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Forest Worker Faces Charges in Hayman Fire Case; Israeli Defense Minister Speaks Against Sharon's Military Policy; Bush Angry Over Intelligence Leaks

Aired June 20, 2002 - 20:00   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.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Almost 60,000 acres on fire in yet another state. The fire is so ferocious that firefighters had to pull back. They're waiting for the weather to change.

And in the state of Colorado, what is going to happen to Terry Barton? Is she going to get out on bail?

Also, a killer hockey puck. What is going to protect your children the next time around?

All that on LIVE FROM.

ANNOUNCER: Not in the nick of time. Fighter jets scramble too late to intercept a private plane flying very close to the White House. Why were they late? The White House was evacuated, but not President Bush. Why wasn't he told?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARI FLEISCHER, WHITEHOUSE SPOKESMAN: The Secret Service is extraordinarily good at what they do. The president has full confidence in them, and I think last night's events bore that out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Should you be vaccinated against a possible bioterrorist smallpox attack? The CDC says no. Code red. Are terrorists trying to turn ambulances into moving bombs?

Graduation day for kindergarten class in Jerusalem, but the celebration turns into horror. A suicide bombing kills one of the students and her grandmother.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Imagine a bomb exploding next to a body, tearing it into little pieces. Such a death, I mean, some of the biggest enemies don't even wish.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: CNN's LIVE FROM Jerusalem, the White House, the Supreme Court, Colorado and other datelines around the globe.

Here now is Carol Lin.

LIN: We begin with a question tonight. Why did it take so long for two F-16s to intercept an unidentified airplane flying too close to the White House? But the fighter jets didn't intercept the plane until more than ten minutes after it left restricted air space. The latest now from our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: This single engine Cessna 182, which strayed into restricted air space near the White House put the Pentagon's fighter jet intercept procedures to the test and they failed, some Pentagon officials admit.

The White House, though, insists the president was never in danger, and in fact, wasn't told until the next morning.

FLEISCHER: Suffice it to say there are multiple levels of protection for the president that are somewhat redundant, that are overlapping, and I'm not going to be able to discuss each and every one of those.

MCINTYRE: But the first line of defense against terrorist attacks by air, U.S. fighter jets on 15-minute strip alert, proved unable to intercept the wayward plane in time to act if it had been a threat, as this timeline shows.

At 7:59, the Cessna entered restricted air space, a 15-mile circle around Washington off limits since September 11th to most small, private planes. Four minutes later, at 8:03, the FAA notifies NORAD. Two minutes after that, at 8:06, as the Cessna passes within a few miles of the prohibited air space around the White House, two Air National Guard F-16s get orders to scramble from nearby Andrews Air Force Base.

The F-16s take off at 8:17, within their designated 15-minute response time, but they don't intercept the plane until it's 50 miles south of Washington, much too late if the plane had been a terrorist weapon. The pilot was interviewed by the FBI after landing in Richmond, Virginia, and may face sanctions from the FAA for his mistake, but no criminal charges.

LAWRENCE BARRY, FBI: Both the pilot and the passenger were interviewed thoroughly, and both were very cooperative.

MCINTYRE: Around the clock air patrols would have made a difference, but last April when the Pentagon ended them over New York and Washington to save money and rest air crews, officials promised the nation would still be protected.

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: We have radar that enables us to keep track of a great deal. We have aircraft on strip alert that enables us to respond within reasonable periods of time to threats as they are analyzed. MCINTYRE: Pentagon officials are now examining the lessons learned from the belated intercept. One official said if military jets are really going to be in a position to respond, they either need to be kept up in the air all the time, or private planes need to be kept farther away from the capital city.

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Well, right after the plane was reported, most of the White House staff and press corps were told to leave the White House grounds. But President Bush and the First Lady actually stayed. CNN's White House correspondent Kelly Wallace has more on what the president knew and when he knew it -- Kelly.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Carol, a number of questions being raised at the White House today. Number one, why weren't the president and the First Lady moved into underground bunkers here at the White House, and number two, why wasn't the president notified until this morning? The answer to both, aides say, because there was nothing that threatened the president.

Now, our viewers will remember the story unfolding exactly this time last night. My colleague, in fact, senior White House correspondent John King, on the air, and this was the scene, of course, members of the White House press corps and staffers here at the White House evacuating the premises on orders of the Secret Service.

