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CNN Newsnight Aaron Brown

Defense Wins Major Coup In Kobe Bryant Case; Bush Speaks to Urban League; Threat Of Terrorist Attack Extremely High

Aired July 24, 2004 - 22:00   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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening everyone. Aaron is out tonight.
In the world of TV news there can be a significant difference between a morning program and an evening newscast. We know that in this business. We start our day in this business with a tendency to frame the news as we expect it to happen.

At this relatively late hour we have the benefit of reflecting and reflecting is exactly what some members of Congress talked about doing today to make this country better and to make this country safer. The 9/11 Commission is pleading with the government to make changes and make the changes without hesitation. Tonight, it seems, some of them are listening.

And that is where we begin the whip tonight with Sean Callebs working the story in D.C., Sean a headline there.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bill, Congress reacts to the sense of urgency from the 9/11 Commission recommendations but is it the first sign of a quick response to concerns or more rhetoric? Congress did start a six-week recess this afternoon. Members concerned that constituents may ask what did you do on your summer vacation leave the nation at risk -- Bill?

HEMMER: Sean, thanks for that.

On to Boston where security officials worry that next week's convention is a tempting target. Two threats out there tonight, one from al Qaeda, the other domestic. Jeanne Meserve has the headline there -- Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: The FBI says it has unconfirmed information that a domestic group may try to attack media vehicles with explosives or incendiary devices and the way the information was disseminated is raising concerns about communication and coordination before this extraordinary security event -- Bill.

HEMMER: Jeanne thanks for that.

The Pentagon next and payroll records from President Bush's National Guard days, once said to be destroyed, surfaced today. Do they answer any questions though? Jamie McIntyre has the watch there, Jamie the headline. JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bill, after believing that these records of President Bush's payroll during 1972 when he was in the Air National Guard were irretrievably lost the Pentagon found them, discovered they were looking in the wrong place. The big question is do they show anything really knew? We'll tell you about that.

HEMMER: All right, Jamie.

Also a twist in the Kobe Bryant rape trial as well today, Gary Tuchman in Atlanta with that story, the headline there -- Gary.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Bill, a major legal victory for Kobe Bryant today. Despite a rape shield law in Colorado, the judge today has decided that parts of his accuser's sexual history will be allowed to be discussed during the trial, which begins in five weeks -- Bill.

HEMMER: Gary thanks for that, back with all of you shortly.

Also on the program tonight, there's a new warning of an al Qaeda attack inside the U.S. and this time the CIA says it is more than just chatter.

Plus, back in Boston, scrambling to get out of town, not everyone is happy about next week's convention there.

And finally tonight he keeps on going, high drama in the French Alps, Tour de Lance continues. Just watch him ride and we will in true NEWSNIGHT fashion later this hour, all that and more tonight. We begin, though, with work that could not be more urgent, patching holes in the country's defense against another terrorist hit.

Yesterday in stark and simple and bipartisan terms members of the commission of the 9/11 report laying down a challenge to policymakers, do what it takes, do it now or the next attack will be on your heads. In Washington sometimes easier said than done and, in the summer with a presidential campaign looming, almost impossible for some.

We begin tonight, once again, with Sean Callebs in D.C.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CALLEBS (voice-over): As Congress headed out of town for a six- week recess, signals that for some the vacation will be cut short, Senate leaders from both parties announcing rare August hearings.

SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: You know, I think when members of both houses go home for this recess the folks back home are going to say why are you home? Why aren't you in Washington dealing with the recommendations of the September 11th Commission?

CALLEBS: Senators say they want to have legislation crafted by October 1st so lawmakers can vote on sweeping national intelligence reforms. The 9/11 findings are now a best seller, hot off the presses and a hot topic among Americans who are issuing a call for action -- in Chicago...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As soon as they can and I think you can't wait any longer.

CALLEBS: And in New York.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're in a life or death situation right now, especially in this town.

CALLEBS: 9/11 families are buoyed by the sense of urgency but concerned the capital will lapse into politics as usual.

BEVERLY ECKERT, WIFE OF 9/11 VICTIM: You know, I'm not in charge. All I can do is, you know, demand high standards and look to Washington to implement these reforms and try to make this country safer.

CALLEBS: Some House Democrats have accused Republican Speaker Hastert of digging in his heels instead of digging into the panel's call for reform. In response, Hastert and Majority Leader Tom Delay issued a statement saying: "Congress needs to act as quickly as possible" calling for August hearings as well. They want a proposal on the floor before Congress adjourns in October.

At the White House too, promises for a quick, thorough review. A White House official saying the president directed the chief of staff Andrew Card to head a task force involving members of the Homeland Security team and National Security team to review recommendations and report back to him soon saying "We are not talking weeks."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CALLEBS: Commission members have said the presidential election and the congressional break aren't reasons to derail efforts to overhaul the way the U.S. gathers and disseminates intelligence. Senator Lieberman saying the United States is dealing with a crisis that "People died and more people will unless we get it together" -- Bill.

HEMMER: Sean, what precipitated this? What pushed it? Was it today or was it before the report was expected out earlier in the week?

CALLEBS: I think if you listen to what a lot of people are saying behind the scenes there has simply been a great deal of pressure. There has been a groundswell of pressure just information coming out right after those recommendations. The conclusions, if you heard Senate and House leaders earlier in the week, they said they would not be pushed into acting quickly. Well, amazing how quickly things can change here.

HEMMER: Indeed. Sean thanks, Sean Callebs in Washington tonight.

Adding to that sense of urgency that some in Washington are expressing another terror warning arrived today. The CIA saying it has new information, fairly specific information at that, suggesting there's even more reason tonight to be concerned about an attack in this country by al Qaeda.

Once again in D.C. Kelli Arena on that story now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARENA (voice-over): It's more than just chatter. Senior intelligence officials say they have credible and fairly specific information that al Qaeda is poised to attack. It's just not specific enough.

TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Although we know not the time and the place and the method, credible reports indicate that al Qaeda is moving forward with its plans to carry out a large scale attack against the United States.

ARENA: Officials say al Qaeda members captured recently in countries, including Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Afghanistan, have provided information an attack is being coordinated some say by Osama bin Laden himself. The information isn't just coming from detainees but from multiple sources and it's consistent.

RICHARD FALKENRATH, FMR. WH DEP. HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISER: This is different. This is more serious and more specific and more centrally led than anything that we've seen in a long time and hence it's being taken very seriously. I would not be surprised in the least if the government decides to raise the national threat level to orange.

ARENA: Officials say the threat is just as serious as it was in the summer of 2001, just before the attack on September 11th. And while al Qaeda is plotting, the Madrid bombing showed just how dangerous splinter groups can be. They have no direct connection to al Qaeda but share their ideology.

FALKENRATH: And the most likely (UNINTELLIGIBLE) of attack I think will be relatively small conventional explosives set off in multiple sites simultaneously. This is a proven al Qaeda M.O.

ARENA: FBI agents continue their search for clues and people. This week the FBI asked authorities in Mexico to be on the lookout for alleged al Qaeda operative Adnan El Shukrijumah, officials very concerned about the porous Mexican border, an even bigger fear that there is a cell already in the United States that has been in place even before September 11th.

KEN PIERNICK, FORMER FBI COUNTERTERRORISM EXPERT: You just don't decide at a moment's notice to conduct a major operation. You'd have to do your target selection, which sometimes takes years.

ARENA (on camera): But law enforcement sources say there is nothing specific on that front either.

Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington. (END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: All this, of course, playing out on what experts consider a target rich environment. In only a few day's time Democrats will nominate a presidential ticket in Boston, a tempting target for al Qaeda or homegrown bad guys as the case may be so extraordinary precautions now being taken.

Then came the latest scare, again back to Boston and Jeanne Meserve tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE (voice-over): Friday night the last commuter train pulled out of Boston's normally bustling North Station. There won't be another until after the convention.

Construction of the security perimeter began in earnest and the heightened security in the area was both mechanical and animal, though the convention does not begin until Monday.

This was all planned well before the FBI said it had received "unconfirmed information that a domestic group is planning to disrupt the convention by attacking media vehicles with explosives or incendiary devices like Molotov cocktails."

STEPHEN FLYNN, MASS. DEPT. OF PUBLIC SAFETY: We're not looking at a widespread threat perpetrated by truly dangerous individuals.

MESERVE: Government officials say the threat comes from anarchists. An undercover investigation continues. In the run-up to the convention, authorities have been eager to emphasize communications and information sharing.

RIDGE: Now the Department of Homeland Security has forged strong partnerships across the federal government and with state and local governments, law enforcement and the private sector.

MESERVE: But word of the media threat dribbled out with some key players left out of the loop. Although some local media got word of the threat from the Boston FBI field office Thursday night, many national media outlets and their security personnel were not informed through official channels until Friday. When asked if this is how threat information is supposed to be disseminated, one officials said, "I hope not." Another called it "B-Grade communications."

