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Lou Dobbs Tonight
Interview with John Zogby; Interview With Marty Lindner; A Look at DC-3, an American Classic
Aired August 12, 2003 - 18:00 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.
LOU DOBBS, HOST: Tonight: As California goes, so goes the nation. Pollster John Zogby on what Californians and the rest of us are really thinking. The legal profession has decided an attorney may have a higher duty than his or her client. The president of the American Bar Association, Dennis Archer, is our guest.
Computers at home and work are threatened by a new virus. Carnegie Mellon's CERT incident leader Marty Lindner on this world- wide worm. And "American Classics." Tonight, the classic of aviation, the venerable DC-3, the world's most resilient aircraft in service and longevity.
ANNOUNCER: This is LOU DOBBS TONIGHT for Tuesday, August 12. Here now, Lou Dobbs.
DOBBS: Good evening. Tonight the FBI is interrogating a British man who is accused of trying to smuggle an anti-aircraft missile into this country. The man was arrested today in Newark, New Jersey. National security correspondent David Ensor joins me now with more on this developing story -- David.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Lou, this arrest follows an extended sting operation by the FBI, in cooperation with Russian and other authorities overseas. And as you say, a British citizen of Indian descent, we're told, has been arrested in New Jersey today. There may be other arrests, as well, we are told. And as you said, he was -- he is accused of being an arms dealer who was attempting to smuggle a surface-to-air missile into the United States and to sell it to persons unknown.
Now, these may -- since we're told it's a sting operation, these may have been FBI agents who were offering to buy it from him. But in any case, it's clearly a pretty serious violation of the law to try to bring such a weapon into the United States. And of course, it is a weapon of choice for terrorists. It was used -- it's the weapon that was used in Mombasa, Kenya, in an attempt to fire on an Israeli aircraft, that attempt thought to have been by individuals connected to al Qaeda. This is one of the weapons that was used in the unsuccessful attempt -- Lou.
DOBBS: David, with so many of these missiles at large, is this -- do we know whether or not this arms dealer is well known to authorities?
ENSOR: Well, they've been tracking him for some time, we're told, and with cooperation from others. So presumably, they do know who they're following quite well. And as I say, he's a British citizen, not an American, of Indian descent. So there's a fair amount known about him. They're not putting his name out right now, and the rest of the details I don't have from my sources. But I believe you may be able to get them from Deborah Feyerick, who's been following this from New York.
DOBBS: Absolutely, and since you mentioned the magic words, Deborah Feyerick, let's turn to her now. She joins us here in the studio -- Deborah.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are told that the man who is in custody is an independent arms dealer, but according to law enforcement sources, he hasn't sold weapons to al Qaeda in the past. They do not believe that this is part of any larger sort of terrorist plot. The Stinger, we are told by the authorities, was shipped from Russia. It was smuggled into an East Coast port. We are told by law enforcement sources that it was delivered and is now in FBI custody, as is the man who smuggled it into the United States. He arrived here over the weekend, purportedly to complete the cash transaction. He was arrested this afternoon in New Jersey.
Two other men also under arrest at this time. They are gem dealers originally from Afghanistan. They work here in New York. We are told that they also were arrested this afternoon as part of this plot. "Money launderers" is the term that is being used by our sources. They were the ones who were going to broker the deal or make sure to take care of the cash between the buyer and the seller.
So right now, three men in custody. The British citizen, who is of Indian descent, is expected to be in a federal court tomorrow morning at 10:00 or 10:30. We are told that either before or after then, the FBI in New Jersey is going to have a press conference to give us more details on what's going on right now.
DOBBS: The nationality of the people being held?
FEYERICK: One of them is a British citizen of Indian descent. Two others, they're from Afghanistan. I don't know whether they're nationalized citizens or not, but they have a corporation -- we're told it's called Amboy (ph) Corporation -- in midtown. And we're having trouble finding exactly where they're located. We have an address, but it doesn't match up with the name that we've got.
DOBBS: Deborah, thank you very much. A success story in the war on terror tonight. Deborah Feyerick.
There have been 35 attempts to shoot down civilian airliners with shoulder-launched missiles since 1978. Twenty-four of those attacks succeeded. More than 500 people were killed in the attacks. Most of the aircraft were propeller-driven. The missile threat was highlighted by two recent attempts to shoot down Western and Israeli aircraft by groups linked to al Qaeda. Terrorists fired two missiles at an Israeli airliner in Kenya just last November. The missiles narrowly missed. And in May, terrorists failed to shoot down a U.S. military jet in Saudi Arabia. In Iraq today, U.S. troops arrested more than a dozen members of a single family with close links to Saddam Hussein. In a separate incident, another U.S. soldier was killed in Iraq. He was the 58th to die since the end of major combat operations on the 1st of May. Two hundred sixty-two U.S. soldiers have died since the beginning of military operations in Iraq.
Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr reports -- Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Lou, troops on the hunt for Saddam Hussein and his associates today arrested those ex-regime officials, as you say, in a dramatic raid in Tikrit in northern Iraq. They believe now that they have in custody a former bodyguard of Saddam Hussein and a former chief of staff of the Republican Guard. And 12 other people grabbed in that raid, as well, said to be members of a family closely associated with Saddam Hussein.
It was a very dramatic raid. It lasted about three hours. About 200 U.S. troops involved in that raid. And as you said, Lou, the deadly attacks do continue against U.S. troops. Another soldier killed about 60 miles west of Baghdad when a military convoy struck three improvised explosive devices, bringing that number to 58 of the total number of U.S. soldiers killed by hostile action since the war, the major combat was declared to be over on May 1.
And as the very tough conditions continue for the troops in Iraq during these summer months, when it's especially hot, the commanders are still working on that plan to try and get the troops a two-week vacation, to basically take some leave, come home, come back to the United States and visit their families. But they're also working on a number of things to try and help improve morale and living conditions inside Iraq.
We've talked in the past about some of the efforts being made, for example, by the 101st Airborne Division, which has seen some of the toughest combat, some of the toughest conditions in Iraq. We know that they're trying to get them better food, better living conditions, e-mail, that sort of thing. But we have some new details for you tonight. The commander of the 101st says that he has managed to get delivered 300,000 containers of Gatorade, new uniforms, socks, shoes, boots and more underwear for the troops that have been out in those front lines for so long. And it's a bit delicate, perhaps, to talk about, but they're even getting themselves some porta-johns with some running water instead of those very primitive burn-off latrines -- Lou.
DOBBS: And critically important. Barbara Starr, thank you very much. Appreciate it.
The United States today won a major concession from Liberian rebels. A U.S.-led delegation persuaded rebel commanders to withdraw their forces 25 miles from the capital of Monrovia Thursday. The delegation including the U.S. ambassador, a U.S. general and representatives of West African peacekeepers. The agreement will allow humanitarian aid to be delivered to Monrovia by ship. In this country, California governor Gray Davis today said he has no plans to depart under pressure. Opinion polls say he is trailing Republican candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger by a significant margin ahead of the recall election.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you going to resign this office?
GOV. GRAY DAVIS (D), CALIFORNIA: No. I have an obligation to the eight million people, Conan, who went to the polls last November. They asked me to do a job in California. I'm going to do it every day they allow me to do it. I'm not going to give up on those eight million people who went to the polls.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOBBS: California's campaign season will be relatively short. The state has less than two months to prepare for an election that would normally require at least four months' planning. The cost of the election estimated to be as high as $70 million. John King now reports on the potential chaos ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pull the ballot part out, check for chads on the back.
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Here we go again. The California recall election, cobbled together in just over two months, is looking to some like Florida 2000 redux.
DICK ROSENGARTEN, "CALIFORNIA POLITICAL WEEK": The county registrars in the 58 counties are yelling and screaming bloody murder.
KING: California's scrambling to pull together an election with more candidates than the state's ever seen in less than half the typical prep time. In Los Angeles alone, it's a tall order.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to format and print four million sample ballots, this style, mail them to four million voters. We then have to format the ballot itself.
KING: Not to mention, recruit poll workers to pull it off.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you available again? This will be for October 7, and we will need you to be the inspector.
KING: There's also the matter of a highly complicated ballot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You may see as many as 18 or so names per page in LA County when you go to vote. So if there's 125 or 150, there will be a substantial number of pages that you have to page through to find the candidate that you want to vote for.
KING: And then in six California counties, you'll have to punch. The ACLU is suing to block the use of the punchcard ballots, claiming the system is faulty and disenfranchises minority voters. LA election officials don't seem too worried.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've never had any problems. As I said, it's been 35 years of successful voting.
KING: Still, though election day is October 7, decision day may come quite a bit later. John King, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: Joining us now for more on the state of confusion in California and the state of voters around this country, and what this all may portend for the 2000 presidential campaign and election, is pollster John Zogby. Let me ask you first, John, to address the issue of what in the world is going on in California? We've seen all sorts of polls. This recall -- is Gray Davis certain to be recalled, based on what you're seeing?
JOHN ZOGBY, PRESIDENT & CEO, ZOGBY INTERNATIONAL: Oh, I think it's really too early to predict his demise. Certainly, majorities right now say that he would be recalled, and the numbers actually for recall seem to have grown in the past week, while Arnold has gotten all the attention. So Gray Davis's numbers are not headed in the right direction for him right now.
DOBBS: How about Senator Tom McClintock and Arianna Huffington? We talked with them here last night, both of them expressing, I think articulately, expressed substantive views. How are they doing?
