conservatives actually thought she was a little too edgy, if you will, that she went a little bit too far in some of jokes about Chippendale's and calling Lynn Cheney her code name, "Dollar Bill." We all laughed as we heard that. Was she a little bit too much on the edge, or was she in proper taste?

GERHART: Well, I think in many ways Laura Bush can do no wrong. I mean, she has very successfully found the sweet spot of American first ladyhood. People are quite conflicted what they want. Hillary was too aggressive and too assertive, but you have to do something. You can't be milquetoast either. I mean, people criticize Pat Nixon for seeming to fade into the wallpaper. So she seems to have managed to find a way to be herself, and to work on things that matter to her and to be a good and true partner. And people forgive her a lot.

So I don't think we'll see too much of a backlash against her for that, because she's seen as this stalwart partner of someone who in fact the conservative part of the United States likes very much. I don't think we'll see any backlash either, at least for almost all the people who watched it. The exception maybe Barbara Bush, her mother- in-law, when she called her jokingly Don Corleone.

Thanks very much, Ann Gerhart. She wrote the book, "The Perfect Wife: The Life and Choices of Laura Bush." Ann Gerhart joining us from "The Washington Post."

GERHART: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: Thanks very much.

We'll take another quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: I'll be back later today, every weekday, 5:00 p.m. Eastern for "WOLF BLITZER REPORTS." And among other thing, children caught in a crossfire. How an African rebel group is creating a devastating humanitarian crisis that you have likely not heard about until now. Our Zain Verjee has the story. She'll join us for that.

Until then, thanks very much for watching NEWS FROM CNN. I'm Wolf Blitzer from Washington.

LIVE FROM with Kyra Phillips and Miles O'Brien. There they are. They're getting ready. Stand by. They'll be up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired May 3, 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: Unfolding this hour on NEWS FROM CNN, protecting America. New reports indicate U.S. defenses may be stretched too thin worldwide and too shallow right here at home. We'll examine the nation's possible weaknesses.
Also, another case of brain damage, only this time a Buffalo firefighter ends his 10-year silence with a startling question -- and I'm quoting now -- "How long have I been away?" We'll hear from a local reporter who's covering the story.

Then, the first lady as a solo act, with an approval rating nearly double the president's. Laura Bush shares her views with CNN.

First, some headlines.

Iraq has taken its first step toward installing the new government. Transitional prime minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari took the oath of office today. Swearing in of new cabinet members followed, but the full government is not in place, at least not yet. Some key ministry posts remain unfilled.

A plea of not guilty, it was entered for Dennis Rader by the judge in Wichita, Kansas, this morning. The alleged BTK serial killer chose to stand mute during his arrangement. A trial date was set for June 27.

Tougher standards for drivers. Congress is considering legislation that would require proof of citizenship or legal immigration status in order to get a driver's license. Some states complain the measure would be too expensive to enforce.

Among the most popular stories this hour on CNN.com, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates says he regrets that his company ever used stock options to reward his employees. You want to find out why? Simple. Click onto CNN.com.

Up first, the shocking story out of Los Angeles. More shots fired on a southern California freeway. The eighth -- eighth such incident in two months. Are they connected?

The state's highway patrol has set up a new unit to track down leads. Reporter Eric Spillman with CNN affiliate KTLA is joining us alongside one of the LA freeways.

What's going on there, Eric?

ERIC SPILLMAN, REPORTER, KTLA: Well, as you mentioned, there's been eight shootings on various freeways here in southern California over the last couple of months. Four people have been killed, four others were wounded.

The most recent example happening during the afternoon commute yesterday, when in a busy freeway interchange 20 or miles or so north of downtown LA, somebody was driving along and somebody else fired a bullet that went through their windshield. Now, thankfully, the person inside of the car wasn't hurt, but California Highway Patrol had to close down a very busy freeway during the afternoon commute to walk around the freeway and search for bullet casings.

And authorities are trying to calm down the public. Naturally, folks are very, very nervous about this whole thing.

The freeways are where everyone comes together in southern California. You cannot avoid them. So people are scared.

But the highway patrol, Wolf, is telling people here, look, put this in perspective. Consider the number of people who are using the freeways here, and actually when you do some -- some math, we are actually on track to have fewer freeway shoots this year as compared to last year at this time.

BLITZER: Eric, what about the victims in this case? Do they share anything in common? For example, their ethnic origins, their race, or are they just representative of the population as a whole?

SPILLMAN: Well, a lot of them are younger. Sort 18 to 19-year- old victims. But the geography is wide-ranging.