FLYNN: It can be a very serious problem if we're dealing with a very short time span between the information about the threat and the reality that people need to take some basic protective measures.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: Despite the warning about a possible disruption by domestic groups, officials say there is no credible or specific information that foreign terrorists are planning to attack the convention -- Bill, back to you. HEMMER: Jeanne, more on that domestic threat. This is somewhat new when we consider the amount of security that's been thrown up around Boston. From where are experts saying that domestic threat would come?

MESERVE: Well, sources have told me and others that anarchist groups or individuals are the ones they are concerned about. They're not being specific about who they are or where they are in this country.

But we've seen anarchists before. You'll remember the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle a couple of years ago. There were pitched battles with police on the street. There was a lot of property destruction and a lot of authorities blame that on a few anarchists and a much larger crowd of peaceful demonstrators.

As to why they may hit the media here, well it's a good way to draw attention to your cause and they have bountiful targets here. About 15,000 media are expected here in Boston -- Bill.

HEMMER: You're right about that. Thanks, Jeanne, Jeanne Meserve in Boston tonight.

From Washington back again tonight two correspondents who know this beat very well, break news on it often, Doug Jehl of the "New York Times" our guest tonight, Michael Isikoff of "Newsweek" magazine, gentlemen good evening to both of you and thanks for your time tonight.

Michael, let's start with this chatter talk. Why is this just more than just chatter this time? Why is the threat more real?

MICHAEL ISIKOFF, "NEWSWEEK" INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Well, officials say that they have higher quality intelligence than they've seen in quite some time that it's not just sort of the snippets of intercepted conversations.

They appear to have some sort of source or sourcing that is giving them a much clearer picture of al Qaeda and its plans and have led them to believe that some sort of order has been given and instructions given to launch an attack prior to election day and they believe that attack is in the process of being implemented.

HEMMER: Let's try and take it a step further. Doug, what are your sources telling you about that sourcing?

DOUG JEHL, "NEW YORK TIMES" REPORTER: They're saying that some of the information comes from these prisoners who have been captured recently in Afghanistan and Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

Now it's not clear exactly how specific those accounts have been. It may be that those prisoners have provided information that's led the intelligence to other sources.

What's interesting is that it does seem to trace back to the central remnants of the old al Qaeda leadership to Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants, not to its imitators who have been spawned around the world.

HEMMER: That takes us back full circle yet again and we've been down this road so many times, Doug, why believe them now?

JEHL: Well, that's a good question and I think if it were on the basis simply of these prisoners' accounts that wouldn't be sufficient. The sense I get and it's murky and difficult to untangle though is that there's a good bit of solid corroborating evidence.

The word "solid" is one that I keep hearing repeated by intelligence officials this summer. You get a real sense of an echo of the summer of 2001 when there was a broad sense that something was coming but no one quite knew what, where or when.

HEMMER: And the public in all this, Michael, do you believe they're still taking these threats in a way that they embraced them at one point or is it a case rather when they're talked about more often people dismiss them more often than before?

ISIKOFF: Well, I think there is some of that actually, if you look at some recent polls just released in the last few days, there's an indication that people aren't taking this quite as seriously.

The number of Americans, according to one poll that was released just this week, who believe that a terror strike is going to hit them close to home or their workplace is about half of what it was a few years ago.

So, you know, from the beginning whenever the government would go public about threat warnings there was always the sense that we can't overdo it because of the crying wolf syndrome and, you know, I think that that syndrome may well have been taking its toll right now.

HEMMER: If I could go back to Doug a second here on this 9/11 report now, what is the likelihood of Washington taking action in 2004 at this point?

JEHL: You know a day ago I would have said slim to none. Even this afternoon I might have given the same answer. It did feel like something changed today. It felt like the leaders in Congress, even the White House, got the message.

The commissioners, Governor Kean, Representative Hamilton are going to go out there and push hard for this and I think there's a chance. I wouldn't bet money on it but a chance that we could see legislation passed this year.

HEMMER: Michael, what do you think is driving that message?

ISIKOFF: Oh, clearly the politics of it. I think that the report itself is a truly impressive document if you read it as a historical account of what happened. It is thorough and it -- and they were able to get just a wealth of previously classified, highly classified, information onto the public record, stuff I would never have expected to see a few years ago. That said when you get to the recommendations it's something of a different picture. I mean the mandate of the commission was to look at the world as it was up until the day of September 11th and a couple of days afterwards.

And they formed their recommendations based on what they saw about the world up until September 11, 2001. One can reasonably raise questions as to whether the recommendations that they formulated from that look match the world of today in 2004.

The enemy, al Qaeda, is very different and the government and the government's approach to this problem has changed quite a bit since September 11th, so I think as time goes on it is possible that some people are going to raise some questions about whether the precise form of these recommendations are necessarily the best way to address the problem as it is today.

HEMMER: All right, Doug, wrap it up here in a second here, if you could, and, if that's the case and if they are taking a hard look clearly there are turf battles in Washington. Who's going to put up the resistance to change?

JEHL: Well, the CIA is going to put up some resistance, the Pentagon which would lose a lot of its control over the budget is going to put up resistance, but in the end it may also be the people who say, "Hold on. Wait a second. We have changed a lot since September 11th. How can you prove that these new -- this new system would be any better than the current one" and that's a good question.

HEMMER: Doug Jehl, thanks for your time tonight from the "New York Times," and Michael Isikoff from "Newsweek" magazine, thank you gentlemen.

JEHL: Thank you.

HEMMER: Ahead in a moment here on NEWSNIGHT legal analysts say it is a huge victory for Kobe Bryant and his lawyers. A judge in Colorado makes what could be a critical ruling today.

Plus, the president on the trail today reaching out to a group that usually does not vote Republican. We'll get a break first.

From New York City tonight this is NEWSNIGHT on a Friday night.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Like most states, Colorado has a rape shield law. In essence, it makes it tougher for defense attorneys to win cases by dragging the accuser's sexual history through a courtroom, tougher but not impossible.

Today in Colorado, a judge in the Kobe Bryant trial said that determining the credibility of his accuser is important enough to let some of her history, her recent sexual history onto the record.

Gary Tuchman tracking the story tonight, Gary what's the latest on this?

TUCHMAN: Well, Bill, this is the best legal news Kobe Bryant has received since he was arrested more than a year ago, today the judge saying that during his trial, which begins on August 27th there will be allowed to be testimony about parts of his accuser's sexual history.

Now, under Colorado's Rape Shield Law you are not allowed to talk about sexual history unless it's deemed relevant to the defense and that's what Judge Terry Ruckriegle agreed to today. He set a 72-hour- period surrounding her encounter with Kobe Bryant will be allowed to be discussed.

According to Kobe Bryant's attorneys they say this woman had sex with at least two different men in the two days before the encounter and 15 hours after the encounter. They say the alleged activities before the encounter could show that somebody else caused her injuries. They say the activity after the encounter could have shown she had a lack of judgment.

Now, the woman's personal attorney said categorically that the accuser did not have sex with anybody else right afterwards but they're not saying anything about what happened beforehand.

But also, Bill, the judge has said that DNA evidence that apparently shows DNA material from other men on her underwear and on her person at a rape exam will also be allowed to be discussed during the trial.

HEMMER: Gary, earlier in the week, in fact only a few days ago, there was a report that surfaced that said the accuser actually considered dropping this case on one occasion, maybe more than one occasion. Is this the type, you've been covering this trial since the very beginning, could this push her back to that decision again?

TUCHMAN: Well, that's right. We did learn for the first time last week that on at least two different occasions she considered dropping out of the trial because of mistakes the government made, like releasing her name accidentally on the Internet.

We are told today by the District Attorney's Office they have told us, "They'll evaluate available options about how to proceed with this case." They basically have four options.

They can continue with the case. They could drop the case. They could also appeal the case to the Colorado Supreme Court. That's very unlikely. The fourth option, Bill, is that they could say we want to arrange a plea bargain with Kobe Bryant.

Today the judge said we'll give you another few days if you want to have a plea bargain, the deadline this Wednesday, but it's very unlikely, especially considering this ruling so favorable to the Laker star today that Kobe Bryant would want to plead guilty.

HEMMER: Favorable indeed. OK. Gary Tuchman thanks, working that story for us tonight. Back on the campaign trail now where both candidates have faced tough questions about their military service Kerry and his heroism and Bush and his attendance. A discovery today sheds new light on a murky chapter from the president's past, specifically his time in the Texas National Guard during the Vietnam War.