The Bushes, in fact, had just returned to the residence after attending a fund-raiser. Now Secret Service agents did not move the First Lady or the president and did not notify them in part because of this. Take a look at this map. Aides say that this plane never entered the permanent restricted air space near the White House.

It is that black dot you see in the center of your screen. The plane did enter the expanded restricted air space that is inside that red circle, but aides say at no point was this plane heading directly towards the White House. At one point, it was about four miles from the White House, but they say at no point was it heading towards the White House.

They say if the situation changed, if the plane started heading towards the White House coming closer, then Secret Service agents, perhaps, would have acted differently and would have moved the president or advised him. Now, as for President Bush, we saw him on this day attending meetings.

He was told this morning, we are told, by a staffer inside the residence, then he went about his normal business. He didn't comment about the matter today, and, Carol, aides say the president has full faith and confidence in exactly how the Secret Service handled this matter -- Carol.

LIN: Well, Kelly, it doesn't sound like he was very upset about not being notified until this morning. But are procedures being reviewed for a similar situation in the future?

WALLACE: Sure, White House aides say definitely. They say whenever anything like this happens, the Secret Service, of course, will review the matter, will review the procedures, look into the way it is handled, learn any lessons. So of course the matter is under review, but again everyone is saying the agents acted accordingly - Carol.

LIN: All right, thank you very much. Kelly Wallace, live at the White House. Well, Homeland Security Chief Tom Ridge is responsible for setting up a new Cabinet level security agency announced by President Bush. Now, this was the moment right here that Congress had actually been waiting for, the homeland security chief to come to Capitol Hill to finally answer questions about his office. But really he came to push for Senate and House members to approve the new Department of Homeland Security. Ridge says the new department would plug a major gap in intelligence.

Well, faced with concerns about bioterrorist attacks, a government advisory panel has reached a decision on smallpox vaccinations. The panel recommends a first line of defense plan. Instead of vaccinating all Americans, CNN medical correspondent Rhonda Rowland is covering this story live for us tonight -- Rhonda.

RHONDA ROWLAND, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Carol, routine vaccinations against smallpox ended in the United States in 1972. Whether or not these vaccinations should be brought back has been a pressing issue ever since the government committed to producing enough new vaccine for every American by the end of the year. Should every American get a smallpox vaccine if they want it?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those in favor of the motion ...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROWLAND: The answer is no. At least that's the recommendation of scientists who set vaccine policy in the United States. The scientists say the threat of smallpox being re-introduced as a terrorist weapon is low, but not zero. Offering (UNINTELLIGIBLE) vaccinations is risky. Side effects range from swelling to encephalitis, which is a brain inflammation and even death.

And today there are about 40 million people with compromised immune systems who are at particularly high risk, a group that did not exist when the vaccine was in routine use back in the early '70s.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. HAROLD MARGOLIS, CDC: What has changed is that we have more people living today who have altered immune systems. They have been survivors of cancer. They have organ transplants, people with HIV aids.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ROWLAND: Scientists say the smallpox vaccine is the single most dangerous vaccine because of its possible side effects. Yet the advisers are recommending it for some 10 to 20,000 people. The new recommendation is to vaccinate designated smallpox response teams in every state made up of medical professionals ranging from doctors, nurses, lab workers and disease investigators, as well as medical personnel at designated hospitals.

These vaccinated teams would be responsible for patient contact and care in the event of an outbreak. Health officials want to reassure the public if there is an outbreak, vaccine could get to those who need it quickly.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

DR. JULIE GERBERDING, ACTING DEPUTY DIR CDC: We can get the products in the stockpile to any place in the United States within 12 to 24 hours. So I don't think the rate limiting issue is getting the vaccine to the area where there's a problem.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ROWLAND: The vaccine panel's recommendations are not final. They now have to be reviewed by the head of the CDC and HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson, although the advice of the panel is usually followed, and a final decision, Carol, should come within several weeks.

LIN: Rhonda, if we actually have exposure and it's going to take 12 to 24 hours for these medical professionals to get to us and vaccinate us, how long do we have before we get sick and die?

ROWLAND: Well actually scientists have some very reassuring information on that front. If by some chance you were exposed to the virus, you actually have three to five days to be vaccinate and you will still be completely protected. So now what the challenge is, is to get systems in place and communities across the country where if this does happen, the vaccine can get their quickly, which that can happen, but then to get it disseminated to the people who need it. But they do want to reassure the public that they could be protected.

