Return to Transcripts main page

Lou Dobbs Tonight

Computer Virus Affects Microsoft Users; Drought in Midwest; Gas Prices; Sheehan Moves Camp; Napolitano Interview on Immigration Problems

Aired August 16, 2005 - 18:32   ET

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

(START DELAYED BY BREAKING NEWS)
LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, thank you very much. Wolf Blitzer and CNN have been reporting for the last hour a computer worm has attacked computers in this network, CNN systems in Atlanta and New York. the "New York Times," ABC News, apparently also affected.

It is unclear the extent of those computers and organizations that the worm has attacked. The worm is affecting machines running Windows 2000. Now, David Perry of Trend Micro says this attack seems to have been triggered by a new worm called wormrbot.dbq (ph). The worm is causing systems to shut down and reboot over and over again.

Ali Velshi who has been reporting on this story for the past hour or so is here with us here tonight.

Ali, it is unclear the extent of this. It's certainly here in New York. The reason we're starting about a half hour late, with this broadcast, is because the computer systems were down, affecting control rooms, studios and of course, the news rooms.

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: It's like your phone going down. You're not clear whether it's your phone or everyone's phone. And I think in this day and age, between computer viruses and the things we look out for every day in terms of terrorism, one worries immediately if you're not in touch with the world, you wonder whether everybody's in trouble.

DOBBS: But for the -- to carry out our role here as journalists and to inform the audience of this broadcast, let's start with what we do know. The fact is, that it's attacked the Windows 2000 operating system for CNN computers in New York ...

VELSHI: Atlanta, some computers that are operated by the "New York Times," by ABC News here in New York. We have at least one report of computers down at a company headquarters in Indiana. Caterpillar in Illinois affected by some sort of worm. Could be a different kind of worm. We don't know. But that's what we have reports of.

DOBBS: At this point, we do not know, again, the extent of this attack if indeed it is that. And secondly, we do not know whether it is affecting computers around the country, or beyond these organizations that we've just named. But as you say, in this period in which we live, it's important to take a look at what the vulnerabilities are and the possibilities. VELSHI: That's right.

DOBBS: What are the possibilities?

VELSHI: Microsoft describes this as low impact. We didn't get a number out of them. David Perry, who we just quoted, says that there are a billion computers that use the Microsoft system, of which maybe up to 20 percent run Windows 2000. So there may be 20 percent of a billion computers vulnerable. It doesn't mean they're infected. That's how big it could be. But who knows. We don't know whether it's 1,000 or 100,000.

DOBBS: And also, I have seen reported -- and, again, I am not knowledgeable on the marketing or distribution of Windows 2000 -- but the number could be as low as 5 percent to 8 percent of total windows systems ...

VELSHI: Could be.

DOBBS: ... being Windows 2000. So at this point, there is no concern for emergency services in New York or anywhere else in the country, there's no concern for the defense establishment of this country, is that correct? Or the financial system?

VELSHI: We are still making those calls. But as far as we know, that's correct. As far as we know, no one's in danger of risking life. It could just be computer files. But, you know, in this day and age, computer files could hit financial systems. It could all take its toll.

DOBBS: Well, let's conclude at least with good news and that is, at this point, the confirmed extent is relatively limited. The impact, as Microsoft so quaintly puts it, is low impact. It is low impact unless it is your computer affected I suppose is the ...

VELSHI: That's which is going to become very serious.

DOBBS: Ali Velshi, we thank you very much.

VELSHI: Thank you.

DOBBS: Turning to other news of the evening, the worst drought in the Midwest is now under way. It's the worst drought, in fact, in nearly two decades. At least 40 million people in a huge part of this country are affected. Federal and state officials have declared drought emergencies in Missouri, Wisconsin and Illinois. The drought has withered corn and soybean fields. Tens of thousands of farmers are facing devastating losses.

Christine Romans reports from Maple Park, Illinois.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Steve Pitstick farms 2,200 acres of corn and soybeans in central Illinois. STEVE PITSTICK, ILLINOIS FARMER: I've been doing this for 30 years, and this is as bad as I've ever seen it. just doesn't -- this is what we fear. ROMANS: What every farmer fears -- a drought so bad, 74,000 farmers like Steve will lose at least 30 percent of their corn crop. It's bone dry out west. But the worst of this devastating drought is spreading from central Texas up the Mississippi Valley, gripping Missouri and Illinois, and reaching all the way to the upper peninsula of Michigan.