It is the stuff of campaign politics and today another page was turned, Jamie McIntyre working that story tonight at the Pentagon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE (voice-over): Just two weeks ago the Pentagon said payroll records covering three months of President Bush's National Guard service in 1972 had been inadvertently destroyed in an unsuccessful effort to preserve deteriorating microfilm.

But now, officials say, a mix-up of the microfilm numbers by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service was to blame. In a letter to CNN and other news organization, the chief of the Pentagon's Freedom of Information Office wrote:

"The records, which were presumed to have been destroyed and unrecoverable, have been located."

Critics of President Bush have accused him of being AWOL from the Alabama National Guard for a 12-month period in 1972 and '73. The newly-found records cover the third quarter of 1972, July, August and September and do not appear to show any payments during that time or the two months prior.

The five-month gap begins in May of 1972 when Mr. Bush moved from Texas to Alabama to work on a Senatorial campaign and transferred from the Texas to Alabama Air National Guard.

The Democratic National Committee was quick to issue a statement saying what it called "the supposed discovery was highly questionable. If the Bush administration continues to search, maybe they'll find answers to the long list of unanswered questions that remain about George W. Bush's time in the Air National Guard," the statement said. "Bush's military records seem to show up as randomly as he did for duty."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE: By documenting five months where it appears President Bush did not show up for guard duty, the documents that have newly been found will give some ammunition to the president's critics..

But the White House insists that there is no new relevant information in these documents and that the payroll records released back in February clearly show that President Bush fulfilled his national guard service between the months of October, 1972 and May, 1973 and earned him an honorable discharge -- Bill.

HEMMER: Jamie, if there is no relevant information here, what's the intent on putting them out now? MCINTYRE: Well, there was some suspicion that something nefarious had happened to these documents because they covered a part of that disputed period and they couldn't be found.

The Pentagon insists it was just an honest clerical mistake but it doesn't actually settle the question because it does show, as we pointed out, that there's a five-month period where Bush doesn't seem to be reporting.

On the other hand, if the argument is did he fulfill his requirement, the records also show he may have done that. The question is was he as diligent as he should have been in reporting for guard duty and that's something that's probably going to end up being a political debate.

HEMMER: Another chapter, Jamie thanks, Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon tonight.

President Bush meanwhile campaigning in Detroit earlier today, fair to say he had his work cut out for him. This campaign stop began as an uphill climb.

Dana Bash was there today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a standard candidate request.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm here to ask for your vote.

BASH: But this is a Republican with the worst showing among African Americans since Barry Goldwater ran for president in 1964. So, after some audible laughter...

BUSH: No, I know, I know, I know. Listen, the Republican Party's got a lot of work to do. I understand that.

BASH: Then a quote someone gave him to make his point.

BUSH: Blacks are gagging on the donkey but not yet ready to swallow the elephant.

BASH: Thirty-two minutes into his speech that was getting a polite but less than enthusiastic response, the National Urban League crowd seemed to perk up, well some did anyway. It was a blatant appeal to a skeptical audience.

BUSH: I'm going to ask African American voters to consider some questions. Does the Democratic Party take African American voters for granted? I know plenty of politicians assume they have your vote but do they earn it and do they deserve it?

BASH: This just one week after Mr. Bush unapologetically snubbed the NAACP for the fourth year in a row because of what aides called partisan hostile comments about him.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is not a stop that represents just a check-the-box campaign stop.

BASH: John Kerry showed up for both conventions. Mr. Bush's campaign insists his free market policies and some of his social agenda, which he played up, will help make inroads in the black community. The president still has his work cut out for him.

A recent poll shows only 12 percent of African Americans support Mr. Bush, compared to 81 percent for Senator Kerry, a hard sell but one Kerry supporter in the crowd says at least he's selling.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He did ask for the vote and I think that any good candidate ought to ask for the vote. I'm not sure he changed my mind but he certainly gave me some things to think about.

BASH (on camera): Bush aides are hoping to benefit from some complaints in the African American community that Senator Kerry isn't doing enough to appeal to them but the Kerry campaign calls all this nothing more than damage control after the NAACP flap saying the president's policies are much more likely to turn black voters away than to draw them in.

Dana Bash, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Coming up here on NEWSNIGHT, his name is Barack Obama. He's running for the U.S. Senate. He is charismatic. He is young. Some say he's the future for the Democratic Party.

And a bit later why some Boston residents cannot wait to get out of the town.

Around the world tonight this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Being invited to take center stage at a national political convention as the keynote speaker, no small honor. Among other things, it is a way for party leaders to showcase the rising talent. This year, the Democratic Party has tapped a state senator from Illinois whose campaign for the U.S. Senate has suddenly caught fire.

Here is Jonathan Freed on that story tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When describing how they feel about Barack Obama, for some, there are no words. The three-term state senator from Chicago's South Side is trying to capture a U.S. Senate seat for the Democrats. The 42-year-old father of two has built a reputation has built a reputation as a respected liberal-leaning legislator. BARACK OBAMA (D), ILLINOIS SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: I believe in a woman's right to choose. I believe in commonsense gun safety laws. I believe in a protecting our environment.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're awesome. I've heard a lot about you.

OBAMA: Some of it is true.

FREED: And his political charm is crossing the aisle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm a Republican, but I'm voting for you.

FREED: If he wins, it could help tip the balance of power in the Senate. And Obama would become only the third African-American senator since Reconstruction. He's a former Chicago civil rights attorney and was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review. Some see him as a future national leader, calling him both intelligent and charismatic.

OBAMA: The next president of the United States of America, Mr. John Kerry.

FREED: It is hoped he can help energize his party. So Obama is delivering the keynote speech at the Democratic Convention on Tuesday.

OBAMA: For those of you who don't know me, I'm State Senator Barack Obama.

FREED: He's essentially been running unopposed for the last month since GOP Jack Ryan withdrew from the race over a sex scandal. The Republicans are still scrambling to find a candidate.

OBAMA: I'm first one to acknowledge that this is a pretty strange situation.

FREED: That situation has some wondering if there is a little too much swagger in Obama's step these days. But he insists that his modest beginnings and diverse background, a father from Kenya and a mother from Kansas, keeps him from losing his head.

OBAMA: If it wasn't for a couple of lucky breaks, I could easily be nowhere. And I think that is part of what drives my politics.

FREED: "The Chicago Tribune"'s Bruce Dold believes Obama got lucky during the primary when a front-running Democrat stumbled over a divorce controversy, leaving the field wide open.

BRUCE DOLD, "THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE": He does not owe anything to the Chicago Democratic leadership. He does not owe anything to the national African-American leadership. He doesn't really owe anything to the Democrats in Washington because he's not really going to need their support to win.

FREED: But Obama has never been tested on the national stage. And expectations are running high for his convention speech next week. (END VIDEOTAPE)

FORD: In his speech, Obama says he's going to talk about the need to experiment with different ways of achieving the party's goals -- Bill.

HEMMER: He'll be in Boston.

Jonathan Freed, thanks for that tonight.

A national political convention not everyone's cup of tea, of course. If you're not a politician or a member of the media, if you're simply, say, someone who lives in the host city, a national convention in a word can be a nuisance, especially in this current security climate.

Back to Boston tonight and Dan Lothian for that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN BOSTON BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): It is the exodus before the invasion. Rachel Weinstein has her ticket to the fly.

RACHEL WEINSTEIN, BOSTON RESIDENT: The best deal was actually to leave the country.

LOTHIAN: Destination, the Dominican Republic.

WEINSTEIN: And I think the DNC is going to be great to bring P.R.to Boston. And I think it is wonderful to showcase the city. But I think they're putting the average citizen really out of their way.

LOTHIAN (on camera): Looking to detour around road closures and other security restrictions and to avoid more than 35,000 visitors descending on the city, some Bostonians are choosing to escape.

(voice-over): For some travel companies, a bonus.

BRAD GERSTNER, NATIONAL LEISURE GROUP: Not surprisingly, three out of four people say this is the opportunity for me to take my summer vacation.

LOTHIAN: Mark Pasquale is rolling up the dough and shutting down the ovens at his pizza shop across the street from the FleetCenter.

MARK PASQUALE, BUSINESS OWNER: I don't need the aggravation. It is not worth it.

LOTHIAN: Tight restrictions he said prompted him to take a Canadian vacation for a week.

PASQUALE: I'll reopen after they leave.

LOTHIAN: At this Boston Marina, manager Christina Dirusso isn't leaving town. She's just changing her commute. CHRISTINA DIRUSSO, SHIPYARD MANAGER: I'll be going by sea instead of by land.

LOTHIAN: She has borrowed a small boat and will load up a few employees near her home north of the city for the 15-to-20-minute ride on the water, outside the harbor security zone.

DIRUSSO: I just thought it would be a quicker way to get here and why not? I'm on the ocean as it is.

LOTHIAN: Finding a way to bypass the hurdles caused by the Democratic National Convention.

Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: And we will be there, too, all week.

Still to come tonight on NEWSNIGHT, a complicated relationship that needs more than just a little bit of work. Up next, a look at how the Saudis and the Americans see one another.

Plus, on the verge of making history yet again. Is it time for No. 6? Lance Armstrong cycling ahead tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Few relationships since 9/11 have been as delicate and potentially explosive as the one between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. But like a marriage of convenience between a couple with issues, it has not been easy. Yesterday, the 9/11 Commission said in so many words, work it out.

Here is Andrea Koppel tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Urging the U.S. and Saudi Arabia to openly confront the problems in their relationship, the 9/11 report sounded more like a marriage counselor than a congressional review. The crux of its conclusion:

THOMAS KEAN, CHAIRMAN, 9/11 COMMISSION: Our relationship with that country cannot be just, we're looking over this and that and they'll give us oil and everything will be fine.

KOPPEL: The implication, with 25 percent of the world's oil reserves, Saudi Arabia has for decades gotten a pass instead of pressure from successive U.S. administrations to enact political and economic reforms. The net result, the report concludes, the Saudi kingdom is today rife with Islamic extremism, racked with unemployment, while the ruling family is itself locked in mortal combat with al Qaeda. But some experts warn U.S. influence in the kingdom is now extremely limited. DAN BYMAN, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: The royal family has always resisted any outside pressure to change. And perhaps even more importantly, the U.S. is so unpopular in Saudi Arabia today that the U.S. endorsement of reform or the U.S. endorsement of change would probably backfire.

KOPPEL: The good news for Saudi rulers, after years of being blamed, in part because 15 of 19 hijackers were Saudis, the kingdom was exonerated on one key issue.

LEE HAMILTON, VICE-CHAIRMAN, 9/11 COMMISSION: We have found no evidence of the involvement of the Saudi government in the plot.

KOPPEL: But the former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee questions this conclusion and is calling for a further investigation.

SEN. BOB GRAHAM (D), FLORIDA: It seems to be rather dismissive of this issue of the Saudi connection, when we found in our joint inquiry that there were a whole series of very suspicious circumstances.

KOPPEL: Circumstances still classified, the White House still refusing to release 27 pages from the congressional joint inquiry.

(on camera): But a senior commission official says its investigators interviewed the people in question and reviewed the FBI files and what they found -- quote -- "did not line up" with Graham's conclusions. Still, the same official conceded Saudi Arabia is a problematic ally caught in its own battle with Islamic extremists.

Andrea Koppel, CNN, at the State Department.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Meanwhile, back in Iraq, extremists there have taken a high-value hostage. A videotape first aired on Al-Jazeera shows Egypt's third highest-ranking diplomat in captivity. He was grabbed while leaving a mosque. His captors are demanding that Egypt abandon any plans to send security experts in support of the new Iraqi government.

Another group of militants holding seven foreign truck drivers, including one from Egypt there, they're threatening to start beheading them each starting tomorrow.

Still to come tonight here on NEWSNIGHT, one more time for posterity, Lance Armstrong pedaling toward a sixth straight Tour de France victory and the history books.

And later, the very thing that gives Glacier National Park its name will soon be no more. We'll explain.

Once again, from New York tonight, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HEMMER: Barring a disaster, Lance Armstrong will look better in yellow than anyone, not that he isn't a cycling legend already, having won the Tour de France, battled cancer and coming back to win it time and time again. This victory, should it happen, would be his sixth in a row. And no one has gone there before.

Tonight, we tell the story with still photos in from France and the words of "Sports Illustrated" senior writer Austin Murphy. We caught up with him by phone today in between stages of the race.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AUSTIN MURPHY, SENIOR WRITER, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": The Tour is simply the most difficult athletic feat in existence, a counterclockwise a tour of the country on a bicycle over some of the most obscene climbs I've ever seen.

It is a supreme test and it belongs to one man right now. Lance Armstrong, the winner of the last five of these races, has a commanding lead. He's up by 4:09 over a young Italian named Ivan Basso. His next closest is Andreas Kloden of the T-mobile team. Surprisingly, Jan Ullrich, who was thought be Armstrong's chief threat, is basically an afterthought.

To see these guys in real life, to see the legs, the sinews, the gears, the massive gears that they're pushing up these obscene gradients, it is jaw-dropping. This race is a moving Super Bowl. It plays out over one of the most beautiful countries in the world. And it is an incredible pageant.

Lance is beloved and he is despised in some quarters. Up the Alp d'Huez, there were a half-million people on the mountain. A lot of them wanted to run alongside Lance. Some wanted to touch him. And a lot of them had some nasty things to say to him. He gets flipped off. He got spat on a couple of times. They're really just fueling his fire. It just makes the ride stronger. That's what he told us.

The last remaining stage before Sunday's ceremonial stage into Paris is a time trial tomorrow around the city of Besancon. He's basically -- he's got it in the bag.

Armstrong is on the cusp of becoming the first person ever to win six Tours de France, let alone six in a row, let alone recovering from cancer and doing it. The danger in writing this story is, you run out of superlatives. It is astonishing that he has dominated this race the way he has. Even if the guy hadn't been given a 30 percent or 40 percent chance of living eight years ago, he's been so good that we tend to forget that once in a while. It is historic.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Austin Murphy, a writer for "Sports Illustrated" following the Tour de France, 18 stages down, two to go. We'll know on Sunday from Paris.

Still ahead tonight here on NEWSNIGHT, they are 7,000 years old and melting away at an alarming rate, why one national park soon may be looking for a new name.

Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: In segment seven tonight, there are things in nature we simply assume will outlast us. By their very size and age, they seem indestructible, timeless.

The only glaciers in the U.S. in the lower 48 are some of the most imposing natural formations of the country, if not the entire world. But if you haven't seen them yet, time may be running out. Your normal host has not gone far tonight.

Here is Aaron Brown.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): It is a place at once both spectacular and sublime, Glacier National Park. At the height of summer, everything here is practically perfect, except for this. The glaciers are disappearing.

DAN FAGRE, U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY: Right now, our best guess is that by the year 2030 all the glaciers in Glacier National Park will be gone.

BROWN: Gone, the way geology is measured, in the blink of an eye, with the only hope of saving them, scientists say, a return of something they call the little ice age, unlikely in the extreme.

FAGRE: These glaciers probably formed 7,000 years ago. And the ice in them is at least several hundred years old. And so it is very, very fast, not only in geologic terms, but even in human terms.

BROWN: You can see what scientists are talking about in this series of still photos taken over the last 90 years or so, a steady, unrelenting retreat. Of the 150 original glaciers in the park, only about 20 remain today. And the rangers who guide the tours around use the photos to discuss it with stark clarity.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is about 700 feet thinner than it was in the late 1800s and about 10 percent of the mass that it was in the late 1800s.

BROWN: The million-dollar question of course is why.

FAGRE: There is no question that some of it is the global warming that is attributable to humans.

BROWN: There are other factors are at work as well. In scientific terms, they are called climactic pulses. In plain English, it has been far too hot.

KATE MARRONE, TOURIST: This kind of heat isn't actually normal out here. And last summer was unbelievable. It was almost 100 every day when we were here.

BROWN: The best way to see what glaciers remain is in person. Visitors first take boat rides across two small lakes, then hike through the woods and up the cliffs in a trek that takes about nine miles in all. That the glaciers will soon be gone is a topic always of conversation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The beauty of the park will still be outstanding. It is very similar to New Zealand. As a matter of fact, I think New Zealand has nothing on this part of the -- this part of our country.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was in Glacier National Park 40 years ago and they weren't having this conversation at all.

BROWN: But they certainly are now. And if the glaciers can disappear, many visitors wonder, what is next?

BRUCE PATT, TOURIST: The glaciers are the indicator of something much larger. So that's -- in a sense, it is the symptom to something else. That's the part that really worries me a great deal.

BROWN: Aaron Brown, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: And they call it Big Sky for a reason, too.

In a moment here, we'll wrap things up and look ahead to next week.

From New York for a Friday night, this is NEWSNIGHT here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: As we close out our show tonight, a quick programming note before we leave for the weekend. On Monday, starting on Monday, CNN's special election coverage in Boston runs from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern. NEWSNIGHT will take over with Aaron 11:00 here in New York. That is next week, Monday through Thursday here on CNN.

Bill Clinton speaks on Monday. He's the headliner then. John Kerry wraps it up on Thursday at the end of that show. And then we're off and running toward the general election on November 2. Anderson Cooper is in Boston with his show at 7:00. And Larry King does double duty all next week, 9:00 live and then again midnight live here, all times Eastern on CNN.

Also, join us on day one Monday morning at 7:00 a.m. I'll be there with my team from "AMERICAN MORNING." We'll have the first word on the convention news of the day every day there in Boston. Hope to see you Monday morning.