LIN: All right. Thank you very much. Rhonda Rowland (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

Well, following up on CNN's exclusive report, a joint congressional panel is asking the attorney general to investigate who leaked information about two decoded messages intercepted by U.S. intelligence. CNN national security correspondent David Ensor has more on the messages and the controversy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The two al Qaeda communications intercepted by the U.S. on September 10 were both from Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia. Knowledgeable sources tell CNN, speaking in Arabic, two different individuals in Afghanistan appeared to be notifying others in Saudi Arabia, sources say that major attacks were imminent against the United States.

That word came amid controversy in Washington over reports first on CNN quoting the exact phrases used in the two conversations intercepted by the National Security Agency the day before the 9/11 attacks, intercepted but not translated until September 12th -- two veiled messages of what was to come.

(voice-over): "The match begins tomorrow," said one, according to congressional sources. "Tomorrow is zero hour," said the other.

ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: The information that was leaked is alarmingly specific, and the president does have very deep concerns about anything that would be inappropriately leaked that could in any way endanger America's ability to gather intelligence information.

ENSOR: Fleischer cited the example of Osama bin Laden's satellite phone, saying once a report in 1998 said the U.S. was listening in, he stopped using it. At the president's request, Vice President Cheney contacted leaders of the joint intelligence committee probe into clues missed before 9/11 to complain about the leaks.

REP. PORTER GOSS, (R), INTELLIGENCE CHAIRMAN: When the vice president calls you up and said there is a story in a major paper that says and on a major network that is attributed to congressional sources, obviously that gets our attention. We want to know if that is true, to what extent so he can put a stop to that, and I think that is the reason we have asked for a professional investigation by the attorney general.

ENSOR: The controversy thrusts into the public eye an agency that usually tries to avoid attention. Using high tech sensors, well placed bugs and massive computer power, the National Security Agency daily sifts through literally millions of intercepts of communications from phone calls to e-mails to Internet messages looking for information to help protect this country. In a rare interview last year General Michael Hayden, NSA's director stressed, the less is known about specific intercepts, sources and methods, in his view, the better.

GEN.MICHAEL HAYDEN, NSA DIRECTOR: Your viewers need to understand. It's that very private - that very secretiveness that enables us to continue to the do our mission.

ENSOR (on camera): To this day officials say they do not know for sure the identities of the two persons communicating from Afghanistan September 10th, though both clearly had inside knowledge from al Qaeda leaders. At the NSA, officials are now hoping to get back out of the public eye just as soon as possible.

David Ensor, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Next -- as Israelis bury there dead from two days of deadly suicide bombings, another bloody attack against a settlement in the West Bank. We'll go live to Jerusalem.

Cruel and unusual punishment -- that's the ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court on executions of mentally retarded criminals.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looks like we've got about two days in which we can really put a blow on the fire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Making a move against a massive wildfire. We'll go live to the front lines in Colorado, and we'll take a look at another monster blaze in Arizona.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: Eighty-eight people in Israel were killed in suicide bombings in all of last year. So far this year, 183 people have been killed in such attacks.

LIN: It was another day of mourning and violence in the Middle East. Funerals continued in Israel for victims of two suicide bombings in Jerusalem, one on a bus Tuesday and another at a bus stop yesterday. More blood was shed today at a Jewish settlement in the West Bank.

CNN international correspondent Christiane Amanpour joins us from Jerusalem live with the latest -- Christiane.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, it was the third attack in three days when a Palestinian gunman entered a Jewish settlement in the West Bank, the settlement of Itamar, which is near Nablus. The Palestinian went into a house; there was shooting; the army was called.

In the end five people were killed, including - rather apart from the gunman, so five Jewish Israelis were killed. There was a mother, three children, and somebody unrelated to a family who were killed in one house. The gunman was then killed by the army. Again, this was in a settlement in Nablus, a settlement that is inhabited by some militant Israeli settlers.

And this despite the fact that Yasser Arafat had called for a halt to suicide bombings inside Israel. Islamic Jihad and Hamas since said that they would continue suicide bombings. At the same time, Israel tries to figure out how to stop these attacks, or at least how to limit them, and there does appear to be differences emerging between what the prime minister's office wants to do and what the defense minister says he's prepared to do.

Nonetheless, the Israelis are sending troops and tanks and armor into various towns and villages in the West Bank. But although the prime minister says he wants to reoccupy and hold on to territory, the defense minister says he is against permanent reoccupation of Palestinian land. All of this comes as Israel continues to bury its dead.