You sort of have to keep this in mind. I mean, one of these incidents happened in Riverside, which is about 70, 80 miles east of downtown LA. One happened in Orange County, south of LA, and some here in the San Fernando Valley.

So a lot of different areas where these things are taking place. Authorities are saying, look, we don't think they're connected.

BLITZER: And in terms of the racial background, the minority -- are they minorities, or are they just of all races and ethnic origins as far as -- as far as the pictures that we've seen of the victims?

SPILLMAN: I think it's a pretty good cross-section of the population here. And, you know, that's what makes it even more scary for folks who live here.

BLITZER: That's something that we lived through in the Washington, D.C., area. Let's hope it's just something random that's going on, and not some sort of serial sniper or something along those lines.

SPILLMAN: Yes.

BLITZER: We'll be watching this story for our viewers. Eric Spillman of our affiliate KTLA joining us now. Eric, thank you very much. Let's move on to a question of readiness. Is America's military able to handle conflicts outside of Iraq and Afghanistan?

The president in a primetime news conference last week indicated no problem. At least that's what he was told by the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. An assessment by the military's highest rank officer, though, appears to be painting a rather different picture.

Our Kathleen Koch is over at the Pentagon with more on what -- what's being said over there.

Kathleen, what is being said over there?

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, this is basically an annual status check, a reality check for the U.S. military, where they look at their ability to carry out their war plans as designed. And not surprisingly this time, the confidential report found the military is stretched thin.

A senior Pentagon official tells CNN that because of the two conflicts in Iraq and in Afghanistan, this annual report by General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, does indeed conclude that other armed conflicts would either likely last longer and they would produce higher casualties.

The official said that, for instance, if another attack -- another conflict, I should say -- did occur, you would likely not see a rapid ramp-up like you saw to the Iraq war, saying, "It would be harder to sprint that fast."

The report also concludes, though, that the U.S. would still have the ability to win another military face-off. Pentagon spokesman Brian Whitman (ph) saying, "What is certain is the U.S. military remains capable of executing every mission it is assigned."

The report does cite as particularly stressed areas the availability of precision weapons, of equipment, and also reserve units, which are providing the bulk of combat support activities in Iraq. It was just yesterday that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was quizzed about the U.S. ability to meet any emerging threats from North Korea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: The United States maintains significant, and I want to underline significant, deterrent capability of all kinds in the Asia-Pacific region. So I don't think there should be any -- any doubt about our ability to deter whatever the North Koreans are up to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: But Pentagon officials insist that there is no contradiction here between the findings of the report and between what Secretary Rice said. They point out that General Myers himself in an interview back in March said that if North Korean leader Kim Jong-il started anything, tried any aggressive moves in the peninsula, that it would mean basically the end of his regime.

General Myers saying, "They would lose, and they know that. And we're very confident about that."

As one official explained to me, Wolf, it is not a win-lose risk assessment that they put out to Congress yesterday. It's basically a "how well will we do it" assessment -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Kathleen Koch with that explanation, that report from the Pentagon. Thanks very much, Kathleen, for joining us.

KOCH: You bet.

BLITZER: I want to update our viewers on a story we've been following this morning out of Miami. There were five bomb threats at a senior high school, Miami Edison Senior High School, that had been reported earlier. We're now told everything is clear.

The students are back in their schools. They have checked it out, local authorities. No bombs, fortunately. Miami Edison Senior High School back in action right now. Good news down there.

Let's move over to Baghdad. Not such good news over there.

In south central Iraq, the search for a Marine fighter pilot has been halted because of a sandstorm. Military investigators say his fighter jet likely collided with another FA-18 Hornet overnight, also in bad weather. The body of the other pilot was recovered this morning. Both Marines flew from the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier.

A day after pleading guilty to abusing detainees at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, Private Lynndie England faces sentencing. She's asked for a military jury, not the judge, to decide punishment. The selection of that jury is now under way at Fort Hood, Texas.

England pleaded guilty to seven counts of prisoner mistreatment, charges which carry up to 11 years in prison. But her lawyers and prosecutors say they've agreed to a shorter term.

Leading our security watch segment, Iran shows no signs of backing down despite international concerns about its nuclear intentions. Delegates attending a U.N. conference on the nuclear nonproliferation treaty heard this morning from Iran's foreign minister. He insisted Iran's nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. He says his country will continue to pursue all legal areas of nuclear technology, including uranium enrichment.

The U.N. conference is taking a close look at potential nuclear threats, including the most frightening scenario, nuclear bombs in the hands of terrorists. In the event that did happen, an article in today's "Washington Post" is raising some serious questions about U.S. readiness.

I spoke to CNN security analyst Richard Falkenrath about that and other security related issues just a little while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Richard Falkenrath, thanks very much for joining us.