ROMANS: And it's only getting worse. Here in Illinois, a stretch of 100- degree days is baking the corn in the fields, and what the sun doesn't bake, insects will finish off.

PITSTICK: There should be about 500 kernels on this cob. And it looks to be somewhere, 40 to 50 maybe.

ROMANS: The silver lining, last year's crop was record. Silos are stuffed with carryover crop. Yet moving that corn will be a challenge. Mississippi and Ohio River levels are low. Barges are already backed up, furious dredging under way to deepen river channels.

PITSTICK: Every generation has their story they want to tell their grandkids. And I think this is going to be my story to tell my grandkids. We thought '88 was bad, and then '05 came.

ROMANS (on camera): Soybean farmers are hopeful that an inch-and- a-half of rain last week will save the bean crop. But for these corn fields, it's too late. The Illinois Farm Bureau estimates $2 billion in crop losses just in Illinois, and counting.

Christine Romans, CNN, Maple Park, Illinois.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DOBBS: Dangerous bone-dry drought conditions fueling new large wildfires across the country tonight. A total of 23 large wildfires are burning in nine states. Those fires, engulfing more than 300,000 acres of land, most of the fires centered in the drought-plagued Pacific Northwest. In Washington State tonight, firefighters are trying to contain an almost 50,000 acre wildfire that's destroyed more than 100 homes. Washington's governor has declared a state of emergency for her entire state. Wildfires are reaching as far north as Alaska where three major fires are burning out of control. One fire in that state inflamed almost 100,000 acres of land.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Irene strengthened into the season's third hurricane with 80-mile-an-hour winds, but Irene since has turned away from the East Coast and poses no threat.

Moving now from natural disasters to what could be a disastrous trend for consumers in this country, as already sky-high gasoline prices continue to climb. Middle-class Americans are spending 40 percent more on gasoline now than a year ago. And while those soaring gasoline prices devastate family budgets, they're bolstering the huge profits of the major oil companies. You might want to know where all those profits are going. Bill Tucker tells us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The sharp increases in gasoline prices are wallet-crushing, but for many Americans there's no other choice but to pay even as it hurts.

BRAD PROCTOR, GASPRICEWATCH.COM: If you are a $10 to $15 an hour wage earner in this country, more than likely you do own a car and you drive to work. That's the portion of our economy right now that's really being waylaid. These people, their disposable income is being eaten up by the increases in gasoline right now.

TUCKER: The little guy is getting killed while oil companies bask in those dollars. Second quarter profits rose in eye-popping double digits. Here's a sampling. ConocoPhillips up 51 percent. Royal Dutch Shell up 34 percent. ExxonMobil up 32 percent. British Petroleum, up 29 percent. The paychecks of big oil CEOs, up 109 percent from 2003 to 2004.

The response from Democrats as well as Republicans has been silence, while kicking $6 billion in oil companies in the form of subsidies. Critics say Congress fiddled while energy burned, by failing to pass a meaningful energy bill.

MARK COOPER, CONSUMER FED. OF AMERICA: Given the magnitude of the economic and environmental and geopolitical problem that gasoline and oil imports presents, the response was embarrassingly weak.

TUCKER: And left the consumer defenseless.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TUCKER (on camera): And in an effort to fend for themselves, buying patterns are starting to change, consumers telling gaspricewatch.com that they're buying gasoline in five to six gallon lots at a time hoping, Lou, that prices will come down before they have to go and buy the gas the next time.

DOBBS: And hopefully they have automobiles that five or six gallons will carry them much farther than most Americans.

TUCKER: Hopefully so. And many of these people, as you pointed out, don't have a choice, they have to do it.

DOBBS: Bill Tucker, thank you very much.

Both Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico and Governor Janet Napolitano of Arizona one year ago were much less alarmed about the illegal immigration crisis facing this country and border security. But last week, Governor Richardson surprised many with his declaration of a state of emergency to curtail illegal immigration, and to take control of his border with Mexico.

Now, Governor Napolitano has followed suit. Casey Wian reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): States sharing a border with Mexico are declaring states of emergency -- not for natural disasters, but to deal with the consequences of illegal immigration.

Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano's declaration says: "The federal government has failed in its responsibility to secure the United States and Mexico border." She also says that growing number of illegal aliens entering this country through her state has - quote -- "caused a corresponding increase in the threat to public health and safety from gangs, coyotes and others engaged in dangerous criminal activities."

Three days earlier, New Mexico said essentially the same thing.

GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D), NEW MEXICO: The state is declaring a state of emergency.

WIAN: New Mexico and Arizona are each releasing $1.5 million to local law enforcement agencies in border counties, which are overwhelmed by the consequences of our nation's broken borders.

RICHARDSON: Illegal immigration, drug smuggling, kidnappings, murders, a drug cartel, animal deaths, destruction of property.

WIAN: Yuma, Arizona's, sheriff says the money will help a little bit. But the need is great. For example, the Border Patrol apprehended nearly 1,000 illegal aliens in one weekend this month in Yuma alone. There is no telling how many others got through.

Still, some federal lawmakers, including those from border states, say the answer is to legalize illegal aliens.

REP. JEFF FLAKE (R), ARIZONA: In order to get a secure border, you have to have a temporary worker program. Forty-two percent of those who are here illegally now didn't sneak across the border. So no matter what you do at the border, you're still going to have a problem.

So the notion that we can fix it just by sealing the border is wrong. We need a comprehensive solution.

WIAN: Flake says the declarations of emergency by Arizona and New Mexico will increase pressure on lawmakers to pass immigration reform legislation this fall.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIAN: Now, a spokesman for California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says he has no plans to declare a state of emergency in California border counties, and we still have not heard back from Texas Governor Rick Perry. Lou?

DOBBS: Absolutely. And Casey, this is an extraordinary development. I'll be talking with Governor Napolitano here later in the broadcast. But the idea that the federal government, with these two states, two Democratic governors of two border states declaring states of emergency, where in the world is President Bush and the federal government now?

WIAN: You don't know where they are, because they haven't said much about this issue. Congress is in recess. As you heard in my report, Congressman Flake says he hopes this will spur lawmakers to pass immigration reform legislation this fall. But it may not be the kind of legislation that a lot of people who want strict border security would like to see.

Lou?

DOBBS: Well, especially since we are engaged in a global war on terror, and 3 million illegal aliens crossed that border last year with Mexico alone, not to mention the issues with the northern border. It would seem that someone would get serious rather quickly about border security, and congressmen, like Congressman Flake, would quit deflecting with immigration reform and first insist on border security for this nation.

WIAN: Well, Lou, you know, it's interesting you mention that number, 3 million. Governor Napolitano actually mentioned that number in her state of emergency declaration. A lot of people on the other side of the border security debate criticize that 3 million number, first reported by "Time" magazine, as being too high. Governor Napolitano herself said it could be that many.

Lou?

DOBBS: And Governor Napolitano certainly acquainted with those numbers, because her state, Arizona's border with Mexico, the route of choice for illegal aliens from Mexico and points south.

Thank you very much. Casey Wian, reporting from Los Angeles.

Later in this broadcast, as I said, Governor Napolitano will join us.

Also coming up, a new protest against the anti-war activists near President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas. We'll have a live report for you. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DOBBS: Well, as CNN has been reporting now for the better part of an hour and 15 -- 15 minutes to an hour-and-a-half, CNN has been -- its computer systems, at least part of them, attacked by a worm or virus.

Kelli Arena, our Justice Department correspondent, standing by in Washington, D.C. Kelli, what is the latest you've got?

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Lou, we just heard from the Computer Emergency Readiness Team, which is a combination of private and government -- it's a private and government group. They say that they're seeing two things. One is a launch of a malicious code to take advantage of that vulnerability in Windows 2000. They're also seeing variations of the Zotob worm.

They do not report, and neither does the FBI, that this has impacted any other entities besides those that we have reported -- ABC, CNN, "New York Times," Caterpillar. FBI says that as far as they're concerned, this is still a low-risk situation. It is in touch with all of the entities. It will conduct an investigation. But right now, they are not seeing any widespread impact at this point.

DOBBS: I think we could call it, if you will, if there's such a thing as a low-impact worm, as Microsoft has described it, and now the FBI, that this is a narrow impact, as well, affecting at least -- to what we can confirm right now, just four news organizations. But minimal or narrow impact, when it's your news organization, it certainly feels like a high impact, and as a matter of fact, the cause of this broadcast being shortened by some 30 minutes.