ZOGBY: Well, right now, they are kind of in the leadership of the second tier, the first tier being Arnold -- and no need for a last name, just Arnold -- and then Cruz Bustamante, then followed by Peter Ueberroth, Arianna Huffington, Senator McClintock. They are talking substantive issues, and that's important. Whether or not they can get through all the clutter right now -- and the clutter, as it appears right now, is all Arnold all the time. But whether or not they can break through with real issues, you know, remains to be seen.
DOBBS: Well, you're not only a nationally regarded pollster, but also understand the media very well. Do you see any appetite on the part of -- let's put it this way -- other news organization, other media outlets to focus on the substantive issues in California, or are we going to see nothing but a media circus here?
ZOGBY: We're seeing a media circus right now. Needless to say, I mean, this is just quite a story about Arnold getting into the race. But as soon as the important questions are asked of Arnold, he's going to have to answer them. As soon as he answers them, that in itself is going to be a new kind of feeding frenzy. I mean, for example, Mr. Schwarzenegger, what are you going to do? Are you going to raise taxes? Are you going to cut spending? Those are important answers that he's going to have to give.
As soon as he does that, you're going to see some of the luster wipe off the shining armor that he has right now. And then you're also going see some opening for some of the other candidates, those who will appeal to conservative Republicans -- something Arnold isn't doing right now -- those who will appeal to liberals and moderate Democrats, something that Arnold is not appealing to now, either. And so he has no other direction to go but down, frankly, from here.
DOBBS: And the issues most on Californians' minds -- obviously, the budget deficit, I would think would be, certainly, for him, in those concerns. What else is really at the heart of Californian concerns?
ZOGBY: Well, obviously, their economy, and that's hand in glove with the budget deficit. You know, you talk to Californians, and they will tell you that northern California has imploded, southern California not doing so well, either. This all having a tremendous impact, along with the national economy, the implosion of the dot- coms. That's on their minds.
At the same time, Californians are also concerned with leadership. Whoever becomes the next governor -- and I would not rule out Gray Davis, al though the odds are against him right now. But whoever is the next governor is going to have to somehow cut spending, is going to have to raise taxes. That's going to be very painful. And I think it begs a very important question among Republicans, and that is, Do they have the stomach to do that? Otherwise, if they don't, I don't think they're going to win on just vague generalities. Californians are going to hold their feet to the fire.
DOBBS: You don't think who can win on vague generalities?
ZOGBY: I'm sorry. I didn't hear that.
DOBBS: You said who could not win on vague generalities?
ZOGBY: Someone like Arnold Schwarzenegger or, for that matter, conservative Republicans. Californians are still, for the most part, Democrat and left of center. And while Arnold Schwarzenegger has identified himself as a moderate Republican, whoever wins is going to have to promise some pretty distasteful, some pretty difficult challenges for Californians, and...
DOBBS: All right...
ZOGBY: ... is going to have to promise that before the election.
DOBBS: Compare, if you will, then, the Californian mind-set against all regions of this country, as we head toward the presidential election year. The concerns that you have stated that Californians are thinking about -- does that compare pretty markedly with what most Americans are thinking about?
ZOGBY: Lou, it sure does. The economy is No. 1 throughout the United States in every state, as well as individually. Forty-one out of fifty states have budget deficits. Most of those forty-one states have record budget deficits. And we have just a very difficult time ahead of us. Not everybody is facing an election, certainly, a recall election this year, but Americans may very well be in a nasty mood as we move into 2004.
DOBBS: And are you seeing any -- give us any surprising trend that you're seeing in your polling now nationally, whether it be about the nine Democratic candidates or President Bush's strengths and weaknesses that are developing.
ZOGBY: I think the amazing thing is how President Bush's numbers since he got into office in January, 2001, have essentially been a bell-shaped curve. He has certainly, on his end, moved up dramatically in his numbers after 9/11, and then at the outset of the war in Iraq and subsequent victory militarily, but he's right back down to virtually being a 50/50 president. As far as the Democrats are concerned, that race I think is frozen now until October 7. And being frozen, I think that benefits Howard Dean, who's had the only upward momentum of any of the nine candidates that we have in the race right now.
DOBBS: Frozen because of all that the Californians will be experiencing over the course of the now less than two months of campaigning. John Zogby...
ZOGBY: That's right. That's right.
DOBBS: ... we thank you very much, and we appreciate it.
ZOGBY: Thank you, Lou.
DOBBS: Tonight's quote comes from the campaign trail, where one candidate compared his run for president to Arnold Schwarzenegger's bid to be governor of California. "If the `Terminator' can run California, I sure can run the United States." That from Democratic presidential hopeful Al Sharpton.
Still ahead: more details on the alleged plot to smuggle anti- aircraft missiles into this country. Homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve will join us in just moments with new information. And a nuclear threat in Europe tonight from the head, record temperatures stretching into a second week and causing serious power problems and concern about nuclear plants.
Also ahead, a dramatic change in the standards of legal ethics when it comes to stopping corporate crime. Dennis Archer, the president of the American Bar Association, joins us.
And our feature series this week on "American Classics." Tonight, the aircraft that changed travel and commerce forever, the DC-3, when we continue.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: As we've just reported, the FBI has foiled an alleged plot to smuggle anti-aircraft missiles into this country. Homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve now joins us. She has the latest for us from Washington -- Jeanne.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lou, we've gotten some new details from government officials about exactly how this transpired. I am told that authorities got wind that there was an arms dealer who was walking around, telling people that he could get his hands on shoulder-fired missiles, and that U.S. authorities then posed as undercover -- undercover as terrorists and said to him, Yes, we'd be interested in buying shoulder-fired missiles.
This individual then began making inquiries in Russia about purchasing a shoulder-fired missile. The Russian authorities became aware of this. They began cooperating with the U.S. There were several undercover meetings between this individual, undercover U.S. agents and Russian officials also working undercover in St. Petersburg and Moscow.
The Russians, with the cooperation and green light from the U.S., provided this individual with an FA-18 shoulder-fired missile. This was an inert missile. That is, there were not any explosives contained within it. They kept track of him and what he was doing. He arranged for the shipment of this missile into Newark, New Jersey, where he apparently had some associates. He -- the U.S. officials allowed it to come in. They knew it was coming.
Meanwhile, this individual, this British citizen who's been arrested, flew into this country and he was arrested. Government officials do tell me that there is a financial angle to this, that there were individuals and businesses involved who facilitated the flow of money for the purchase of this missile. Those individuals and businesses are being looked at now. My sources could not tell me the dollar amount involved here, but they said it's their belief that on the open market, something like this would probably sell for about $100,000.
In addition, I'm told that the British played a big role in this and that there have been search warrants executed in the Britain today. Unclear at this point exactly what they found. We've just been advised that these search warrants were executed. And Lou, those are some of the latest details from government officials.
DOBBS: Jeanne Meserve, thanks for bringing us up to date. And again, three men are in custody in connection with this missile sting operation led by the FBI, in cooperation with the Russians. Jeanne Meserve, thank you very much, homeland security correspondent.
Turning to other news -- Texas tonight is cleaning up from a series of powerful storms. The storms tore through the state last night. They produced drenching rains and hail in places the size of baseballs. High winds destroyed an aircraft complex, damaged several planes near San Antonio. Four people were killed in a storm-related car wreck.
Storms in Florida produced an impressive, dangerous display this morning. Two waterspouts churned their way through Biscayne Bay in the Miami area. One of those funnels briefly went ashore. No injuries or property damage reported. Waterspouts are common during Florida's rainy season. They are rarely life-threatening, but do pose a threat. In Europe, wildfires continue to burn out of control across the continent. Fires in Spain are now spreading throughout the northeastern part of the country. Officials there describe the situation as difficult. In neighboring Portugal, the army has been brought into help fight the fires. Over the past two weeks, an area of Portugal that is slightly smaller than the state of Rhode Island has been burned.
One of the causes of those fires is the deadly heat wave that grips much of Europe. The temperature in Paris today reached 104 degrees. More than 100 people have died from the heat since August 4 in Europe. Another 500, mostly elderly, have been hospitalized with heat-related illnesses. The head of France's Emergency Doctors Association has asked the International Red Cross and the army to help staff the country's overwhelmed hospitals.
The scorching heat is giving French officials other problems, as well. Electricity demand there is putting a tremendous strain on the country's nuclear power plants, and many are even close to overheating. Paula Hancocks reports from Paris.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the mercury rises, so does the desire to keep cool. Pumping up the air- conditioning in homes and businesses has put an unseasonal strain on France's electricity grid, prompting an official plea for moderation.
ROSELYNE BACHELOT-NARQUIN, FRENCH ECOLOGY MINISTER (through translator): I call on everyone to moderate their use of energy by adjusting or turning up the air-conditioning, like in this room, saving energy by not putting electrical lighters (ph) on stand-by and using less hot water.
HANCOCKS: France gets three quarters of its electricity from nuclear power, far more than any other European country. These plants use river water to cool down the nuclear reactors. The French government has agreed to raise the maximum temperature of water allowed to be pumped back into the rivers to prevent the reactors' overheating. But opponents say that could create an environmental crisis.
FREDERIC MARILLIER, GREENPEACE: When the temperature increase in the rivers, fishes can't survive. And moreover, there is other kind of (UNINTELLIGIBLE) will develop lots, and this will affect for a long time the ecosystem of the rivers.
YVES CANDASSOT, FRENCH GREEN PARTY (through translator): To say we are going to totally destroy the fauna and flora of the rivers to satisfy the nuclear lobby? I don't remember anyone coming up with such an argument.