You saw the story in "The Washington Post," which is pretty alarming, that the country really isn't ready for what is probably, almost certainly the greatest potential threat, nuclear terrorism.

RICHARD FALKENRATH, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Well, the threat certainly would have the greatest damage if it occurred. It's probably not one of the most likely things to occur, because it's very difficult to do. And so this is an extremely high consequence sort of attack.

BLITZER: It's remote, but not impossible?

FALKENRATH: Not impossible at all.

BLITZER: There are loose nukes that potentially could be out there from the former Soviet Union, whether from Ukraine or Kazakhstan or other places, that might be available on the black market, some crude nuclear device, if you will.

FALKENRATH: Absolutely. It's a possibility. And we can never rule it out. But we have to say it's probably not the most likely form of attack. It's the worst possible event in an American city that you could ever imagine, but it's not the most likely thing that would happen.

BLITZER: Both President Bush and John Kerry said during the campaign, that's their worst nightmare, their worst fear, a nuclear device in the hands of terrorists.

All right. Let's talk about, since 9/11, what has the country been doing to train first responders, god forbid, for this possibility?

FALKENRATH: For this particular possibility, not too much. This has not really been the priority for first responder training.

They focus much more on chemical threats and anthrax, white powder sorts of incidents. A nuclear attack in the city is something that first responders have very few options.

Now, there's three main effects if you have a nuclear attack. You have heat, pressure and radiation. The heat and the pressure will cause an immediate physical effect right around the blast. And there's basically nothing that you can do.

It's instantaneous. And if you're there, you're going to die or be very badly hurt. It's the radiation where we have some limited consequence mitigating options. Basically, get out of the plume.

BLITZER: Then that radiation spreads though with the wind.

FALKENRATH: It goes down wind in a predictable way. And we now have the scientific capability to predict it in a fairly -- you know, to reasonably good levels. What we're not good at yet is telling the people who happen to be in that plume to get out and the people who are outside of it not to go in.

BLITZER: Why aren't we good at that?

FALKENRATH: It's very hard to do. First, you have no time. You've got a couple minutes, maybe 30 minutes to get these instructions out.

And you have no notice whatsoever. This is not like a hurricane or something where you have a little bit of notice coming in.

And second, we just really I think haven't gotten to it. I mean, there are a lot of vulnerabilities out there and a lot of things the federal government -- things they're doing. This one I think just sort of hasn't gotten to the top of the list yet.

BLITZER: So we just throw our hands up in the air and say, you know what? God forbid there's a nuclear device, a terror attack, there's really not much we can do, so forget about it?

FALKENRATH: Well, it's interesting. When the government conducts exercises, table tops, when they simulate these sorts of attacks, very quickly you overload the ability of the senior officials to deal with them. Because the possibilities are so awesome and the damage that is done is so enormous that you quickly cause people's eyes to just glaze over.

So, yes, this is a hugely difficult problem. And the better strategies are before the attack in all of the things you do to prevent it in the first place, to secure the fissile material, the plutonium and highly enriched uranium at its source, which we have been working on for over a decade, spending billions of dollars on, mostly in the former Soviet Union.

And also, to deploy sensors to detect the movement of radioactive materials and nuclear materials around the country. That is a new priority for the administration. That's something Secretary Chertoff has made a personal push on, and is a better strategy than mitigating the damage after the attack.

BLITZER: Do you have any doubt, though, that al Qaeda or other terrorist organizations would love to get their hands on a nuclear device and blow it up?

FALKENRATH: No doubt whatsoever. They would love to do this. Whether they can is the only thing that's stopping them from doing it, just the difficulty of it.

BLITZER: Let's switch gears for just a moment. This legislation going through Congress right now that would mandate all states, all 50 states, require that they give drivers' licenses only to legal residents, the citizens or legal residents, and check the legal status of everyone applying for drivers' licenses, is that going to make America more secure? FALKENRATH: Well, clearly it will improve the quality of drivers' licenses in the U.S., which are de facto national IDs and which right now are very poor sources of identification. And the problem is, is that states have very different and often very weak standards by which they can issue them.

Now, the interesting thing that the Congress did is, in addition to making it harder to get the driver's license in the first place for everybody, they've also imposed a citizenship check, or an immigration check. And that's new. And what that does is makes it both a security measure and an anti-illegal alien measure.

BLITZER: So this debate is going to continue. But from strict homeland security standpoint, you think it makes sense?

FALKENRATH: Yes. This does make sense from a strict homeland security point of view.

There were probably ways do this that weren't so problematic for illegal aliens in this country, which there are many. But this is going to help improve the quality of our identification, which we use at every checkpoint in the country.