Enjoy your weekend. And good night once again from New York.

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


Aired July 24, 2004 - 22:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening everyone. Aaron is out tonight.
In the world of TV news there can be a significant difference between a morning program and an evening newscast. We know that in this business. We start our day in this business with a tendency to frame the news as we expect it to happen.

At this relatively late hour we have the benefit of reflecting and reflecting is exactly what some members of Congress talked about doing today to make this country better and to make this country safer. The 9/11 Commission is pleading with the government to make changes and make the changes without hesitation. Tonight, it seems, some of them are listening.

And that is where we begin the whip tonight with Sean Callebs working the story in D.C., Sean a headline there.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bill, Congress reacts to the sense of urgency from the 9/11 Commission recommendations but is it the first sign of a quick response to concerns or more rhetoric? Congress did start a six-week recess this afternoon. Members concerned that constituents may ask what did you do on your summer vacation leave the nation at risk -- Bill?

HEMMER: Sean, thanks for that.

On to Boston where security officials worry that next week's convention is a tempting target. Two threats out there tonight, one from al Qaeda, the other domestic. Jeanne Meserve has the headline there -- Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: The FBI says it has unconfirmed information that a domestic group may try to attack media vehicles with explosives or incendiary devices and the way the information was disseminated is raising concerns about communication and coordination before this extraordinary security event -- Bill.

HEMMER: Jeanne thanks for that.

The Pentagon next and payroll records from President Bush's National Guard days, once said to be destroyed, surfaced today. Do they answer any questions though? Jamie McIntyre has the watch there, Jamie the headline. JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bill, after believing that these records of President Bush's payroll during 1972 when he was in the Air National Guard were irretrievably lost the Pentagon found them, discovered they were looking in the wrong place. The big question is do they show anything really knew? We'll tell you about that.

HEMMER: All right, Jamie.

Also a twist in the Kobe Bryant rape trial as well today, Gary Tuchman in Atlanta with that story, the headline there -- Gary.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Bill, a major legal victory for Kobe Bryant today. Despite a rape shield law in Colorado, the judge today has decided that parts of his accuser's sexual history will be allowed to be discussed during the trial, which begins in five weeks -- Bill.

HEMMER: Gary thanks for that, back with all of you shortly.

Also on the program tonight, there's a new warning of an al Qaeda attack inside the U.S. and this time the CIA says it is more than just chatter.

Plus, back in Boston, scrambling to get out of town, not everyone is happy about next week's convention there.

And finally tonight he keeps on going, high drama in the French Alps, Tour de Lance continues. Just watch him ride and we will in true NEWSNIGHT fashion later this hour, all that and more tonight. We begin, though, with work that could not be more urgent, patching holes in the country's defense against another terrorist hit.

Yesterday in stark and simple and bipartisan terms members of the commission of the 9/11 report laying down a challenge to policymakers, do what it takes, do it now or the next attack will be on your heads. In Washington sometimes easier said than done and, in the summer with a presidential campaign looming, almost impossible for some.

We begin tonight, once again, with Sean Callebs in D.C.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CALLEBS (voice-over): As Congress headed out of town for a six- week recess, signals that for some the vacation will be cut short, Senate leaders from both parties announcing rare August hearings.

SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: You know, I think when members of both houses go home for this recess the folks back home are going to say why are you home? Why aren't you in Washington dealing with the recommendations of the September 11th Commission?

CALLEBS: Senators say they want to have legislation crafted by October 1st so lawmakers can vote on sweeping national intelligence reforms. The 9/11 findings are now a best seller, hot off the presses and a hot topic among Americans who are issuing a call for action -- in Chicago...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As soon as they can and I think you can't wait any longer.

CALLEBS: And in New York.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're in a life or death situation right now, especially in this town.

CALLEBS: 9/11 families are buoyed by the sense of urgency but concerned the capital will lapse into politics as usual.

BEVERLY ECKERT, WIFE OF 9/11 VICTIM: You know, I'm not in charge. All I can do is, you know, demand high standards and look to Washington to implement these reforms and try to make this country safer.

CALLEBS: Some House Democrats have accused Republican Speaker Hastert of digging in his heels instead of digging into the panel's call for reform. In response, Hastert and Majority Leader Tom Delay issued a statement saying: "Congress needs to act as quickly as possible" calling for August hearings as well. They want a proposal on the floor before Congress adjourns in October.

At the White House too, promises for a quick, thorough review. A White House official saying the president directed the chief of staff Andrew Card to head a task force involving members of the Homeland Security team and National Security team to review recommendations and report back to him soon saying "We are not talking weeks."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CALLEBS: Commission members have said the presidential election and the congressional break aren't reasons to derail efforts to overhaul the way the U.S. gathers and disseminates intelligence. Senator Lieberman saying the United States is dealing with a crisis that "People died and more people will unless we get it together" -- Bill.

HEMMER: Sean, what precipitated this? What pushed it? Was it today or was it before the report was expected out earlier in the week?

CALLEBS: I think if you listen to what a lot of people are saying behind the scenes there has simply been a great deal of pressure. There has been a groundswell of pressure just information coming out right after those recommendations. The conclusions, if you heard Senate and House leaders earlier in the week, they said they would not be pushed into acting quickly. Well, amazing how quickly things can change here.

HEMMER: Indeed. Sean thanks, Sean Callebs in Washington tonight.

Adding to that sense of urgency that some in Washington are expressing another terror warning arrived today. The CIA saying it has new information, fairly specific information at that, suggesting there's even more reason tonight to be concerned about an attack in this country by al Qaeda.

Once again in D.C. Kelli Arena on that story now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARENA (voice-over): It's more than just chatter. Senior intelligence officials say they have credible and fairly specific information that al Qaeda is poised to attack. It's just not specific enough.

TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Although we know not the time and the place and the method, credible reports indicate that al Qaeda is moving forward with its plans to carry out a large scale attack against the United States.

ARENA: Officials say al Qaeda members captured recently in countries, including Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Afghanistan, have provided information an attack is being coordinated some say by Osama bin Laden himself. The information isn't just coming from detainees but from multiple sources and it's consistent.

RICHARD FALKENRATH, FMR. WH DEP. HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISER: This is different. This is more serious and more specific and more centrally led than anything that we've seen in a long time and hence it's being taken very seriously. I would not be surprised in the least if the government decides to raise the national threat level to orange.

ARENA: Officials say the threat is just as serious as it was in the summer of 2001, just before the attack on September 11th. And while al Qaeda is plotting, the Madrid bombing showed just how dangerous splinter groups can be. They have no direct connection to al Qaeda but share their ideology.

FALKENRATH: And the most likely (UNINTELLIGIBLE) of attack I think will be relatively small conventional explosives set off in multiple sites simultaneously. This is a proven al Qaeda M.O.

ARENA: FBI agents continue their search for clues and people. This week the FBI asked authorities in Mexico to be on the lookout for alleged al Qaeda operative Adnan El Shukrijumah, officials very concerned about the porous Mexican border, an even bigger fear that there is a cell already in the United States that has been in place even before September 11th.

KEN PIERNICK, FORMER FBI COUNTERTERRORISM EXPERT: You just don't decide at a moment's notice to conduct a major operation. You'd have to do your target selection, which sometimes takes years.

ARENA (on camera): But law enforcement sources say there is nothing specific on that front either.

Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington. (END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: All this, of course, playing out on what experts consider a target rich environment. In only a few day's time Democrats will nominate a presidential ticket in Boston, a tempting target for al Qaeda or homegrown bad guys as the case may be so extraordinary precautions now being taken.

Then came the latest scare, again back to Boston and Jeanne Meserve tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE (voice-over): Friday night the last commuter train pulled out of Boston's normally bustling North Station. There won't be another until after the convention.

Construction of the security perimeter began in earnest and the heightened security in the area was both mechanical and animal, though the convention does not begin until Monday.

This was all planned well before the FBI said it had received "unconfirmed information that a domestic group is planning to disrupt the convention by attacking media vehicles with explosives or incendiary devices like Molotov cocktails."

STEPHEN FLYNN, MASS. DEPT. OF PUBLIC SAFETY: We're not looking at a widespread threat perpetrated by truly dangerous individuals.

MESERVE: Government officials say the threat comes from anarchists. An undercover investigation continues. In the run-up to the convention, authorities have been eager to emphasize communications and information sharing.

RIDGE: Now the Department of Homeland Security has forged strong partnerships across the federal government and with state and local governments, law enforcement and the private sector.

MESERVE: But word of the media threat dribbled out with some key players left out of the loop. Although some local media got word of the threat from the Boston FBI field office Thursday night, many national media outlets and their security personnel were not informed through official channels until Friday. When asked if this is how threat information is supposed to be disseminated, one officials said, "I hope not." Another called it "B-Grade communications."