HANCOCKS: EDF, the French electricity generator, has already had to cut production, as nuclear power stations threaten to overheat. The Fassenon (ph) nuclear plant in eastern France was just two degrees centigrade away from an emergency shutdown, forcing technicians to hose down one of the reactors.
(on camera): It's not just a French phenomenon. Italy has already had to endure power cuts of its own, and two southern states in Germany are also allowing their nuclear plants to pump hotter water back into the rivers to keep their reactors cool. Paula Hancocks, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: Some nuclear plants in this country have overheated in the past but have never caused a major safety problem. Steve Floyd of the Nuclear Energy Institute says when such problems have occurred here, authorities have temporarily reduced the power production of the plant involved.
Now tonight's thought. It's on the weather. We shall never be content until each man makes his own weather and keeps it to himself. Author, Jerome K. Jerome.
Coming up next: A rapidly spreading Internet worm is targeting a popular computer operation system in thousands of PCs tonight. Internet security expert Marty Lindner of Carnegie Mellon University joins us. And broken promises: American military veterans living without health care while members of Congress enjoy health care most Americans can only dream of. Bill Tucker will have the story. And the massive controversy over Mel Gibson's new movie. Peter Viles reports on why "The Passion" is causing such passion. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: More than a million computers have been attacked by a new Internet worm that is spreading rapidly around the world. This new virus takes advantage of a hole in Microsoft's Windows operating system. This worm has forced the shutdown of the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration, as an example. The FBI's cyber division is trying to race the worm's origin. And joining us now, Internet security expert Marty Lindner of the CERT ordination center at Carnegie Mellon University. Marty, thanks for being here. This -- Homeland Security's been talking about this virus, this worm, for some time. Why is it still able to -- to operate?
MARTY LINDNER, CERT COORDINATION CENTER, CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY: Well, the worm started yesterday. The vulnerability started about three weeks ago, I think, on July 17. Microsoft identified the flaw, developed a fix and publicized what users need to do to fix the problem. We followed with an announcement telling people the same thing. And about two weeks ago, we saw the first vulnerability exploiting this, but it wasn't that big of a problem. Again, we notified people they need to apply the patches. Late yesterday afternoon, we saw yet another version of the malicious code, which was a worm, which has allowed -- is allowing itself to spread rapidly across the Internet. The problem now is that it's not just as simple as applying the patch. Users now need to take additional steps to recover from the damage that the worm causes before they can apply the patch.
DOBBS: And as I understand it, this worm -- it's called what, Blaster, amongst a couple of other...
LINDNER: Correct.
DOBBS: ... names -- it's actually attacking the patch that Microsoft designed for it, correct?
LINDNER: Well, no, it's not attacking the patch. It's successful when the patch is not there.
The problem is Microsoft publicized the problem. Users for whatever reason did not apply the patch. So because of that, the worm is now successful. As people apply patch, the effect of the worm will diminish, and the goal is to get as many people as possible to apply the patch.
DOBBS: I guess, at this point, the first question is, is it likely this worm, this virus can move beyond are the Microsoft operating system? In other words can it move beyond these desktop operating systems into more sophisticated computers?
LINDNER: No, not really. The worm is designed to attack a particular flaw in Microsoft, the RPC service. So that is the limit of this worm. That isn't to say someone can't create another worm that targets a different vulnerability.
We've seen other worms in the past: Code Red of, like, three years ago, Nimda and SQL Slammer in January. They're all variation -- they're all worms attacking various components of an operating system.
DOBBS: What are the odds that you and others working on this will be able to identify person or persons who launched the worm?
LINDNER: That's not our role. I mean, the FBI and other investigative bodies will try to figure where it comes from. Our role is to understand how it works and how to stop it.
DOBBS: You got it figured out?
LINDNER: We're getting there.
(LAUGHTER)
DOBBS: OK. Marty Lindner of Carnegie Mellon, thanks a lot.
Well, still ahead here tonight, broken promises. American veterans can only dream of the health care coverage afforded another group of public servants. Bill Tucker will have the report.
And raising the bar in the war on corporate crime. A dramatic change in attorney-client privilege. Dennis Archer, the president of the American Bar Association, joins us.
And our feature series this week of "American Classics." Tonight, the DC-3. It revolutionized air travel three quarters of a century ago. It is still flying high.
Stay with us.
Can I talk with....
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: On this program, we've reported extensively on the problems faced by our veterans seeking medical care. For example, most veterans are forced to wait months before they can see a doctor.
The situation is starkly different for another group of Americans who serve their country on Capitol Hill.
Bill Tucker reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL TUCKER, CNNfn CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Putting your life on the line for your country will get you less than serving in Congress. After five years in Washington, members of the House and Senate get lifetime health care benefits. Veterans don't.
Veterans do get access to health care if they qualify and if they're willing to wait. The wait time can be as long as six months for a simple doctor's visit and up to two years if they need to see a specialist.
JERRY NEWBERRY, VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS: Members of Congress need medical care, they get in their cars, they go get their care. And that's how it works. Unfortunately -- and maybe that's the problem, they have theirs, so why think about those who don't have theirs.
TUCKER: In addition, if you're a vet enrolled in a V.A. program and you need to see a doctor but don't live near a V.A. facility, the cost comes out of your pocket. You are not reimbursed.
Congress did promise veterans a $3.5 million in the V.A. health care budget, but the House Appropriations Committee just cut the allocation for health care and is delivering far less, nearly $2 billion less.
And hazardous pay is being cut too, from $250 to $100 a day.
MICHAEL STINSON, TAKE BACK THE MEDIA: There are 30 million vets out there, and these guys are leaving them twisting in the wind. That's the dumbest thing you could possibly do.
TUCKER (on camera): A potent political force but one which doesn't get much in the way of respect in Washington, including veterans who are injured in the line of duty and entitled to disability pay. That disability compensation is deducted from their retirement pay.
Bill Tucker, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE) DOBBS: Turning now to the American Bar Association, which today changed its ethics rules in order to help fight white collar criminals. They attorneys' group voted to allow corporate lawyers to report fraud in their firm without violating attorney-client privilege.
Joining me now is the new president of the American Bar Association, Dennis Archer. He is joining us from San Francisco.
Good to have you with us.
DENNIS ARCHER, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION: Thanks, Lou.
DOBBS: Let me ask you, what prompted this change in your ethics?
ARCHER: Well, several years ago, there was an effort made to adopt similar provisions within our model rules of professional code of ethics, and it was defeated. On the other hand, because things do change, and we have seen what has occurred with Enron and other companies, it was thought that a new task force would be led, and Jim Cheeks chaired that on behalf of then-President Bob (UNINTELLIGIBLE), two president away. And they came to the House yesterday and today with the recommendation that was passed.
Yesterday was a close vote on the confidentiality rule on the reporting of the fraud or reporting up was a larger-vote margin by which it won.
DOBBS: There's always been a crime fraud exception. So what happened in the case of Enron and WorldCom? What changed there? Why wasn't that applied?
ARCHER: Lou, the confidentiality in the crime issue is more in terms of bodily injury and did not go to property or loss of money. And I just frankly think, and as did the members of the House that voted in favor, that we needed to change to demonstrate what would be in the best interest of the American people as well as our clients.
DOBBS: The law firms, as you well know, that are at the periphery, if you will, some would argue at the heart of what was going on in corporate America as these scandals broke, they haven't been in any way, to my knowledge at least, investigated by authorities. They have basically had a blank check here.
ARCHER: Well...
DOBBS: I'm sorry. Go ahead.
ARCHER: Lou, I beg to differ. I beg to differ with you. I think your underlying predicate is not correct. That is to say, that if you take a look at involvement of the lawyers, the lawyers were asked to provide an opinion. They were asked by those that they reported to to do certain things. But they are not the ones make the decision. The lawyers are not the ones who were leading it, but -- and you are right, the focus has not been necessarily on lawyers, although Congress did, in Sarbanes-Oxley, give the SEC the ability to promulgate rules that does impact the legal profession. We wanted to make sure they understood and the American people understood that lawyers were committed to make sure that they could trust again and be involved in our economy.
DOBBS: I will accede to your challenge of my predicate in the statement to this extent, that while they were not in the leadership of the offenders, they were certainly facilitators in certain case. That's pretty much (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
ARCHER: That was the allegation, that is correct.
DOBBS: Right.
It would be nice to see the investigations investigated thoroughly, it is more heart warming to me at least to see that the American Bar Association has taken on responsibility here to really serve a higher goal, and that is the public trust. In the case of fraud, white collar fraud, this put the attorney serving the corporation in the role of serving the principles of the corporation and not the officers, is that correct?
ARCHER: There is a potential risk of substantial injury that will come by way of a fraud, then they have a duty to report up. And they continue to report up until such time as they get attention of those who are in charge. My overall belief, is and if you think it, is that if you think about all of the companies that are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, those companies that were involved were, what, maybe less than a dozen, but it has substantial impact?
DOBBS: No, no, no, no. Far more than a dozen unfortunately. But I take your point that the far greater number of corporations are honestly run by well-meaning souls, and I think we can say the same thing of attorneys. But it is -- it's like rat poison, 98 percent oatmeal it's the 2 percent that kills you. So, we got to take care of that. And I'm glad, and I compliment you for the ABA addressing the issue. And we thank you very much for sharing your time.
ARCHER: Thanks, Lou.
DOBBS: Thank you.