BLITZER: Richard Falkenrath, our CNN security analyst, thanks for joining us.

FALKENRATH: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: And please stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

When we come back, yet another company is facing problems over misplaced personal data. And this time, CNN has a hand's-on perspective. Up next, we'll explain why this network's parent company is sending out an alert to its employees.

Plus, what you could do to protect yourself in the modern information age.

Also, this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He did initiate a question of, "How long have I been awake?" And we told him almost 10 years. And his response to that was that he thought it was only three months.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Silent no more. A brain-damaged Buffalo firefighter makes startling progress toward recovery. We'll have his story. That's coming up.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: Welcome back.

Personal data in security is hitting close to home, meaning right here at CNN. Our parent company, Time Warner, says tapes containing personal information on about 600,000 past and present employees are missing. This is but the latest of several recent security breaches and blunders involving other big companies and sensitive personal data.

CNN's Chris Huntington is covering this story for us. He is joining us now live from New York.

What's going on, Chris?

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, as you mentioned, this is the latest big revelation in what is sort of a disturbing trend of big companies losing track of very sensitive data for employees. In this case, of Time Warner, and it involves employees that go back as far back as 1986.

So back to Time Inc., before it came Time Warner, before it folded into Turner Broadcasting and AOL. What Time Warner tells its employees, tells all of us in an e-mail yesterday, and since in a public statement is that a cooler-size container carrying some 40 backup tapes was lost in transit.

And as Wolf mentioned, this contained personal information such as Social Security information and some limited financial information on 600,000 current and former Time Warner employees. Again, going back to 1986. These are folks who work in the United States, as well as abroad, and include nearly 85,000 current employees for the company.

The box was lost, so says Time Warner, on March 22 by the data storage firm that handles the backup, a firm called Iron Mountain, which we will get more into in just a second. Time Warner insists that this box of tapes was handed off to an Iron Mountain trucker on a date certain, March 22.

The tapes do not contain any customer data. And in the month or so since this has been known to be a problem, the U.S. Secret Service has been investigating.

Now, some statements issued by the companies involve, Time Warner chief of security, Larry Cockell, last night issuing a statement, in part saying that the investigation has not found any evidence that their tapes or their contents have been accessed or misused. And the word from Iron Mountain, "We believe it was the result of a human error. There was no evidence to suggest any foul play."

Wolf, some more details we have that this particular Iron Mountain delivery person, known in the business, at least as far as Iron Mountain is concerned, as a transportation specialist, was handling about 18 pickups and deliveries, and that the Time Warner pickup of the data was early in his day. Iron Mountain and other investigators have retraced the steps of that driver, have not found the box. That driver has been dismissed from Iron Mountain.

Iron Mountain also tells us that they have lost four boxes of data this year. Somewhat trying to comfort us by saying that that is on pace of what they normally lose, which is 12 -- 10 to 12 boxes per year.

Finally, after having a good conversation with Iron Mountain earlier today, asked them for some additional information and got this response: "We don't think it is really in our best interest or anyone's best interest to perpetuate the story. We think that it has been pretty well covered. And at the end of the day we are talking about a lost box."

So that is where the situation stands. Time Warner is, as you know, Wolf, as an employee, is making efforts to help -- to help all of us secure our personal data. That will be an ongoing process in the weeks and months ahead.

BLITZER: Tell our viewers what you and I as employees of Time Warner have been told to do.

HUNTINGTON: We have been offered here security protection with regard to oversight of our financial data by the major credit watch agencies. Sort of a security watch that can be put in place for up to a year.

The sticky point right now, and sort of the water cooler chatter, at least here at CNN, is that that service is not yet available because there's some promotional code that we are being told will be mailed out to us, not yet available. So right now we're not able to take part in that program.

There is also lots of advice out there being flashed around. Some of it good. Some of it perhaps you want to take with a grain of salt about what you can personally do, such as simply changing your personal ID codes, changing your bank account numbers. All of that you might want to consider if you feel at all vulnerable.

Again, right now, the thing to stress in this is this is -- they're pretty sure that this is lost due to human error, and there is no evidence that any of these tapes, which, by the way, these are computer tapes from sophisticated servers and main frames. It's not as if it's a box load of printouts with everybody's profile on it. This is stuff that would have to be accessed bid a very, very sophisticated and motivated thief.

BLITZER: Chris Huntington reporting for us. Thanks, Chris, very much.

Phone records taking center stage. They certainly don't represent the juiciest evidence introduced in the Michael Jackson trial. So why are prosecutors close to wrapping up their case with them? I will speak with an attorney, an "Inside Edition" legal analyst, my good friend, Jim Moret. That's coming up next.