FLYNN: It can be a very serious problem if we're dealing with a very short time span between the information about the threat and the reality that people need to take some basic protective measures.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: Despite the warning about a possible disruption by domestic groups, officials say there is no credible or specific information that foreign terrorists are planning to attack the convention -- Bill, back to you. HEMMER: Jeanne, more on that domestic threat. This is somewhat new when we consider the amount of security that's been thrown up around Boston. From where are experts saying that domestic threat would come?

MESERVE: Well, sources have told me and others that anarchist groups or individuals are the ones they are concerned about. They're not being specific about who they are or where they are in this country.

But we've seen anarchists before. You'll remember the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle a couple of years ago. There were pitched battles with police on the street. There was a lot of property destruction and a lot of authorities blame that on a few anarchists and a much larger crowd of peaceful demonstrators.

As to why they may hit the media here, well it's a good way to draw attention to your cause and they have bountiful targets here. About 15,000 media are expected here in Boston -- Bill.

HEMMER: You're right about that. Thanks, Jeanne, Jeanne Meserve in Boston tonight.

From Washington back again tonight two correspondents who know this beat very well, break news on it often, Doug Jehl of the "New York Times" our guest tonight, Michael Isikoff of "Newsweek" magazine, gentlemen good evening to both of you and thanks for your time tonight.

Michael, let's start with this chatter talk. Why is this just more than just chatter this time? Why is the threat more real?

MICHAEL ISIKOFF, "NEWSWEEK" INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Well, officials say that they have higher quality intelligence than they've seen in quite some time that it's not just sort of the snippets of intercepted conversations.

They appear to have some sort of source or sourcing that is giving them a much clearer picture of al Qaeda and its plans and have led them to believe that some sort of order has been given and instructions given to launch an attack prior to election day and they believe that attack is in the process of being implemented.

HEMMER: Let's try and take it a step further. Doug, what are your sources telling you about that sourcing?

DOUG JEHL, "NEW YORK TIMES" REPORTER: They're saying that some of the information comes from these prisoners who have been captured recently in Afghanistan and Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

Now it's not clear exactly how specific those accounts have been. It may be that those prisoners have provided information that's led the intelligence to other sources.

What's interesting is that it does seem to trace back to the central remnants of the old al Qaeda leadership to Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants, not to its imitators who have been spawned around the world.

HEMMER: That takes us back full circle yet again and we've been down this road so many times, Doug, why believe them now?

JEHL: Well, that's a good question and I think if it were on the basis simply of these prisoners' accounts that wouldn't be sufficient. The sense I get and it's murky and difficult to untangle though is that there's a good bit of solid corroborating evidence.

The word "solid" is one that I keep hearing repeated by intelligence officials this summer. You get a real sense of an echo of the summer of 2001 when there was a broad sense that something was coming but no one quite knew what, where or when.

HEMMER: And the public in all this, Michael, do you believe they're still taking these threats in a way that they embraced them at one point or is it a case rather when they're talked about more often people dismiss them more often than before?

ISIKOFF: Well, I think there is some of that actually, if you look at some recent polls just released in the last few days, there's an indication that people aren't taking this quite as seriously.

The number of Americans, according to one poll that was released just this week, who believe that a terror strike is going to hit them close to home or their workplace is about half of what it was a few years ago.

So, you know, from the beginning whenever the government would go public about threat warnings there was always the sense that we can't overdo it because of the crying wolf syndrome and, you know, I think that that syndrome may well have been taking its toll right now.

HEMMER: If I could go back to Doug a second here on this 9/11 report now, what is the likelihood of Washington taking action in 2004 at this point?

JEHL: You know a day ago I would have said slim to none. Even this afternoon I might have given the same answer. It did feel like something changed today. It felt like the leaders in Congress, even the White House, got the message.

The commissioners, Governor Kean, Representative Hamilton are going to go out there and push hard for this and I think there's a chance. I wouldn't bet money on it but a chance that we could see legislation passed this year.

HEMMER: Michael, what do you think is driving that message?

ISIKOFF: Oh, clearly the politics of it. I think that the report itself is a truly impressive document if you read it as a historical account of what happened. It is thorough and it -- and they were able to get just a wealth of previously classified, highly classified, information onto the public record, stuff I would never have expected to see a few years ago. That said when you get to the recommendations it's something of a different picture. I mean the mandate of the commission was to look at the world as it was up until the day of September 11th and a couple of days afterwards.

And they formed their recommendations based on what they saw about the world up until September 11, 2001. One can reasonably raise questions as to whether the recommendations that they formulated from that look match the world of today in 2004.

The enemy, al Qaeda, is very different and the government and the government's approach to this problem has changed quite a bit since September 11th, so I think as time goes on it is possible that some people are going to raise some questions about whether the precise form of these recommendations are necessarily the best way to address the problem as it is today.

HEMMER: All right, Doug, wrap it up here in a second here, if you could, and, if that's the case and if they are taking a hard look clearly there are turf battles in Washington. Who's going to put up the resistance to change?

JEHL: Well, the CIA is going to put up some resistance, the Pentagon which would lose a lot of its control over the budget is going to put up resistance, but in the end it may also be the people who say, "Hold on. Wait a second. We have changed a lot since September 11th. How can you prove that these new -- this new system would be any better than the current one" and that's a good question.

HEMMER: Doug Jehl, thanks for your time tonight from the "New York Times," and Michael Isikoff from "Newsweek" magazine, thank you gentlemen.

JEHL: Thank you.

HEMMER: Ahead in a moment here on NEWSNIGHT legal analysts say it is a huge victory for Kobe Bryant and his lawyers. A judge in Colorado makes what could be a critical ruling today.

Plus, the president on the trail today reaching out to a group that usually does not vote Republican. We'll get a break first.

From New York City tonight this is NEWSNIGHT on a Friday night.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Like most states, Colorado has a rape shield law. In essence, it makes it tougher for defense attorneys to win cases by dragging the accuser's sexual history through a courtroom, tougher but not impossible.

Today in Colorado, a judge in the Kobe Bryant trial said that determining the credibility of his accuser is important enough to let some of her history, her recent sexual history onto the record.

Gary Tuchman tracking the story tonight, Gary what's the latest on this?

TUCHMAN: Well, Bill, this is the best legal news Kobe Bryant has received since he was arrested more than a year ago, today the judge saying that during his trial, which begins on August 27th there will be allowed to be testimony about parts of his accuser's sexual history.

Now, under Colorado's Rape Shield Law you are not allowed to talk about sexual history unless it's deemed relevant to the defense and that's what Judge Terry Ruckriegle agreed to today. He set a 72-hour- period surrounding her encounter with Kobe Bryant will be allowed to be discussed.

According to Kobe Bryant's attorneys they say this woman had sex with at least two different men in the two days before the encounter and 15 hours after the encounter. They say the alleged activities before the encounter could show that somebody else caused her injuries. They say the activity after the encounter could have shown she had a lack of judgment.

Now, the woman's personal attorney said categorically that the accuser did not have sex with anybody else right afterwards but they're not saying anything about what happened beforehand.

But also, Bill, the judge has said that DNA evidence that apparently shows DNA material from other men on her underwear and on her person at a rape exam will also be allowed to be discussed during the trial.

HEMMER: Gary, earlier in the week, in fact only a few days ago, there was a report that surfaced that said the accuser actually considered dropping this case on one occasion, maybe more than one occasion. Is this the type, you've been covering this trial since the very beginning, could this push her back to that decision again?

TUCHMAN: Well, that's right. We did learn for the first time last week that on at least two different occasions she considered dropping out of the trial because of mistakes the government made, like releasing her name accidentally on the Internet.

We are told today by the District Attorney's Office they have told us, "They'll evaluate available options about how to proceed with this case." They basically have four options.

They can continue with the case. They could drop the case. They could also appeal the case to the Colorado Supreme Court. That's very unlikely. The fourth option, Bill, is that they could say we want to arrange a plea bargain with Kobe Bryant.

Today the judge said we'll give you another few days if you want to have a plea bargain, the deadline this Wednesday, but it's very unlikely, especially considering this ruling so favorable to the Laker star today that Kobe Bryant would want to plead guilty.

HEMMER: Favorable indeed. OK. Gary Tuchman thanks, working that story for us tonight. Back on the campaign trail now where both candidates have faced tough questions about their military service Kerry and his heroism and Bush and his attendance. A discovery today sheds new light on a murky chapter from the president's past, specifically his time in the Texas National Guard during the Vietnam War.

It is the stuff of campaign politics and today another page was turned, Jamie McIntyre working that story tonight at the Pentagon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE (voice-over): Just two weeks ago the Pentagon said payroll records covering three months of President Bush's National Guard service in 1972 had been inadvertently destroyed in an unsuccessful effort to preserve deteriorating microfilm.