That brings us to "Tonight's Poll." The question, under what condition should the attorney client privilege be abolished?
White collar crime, public safety, national security, or simply never.
Cast your vote at cnn.com/lou. We'll have the results for you later in the broadcast.
In the final results of yesterday's poll.
The question, are willing to pay more tax to provide veteran's benefits? Sixty three percent of you in the affirmative, 25 percent said no, 11 percent considering it. Still ahead, passion and fury over Mel Gibson's new film, "The Passion."
Peter Viles has the report for us coming right up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
Mel Gibson's new film, "Passion," about the crucifixion of Jesus is causing controversy to say the least. Anti-Defamation League says the movie can set back decades of progress in Christian/Jewish relationships and fuel anti-Semitism.
Peter Viles reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETER VILES, CNNFN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The controversy is a movie not yet edited, does not have a distributor, probably won't be released until sometime next year and won't be in English anyway. The movie is "Passion," Mel Gibson's account of Christ's final hours. These unofficial clips are circulating on the Internet. The controversy is whether the film blames Jews for the death of Christ. The Anti-Defamation League for someone who has seen an early screening believes that it does.
ABRAHAM FOXMAN, ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: This film in the present form restates the charge. It does so dramatically that the Jews are responsible for the killing of Jesus. We are concerned if the movie is released in the present form will act to inflame, induce anti- Semitism around the world.
VILES: Gibson practicing a form of Catholicism that disregards Vatican 2 among other things exonerated Jews from the charge of killing Christ. He said privately he wants to tell the story of Christ's Death according to the gospel, and many who have seen early versions of the film are praising it.
TED HAGGARD, NATL. ASSN. OF EVANGELICALS: It communicates the last day of Jesus' life here on the earth no different than Matthew, Mark, Luke and John do and no different than 350,000 churches in American celebrate Easter. And the midst of the Easter celebration, they have to tell the story of the crucifixion and everything associated with that.
VILES: Responding to the charge that the film could incite anti- Semitism, a spokes man for Gibson tell CNN quote, "No one associated with this film has any interest in fueling hatred, bigotry or anti- Semitism. The film is about love, faith, hope and forgiveness.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
VILES: The film is a work in progress, there is no final cut of this movie yet. Doesn't have a distributor nor a release date nor is there a decision to use subtitles. The film was shot in Latin in Aramaic.
DOBBS: The artistic decisions surrounding the film is interesting, how large an audience and shot in Aramaic.
VILES: Well, not very. The screenings have all been with English subtitles. The feedback on that is good, and they're reconsidering this original decision not to use subtitles.
DOBBS: The question of not having a distributor, this film as I understand was planned for release for next year all along.
Is there any difficulty for Mel Gibson in getting a distributor for this.
VILES: His spokesman said there is terrific interest among distributors. They are literally lining up. There is great interest. There are a lot of issues that have to be dealt with. One how controversial is the final cut going to be. Is there going to be subtitles?
And the version recognize that screened now are terrifically violent, so violent that people are saying a good portion of the audience would walk out of this movie.
OK, we thank you very much, Peter Viles.
DOBBS: When we continue, "American Classics." Tonight we look at an aviation legend, the DC-3, nearly 70 years old and flying into the new millennium. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Tonight, "American Classics." An aviation legend, the DC-3. This aircraft has been flying for nearly seven decades. Its stable design and powerful engines made modern commercial air travel possible, and made the DC-3 more than just a popular aircraft. Casey Wian has the story from Long Beach, California.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The DC-3 revolutionized aviation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you take a globe and look at it, there's been a DC-3 every place on that globe, North Pole, South Pole. They've been everywhere.
WIAN: DC-3s flew military missions from D-Day through Vietnam and carried more cargo and more people than any plane in history, including TV and music legend Rick Nelson, when he died during the 1985 crash. But that was an anomaly. From its flight in 1935, through today, the DC-3 has proved durable almost beyond imagination.
Nearly 11,000 were built, about 600 are still in service in the United States, hundreds more around the world.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love to fly this airplane today. I remember when I flew it in 1952, how great I thought they were, and they were old in those days. WIAN: Clay Lacy is a former United Airlines pilot.
CLAY LACY, PRES., CLAY LACY AVIATION: This airplane came 33 years after the Wright brothers. I mean, what an advancement they made from the Wright brothers airplane to this DC-3, and it was also the first airplane that the airlines could make money with, that would carry enough passengers and had the reliability to fly at night and in bad weather.
WIAN: Douglas Aircraft designed the DC-3 to be bigger, faster, safer and more comfortable than anything flying at the time. Some hint at divine inspiration.
STEVE FRANKLIN, PRES., CATALINA FLYING BOATS: Somebody was looking over the designer's shoulder when they put this thing together. There's no question about that. It's probably the most successful airplane that's ever been built.
WIAN: With up to 28 seats and room for cargo, it made commercial air travel practical. In 1944, 275 of the United States' 300 commercial airplanes were DC-3s.
(on camera): Like most DC-3s, this one was originally built for the military and called the C-47. General Dwight Eisenhower called the plane one of the keys to the allied victory in World War II.
(voice-over): Nicknamed the Gooney Bird by pilots, it gave birth to the concept of the military airlift.
The DC-3 still has practical benefits. Steve Franklin's company operates two DC-3s between Long Beach, California and nearby Catalina Island, carrying several loads of cargo to restaurants and residents every day. Modern aircraft need too much maintenance for that job.
FRANKLIN: We can fly it over there and shut it down and unload it and load it and fire it up and run as many cycles as we want a day, and it doesn't cost us anymore.
WIAN: The company's mechanic, who has worked on DC-3s for 50 years, still has a 1944 maintenance manual. Planes built during World War II now carry cargo ordered over the Internet.
ROLAND TALKINGTON, DC-3 MECHANIC: I don't see any end to them. As long as the FAA lets us fly them, we'll keep flying them, I guess.
WIAN: Casey Wian, CNN, Long Beach, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: We continue our look at "American Classics." Tomorrow night, baseball, the great American pastime that survived national scandal, financial disaster, and 150 summers. It's still a very American story, certainly classic.
Just ahead -- we'll have the results of tonight's poll. Also, your thoughts on veterans' health benefits. Many of you wrote in about the broken promises to this country's veterans. We'll share some of your e-mails when we continue.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Now the results of tonight's poll, the question -- under what conditions should the attorney/client privilege be abolished? Eight percent of you said white collar crime, 10 percent said public safety, 23 percent said national security. Almost 60 percent said never.
The Federal Reserve's decision to keep interest rates steady lifted stock prices today. The Dow up 93 points. The Nasdaq up 25.5 points. And the S&P up almost 10. Christine Romans is here with the market. Not much volume, but the folks who did show up were pretty excited.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: They really were. You know, stock investors loved the fact that the Fed said the rates could stay low for, quote, "a considerable period of time." That's what they really liked. And so here you have rates the lowest since 1958 as expected, and expected to stay that way for at least now.
Now, led by financial and old economy stocks, the Dow hit a two- month high. Seventy-five percent of that light volume, Lou, was at higher prices.
Meanwhile, evidence retail investors shifted money from bonds into stocks in a pretty big way in July. AMG Data Services reports $17 billion flowed into the stock mutual funds, and taxable bond funds lost $1 billion. That's the first outflow since 2000.
Also, investors pulling $28 billion out of money market funds last month.
So the question now many are asking, what's next? Major averages are up double digits this year. The S&P 500 trades at 18 times forward earnings, and we've been at a sideways range for more than two months now. They're calling it the summer stall, if you will. It's been going on for a couple of months, but look, we're right back at the top end of that range again.
DOBBS: I don't see what anybody has to complain about here?
ROMANS: It could be 10 weeks of moving lower, after such -- 25 percent rally in the spring. And it hasn't been at all. It's been holding right in there.
DOBBS: And those earnings reports and those revenue reports are helping a bit. Christine, thanks. Christine Romans.
Let's take a look at your thoughts. Many of you wrote in about our focus on veteran's benefits. Jim Bailey of Memphis, Tennessee said -- "The government has never provided its veterans with the services they deserve. If you are a veteran, especially those who retired with 20-year service, you should be able to get medical services at any VA hospital. What we as a country do to our veterans is a tragic shame."
Pete Green of Atlanta said -- "The government already has more than enough of our money to fund more than adequate veterans benefits, Social Security, Medicare, health care and educational benefits, and other well-deserved and much-needed social programs and obligations. Unfortunately, abuse, waste, special interests and outright fraud have already broken the bank."
Bill R. from East Haven, Connecticut said -- "If we could give $20 billion to Turkey so we could walk across their country, why can't we find $1.8 billion for our vets?"
Many of also wrote in in response to our special series of reports last week on the war on drugs, what we called "The Forgotten War." Jim Aikman wrote -- "Marijuana is a substance that should not be legal. There are enough problems from the effects of other substances, like alcohol and prescription drugs."
And S. Olah made a hard-hitting case for decriminalizing marijuana, saying, quote: "Hey, man, I seen the e-mails about smoking pot or whatever that was and they are wrong. I have been smoking pot for a long time, and I can do stuff when I need to."
We love hearing from you. Send us your thoughts at loudobbs@cnn.com. That's our show for tonight. And we thank you for being with us. Tomorrow here, Treasury Secretary John Snow to share his thoughts on the economy and recovery and the future.
And in our future series this week, "American Classics," we take a look at America's national pastime, baseball, and Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda is our guest. For all of us here, good night from New York. "LIVE FROM THE HEADLINES" with Anderson Cooper is coming up next.