Plus, one criminal's version of cash and carry. But in this version, no cash required. We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back to NEWS FROM CNN. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.

Smash-and-grab robbery doesn't necessarily get much bolder than what you are about to see. Check this out.

A pickup truck backed into the front door of a Costco discount department store in Durham, North Carolina, Sunday morning. A masked passenger jumped out, smashed a jewelry case with a hammer. The pair sped away with the contents. Police found the stolen truck abandoned blocks away.

It will soon be the defense's turn in the Michael Jackson trial. The prosecution is expected to wrap up its case soon, possibly as early as today.

Joining us now with a closer look the at case, Jim Moret, an attorney, senior correspondent for "Inside Edition." He's outside the courthouse in Santa Maria, California. To most of our viewers, they remember him from his days here at CNN.

Jim, thanks very much. Give us a little sense of where this trial stands right now as the prosecution is set to wrap up its case.

JIM MORET, LEGAL ANALYST: The prosecution was promising a big finish, and frankly, we're going to have to wait for that because they're waiting for their last witness to be called. In the meantime, what they're doing is establishing phone activity among Jackson's associates in the days surrounding this so-called conspiracy, in allegedly holding this accuser and his family hostage at Neverland while they made this so-called rebuttal tape to refute that anything untoward had happened between Michael Jackson and the young boy.

The problem is, frankly, Wolf, the phone records are taking so long to get through. Yesterday, for example, Katherine Jackson, Michael Jackson's mom, nodded off twice in the morning session alone. A couple of reporters nodded off.

It's taking a very long time. And frankly, it's not a really strong finish to this case as everyone had expected.

BLITZER: You would think at the end of the presentation by the prosecution, they would really want to end it with an impressive note. But what you're saying, it's ending on the down note for them?

MORET: Well, you have to remember, Debbie Rowe, Michael Jackson's former wife, took the stand last week. She was expected to be a tremendous witness for the prosecution. Unfortunately, on the stand she became perhaps the first in a line of defense witnesses by refuting everything the prosecution said she was going to say. So perhaps -- and this is just speculation -- but perhaps the prosecution was thrown for a loop because they very well could have ended on Debbie Rowe's testimony had she given what they had expected. But apparently they've had to regroup a bit. And they're still expected to end with a former Jackson associate who the prosecution believes will link Michael Jackson to this alleged conspiracy. And that could be very important.

Wolf, at end of the case, basically the prosecution is setting out all of these pieces to a puzzle. And they want to wrap up all the loose ends and fill in the missing pieces to that puzzle so that they can present to the jury of Michael Jackson that the prosecution contends is a child molester.

So that's really what prosecution is trying to do, tie up all of the loose ends. Right now they're on the phone records. But as I say, the big witness is still yet to come.

BLITZER: The big witness, certainly the huge witness, could be Michael Jackson himself if he takes the stand. Early on -- correct me if I'm wrong -- and you have been covering this story wall to wall from day one -- his lawyers suggested that the jury would be hearing directly from him. Is that likely, he will take the stand?

MORET: It's becoming less likely, and I'll tell you why. Debbie Rowe, as I mentioned before, was a tremendous witness for the defense. As the case for the defense becomes stronger and we've seen a number of so-called prosecution witnesses actually help the defense, it becomes less likely that Michael Jackson would take the stand, simply because you don't need to risk it. If you put Michael Jackson on the stand, and those who know Michael Jackson well strongly suggest he wants to take the stand, and a lawyer can't prevent their client from doing so. But Tom Mesereau, Jackson's attorney, would most likely suggest to Michael Jackson, if it looks like the defense case is solid, he would suggest he not take the stand. So after Debbie Rowe's testimony, I would suggest that it's less likely that he will take the stand.

BLITZER: I've heard some of the analysts suggest that the prosecution did a better job in presenting their case on certain charges as opposed to some of the more substantive charges. And I've heard vice versa, the exact opposite from other analyst. What does it looks like overall as far as the really hard charges that were leveled against him the way the prosecution worked itself out?

MORET: You basically have three allegations. You have molestation, you have conspiracy and you have false imprisonment. With respect to the molestation, it all comes down basically, do you believe the accuser? Has the accuser presented a case? And these are very difficult cases. Because very seldom do you have an eyewitness to a molestation. In this case, you have the accuser's brother, who allegedly witnessed two acts of molestation.

But as to the conspiracy and the false imprisonment, those charges basically rest on the shoulders of the boy's mom. And she was somewhat a loose canon on the stand. We saw her on the stand for five days. It was almost as if you saw five different witnesses. You never really knew what to expect from her. And, frankly, she was a very problematic witness for the prosecution.