On Thursday in Israel, there was a funeral for some of the victims who were killed in Wednesday night's suicide bombing attack in Jerusalem, and amongst those people who were buried was a 59-year old grandmother and her five-year old granddaughter, who were killed last night here in Jerusalem. And this has been a case that has really touched the heart of Israelis as they try to cope with all these suicide bombings, as Sheila MacVicar reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was Wednesday afternoon and a party for a graduating kindergarten class. The children danced and whirled and sang to light. Their teacher, Noah Alon (ph) talked about how important it was in these difficult times to remember to celebrate with joy.

Sitting, bouncing on her grandfather's knee with blond hair and a blue dress, Noah's (ph) 5-year old granddaughter Jal (ph). A few hours later, the party was over, they set off for home. And when the suicide bomber ran and detonated his bomb, they were there. Jal (ph) and her grandmother were dead. Her 18-month old brother and her mother wounded -- another terrorist in the heart of Israel.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Imagine a bomb exploding next to a body, tearing it into little pieces. Such a death, I mean to the biggest enemy you don't even wish.

MACVICAR: They wept at the funeral of Sherry Nagari (ph). She was just about to turn 22. Her family had planned a surprise party. She was killed Tuesday on her way to work at a bank. In the last two weeks alone, there have been four bombings that have killed Israeli civilians. There's not enough time to mourn the victims of one horrific act before another takes place. Israelis are angry and fearful and now feel very much alone. Ari Shavit is a columnist for the daily newspaper Haaretz.

ARI SHAVIT, COLUMNIST, "HAARETZ": I've heard people talking about possibility of their own deaths -- civilians, mothers, grandmothers, children, in the most matter of fact way that I've ever heard in this country, and we had wars in this country.

MACVICAR: It's been 21 months since the first suicide bomber exploded his weapons. To many Israelis death now stalks every day life. On to the restaurants ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

MACVICAR: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) dancing at discotheque, a bus ride to work or to school. The suicide bombers have brought death to all those places. They have killed office workers and soldiers, grandparents, teachers, children, Jews, Christians and Arabs. People, regular people, like 25-year-old Iman Kaba (ph).

In an Israeli-Arab village under the funeral tent, his shattered father and brothers stood to greet mourners. Iman (ph) was studying to be an accountant at a college in Jerusalem -- riding the buses frightened him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): People have to come to their senses, said his father. There's been too much bloodshed. We all need peace.

MACVICAR: Migal's (ph) mother mourned her daughter and her own mother today -- too much pain, too much fear, too little peace.

Sheila MacVicar, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: Now, Israel's defense minister visited two of the suicide bombers in jail, two of the bombers whose mission were aborted, who are now in jail here in Jerusalem. and in an extraordinary interview that he has given to an Israeli newspaper due to be published tomorrow, Ben Eliezer, the defense minister here has said that he has gone there to try to find out the motives behind these suicide bombings, and he has found -- quote -- "that he felt they were driven by despair, a despair that won't fade until Palestinians can dream of a better life."

And he says that, obviously he is not justifying, excusing or understating suicide bombing and he says that the army, the Israeli army and its incursions into the Palestinian areas are doing what's necessary to try to limit those suicide bombings, but he says -- quote -- "that military actions kindle the frustration, hatred and despair, and those are the incubator for terror to come," an extraordinary interview by the Israeli defense minister -- Carol.

LIN: Christiane, so how is this likely to manifest itself in future military policy in the West Bank, given that the defense minister feels this way, but obviously the prime minister does not?

AMANPOUR: Well, all people and all members of the government, and the majority of the Israel public are on board with the necessity to crack down and to try to limit, if not end, these suicide bombing attacks. But what differences are emerging between members of this government seem to be quite clear. While the prime minister wants to go in and reoccupy, as he said, and hold on to territory, at least that's the public declaration that was made and make punitive seizures of land, the defense minister is saying that he is completely against punitive seizures.

In other words, seizures as punishment to suicide bombings. He says that he's against permanent reoccupation, but does see the necessity of going in, in response to any kind of information they may have that would lead them to specific areas where they believe terrorists are holding out and are planning attacks or building bombs or the like.

LIN: Interesting. Thank you very much. Christiane Amanpour reporting live from Jerusalem.