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Aired August 12, 2003 - 18:00 ET
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LOU DOBBS, HOST: Tonight: As California goes, so goes the nation. Pollster John Zogby on what Californians and the rest of us are really thinking. The legal profession has decided an attorney may have a higher duty than his or her client. The president of the American Bar Association, Dennis Archer, is our guest.
Computers at home and work are threatened by a new virus. Carnegie Mellon's CERT incident leader Marty Lindner on this world- wide worm. And "American Classics." Tonight, the classic of aviation, the venerable DC-3, the world's most resilient aircraft in service and longevity.
ANNOUNCER: This is LOU DOBBS TONIGHT for Tuesday, August 12. Here now, Lou Dobbs.
DOBBS: Good evening. Tonight the FBI is interrogating a British man who is accused of trying to smuggle an anti-aircraft missile into this country. The man was arrested today in Newark, New Jersey. National security correspondent David Ensor joins me now with more on this developing story -- David.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Lou, this arrest follows an extended sting operation by the FBI, in cooperation with Russian and other authorities overseas. And as you say, a British citizen of Indian descent, we're told, has been arrested in New Jersey today. There may be other arrests, as well, we are told. And as you said, he was -- he is accused of being an arms dealer who was attempting to smuggle a surface-to-air missile into the United States and to sell it to persons unknown.
Now, these may -- since we're told it's a sting operation, these may have been FBI agents who were offering to buy it from him. But in any case, it's clearly a pretty serious violation of the law to try to bring such a weapon into the United States. And of course, it is a weapon of choice for terrorists. It was used -- it's the weapon that was used in Mombasa, Kenya, in an attempt to fire on an Israeli aircraft, that attempt thought to have been by individuals connected to al Qaeda. This is one of the weapons that was used in the unsuccessful attempt -- Lou.
DOBBS: David, with so many of these missiles at large, is this -- do we know whether or not this arms dealer is well known to authorities?
ENSOR: Well, they've been tracking him for some time, we're told, and with cooperation from others. So presumably, they do know who they're following quite well. And as I say, he's a British citizen, not an American, of Indian descent. So there's a fair amount known about him. They're not putting his name out right now, and the rest of the details I don't have from my sources. But I believe you may be able to get them from Deborah Feyerick, who's been following this from New York.
DOBBS: Absolutely, and since you mentioned the magic words, Deborah Feyerick, let's turn to her now. She joins us here in the studio -- Deborah.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are told that the man who is in custody is an independent arms dealer, but according to law enforcement sources, he hasn't sold weapons to al Qaeda in the past. They do not believe that this is part of any larger sort of terrorist plot. The Stinger, we are told by the authorities, was shipped from Russia. It was smuggled into an East Coast port. We are told by law enforcement sources that it was delivered and is now in FBI custody, as is the man who smuggled it into the United States. He arrived here over the weekend, purportedly to complete the cash transaction. He was arrested this afternoon in New Jersey.
Two other men also under arrest at this time. They are gem dealers originally from Afghanistan. They work here in New York. We are told that they also were arrested this afternoon as part of this plot. "Money launderers" is the term that is being used by our sources. They were the ones who were going to broker the deal or make sure to take care of the cash between the buyer and the seller.
So right now, three men in custody. The British citizen, who is of Indian descent, is expected to be in a federal court tomorrow morning at 10:00 or 10:30. We are told that either before or after then, the FBI in New Jersey is going to have a press conference to give us more details on what's going on right now.
DOBBS: The nationality of the people being held?
FEYERICK: One of them is a British citizen of Indian descent. Two others, they're from Afghanistan. I don't know whether they're nationalized citizens or not, but they have a corporation -- we're told it's called Amboy (ph) Corporation -- in midtown. And we're having trouble finding exactly where they're located. We have an address, but it doesn't match up with the name that we've got.
DOBBS: Deborah, thank you very much. A success story in the war on terror tonight. Deborah Feyerick.
There have been 35 attempts to shoot down civilian airliners with shoulder-launched missiles since 1978. Twenty-four of those attacks succeeded. More than 500 people were killed in the attacks. Most of the aircraft were propeller-driven. The missile threat was highlighted by two recent attempts to shoot down Western and Israeli aircraft by groups linked to al Qaeda. Terrorists fired two missiles at an Israeli airliner in Kenya just last November. The missiles narrowly missed. And in May, terrorists failed to shoot down a U.S. military jet in Saudi Arabia. In Iraq today, U.S. troops arrested more than a dozen members of a single family with close links to Saddam Hussein. In a separate incident, another U.S. soldier was killed in Iraq. He was the 58th to die since the end of major combat operations on the 1st of May. Two hundred sixty-two U.S. soldiers have died since the beginning of military operations in Iraq.
Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr reports -- Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Lou, troops on the hunt for Saddam Hussein and his associates today arrested those ex-regime officials, as you say, in a dramatic raid in Tikrit in northern Iraq. They believe now that they have in custody a former bodyguard of Saddam Hussein and a former chief of staff of the Republican Guard. And 12 other people grabbed in that raid, as well, said to be members of a family closely associated with Saddam Hussein.
It was a very dramatic raid. It lasted about three hours. About 200 U.S. troops involved in that raid. And as you said, Lou, the deadly attacks do continue against U.S. troops. Another soldier killed about 60 miles west of Baghdad when a military convoy struck three improvised explosive devices, bringing that number to 58 of the total number of U.S. soldiers killed by hostile action since the war, the major combat was declared to be over on May 1.
And as the very tough conditions continue for the troops in Iraq during these summer months, when it's especially hot, the commanders are still working on that plan to try and get the troops a two-week vacation, to basically take some leave, come home, come back to the United States and visit their families. But they're also working on a number of things to try and help improve morale and living conditions inside Iraq.
We've talked in the past about some of the efforts being made, for example, by the 101st Airborne Division, which has seen some of the toughest combat, some of the toughest conditions in Iraq. We know that they're trying to get them better food, better living conditions, e-mail, that sort of thing. But we have some new details for you tonight. The commander of the 101st says that he has managed to get delivered 300,000 containers of Gatorade, new uniforms, socks, shoes, boots and more underwear for the troops that have been out in those front lines for so long. And it's a bit delicate, perhaps, to talk about, but they're even getting themselves some porta-johns with some running water instead of those very primitive burn-off latrines -- Lou.
DOBBS: And critically important. Barbara Starr, thank you very much. Appreciate it.
The United States today won a major concession from Liberian rebels. A U.S.-led delegation persuaded rebel commanders to withdraw their forces 25 miles from the capital of Monrovia Thursday. The delegation including the U.S. ambassador, a U.S. general and representatives of West African peacekeepers. The agreement will allow humanitarian aid to be delivered to Monrovia by ship. In this country, California governor Gray Davis today said he has no plans to depart under pressure. Opinion polls say he is trailing Republican candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger by a significant margin ahead of the recall election.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you going to resign this office?
GOV. GRAY DAVIS (D), CALIFORNIA: No. I have an obligation to the eight million people, Conan, who went to the polls last November. They asked me to do a job in California. I'm going to do it every day they allow me to do it. I'm not going to give up on those eight million people who went to the polls.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOBBS: California's campaign season will be relatively short. The state has less than two months to prepare for an election that would normally require at least four months' planning. The cost of the election estimated to be as high as $70 million. John King now reports on the potential chaos ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pull the ballot part out, check for chads on the back.
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Here we go again. The California recall election, cobbled together in just over two months, is looking to some like Florida 2000 redux.
DICK ROSENGARTEN, "CALIFORNIA POLITICAL WEEK": The county registrars in the 58 counties are yelling and screaming bloody murder.
KING: California's scrambling to pull together an election with more candidates than the state's ever seen in less than half the typical prep time. In Los Angeles alone, it's a tall order.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to format and print four million sample ballots, this style, mail them to four million voters. We then have to format the ballot itself.
KING: Not to mention, recruit poll workers to pull it off.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you available again? This will be for October 7, and we will need you to be the inspector.
KING: There's also the matter of a highly complicated ballot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You may see as many as 18 or so names per page in LA County when you go to vote. So if there's 125 or 150, there will be a substantial number of pages that you have to page through to find the candidate that you want to vote for.
KING: And then in six California counties, you'll have to punch. The ACLU is suing to block the use of the punchcard ballots, claiming the system is faulty and disenfranchises minority voters. LA election officials don't seem too worried.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've never had any problems. As I said, it's been 35 years of successful voting.
KING: Still, though election day is October 7, decision day may come quite a bit later. John King, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: Joining us now for more on the state of confusion in California and the state of voters around this country, and what this all may portend for the 2000 presidential campaign and election, is pollster John Zogby. Let me ask you first, John, to address the issue of what in the world is going on in California? We've seen all sorts of polls. This recall -- is Gray Davis certain to be recalled, based on what you're seeing?
JOHN ZOGBY, PRESIDENT & CEO, ZOGBY INTERNATIONAL: Oh, I think it's really too early to predict his demise. Certainly, majorities right now say that he would be recalled, and the numbers actually for recall seem to have grown in the past week, while Arnold has gotten all the attention. So Gray Davis's numbers are not headed in the right direction for him right now.
DOBBS: How about Senator Tom McClintock and Arianna Huffington? We talked with them here last night, both of them expressing, I think articulately, expressed substantive views. How are they doing?