So it's confused really because the prosecution is locked into a timeline, where they say that Michael Jackson and his associates kept these people at Neverland so they can make a rebuttal tape after this Martin Bashir video aired, and while Michael Jackson was under investigation by the sheriff's department, the D.A.'s office, the Department of Children and Family Services, after that, they allege Michael Jackson molested this boy. So the timeline is proving very problematic for the prosecution.

The question really is, how will the jurors weigh it? It's very difficult to tell. As you say, Wolf, and rightly so, it depends on your perspective. Some people say it one way. Some another. It all comes down to those 12 people on the jury.

BLITZER: Jim Moret, used to co-anchor "THE WORLD TODAY" here on CNN, together with me, my former partner in this business. But it's good to have you back on the program, Jim Moret joining us from Santa Maria, California. We'll definitely have you back.

MORET: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: The last time he truly spoke was way back in 1995, but that all changed this past weekend for a brain-damaged former firefighter. What does it mean for his long-term recovery? That story, that's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The family of an injured firefighter in Buffalo, New York is homing a seemingly remarkable recovery is permanent. Donald Herbert had been unable to communicate for nearly 10 years in December 1995, a burning roof collapsed on him. He was without oxygen for 12 minute. The brain damage took away his speech. This weekend, though, he suddenly started talking again, and kept talking literally for hours. Family members say he told them he thought he had been hurt only three months ago.

Reporter Stephanie Hoey of our excellent Buffalo affiliate, WKBW is covering this remarkable story. She's joining us now live.

What's going on over, Stephanie?

STEPHANIE HOEY, WKBW REPORTER: Well, it really is an amazing story, but the family is stopping short of calling it a miracle, because they are really cautious. They don't know if this was a one- day gift, or if this is permanent. We know that doctors came in last night and became evaluating Don Herbert. We know they're still there today. He has been living at Father Baker Manor, a nursing home in Orchard Park, a suburb of Buffalo for the last eight years. Before that, he was in several different facilities.

And again, as you said, he just started talking out of nowhere on Saturday afternoon. I guess his first words were, "I want to talk to my wife." And from there, it was a marathon of 14 hours just talking with family, and friends and fellow Buffalo firefighters.

BLITZER: Well, since then, has he been able to continue those conversations? or as you say, it's not so clear?

HOEY: Well, apparently since then, he has been resting. He basically stayed up all night Saturday, as I said, talking for 14 hours straight, a marathon session. And since then, he has been resting. I guess he has woken up from time to time, and he has said a few words. But there has not been that kind of lengthy discussion since Saturday.

BLITZER: During those nine-and-a-half years when he really didn't speak, what was he like? Was he in a coma? Was he able to understand what was going on? Did he utter some words?

HOEY: Well, he was in a coma initially after the accident happened for about two-and-a-half months, and then he did come out of it. He was severely brain damaged. And as a result, he did have some slurred speech, I guess you would say. A word between -- from now and then. But he didn't say too much. His cognitive ability was limited from what I'm told by family members. He was able to walk with a walker, but I think that his mobility was limited. From what I'm told, he spent most of his time sitting in a wheelchair in front of the television set.

BLITZER: And was there was any sense that he understood what he was watching on television during those years?

HOEY: You know, Wolf, I don't been that. But I was look at some old video that we had of Donald from years ago, and we have some video of his son talking to him, saying, dad, you know, I have a soccer tournament coming up, and he seems to connect with him on a limited basis. He says, "yes" in slurred speech. But it is limited.

BLITZER: He's supposedly near blind or blind, is that right?

HOEY: That's correct.

BLITZER: And there's no indication that when he started talking over the weekend that his vision came back, is there?

HOEY: No, we have not heard that, Wolf.

BLITZER: We'll be watching in story together with all of our viewers, a story from Buffalo, New York, my hometown having national interest. Stephanie Hoey of our affiliate WKBV joining us from buffalo.

Stephanie, stay in touch with us. We're anxious to get the latest information from there.

HOEY: Will do.

She may be the most powerful woman in Washington. Maybe the nation. After all, she does have the president's ear most nights, when he is not going to sleep too early. So why is Laura Bush only now starting to take a little bit more of a public role? The first lady in an interview with our Dana Bash that you will see only here on CNN. That's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CNN's "LIVE FROM" comes your way right at the top of the hour. Only a few minute away. Joining us now with a little preview, Miles O'Brien -- Miles, what have you got?

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Wolf.