We are back in a moment. ANNOUNCER: Next, should mentally retarded criminals be executed? The Supreme Court speaks out. "Because" wrote Justice John Paul Stevens, "of their disabilities in areas of reasoning, judgment and control of their impulses." More on that major ruling when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: Time for your opinion. Do you think executing mentally retarded inmates convicted of murder is cruel and unusual punishment? To take the quick vote, head to cnn.com. The AOL keyword is CNN.

LIN: A split vote there right now.

Well, today's Supreme Court ruling barring the execution of mentally retarded criminals is drawing strong reaction from both sides of the issue. Death penalty opponents are calling on the decision as a breakthrough. Others say it opens the door for all death row inmates to claim they're mentally disabled.

CNN national correspondent Bob Franken joins us live from Washington with a closer look at today's ruling -- Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, you know the Supreme Court is the highest court in the land and it's dealing with the ultimate punishment. So it get an awful lot of capital punishment cases and sometimes the Supreme Court changes its mind.

It is a striking reversal of a 1989 decision by a six to three margin, the Supreme Court has ruled that executing the mentally retarded now violates the constitution's eighth amendment ban against cruel and unusual punishment because, wrote Justice John Paul Stevens, of their disabilities in areas of reasoning, judgment and control of their impulses.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't like how it was going down.

FRANKEN: The defendant was Daryl Atkins, sentenced to death in Virginia for a 1996 robbery murder. His IQ tested at 59, mentally between nine and 12 years of age. The question before the court -- is there now a national consensus against executing the mentally retarded compared to 1989 when only two states prohibited the practice. Now 18 do. Twelve more banned capital punishment entirely - a total of 30. It is fair to say, Stevens wrote for the majority, that a national consensus has developed against it.

STEVEN HAWKINS, NAT'L COALITION TO ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY: This opinion, I think, represents really where the American people have gone in terms of concern about how the death penalty is being applied in the country.

FRANKEN: But in a particularly biting descent, Justine Antonin Scalia, joined by the two other most conservative Justices, Rehnquist and Thomas, complained that: "Seldom has an opinion of this Court rested so obviously upon nothing but the personal views of its members."

KEVIN WATSON, LAW ENFORCEMENT ALLIANCE: It's our basic position that if someone is found by the courts fit to stand trial, then they're fit to receive the sentence that the court and jury gives them.

FRANKEN: President Bush has spoken out against capital punishment of the mentally retarded, but as Governor of Texas, he allowed two men, said to be retarded, to be executed.

ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president supported laws in Texas...

FRANKEN: Capital punishment is an evolving political issue as well as a legal one.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN (on camera): And now we have DNA technology, Carol, which means that the number of death penalties before the Supreme Court the number is going to grow and the cases are going to get even more complicated. Carol.

LIN: Bob, there have been scientific studies and surveys done on a violent prison population in the United States, which indicate that most of these inmates actually have suffered some form of physical brain damage. So given that and give the concern that the courts may be flooded with appeals in these death penalty cases, did the court address that issue as to how to redefine or define mentally retarded?

FRANKEN: Well, the court said it would be up to the states to come up with the procedures and the dissenters, led by Justice Scalia, were quite cynical about this, saying that we're going to have a lot of cases where people try to, to quote him "feign the condition."

LIN: All right, thank you very much, Bob Franken live in Washington. Well up next a possible new threat. Are there terrorists, well terrorist threats right around the corner? Are they planning to use emergency vehicles as suicide bombs? That story when we come back; and later, professional hockey moves to get out of the penalty box. We'll tell you what they're doing to protect the fans from flying pucks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: The FBI in New Jersey wants to talk with a pair of men who reportedly offered cash for an ambulance being prepped for a movie set. So just why is the FBI interested in this? CNN's Deborah Feyerick explains.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, fire department officials are being extra careful safeguarding their ambulances and trucks, this after two men with a pocketful of cash tried to buy a replica of one of their vehicles. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK (voice over): Police cars and ambulances packed a lot at Movie Time Cars in northern New Jersey. The prop company rents them to movies and TV shows like NBC's "Third Watch" and HBO's "The Sopranos."

But a week ago, two men described as Middle Eastern walked in asking to buy an ambulance in cash on the spot. The owner said no, writing down the license plate number and calling police after the men had left.

JOE SARGO, OWNER, MOVIE TIME CARS: They were of dark complexion, about 5'8" to 5'10", fairly casually dressed and that's really it.

FEYERICK: Any accent of any sort?