ZOGBY: Well, right now, they are kind of in the leadership of the second tier, the first tier being Arnold -- and no need for a last name, just Arnold -- and then Cruz Bustamante, then followed by Peter Ueberroth, Arianna Huffington, Senator McClintock. They are talking substantive issues, and that's important. Whether or not they can get through all the clutter right now -- and the clutter, as it appears right now, is all Arnold all the time. But whether or not they can break through with real issues, you know, remains to be seen.
DOBBS: Well, you're not only a nationally regarded pollster, but also understand the media very well. Do you see any appetite on the part of -- let's put it this way -- other news organization, other media outlets to focus on the substantive issues in California, or are we going to see nothing but a media circus here?
ZOGBY: We're seeing a media circus right now. Needless to say, I mean, this is just quite a story about Arnold getting into the race. But as soon as the important questions are asked of Arnold, he's going to have to answer them. As soon as he answers them, that in itself is going to be a new kind of feeding frenzy. I mean, for example, Mr. Schwarzenegger, what are you going to do? Are you going to raise taxes? Are you going to cut spending? Those are important answers that he's going to have to give.
As soon as he does that, you're going to see some of the luster wipe off the shining armor that he has right now. And then you're also going see some opening for some of the other candidates, those who will appeal to conservative Republicans -- something Arnold isn't doing right now -- those who will appeal to liberals and moderate Democrats, something that Arnold is not appealing to now, either. And so he has no other direction to go but down, frankly, from here.
DOBBS: And the issues most on Californians' minds -- obviously, the budget deficit, I would think would be, certainly, for him, in those concerns. What else is really at the heart of Californian concerns?
ZOGBY: Well, obviously, their economy, and that's hand in glove with the budget deficit. You know, you talk to Californians, and they will tell you that northern California has imploded, southern California not doing so well, either. This all having a tremendous impact, along with the national economy, the implosion of the dot- coms. That's on their minds.
At the same time, Californians are also concerned with leadership. Whoever becomes the next governor -- and I would not rule out Gray Davis, al though the odds are against him right now. But whoever is the next governor is going to have to somehow cut spending, is going to have to raise taxes. That's going to be very painful. And I think it begs a very important question among Republicans, and that is, Do they have the stomach to do that? Otherwise, if they don't, I don't think they're going to win on just vague generalities. Californians are going to hold their feet to the fire.
DOBBS: You don't think who can win on vague generalities?
ZOGBY: I'm sorry. I didn't hear that.
DOBBS: You said who could not win on vague generalities?
ZOGBY: Someone like Arnold Schwarzenegger or, for that matter, conservative Republicans. Californians are still, for the most part, Democrat and left of center. And while Arnold Schwarzenegger has identified himself as a moderate Republican, whoever wins is going to have to promise some pretty distasteful, some pretty difficult challenges for Californians, and...
DOBBS: All right...
ZOGBY: ... is going to have to promise that before the election.
DOBBS: Compare, if you will, then, the Californian mind-set against all regions of this country, as we head toward the presidential election year. The concerns that you have stated that Californians are thinking about -- does that compare pretty markedly with what most Americans are thinking about?
ZOGBY: Lou, it sure does. The economy is No. 1 throughout the United States in every state, as well as individually. Forty-one out of fifty states have budget deficits. Most of those forty-one states have record budget deficits. And we have just a very difficult time ahead of us. Not everybody is facing an election, certainly, a recall election this year, but Americans may very well be in a nasty mood as we move into 2004.
DOBBS: And are you seeing any -- give us any surprising trend that you're seeing in your polling now nationally, whether it be about the nine Democratic candidates or President Bush's strengths and weaknesses that are developing.
ZOGBY: I think the amazing thing is how President Bush's numbers since he got into office in January, 2001, have essentially been a bell-shaped curve. He has certainly, on his end, moved up dramatically in his numbers after 9/11, and then at the outset of the war in Iraq and subsequent victory militarily, but he's right back down to virtually being a 50/50 president. As far as the Democrats are concerned, that race I think is frozen now until October 7. And being frozen, I think that benefits Howard Dean, who's had the only upward momentum of any of the nine candidates that we have in the race right now.
DOBBS: Frozen because of all that the Californians will be experiencing over the course of the now less than two months of campaigning. John Zogby...
ZOGBY: That's right. That's right.
DOBBS: ... we thank you very much, and we appreciate it.
ZOGBY: Thank you, Lou.
DOBBS: Tonight's quote comes from the campaign trail, where one candidate compared his run for president to Arnold Schwarzenegger's bid to be governor of California. "If the `Terminator' can run California, I sure can run the United States." That from Democratic presidential hopeful Al Sharpton.
Still ahead: more details on the alleged plot to smuggle anti- aircraft missiles into this country. Homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve will join us in just moments with new information. And a nuclear threat in Europe tonight from the head, record temperatures stretching into a second week and causing serious power problems and concern about nuclear plants.
Also ahead, a dramatic change in the standards of legal ethics when it comes to stopping corporate crime. Dennis Archer, the president of the American Bar Association, joins us.
And our feature series this week on "American Classics." Tonight, the aircraft that changed travel and commerce forever, the DC-3, when we continue.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: As we've just reported, the FBI has foiled an alleged plot to smuggle anti-aircraft missiles into this country. Homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve now joins us. She has the latest for us from Washington -- Jeanne.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lou, we've gotten some new details from government officials about exactly how this transpired. I am told that authorities got wind that there was an arms dealer who was walking around, telling people that he could get his hands on shoulder-fired missiles, and that U.S. authorities then posed as undercover -- undercover as terrorists and said to him, Yes, we'd be interested in buying shoulder-fired missiles.
This individual then began making inquiries in Russia about purchasing a shoulder-fired missile. The Russian authorities became aware of this. They began cooperating with the U.S. There were several undercover meetings between this individual, undercover U.S. agents and Russian officials also working undercover in St. Petersburg and Moscow.
The Russians, with the cooperation and green light from the U.S., provided this individual with an FA-18 shoulder-fired missile. This was an inert missile. That is, there were not any explosives contained within it. They kept track of him and what he was doing. He arranged for the shipment of this missile into Newark, New Jersey, where he apparently had some associates. He -- the U.S. officials allowed it to come in. They knew it was coming.
Meanwhile, this individual, this British citizen who's been arrested, flew into this country and he was arrested. Government officials do tell me that there is a financial angle to this, that there were individuals and businesses involved who facilitated the flow of money for the purchase of this missile. Those individuals and businesses are being looked at now. My sources could not tell me the dollar amount involved here, but they said it's their belief that on the open market, something like this would probably sell for about $100,000.
In addition, I'm told that the British played a big role in this and that there have been search warrants executed in the Britain today. Unclear at this point exactly what they found. We've just been advised that these search warrants were executed. And Lou, those are some of the latest details from government officials.
DOBBS: Jeanne Meserve, thanks for bringing us up to date. And again, three men are in custody in connection with this missile sting operation led by the FBI, in cooperation with the Russians. Jeanne Meserve, thank you very much, homeland security correspondent.
Turning to other news -- Texas tonight is cleaning up from a series of powerful storms. The storms tore through the state last night. They produced drenching rains and hail in places the size of baseballs. High winds destroyed an aircraft complex, damaged several planes near San Antonio. Four people were killed in a storm-related car wreck.
Storms in Florida produced an impressive, dangerous display this morning. Two waterspouts churned their way through Biscayne Bay in the Miami area. One of those funnels briefly went ashore. No injuries or property damage reported. Waterspouts are common during Florida's rainy season. They are rarely life-threatening, but do pose a threat. In Europe, wildfires continue to burn out of control across the continent. Fires in Spain are now spreading throughout the northeastern part of the country. Officials there describe the situation as difficult. In neighboring Portugal, the army has been brought into help fight the fires. Over the past two weeks, an area of Portugal that is slightly smaller than the state of Rhode Island has been burned.
One of the causes of those fires is the deadly heat wave that grips much of Europe. The temperature in Paris today reached 104 degrees. More than 100 people have died from the heat since August 4 in Europe. Another 500, mostly elderly, have been hospitalized with heat-related illnesses. The head of France's Emergency Doctors Association has asked the International Red Cross and the army to help staff the country's overwhelmed hospitals.
The scorching heat is giving French officials other problems, as well. Electricity demand there is putting a tremendous strain on the country's nuclear power plants, and many are even close to overheating. Paula Hancocks reports from Paris.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the mercury rises, so does the desire to keep cool. Pumping up the air- conditioning in homes and businesses has put an unseasonal strain on France's electricity grid, prompting an official plea for moderation.
ROSELYNE BACHELOT-NARQUIN, FRENCH ECOLOGY MINISTER (through translator): I call on everyone to moderate their use of energy by adjusting or turning up the air-conditioning, like in this room, saving energy by not putting electrical lighters (ph) on stand-by and using less hot water.
HANCOCKS: France gets three quarters of its electricity from nuclear power, far more than any other European country. These plants use river water to cool down the nuclear reactors. The French government has agreed to raise the maximum temperature of water allowed to be pumped back into the rivers to prevent the reactors' overheating. But opponents say that could create an environmental crisis.
FREDERIC MARILLIER, GREENPEACE: When the temperature increase in the rivers, fishes can't survive. And moreover, there is other kind of (UNINTELLIGIBLE) will develop lots, and this will affect for a long time the ecosystem of the rivers.
YVES CANDASSOT, FRENCH GREEN PARTY (through translator): To say we are going to totally destroy the fauna and flora of the rivers to satisfy the nuclear lobby? I don't remember anyone coming up with such an argument.