We got a lot going on today. Good to see you. We're going to talking to Major General Don Shepperd. We'll ask him about that report, which came out from the chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, Richard Myers, about how spread thin the military is. General Shepperd says we got to start thinking about getting out of Iraq and soon, in '06. We'll see if we can do that.

Also, that story you've just been talking about, that amazing story of that firefighter, who for nine and a half years was silenced, suddenly starts talking a blue streak. We're going it talk to the fire commission. At the time of his injury, nine and a half years old. Obviously, a highly decorated guy who is finally having some things to say. It's really a remarkable story -- Wolf.

BLITZER: We'll be watching. Miles O'Brien standing by right at the top of the hour, about 15 minutes or so from now. Thanks, Miles, very much.

The president calls her his better half and now America is getting a chance to see more of Laura Bush. Never a shrinking violet, she is nonetheless, coming into her own as the first lady this second time around, that would be in the second term of the presidency.

Our White House correspondent Dana Bash recently sat down with the first lady, spent some days traveling with her. She's joining us now live from the White House -- Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Wolf. Well, you know, everybody knows that the president's plane is Air Force One, the vice president's plane is Air Force Two. Here's a trivia question: do you know what first lady's plane is called?

BLITZER: We will soon find out. Go ahead.

BASH: I'll tell you. It's called Brightstar. And actually, we were on Brightstar with the First Lady when she did a West Coast swing. And on that plane, she told us that she gets that she's now on America's radar and that she's learning do with that. was loud and clear with her comic act on Saturday night, but the reality, Wolf, is that she is still quite cautious.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A kiss good-bye from her husband. He gets on his plane, she boards hers for a three-day solo trip out West. Little did we know then, this detour to "The Tonight Show" was just a warm-up act.

LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: If I were you, I'd look out for Barbara Bush.

LENO: Barbara, yes, that's right. Yes.

BASH: The reluctant librarian is stepping out. She has a higher approval rating then the pope when he died, nearly double her husband's. Popularity she uses to soften the president's image and now reshape her own.

BUSH: 9:00, Mr. Excitement here is sound asleep, and I'm watching "Desperate Housewives"...

(LAUGHTER)

BUSH: ... with Lynne Cheney.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am a desperate housewife.

BASH: The reality is that maybe her stand-up, but in our sitdown just last week, we asked, does she have any guilty pleasures?

BUSH: No, not really.

BASH (on camera): Desperate Housewives maybe?

BUSH: No, not really, I don't watch "Desperate Housewives," but you I do have a stack of the DVDs.

BASH (voice-over): The most surprising thing the unscripted Laura Bush could say about herself?

BUSH: I like to listen to rock 'n' roll.

BASH: The classroom is still her comfort zone, but the teacher from rural Texas has one unlikely new project. She took her motorcade from Beverly Hills, home of Gucci, Bulgari (ph) and Tiffany to here. The first lady's fighting gangs. At this facility for gang members trying to make good, her first face-to-face meeting with the subjects of her new cause.

BUSH: Okay, I'll be thinking about y'all.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'll be thinking about you, too.

BUSH: Write me a let and teller me how you're doing.

BASH: It's risky territory, but carefully managed. Laura Bush's popularity is sustained by avoiding controversy.

On Brightstar, her Air Force One, a rare moment of public reflection.

BUSH: I have more of a forum, because people know me better than they did when I started. BASH: In theory, a wife with 80-plus approval would help a guy with a troubled agenda.

(on camera): Why not take on issues that, to use your popularity, for example, to help your husband, like you did during the campaign, on an issue like Social Security.

BUSH (voice-over): Well, that's a very good question. Maybe I'll do that.

BASH: But probably not. She prefers her issues, schools and now gangs. So maybe she won't come to the rescue on Social Security, but in the rose garden Monday...

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Historical restoration is a job for -- yes.

LAURA BUSH: Eighteenth century.

BUSH: You've become a comedian and an editor.

BASH: And maybe a more vocal sidekick.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: And at that event, the president gave his wife a new nickname. That is, "Laura Leno Bush." And Wolf, I can tell you that I have talked to some senior Bush aides in the West Wing who say they do wish she would move beyond comedy, books and gangs, and help the president with his troubled agenda, namely on Social Security. We'll see if she actually does take that up. But it sounded from our conversation, it's unlikely.

BLITZER: Dana Bash, excellent report. Thanks very much. Dana Bash reporting from the White House.

So is the White House going to try to capitalize on the first lady's popularity? Or is Laura Bush simply more comfortable now with a higher public profile?

Joining us now to talk about that is Ann Gerhart. She's a writer with "The Washington Post" and author of the book "The Perfect Wife: The Life and Choices of Laura Bush." Ann, thanks very much for joining us.