SARGO: A slight accent, that with the combination of the way they looked, you know, led me to believe that they were Middle Eastern. Where, I don't know.

FEYERICK: OK.

SARGO: But it threw up the red flags for us.

FEYERICK: Police say they've identified the owner of the white truck the men were driving.

CHIEF JAMES O'CONNOR, LYNDHURST POLICE: We know who the registered owner is, and at this time, there are investigators in the field attempting to interview him.

FEYERICK: New York City ambulances run by the fire department received an alert Wednesday night to check all worker credentials, but a union official says the real problem, private ambulance companies. While they're required to hire certified medical technicians, they're not required to do criminal background checks.

PATRICK BAHNKEN, FDNY: Today, there are hundreds of non- municipal, non-fire department ambulances in the 9-1-1 system, and the question is, who is operating those vehicles? Everyday we send these vehicles out into the street with radios that have access to the city's emergency service system, with computers that have access to the 9-1-1 system, but we don't know who's getting on those vehicles.

FEYERICK: Ambulances have been used in Israel to smuggle suicide bombers. New York City police say they're aware of the terror tactic. Intelligence after 9/11 warned that bogus ambulances or fire trucks could be used in further attacks.

RAY KELLY, NYPD COMMISSIONER: We have to be more vigilant, as we've said many times after 9/11 in a whole host of areas, and this is one area.

FEYERICK: Buying an ambulance or fire truck is not as hard as you might think. On eBay on Thursday, 11 ambulances, six fire trucks, and five police cars were listed for sale.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK (on camera): The FBI says it has found no evidence of terror-related activity. Still, officials have yet to rule it out. Carol.

LIN: Deborah Feyerick reporting in New York. Wildfire season arrives early in the West, catching some states off guard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If we had all the resources in the world right now, there's not a whole lot that we could do with this fire.

LIN: Coming up, more on the frustration surrounding the fight against what could be the biggest blaze in Arizona's history; plus, crews wage war against Colorado's worst fire ever, while the woman accused of sparking it battles to get out from behind bars. LIVE FROM will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: Nineteen large wildfires are currently burning in ten states across the country. More than 1.8 million acres of land has been charred. That's more than double the average at this time of year.

LIN: Well, Arizona's governor says it may be the worst wildfire her state has ever enduring. What's known as the Rodeo Fire has blackened 60,000 acres and forced thousands of evacuations. It burned through the tiny town of Pinedale today. Conditions are so bad firefighters are being pulled off the lines until the weather improves. Governor Hull says the state is tinder dry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOVERNOR JANE DEE HULL, ARIZONA: We are in a severe, serious drought. It's a four-year drought. Everything is dry. You all have come up from the valley and you know how dry it is. Be it visitors or people who live here, matches, campfires, all of those things are banned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Colorado is facing an even bigger blaze, the 136,000-acre Hayman fire. As crews continue to struggle, the Forest Service worker accused of starting the fire appeared in court. CNN's Mark Potter is live from Denver. Mark, she's trying to get out of jail.

MARK POTTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and it looks like she will be getting out of jail soon. There was a lengthy argument and a decision has now been made.

Now the prosecution argued that Terry Lynn Barton should remain behind bars until her trial because she is a flight risk, facing serious charges and a very angry community.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POTTER (voice over): The defense, however, presented seven witnesses who said she would never flee and that she is still strongly supported by friends and coworkers.

After a four-hour hearing in which Barton sat silently, looking downward most of the time, Federal Magistrate Michael Watsanabi (ph) ruled against the government and said that she could be released on a $600,000 bond, if she puts up ten percent.

She must stay in a halfway house under strict conditions, and according to the court, she will not be allowed to go anywhere near a forest area.

Now Barton has confessed to setting the 137,000-acre Hayman fire here in Colorado, but she says it was accidental. She says the fire got away from her after she lit a match to a letter given to her by her estranged husband, an account supported by one of her friends.

SCOTT RIEBEL, BARTON'S FRIEND: I don't believe it was intentional. I believe that she was overwrought with emotion of what was going on in her personal life and I think that letter symbolically meant something, burning that thing was a symbolic gesture on her part.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

POTTER (on camera): Now the prosecution argues that Barton set the fire intentionally and staged the scene to make it look accidental. An arson investigator testified in court today that no evidence of that letter has been found, and her husband has denied sending it. Barton faces a four-count indictment and if convicted of all charges, could face a maximum 65-year prison term. Carol.