HANCOCKS: EDF, the French electricity generator, has already had to cut production, as nuclear power stations threaten to overheat. The Fassenon (ph) nuclear plant in eastern France was just two degrees centigrade away from an emergency shutdown, forcing technicians to hose down one of the reactors.
(on camera): It's not just a French phenomenon. Italy has already had to endure power cuts of its own, and two southern states in Germany are also allowing their nuclear plants to pump hotter water back into the rivers to keep their reactors cool. Paula Hancocks, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: Some nuclear plants in this country have overheated in the past but have never caused a major safety problem. Steve Floyd of the Nuclear Energy Institute says when such problems have occurred here, authorities have temporarily reduced the power production of the plant involved.
Now tonight's thought. It's on the weather. We shall never be content until each man makes his own weather and keeps it to himself. Author, Jerome K. Jerome.
Coming up next: A rapidly spreading Internet worm is targeting a popular computer operation system in thousands of PCs tonight. Internet security expert Marty Lindner of Carnegie Mellon University joins us. And broken promises: American military veterans living without health care while members of Congress enjoy health care most Americans can only dream of. Bill Tucker will have the story. And the massive controversy over Mel Gibson's new movie. Peter Viles reports on why "The Passion" is causing such passion. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: More than a million computers have been attacked by a new Internet worm that is spreading rapidly around the world. This new virus takes advantage of a hole in Microsoft's Windows operating system. This worm has forced the shutdown of the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration, as an example. The FBI's cyber division is trying to race the worm's origin. And joining us now, Internet security expert Marty Lindner of the CERT ordination center at Carnegie Mellon University. Marty, thanks for being here. This -- Homeland Security's been talking about this virus, this worm, for some time. Why is it still able to -- to operate?
MARTY LINDNER, CERT COORDINATION CENTER, CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY: Well, the worm started yesterday. The vulnerability started about three weeks ago, I think, on July 17. Microsoft identified the flaw, developed a fix and publicized what users need to do to fix the problem. We followed with an announcement telling people the same thing. And about two weeks ago, we saw the first vulnerability exploiting this, but it wasn't that big of a problem. Again, we notified people they need to apply the patches. Late yesterday afternoon, we saw yet another version of the malicious code, which was a worm, which has allowed -- is allowing itself to spread rapidly across the Internet. The problem now is that it's not just as simple as applying the patch. Users now need to take additional steps to recover from the damage that the worm causes before they can apply the patch.
DOBBS: And as I understand it, this worm -- it's called what, Blaster, amongst a couple of other...
LINDNER: Correct.
DOBBS: ... names -- it's actually attacking the patch that Microsoft designed for it, correct?
LINDNER: Well, no, it's not attacking the patch. It's successful when the patch is not there.
The problem is Microsoft publicized the problem. Users for whatever reason did not apply the patch. So because of that, the worm is now successful. As people apply patch, the effect of the worm will diminish, and the goal is to get as many people as possible to apply the patch.
DOBBS: I guess, at this point, the first question is, is it likely this worm, this virus can move beyond are the Microsoft operating system? In other words can it move beyond these desktop operating systems into more sophisticated computers?
LINDNER: No, not really. The worm is designed to attack a particular flaw in Microsoft, the RPC service. So that is the limit of this worm. That isn't to say someone can't create another worm that targets a different vulnerability.
We've seen other worms in the past: Code Red of, like, three years ago, Nimda and SQL Slammer in January. They're all variation -- they're all worms attacking various components of an operating system.
DOBBS: What are the odds that you and others working on this will be able to identify person or persons who launched the worm?
LINDNER: That's not our role. I mean, the FBI and other investigative bodies will try to figure where it comes from. Our role is to understand how it works and how to stop it.
DOBBS: You got it figured out?
LINDNER: We're getting there.
(LAUGHTER)
DOBBS: OK. Marty Lindner of Carnegie Mellon, thanks a lot.
Well, still ahead here tonight, broken promises. American veterans can only dream of the health care coverage afforded another group of public servants. Bill Tucker will have the report.
And raising the bar in the war on corporate crime. A dramatic change in attorney-client privilege. Dennis Archer, the president of the American Bar Association, joins us.
And our feature series this week of "American Classics." Tonight, the DC-3. It revolutionized air travel three quarters of a century ago. It is still flying high.
Stay with us.
Can I talk with....
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: On this program, we've reported extensively on the problems faced by our veterans seeking medical care. For example, most veterans are forced to wait months before they can see a doctor.
The situation is starkly different for another group of Americans who serve their country on Capitol Hill.
Bill Tucker reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL TUCKER, CNNfn CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Putting your life on the line for your country will get you less than serving in Congress. After five years in Washington, members of the House and Senate get lifetime health care benefits. Veterans don't.
Veterans do get access to health care if they qualify and if they're willing to wait. The wait time can be as long as six months for a simple doctor's visit and up to two years if they need to see a specialist.
JERRY NEWBERRY, VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS: Members of Congress need medical care, they get in their cars, they go get their care. And that's how it works. Unfortunately -- and maybe that's the problem, they have theirs, so why think about those who don't have theirs.
TUCKER: In addition, if you're a vet enrolled in a V.A. program and you need to see a doctor but don't live near a V.A. facility, the cost comes out of your pocket. You are not reimbursed.
Congress did promise veterans a $3.5 million in the V.A. health care budget, but the House Appropriations Committee just cut the allocation for health care and is delivering far less, nearly $2 billion less.
And hazardous pay is being cut too, from $250 to $100 a day.
MICHAEL STINSON, TAKE BACK THE MEDIA: There are 30 million vets out there, and these guys are leaving them twisting in the wind. That's the dumbest thing you could possibly do.
TUCKER (on camera): A potent political force but one which doesn't get much in the way of respect in Washington, including veterans who are injured in the line of duty and entitled to disability pay. That disability compensation is deducted from their retirement pay.
Bill Tucker, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE) DOBBS: Turning now to the American Bar Association, which today changed its ethics rules in order to help fight white collar criminals. They attorneys' group voted to allow corporate lawyers to report fraud in their firm without violating attorney-client privilege.
Joining me now is the new president of the American Bar Association, Dennis Archer. He is joining us from San Francisco.
Good to have you with us.
DENNIS ARCHER, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION: Thanks, Lou.
DOBBS: Let me ask you, what prompted this change in your ethics?
ARCHER: Well, several years ago, there was an effort made to adopt similar provisions within our model rules of professional code of ethics, and it was defeated. On the other hand, because things do change, and we have seen what has occurred with Enron and other companies, it was thought that a new task force would be led, and Jim Cheeks chaired that on behalf of then-President Bob (UNINTELLIGIBLE), two president away. And they came to the House yesterday and today with the recommendation that was passed.
Yesterday was a close vote on the confidentiality rule on the reporting of the fraud or reporting up was a larger-vote margin by which it won.
DOBBS: There's always been a crime fraud exception. So what happened in the case of Enron and WorldCom? What changed there? Why wasn't that applied?
ARCHER: Lou, the confidentiality in the crime issue is more in terms of bodily injury and did not go to property or loss of money. And I just frankly think, and as did the members of the House that voted in favor, that we needed to change to demonstrate what would be in the best interest of the American people as well as our clients.
DOBBS: The law firms, as you well know, that are at the periphery, if you will, some would argue at the heart of what was going on in corporate America as these scandals broke, they haven't been in any way, to my knowledge at least, investigated by authorities. They have basically had a blank check here.
ARCHER: Well...
DOBBS: I'm sorry. Go ahead.
ARCHER: Lou, I beg to differ. I beg to differ with you. I think your underlying predicate is not correct. That is to say, that if you take a look at involvement of the lawyers, the lawyers were asked to provide an opinion. They were asked by those that they reported to to do certain things. But they are not the ones make the decision. The lawyers are not the ones who were leading it, but -- and you are right, the focus has not been necessarily on lawyers, although Congress did, in Sarbanes-Oxley, give the SEC the ability to promulgate rules that does impact the legal profession. We wanted to make sure they understood and the American people understood that lawyers were committed to make sure that they could trust again and be involved in our economy.
DOBBS: I will accede to your challenge of my predicate in the statement to this extent, that while they were not in the leadership of the offenders, they were certainly facilitators in certain case. That's pretty much (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
ARCHER: That was the allegation, that is correct.
DOBBS: Right.
It would be nice to see the investigations investigated thoroughly, it is more heart warming to me at least to see that the American Bar Association has taken on responsibility here to really serve a higher goal, and that is the public trust. In the case of fraud, white collar fraud, this put the attorney serving the corporation in the role of serving the principles of the corporation and not the officers, is that correct?
ARCHER: There is a potential risk of substantial injury that will come by way of a fraud, then they have a duty to report up. And they continue to report up until such time as they get attention of those who are in charge. My overall belief, is and if you think it, is that if you think about all of the companies that are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, those companies that were involved were, what, maybe less than a dozen, but it has substantial impact?
DOBBS: No, no, no, no. Far more than a dozen unfortunately. But I take your point that the far greater number of corporations are honestly run by well-meaning souls, and I think we can say the same thing of attorneys. But it is -- it's like rat poison, 98 percent oatmeal it's the 2 percent that kills you. So, we got to take care of that. And I'm glad, and I compliment you for the ABA addressing the issue. And we thank you very much for sharing your time.
ARCHER: Thanks, Lou.
DOBBS: Thank you.
That brings us to "Tonight's Poll." The question, under what condition should the attorney client privilege be abolished?