Kelli, thank you very much. Keep us up to date. Kelli Arena.

ARENA: Sure will.

DOBBS: Turning now to a protest against the war in Iraq, taking place outside the president's Crawford ranch. It's now in its tenth day. Hundreds of people converging on Crawford to join that protest. It was started by the mother of an American soldier killed in Iraq. Today, the president's neighbors took action to stop those protests.

Dana Bash reports from Crawford.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It happened in the dead of the night. The way witnesses tell it, a man chained a metal pipe to the side of his pickup and knocked down hundreds of crosses anti-war demonstrators erected along the road.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I could hear the pipe clanging. I could see the damage of the crosses.

BASH: Each cross bears the name of a soldier killed in Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He just ran over 78 American flags right down that road there. And I'm not very happy with it.

BASH: The 59-year-old man responsible was arrested and charged with criminal mischief shortly after the incident, found fixing a flat with part of a cross stuck in the tire.

Iraq veteran Charles Anderson, here to support Cindy's cause, helped clean up. CHARLES ANDERSON, IRAQ WAR VETERAN: This is a memorial to the fallen. Five of my friends are represented by these crosses. And that someone would do this is just unthinkable to me.

BASH: These crosses line the sprawling property owned by Melissa Harrison.

MELISSA HARRISON, PROPERTY OWNER: I was embarrassed, actually. I was embarrassed that someone would do that.

BASH: But Melissa is fed up, says Cindy Sheehan's Crawford vigil is disruptive and dangerous.

HARRISON: We have three children that...

BASH: She was one of several Bush neighbors to speak before the county commission Tuesday, in support of a petition to move Sheehan's Camp Casey.

Melissa and other conservative locals back the president, not Sheehan, but say she does have a right to protest. They just want it someplace else. They call the traffic, the tents, the strangers sleeping outside a safety hazard.

At first, here was Cindy's response.

CINDY SHEEHAN, PROTESTER: The minute George Bush speaks with me, we'll be gone. And we are doing everything we can do to cooperate with them, be good neighbors. We're not noisy. I don't see any traffic.

BASH: But just hours later, she agreed to move, accepting an offer from a sympathetic resident to demonstrate on his private land, and it's closer to the Bush ranch. Only about a mile away, close enough to get a rare glimpse of the president biking.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: But some things will not move. The tent that Cindy first pitched when she got here 10 days ago will stay where it is, and those crosses that were put back up today, they're going to stay where they are, too, Lou.

DOBBS: The right of protest absolute in this country. Freedom of speech. At the same time, it's important to look at who is sponsoring this kind of protest. Who is supporting Cindy and the other protesters?

BASH: Well, Lou, she came here essentially by her own volition. She has her own group, called GoldStarFamilies.org. But since she came, there have been a lot of people, a lot of different organizations. MoveOn.org, an anti-war group which ran ads against President Bush, ads against the war, they're helping to sponsor a vigil tomorrow night. You have the group started by Ben and Jerry's Ben Cohen. They're helping to pay for a PR firm that's helping her. But you also have people who have nothing to do with the war, no connection personally, who are just coming down because they say they want to help her.

DOBBS: And Cindy's Web site, URL again?

BASH: It's GoldStarFamilies.org, I believe.

DOBBS: Thank you very much. Dana Bash from Crawford.

We're going to go now to our congressional correspondent, Joe Johns in Washington. Joe, I understand that this -- this worm has apparently affected some of the computers at least on Capitol Hill?

JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I can tell you anecdotally, talking to people on Capitol Hill, there is some suggestion of increased activity, perhaps a few extra calls. A number of extra calls, I've heard from one source, through word of mouth. They say calls have been going into the Senate help desk. It's unclear right now from an official standpoint the -- whether this is related to the larger problem, Lou.

But I can tell you, there's talk on Capitol Hill, even with the House of Representatives out of session, also the Senate out of session, that something may be going on with the computers. Although it's very spotty, and I certainly wouldn't describe it as a trend right now.

Again, word-of-mouth information only. Nothing official, but there have been more calls into the Senate help desk. Lou, back to you.

DOBBS: Thank you. Word of mouth, as you say, anecdotal. Let's just -- and I know that perhaps it's difficult at this early stage -- but give us at least some -- if you can, Joe, indication of the number of computers involved, no matter how few, or how many?