Were you surprised when she took center stage Saturday night at the White House correspondents' dinner, and simply took over for the president, and did a remarkable, very funny stand-up job?

ANN GERHART, "WASHINGTON POST": I was surprised. I was sitting pretty close by and I watched him carefully and he seemed to be surprise. I mean, obviously, he knew she was going to do it, but I'm not sure he knew the lines and he was as red as I've ever seen him. I've never seen him blush like that before. She's always been very disinterested in having the attention focused on her, so for her, it was quite a departure to stand up and take charge like that, I think. BLITZER: So what do you think is happening? Why do you think she decided to do that?

GERHART: Well, I think they thought it would be kind a fun thing to do, and she agreed to do it that way. She practiced it. Her delivery was perfect. She's very much like that in private, apparently. I mean, I remember when I was doing a research for the book and her friends back in Texas would say, well, you know, Laura really has a wicked wit. And, you know, she's got this deadpan delivery and she's really very funny. And she can get off these zingers. And I'd say, well, give me an example. And they'd say, well, you know, I don't know.

So she's carefully shielded that. But part of it is, I think that she is willing to try to get a little more attention for herself because I do think she wants to have some impact with some of the things that she's chosen to work on. And I don't really think that we'll probably see take much up of the president's agenda. She wants to have an impact that's hers, for her legacy.

BLITZER: And the American public, or at least big chunks, huge chunks of the American public, really like her. She comes across as so nice and decent, with usually a smile. It's pretty impressive with the way she's handled herself, at least over these past four or five years in the White House.

GERHART: Well, she's had an incredible -- lot to deal with, too, just like all of America. She was in the a political wife who was a careerist about it. I mean, for much of their married life, he didn't tell her anything about wanting to run for public office. So in some ways, landing in the White House after only six years in the governor's mansion was a bit of a surprise, and then came September 11th, and the whole country changed, and certainty a administration. So I think that she's been quite serene through all of it, and people see that, and they admire it and they see an authenticity in her.

I do think she can't been quite as influential as she might have been because of a need to step back and it make sure that her husband won re-election. And now that that's happened, we may see her have some freedom to spend her political capital, too.

BLITZER: By almost all accounts, including yours in the book that you wrote, she had an -- a critically important, a dramatic impact on her husband's life, turning him in a different directions. Review a little bit for our viewers who don't know how influential she was in his life.

GERHART: Well, George Bush kicked around for a good long while before he finally found what it was he wanted to do. And he credits her with getting him to give up drinking. She, characteristically, always says, oh well, that's just a story George tells, I didn't get him do that, He did that on his own; he's really very disciplined. So her whole parent, their dynamic together has been she has given him a structure, or helped him find a structure for himself, and then stepped out of the way and let him take the credit for it. So that's why I find it so unusual she would actually push him out of the way literally on Saturday night, because that's not something that you ever see her do, and that's not the pattern for them.

BLITZER: Some people, some conservatives actually thought she was a little too edgy, if you will, that she went a little bit too far in some of jokes about Chippendale's and calling Lynn Cheney her code name, "Dollar Bill." We all laughed as we heard that. Was she a little bit too much on the edge, or was she in proper taste?

GERHART: Well, I think in many ways Laura Bush can do no wrong. I mean, she has very successfully found the sweet spot of American first ladyhood. People are quite conflicted what they want. Hillary was too aggressive and too assertive, but you have to do something. You can't be milquetoast either. I mean, people criticize Pat Nixon for seeming to fade into the wallpaper. So she seems to have managed to find a way to be herself, and to work on things that matter to her and to be a good and true partner. And people forgive her a lot.

So I don't think we'll see too much of a backlash against her for that, because she's seen as this stalwart partner of someone who in fact the conservative part of the United States likes very much. I don't think we'll see any backlash either, at least for almost all the people who watched it. The exception maybe Barbara Bush, her mother- in-law, when she called her jokingly Don Corleone.

Thanks very much, Ann Gerhart. She wrote the book, "The Perfect Wife: The Life and Choices of Laura Bush." Ann Gerhart joining us from "The Washington Post."

GERHART: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: Thanks very much.

We'll take another quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: I'll be back later today, every weekday, 5:00 p.m. Eastern for "WOLF BLITZER REPORTS." And among other thing, children caught in a crossfire. How an African rebel group is creating a devastating humanitarian crisis that you have likely not heard about until now. Our Zain Verjee has the story. She'll join us for that.

Until then, thanks very much for watching NEWS FROM CNN. I'm Wolf Blitzer from Washington.

LIVE FROM with Kyra Phillips and Miles O'Brien. There they are. They're getting ready. Stand by. They'll be up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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