White collar crime, public safety, national security, or simply never.
Cast your vote at cnn.com/lou. We'll have the results for you later in the broadcast.
In the final results of yesterday's poll.
The question, are willing to pay more tax to provide veteran's benefits? Sixty three percent of you in the affirmative, 25 percent said no, 11 percent considering it. Still ahead, passion and fury over Mel Gibson's new film, "The Passion."
Peter Viles has the report for us coming right up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
Mel Gibson's new film, "Passion," about the crucifixion of Jesus is causing controversy to say the least. Anti-Defamation League says the movie can set back decades of progress in Christian/Jewish relationships and fuel anti-Semitism.
Peter Viles reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETER VILES, CNNFN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The controversy is a movie not yet edited, does not have a distributor, probably won't be released until sometime next year and won't be in English anyway. The movie is "Passion," Mel Gibson's account of Christ's final hours. These unofficial clips are circulating on the Internet. The controversy is whether the film blames Jews for the death of Christ. The Anti-Defamation League for someone who has seen an early screening believes that it does.
ABRAHAM FOXMAN, ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: This film in the present form restates the charge. It does so dramatically that the Jews are responsible for the killing of Jesus. We are concerned if the movie is released in the present form will act to inflame, induce anti- Semitism around the world.
VILES: Gibson practicing a form of Catholicism that disregards Vatican 2 among other things exonerated Jews from the charge of killing Christ. He said privately he wants to tell the story of Christ's Death according to the gospel, and many who have seen early versions of the film are praising it.
TED HAGGARD, NATL. ASSN. OF EVANGELICALS: It communicates the last day of Jesus' life here on the earth no different than Matthew, Mark, Luke and John do and no different than 350,000 churches in American celebrate Easter. And the midst of the Easter celebration, they have to tell the story of the crucifixion and everything associated with that.
VILES: Responding to the charge that the film could incite anti- Semitism, a spokes man for Gibson tell CNN quote, "No one associated with this film has any interest in fueling hatred, bigotry or anti- Semitism. The film is about love, faith, hope and forgiveness.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
VILES: The film is a work in progress, there is no final cut of this movie yet. Doesn't have a distributor nor a release date nor is there a decision to use subtitles. The film was shot in Latin in Aramaic.
DOBBS: The artistic decisions surrounding the film is interesting, how large an audience and shot in Aramaic.
VILES: Well, not very. The screenings have all been with English subtitles. The feedback on that is good, and they're reconsidering this original decision not to use subtitles.
DOBBS: The question of not having a distributor, this film as I understand was planned for release for next year all along.
Is there any difficulty for Mel Gibson in getting a distributor for this.
VILES: His spokesman said there is terrific interest among distributors. They are literally lining up. There is great interest. There are a lot of issues that have to be dealt with. One how controversial is the final cut going to be. Is there going to be subtitles?
And the version recognize that screened now are terrifically violent, so violent that people are saying a good portion of the audience would walk out of this movie.
OK, we thank you very much, Peter Viles.
DOBBS: When we continue, "American Classics." Tonight we look at an aviation legend, the DC-3, nearly 70 years old and flying into the new millennium. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Tonight, "American Classics." An aviation legend, the DC-3. This aircraft has been flying for nearly seven decades. Its stable design and powerful engines made modern commercial air travel possible, and made the DC-3 more than just a popular aircraft. Casey Wian has the story from Long Beach, California.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The DC-3 revolutionized aviation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you take a globe and look at it, there's been a DC-3 every place on that globe, North Pole, South Pole. They've been everywhere.
WIAN: DC-3s flew military missions from D-Day through Vietnam and carried more cargo and more people than any plane in history, including TV and music legend Rick Nelson, when he died during the 1985 crash. But that was an anomaly. From its flight in 1935, through today, the DC-3 has proved durable almost beyond imagination.
Nearly 11,000 were built, about 600 are still in service in the United States, hundreds more around the world.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love to fly this airplane today. I remember when I flew it in 1952, how great I thought they were, and they were old in those days. WIAN: Clay Lacy is a former United Airlines pilot.
CLAY LACY, PRES., CLAY LACY AVIATION: This airplane came 33 years after the Wright brothers. I mean, what an advancement they made from the Wright brothers airplane to this DC-3, and it was also the first airplane that the airlines could make money with, that would carry enough passengers and had the reliability to fly at night and in bad weather.
WIAN: Douglas Aircraft designed the DC-3 to be bigger, faster, safer and more comfortable than anything flying at the time. Some hint at divine inspiration.
STEVE FRANKLIN, PRES., CATALINA FLYING BOATS: Somebody was looking over the designer's shoulder when they put this thing together. There's no question about that. It's probably the most successful airplane that's ever been built.
WIAN: With up to 28 seats and room for cargo, it made commercial air travel practical. In 1944, 275 of the United States' 300 commercial airplanes were DC-3s.
(on camera): Like most DC-3s, this one was originally built for the military and called the C-47. General Dwight Eisenhower called the plane one of the keys to the allied victory in World War II.
(voice-over): Nicknamed the Gooney Bird by pilots, it gave birth to the concept of the military airlift.
The DC-3 still has practical benefits. Steve Franklin's company operates two DC-3s between Long Beach, California and nearby Catalina Island, carrying several loads of cargo to restaurants and residents every day. Modern aircraft need too much maintenance for that job.
FRANKLIN: We can fly it over there and shut it down and unload it and load it and fire it up and run as many cycles as we want a day, and it doesn't cost us anymore.
WIAN: The company's mechanic, who has worked on DC-3s for 50 years, still has a 1944 maintenance manual. Planes built during World War II now carry cargo ordered over the Internet.
ROLAND TALKINGTON, DC-3 MECHANIC: I don't see any end to them. As long as the FAA lets us fly them, we'll keep flying them, I guess.
WIAN: Casey Wian, CNN, Long Beach, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: We continue our look at "American Classics." Tomorrow night, baseball, the great American pastime that survived national scandal, financial disaster, and 150 summers. It's still a very American story, certainly classic.
Just ahead -- we'll have the results of tonight's poll. Also, your thoughts on veterans' health benefits. Many of you wrote in about the broken promises to this country's veterans. We'll share some of your e-mails when we continue.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Now the results of tonight's poll, the question -- under what conditions should the attorney/client privilege be abolished? Eight percent of you said white collar crime, 10 percent said public safety, 23 percent said national security. Almost 60 percent said never.
The Federal Reserve's decision to keep interest rates steady lifted stock prices today. The Dow up 93 points. The Nasdaq up 25.5 points. And the S&P up almost 10. Christine Romans is here with the market. Not much volume, but the folks who did show up were pretty excited.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: They really were. You know, stock investors loved the fact that the Fed said the rates could stay low for, quote, "a considerable period of time." That's what they really liked. And so here you have rates the lowest since 1958 as expected, and expected to stay that way for at least now.
Now, led by financial and old economy stocks, the Dow hit a two- month high. Seventy-five percent of that light volume, Lou, was at higher prices.
Meanwhile, evidence retail investors shifted money from bonds into stocks in a pretty big way in July. AMG Data Services reports $17 billion flowed into the stock mutual funds, and taxable bond funds lost $1 billion. That's the first outflow since 2000.
Also, investors pulling $28 billion out of money market funds last month.
So the question now many are asking, what's next? Major averages are up double digits this year. The S&P 500 trades at 18 times forward earnings, and we've been at a sideways range for more than two months now. They're calling it the summer stall, if you will. It's been going on for a couple of months, but look, we're right back at the top end of that range again.
DOBBS: I don't see what anybody has to complain about here?
ROMANS: It could be 10 weeks of moving lower, after such -- 25 percent rally in the spring. And it hasn't been at all. It's been holding right in there.
DOBBS: And those earnings reports and those revenue reports are helping a bit. Christine, thanks. Christine Romans.
Let's take a look at your thoughts. Many of you wrote in about our focus on veteran's benefits. Jim Bailey of Memphis, Tennessee said -- "The government has never provided its veterans with the services they deserve. If you are a veteran, especially those who retired with 20-year service, you should be able to get medical services at any VA hospital. What we as a country do to our veterans is a tragic shame."
Pete Green of Atlanta said -- "The government already has more than enough of our money to fund more than adequate veterans benefits, Social Security, Medicare, health care and educational benefits, and other well-deserved and much-needed social programs and obligations. Unfortunately, abuse, waste, special interests and outright fraud have already broken the bank."
Bill R. from East Haven, Connecticut said -- "If we could give $20 billion to Turkey so we could walk across their country, why can't we find $1.8 billion for our vets?"
Many of also wrote in in response to our special series of reports last week on the war on drugs, what we called "The Forgotten War." Jim Aikman wrote -- "Marijuana is a substance that should not be legal. There are enough problems from the effects of other substances, like alcohol and prescription drugs."
And S. Olah made a hard-hitting case for decriminalizing marijuana, saying, quote: "Hey, man, I seen the e-mails about smoking pot or whatever that was and they are wrong. I have been smoking pot for a long time, and I can do stuff when I need to."
We love hearing from you. Send us your thoughts at loudobbs@cnn.com. That's our show for tonight. And we thank you for being with us. Tomorrow here, Treasury Secretary John Snow to share his thoughts on the economy and recovery and the future.
And in our future series this week, "American Classics," we take a look at America's national pastime, baseball, and Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda is our guest. For all of us here, good night from New York. "LIVE FROM THE HEADLINES" with Anderson Cooper is coming up next.
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