JOHNS: Well, I mean, there are obviously thousands of people, thousands of staffers on Capitol Hill. And for all of those people ...

DOBBS: No, Joe, I mean, affected by the worm.

JOHNS: Right. I can't give you any idea of the number of computers that might be involved, Lou.

DOBBS: All right.

JOHNS: No.

DOBBS: Joe, thank you very much. Keep us up to date as you continue to dig into the story there. Joe Johns from Capitol Hill.

Still ahead here, a new state of emergency on our nation's broken borders with Mexico. Arizona's governor now declaring an emergency, seeking as much help as it can get in the fight against illegal immigration and the need to secure this nation's broken borders. The governor of Arizona is our guest here next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) DOBBS: Border security is among the foremost critical national issues facing this country. Governor Janet Napolitano of Arizona has become the second border state governor to declare a state of emergency along the border with Mexico in less than a week. I talked with the governor and asked her what prompted the decision.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOV. JANET NAPOLITANO (D), ARIZONA: Well, we've been looking at this for a while, but we have had a growing problem with illegal immigration traffic across the Arizona border, for which we've repeatedly asked the federal government for help, in terms of extra law enforcement, in terms of more resources. We haven't gotten it.

And it's gotten to the point now where fences are being torn down. There's a lot of associated crime with the illegal immigration that is making that whole border area not as secure as it needs to be. And one way for me to get some additional moneys down to local law enforcement to deal with things like stolen cars and ID theft and all of the property crime that goes along with illegal immigration was to declare a state of emergency, which at this point it is, and to work with our sheriffs and county attorneys, get that money where it needs to be.

DOBBS: Governor, the idea that so many state and local officials have said, illegal immigration and border security are federal problems, we can't get involved -- what in the world are we going to do in this country if the federal government will not take action? And we're relying upon you in the state of Arizona, and Governor Bill Richardson in New Mexico?

NAPOLITANO: Well, one of the things I hope this declaration does is it sends a sense of urgency to Washington, D.C., which has been issuing lots of words about the border and homeland security and illegal immigration. But we're not seeing the activity on the ground. We're seeing a lot of bureaucracy, not a lot of movement.

As you know, I have billed the federal government for our costs of incarcerating illegal immigrants. The federal government, by my count, owes Arizona taxpayers over $200 million now. We haven't seen any movement on that. We haven't seen any movement in terms of actually getting more resources down here, nor have we seen significant movement in terms of reforming our federal immigration law so that it can be enforced.

What we have been doing, what I've been doing in Arizona is working with my counterpart in Sonora, Mexico. And he and I actually signed a joint protocol this summer to work together to secure at least the Arizona-Sonora border.

This is a problem for both our states. And he's got problems with his federal government, just as I have problems with ours.

DOBBS: Governor, earlier this year, you vetoed legislation that would have given authority to local law enforcement to work with the federal agencies on -- and to bring immigration, illegal immigration within the purview of their jurisdiction. What's happened here?

NAPOLITANO: Yeah, I'll tell you, that piece -- that piece of legislation, first of all, was passed over the vehement opposition of law enforcement. They don't want to enforce the immigration laws. That's the federal government's responsibility. What they do want are the resources to enforce laws that impact illegal immigration, such as stolen vehicle theft, ID theft and the like. Plus, that bill did not have a single dollar associated with it. So it was an unfunded mandate to local law enforcement, just as the federal government is giving unfunded mandates to the states. I'm a big opponent of unfunded mandates, and it seemed to me the better way to go would be, meet with law enforcement, put together a plan, and then fund it through our emergency powers, which is what we're doing.

DOBBS: Well, Governor, let's be honest. If the federal government of the United States and the Mexican government itself -- not the provincial governor of Sonora, but the federal government of Mexico -- decided to stop illegal immigration, they could do so in rather short order, could they not?

NAPOLITANO: Yes, they could, but the fact of the matter is, they haven't. And the people of my state are suffering as a result. We're suffering from crime, we're suffering from environmental degradation, we're suffering from excess expenditures that our taxpayers are having to expend, and we waited about as long as we can.

DOBBS: Governor Napolitano, we thank you for being here.

NAPOLITANO: You bet. Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DOBBS: And thank you for being here. Please join us here tomorrow. For all of us, good night from New York. ANDERSON COOPER 360 starts right after this quick break.

END

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