But now, officials say, a mix-up of the microfilm numbers by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service was to blame. In a letter to CNN and other news organization, the chief of the Pentagon's Freedom of Information Office wrote:

"The records, which were presumed to have been destroyed and unrecoverable, have been located."

Critics of President Bush have accused him of being AWOL from the Alabama National Guard for a 12-month period in 1972 and '73. The newly-found records cover the third quarter of 1972, July, August and September and do not appear to show any payments during that time or the two months prior.

The five-month gap begins in May of 1972 when Mr. Bush moved from Texas to Alabama to work on a Senatorial campaign and transferred from the Texas to Alabama Air National Guard.

The Democratic National Committee was quick to issue a statement saying what it called "the supposed discovery was highly questionable. If the Bush administration continues to search, maybe they'll find answers to the long list of unanswered questions that remain about George W. Bush's time in the Air National Guard," the statement said. "Bush's military records seem to show up as randomly as he did for duty."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE: By documenting five months where it appears President Bush did not show up for guard duty, the documents that have newly been found will give some ammunition to the president's critics..

But the White House insists that there is no new relevant information in these documents and that the payroll records released back in February clearly show that President Bush fulfilled his national guard service between the months of October, 1972 and May, 1973 and earned him an honorable discharge -- Bill.

HEMMER: Jamie, if there is no relevant information here, what's the intent on putting them out now? MCINTYRE: Well, there was some suspicion that something nefarious had happened to these documents because they covered a part of that disputed period and they couldn't be found.

The Pentagon insists it was just an honest clerical mistake but it doesn't actually settle the question because it does show, as we pointed out, that there's a five-month period where Bush doesn't seem to be reporting.

On the other hand, if the argument is did he fulfill his requirement, the records also show he may have done that. The question is was he as diligent as he should have been in reporting for guard duty and that's something that's probably going to end up being a political debate.

HEMMER: Another chapter, Jamie thanks, Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon tonight.

President Bush meanwhile campaigning in Detroit earlier today, fair to say he had his work cut out for him. This campaign stop began as an uphill climb.

Dana Bash was there today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a standard candidate request.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm here to ask for your vote.

BASH: But this is a Republican with the worst showing among African Americans since Barry Goldwater ran for president in 1964. So, after some audible laughter...

BUSH: No, I know, I know, I know. Listen, the Republican Party's got a lot of work to do. I understand that.

BASH: Then a quote someone gave him to make his point.

BUSH: Blacks are gagging on the donkey but not yet ready to swallow the elephant.

BASH: Thirty-two minutes into his speech that was getting a polite but less than enthusiastic response, the National Urban League crowd seemed to perk up, well some did anyway. It was a blatant appeal to a skeptical audience.

BUSH: I'm going to ask African American voters to consider some questions. Does the Democratic Party take African American voters for granted? I know plenty of politicians assume they have your vote but do they earn it and do they deserve it?

BASH: This just one week after Mr. Bush unapologetically snubbed the NAACP for the fourth year in a row because of what aides called partisan hostile comments about him.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is not a stop that represents just a check-the-box campaign stop.

BASH: John Kerry showed up for both conventions. Mr. Bush's campaign insists his free market policies and some of his social agenda, which he played up, will help make inroads in the black community. The president still has his work cut out for him.

A recent poll shows only 12 percent of African Americans support Mr. Bush, compared to 81 percent for Senator Kerry, a hard sell but one Kerry supporter in the crowd says at least he's selling.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He did ask for the vote and I think that any good candidate ought to ask for the vote. I'm not sure he changed my mind but he certainly gave me some things to think about.

BASH (on camera): Bush aides are hoping to benefit from some complaints in the African American community that Senator Kerry isn't doing enough to appeal to them but the Kerry campaign calls all this nothing more than damage control after the NAACP flap saying the president's policies are much more likely to turn black voters away than to draw them in.

Dana Bash, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Coming up here on NEWSNIGHT, his name is Barack Obama. He's running for the U.S. Senate. He is charismatic. He is young. Some say he's the future for the Democratic Party.

And a bit later why some Boston residents cannot wait to get out of the town.

Around the world tonight this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Being invited to take center stage at a national political convention as the keynote speaker, no small honor. Among other things, it is a way for party leaders to showcase the rising talent. This year, the Democratic Party has tapped a state senator from Illinois whose campaign for the U.S. Senate has suddenly caught fire.

Here is Jonathan Freed on that story tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When describing how they feel about Barack Obama, for some, there are no words. The three-term state senator from Chicago's South Side is trying to capture a U.S. Senate seat for the Democrats. The 42-year-old father of two has built a reputation has built a reputation as a respected liberal-leaning legislator. BARACK OBAMA (D), ILLINOIS SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: I believe in a woman's right to choose. I believe in commonsense gun safety laws. I believe in a protecting our environment.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're awesome. I've heard a lot about you.

OBAMA: Some of it is true.

FREED: And his political charm is crossing the aisle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm a Republican, but I'm voting for you.

FREED: If he wins, it could help tip the balance of power in the Senate. And Obama would become only the third African-American senator since Reconstruction. He's a former Chicago civil rights attorney and was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review. Some see him as a future national leader, calling him both intelligent and charismatic.

OBAMA: The next president of the United States of America, Mr. John Kerry.

FREED: It is hoped he can help energize his party. So Obama is delivering the keynote speech at the Democratic Convention on Tuesday.

OBAMA: For those of you who don't know me, I'm State Senator Barack Obama.

FREED: He's essentially been running unopposed for the last month since GOP Jack Ryan withdrew from the race over a sex scandal. The Republicans are still scrambling to find a candidate.

OBAMA: I'm first one to acknowledge that this is a pretty strange situation.

FREED: That situation has some wondering if there is a little too much swagger in Obama's step these days. But he insists that his modest beginnings and diverse background, a father from Kenya and a mother from Kansas, keeps him from losing his head.

OBAMA: If it wasn't for a couple of lucky breaks, I could easily be nowhere. And I think that is part of what drives my politics.

FREED: "The Chicago Tribune"'s Bruce Dold believes Obama got lucky during the primary when a front-running Democrat stumbled over a divorce controversy, leaving the field wide open.

BRUCE DOLD, "THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE": He does not owe anything to the Chicago Democratic leadership. He does not owe anything to the national African-American leadership. He doesn't really owe anything to the Democrats in Washington because he's not really going to need their support to win.

FREED: But Obama has never been tested on the national stage. And expectations are running high for his convention speech next week. (END VIDEOTAPE)

FORD: In his speech, Obama says he's going to talk about the need to experiment with different ways of achieving the party's goals -- Bill.

HEMMER: He'll be in Boston.

Jonathan Freed, thanks for that tonight.

A national political convention not everyone's cup of tea, of course. If you're not a politician or a member of the media, if you're simply, say, someone who lives in the host city, a national convention in a word can be a nuisance, especially in this current security climate.

Back to Boston tonight and Dan Lothian for that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN BOSTON BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): It is the exodus before the invasion. Rachel Weinstein has her ticket to the fly.

RACHEL WEINSTEIN, BOSTON RESIDENT: The best deal was actually to leave the country.

LOTHIAN: Destination, the Dominican Republic.

WEINSTEIN: And I think the DNC is going to be great to bring P.R.to Boston. And I think it is wonderful to showcase the city. But I think they're putting the average citizen really out of their way.

LOTHIAN (on camera): Looking to detour around road closures and other security restrictions and to avoid more than 35,000 visitors descending on the city, some Bostonians are choosing to escape.

(voice-over): For some travel companies, a bonus.

BRAD GERSTNER, NATIONAL LEISURE GROUP: Not surprisingly, three out of four people say this is the opportunity for me to take my summer vacation.

LOTHIAN: Mark Pasquale is rolling up the dough and shutting down the ovens at his pizza shop across the street from the FleetCenter.

MARK PASQUALE, BUSINESS OWNER: I don't need the aggravation. It is not worth it.

LOTHIAN: Tight restrictions he said prompted him to take a Canadian vacation for a week.

PASQUALE: I'll reopen after they leave.

LOTHIAN: At this Boston Marina, manager Christina Dirusso isn't leaving town. She's just changing her commute. CHRISTINA DIRUSSO, SHIPYARD MANAGER: I'll be going by sea instead of by land.

LOTHIAN: She has borrowed a small boat and will load up a few employees near her home north of the city for the 15-to-20-minute ride on the water, outside the harbor security zone.

DIRUSSO: I just thought it would be a quicker way to get here and why not? I'm on the ocean as it is.

LOTHIAN: Finding a way to bypass the hurdles caused by the Democratic National Convention.

Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: And we will be there, too, all week.

Still to come tonight on NEWSNIGHT, a complicated relationship that needs more than just a little bit of work. Up next, a look at how the Saudis and the Americans see one another.

Plus, on the verge of making history yet again. Is it time for No. 6? Lance Armstrong cycling ahead tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Few relationships since 9/11 have been as delicate and potentially explosive as the one between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. But like a marriage of convenience between a couple with issues, it has not been easy. Yesterday, the 9/11 Commission said in so many words, work it out.

Here is Andrea Koppel tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Urging the U.S. and Saudi Arabia to openly confront the problems in their relationship, the 9/11 report sounded more like a marriage counselor than a congressional review. The crux of its conclusion:

THOMAS KEAN, CHAIRMAN, 9/11 COMMISSION: Our relationship with that country cannot be just, we're looking over this and that and they'll give us oil and everything will be fine.

KOPPEL: The implication, with 25 percent of the world's oil reserves, Saudi Arabia has for decades gotten a pass instead of pressure from successive U.S. administrations to enact political and economic reforms. The net result, the report concludes, the Saudi kingdom is today rife with Islamic extremism, racked with unemployment, while the ruling family is itself locked in mortal combat with al Qaeda. But some experts warn U.S. influence in the kingdom is now extremely limited. DAN BYMAN, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: The royal family has always resisted any outside pressure to change. And perhaps even more importantly, the U.S. is so unpopular in Saudi Arabia today that the U.S. endorsement of reform or the U.S. endorsement of change would probably backfire.

KOPPEL: The good news for Saudi rulers, after years of being blamed, in part because 15 of 19 hijackers were Saudis, the kingdom was exonerated on one key issue.

LEE HAMILTON, VICE-CHAIRMAN, 9/11 COMMISSION: We have found no evidence of the involvement of the Saudi government in the plot.

KOPPEL: But the former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee questions this conclusion and is calling for a further investigation.

SEN. BOB GRAHAM (D), FLORIDA: It seems to be rather dismissive of this issue of the Saudi connection, when we found in our joint inquiry that there were a whole series of very suspicious circumstances.

KOPPEL: Circumstances still classified, the White House still refusing to release 27 pages from the congressional joint inquiry.

(on camera): But a senior commission official says its investigators interviewed the people in question and reviewed the FBI files and what they found -- quote -- "did not line up" with Graham's conclusions. Still, the same official conceded Saudi Arabia is a problematic ally caught in its own battle with Islamic extremists.

Andrea Koppel, CNN, at the State Department.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Meanwhile, back in Iraq, extremists there have taken a high-value hostage. A videotape first aired on Al-Jazeera shows Egypt's third highest-ranking diplomat in captivity. He was grabbed while leaving a mosque. His captors are demanding that Egypt abandon any plans to send security experts in support of the new Iraqi government.

Another group of militants holding seven foreign truck drivers, including one from Egypt there, they're threatening to start beheading them each starting tomorrow.

Still to come tonight here on NEWSNIGHT, one more time for posterity, Lance Armstrong pedaling toward a sixth straight Tour de France victory and the history books.

And later, the very thing that gives Glacier National Park its name will soon be no more. We'll explain.

Once again, from New York tonight, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HEMMER: Barring a disaster, Lance Armstrong will look better in yellow than anyone, not that he isn't a cycling legend already, having won the Tour de France, battled cancer and coming back to win it time and time again. This victory, should it happen, would be his sixth in a row. And no one has gone there before.

Tonight, we tell the story with still photos in from France and the words of "Sports Illustrated" senior writer Austin Murphy. We caught up with him by phone today in between stages of the race.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AUSTIN MURPHY, SENIOR WRITER, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": The Tour is simply the most difficult athletic feat in existence, a counterclockwise a tour of the country on a bicycle over some of the most obscene climbs I've ever seen.

It is a supreme test and it belongs to one man right now. Lance Armstrong, the winner of the last five of these races, has a commanding lead. He's up by 4:09 over a young Italian named Ivan Basso. His next closest is Andreas Kloden of the T-mobile team. Surprisingly, Jan Ullrich, who was thought be Armstrong's chief threat, is basically an afterthought.

To see these guys in real life, to see the legs, the sinews, the gears, the massive gears that they're pushing up these obscene gradients, it is jaw-dropping. This race is a moving Super Bowl. It plays out over one of the most beautiful countries in the world. And it is an incredible pageant.

Lance is beloved and he is despised in some quarters. Up the Alp d'Huez, there were a half-million people on the mountain. A lot of them wanted to run alongside Lance. Some wanted to touch him. And a lot of them had some nasty things to say to him. He gets flipped off. He got spat on a couple of times. They're really just fueling his fire. It just makes the ride stronger. That's what he told us.

The last remaining stage before Sunday's ceremonial stage into Paris is a time trial tomorrow around the city of Besancon. He's basically -- he's got it in the bag.

Armstrong is on the cusp of becoming the first person ever to win six Tours de France, let alone six in a row, let alone recovering from cancer and doing it. The danger in writing this story is, you run out of superlatives. It is astonishing that he has dominated this race the way he has. Even if the guy hadn't been given a 30 percent or 40 percent chance of living eight years ago, he's been so good that we tend to forget that once in a while. It is historic.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Austin Murphy, a writer for "Sports Illustrated" following the Tour de France, 18 stages down, two to go. We'll know on Sunday from Paris.

Still ahead tonight here on NEWSNIGHT, they are 7,000 years old and melting away at an alarming rate, why one national park soon may be looking for a new name.

Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: In segment seven tonight, there are things in nature we simply assume will outlast us. By their very size and age, they seem indestructible, timeless.

The only glaciers in the U.S. in the lower 48 are some of the most imposing natural formations of the country, if not the entire world. But if you haven't seen them yet, time may be running out. Your normal host has not gone far tonight.

Here is Aaron Brown.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): It is a place at once both spectacular and sublime, Glacier National Park. At the height of summer, everything here is practically perfect, except for this. The glaciers are disappearing.

DAN FAGRE, U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY: Right now, our best guess is that by the year 2030 all the glaciers in Glacier National Park will be gone.

BROWN: Gone, the way geology is measured, in the blink of an eye, with the only hope of saving them, scientists say, a return of something they call the little ice age, unlikely in the extreme.

FAGRE: These glaciers probably formed 7,000 years ago. And the ice in them is at least several hundred years old. And so it is very, very fast, not only in geologic terms, but even in human terms.

BROWN: You can see what scientists are talking about in this series of still photos taken over the last 90 years or so, a steady, unrelenting retreat. Of the 150 original glaciers in the park, only about 20 remain today. And the rangers who guide the tours around use the photos to discuss it with stark clarity.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is about 700 feet thinner than it was in the late 1800s and about 10 percent of the mass that it was in the late 1800s.

BROWN: The million-dollar question of course is why.

FAGRE: There is no question that some of it is the global warming that is attributable to humans.

BROWN: There are other factors are at work as well. In scientific terms, they are called climactic pulses. In plain English, it has been far too hot.

KATE MARRONE, TOURIST: This kind of heat isn't actually normal out here. And last summer was unbelievable. It was almost 100 every day when we were here.

BROWN: The best way to see what glaciers remain is in person. Visitors first take boat rides across two small lakes, then hike through the woods and up the cliffs in a trek that takes about nine miles in all. That the glaciers will soon be gone is a topic always of conversation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The beauty of the park will still be outstanding. It is very similar to New Zealand. As a matter of fact, I think New Zealand has nothing on this part of the -- this part of our country.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was in Glacier National Park 40 years ago and they weren't having this conversation at all.

BROWN: But they certainly are now. And if the glaciers can disappear, many visitors wonder, what is next?

BRUCE PATT, TOURIST: The glaciers are the indicator of something much larger. So that's -- in a sense, it is the symptom to something else. That's the part that really worries me a great deal.

BROWN: Aaron Brown, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: And they call it Big Sky for a reason, too.

In a moment here, we'll wrap things up and look ahead to next week.

From New York for a Friday night, this is NEWSNIGHT here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: As we close out our show tonight, a quick programming note before we leave for the weekend. On Monday, starting on Monday, CNN's special election coverage in Boston runs from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern. NEWSNIGHT will take over with Aaron 11:00 here in New York. That is next week, Monday through Thursday here on CNN.

Bill Clinton speaks on Monday. He's the headliner then. John Kerry wraps it up on Thursday at the end of that show. And then we're off and running toward the general election on November 2. Anderson Cooper is in Boston with his show at 7:00. And Larry King does double duty all next week, 9:00 live and then again midnight live here, all times Eastern on CNN.

Also, join us on day one Monday morning at 7:00 a.m. I'll be there with my team from "AMERICAN MORNING." We'll have the first word on the convention news of the day every day there in Boston. Hope to see you Monday morning.

Enjoy your weekend. And good night once again from New York.

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