LIN: Mark, we were just reporting that the Hayman fire is now 136,000 acres. Do you know what the status of that fire is and when these firefighters are going to get a handle on it?

POTTER: Well they got a little bit of a break today. They had some rain overnight. The humidity went up. The temperatures dropped, and at least they were able to hold their own.

They say the containment level is still at about 40 percent. The other fire, the Durango fire, is at 25 percent. A big concern here in Colorado is the third fire that blew up yesterday. It has moved pretty dramatically upward now to about 4,500 acres.

The problem there is that there are homes in the way. Eighteen have been destroyed, and the containment percentages there, we are told, number zero. They do not have any containment on that fire at all, back to you.

LIN: All right, still a bad situation. Mark Potter, live in Denver for us, thank you very much.

Well elsewhere in Colorado, the Missionary Ridge fire north of Durango is about 25 percent contained, and the Million (ph) fire in the Rio Grande National Forest has consumed several expensive homes. In San Diego County, California the Mount Laguna fire is 20 percent contained. Three homes have been destroyed there.

So, can attending a sporting event be hazardous to your health? Well not if the National Hockey League has anything to say about it. Coming up next, find out how it plans to protect fans from its players. Then, we'll help you find the hidden dangers in your child's playground. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Pro hockey rinks will get a different look next year. The National Hockey League has decided to hang safety nets to protect spectators. The decision follows the death of a 13-year-old girl in Ohio. CNN's Steve Overmyer reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVE OVERMYER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On March 16th, Brittanie Cecil (ph) was struck in the head by a puck deflected into the stands at a Columbus Blue Jackets game. She died two days later from a blood clot caused by the hit. She was 13 years old.

Although Cecil's death was the first fan fatality in the NHL's 85-year history, the incident spurred the Board of Governors to approve the use of netting behind the goals to protect the fans.

GARY BETTMAN, NHL COMMISSIONER: There were measures that we could take that would reduce the incidence of pucks entering the stands without unduly interfering with the game or the fans' enjoyment of the game.

OVERMYER: If there is a downside in taking steps to protect fans, it could arrive in the form of lawsuits by spectators who have been injured by errant pucks.

Elizabeth Hahn (ph) was hit in the head at a Chicago Blackhawks game in January. She needed brain surgery to relieve a blood clot and is suing the team, the United Center and the NHL for an undisclosed amount.

LESTER MUNSON, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED LEGAL ANALYST: I think that probably in less than half the cases, the victims, the injured fans will be able to use the nets against the National Hockey League and against the teams.

In most cases, the judge is going to say that he's happy the NHL did the right thing by putting in the net and he's not going to allow that to enhance the case of the injured victim.

OVERMYER: While some fans who pay top dollar to sit in premium seats don't want their view obstructed, it's clear that in this case safety has won out over sight lines. For CNN Sports, I'm Steve Overmyer.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Now a quick look at some of the other stories in the headlines. A Grand Jury in Boston indicts retired priest Paul Shanley on 16 new charges, including ten counts of Child Rape. Prosecutors say the indictments involve four alleged male victims. Shanley is to be arraigned next week on the new charges. The 71-year-old Shanley was arrested last month on three counts of Child Rape. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges.

A California teen has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a deadly shooting rampage at a Southern California high school. Sixteen- year-old Andy Williams is charged with two counts of First Degree Murder and 13 counts of Attempted Murder. He opened fire at Santana High School near San Diego in March of last year, killing two students. Eleven other students, a teacher, and a campus monitor were wounded. Williams will be sentenced in August.

One year ago today, Andrea Yates drowned her five young children in the bathtub of their Houston home. Yates is serving a life sentence after her conviction on Capital Murder charges in March. Her husband, Russell Yates, visited his children's graves today, and this weekend he plans to visit his wife. Russell Yates says he now spends his free time learning about the mental illness that consumed his wife.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUSSELL YATES, FATHER: I haven't been able to as much as hold her hand or give her a hug or anything since this happened, and that's just, you know, to me extremely cruel. I mean it's a woman that's lost her whole family. You know she needs comfort. She needs to be held and loved and just, you know, the - you know like every step of the way they've treated her like a serial killer, you know, for no reason, you know, a hardened serial killer and she's not. I mean she's a loving mother who became desperately ill and really did the unthinkable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Andrea Yates will be eligible for parole in about 40 years.

Well, the multinational peacekeeping force in Afghanistan is now in the hands of Turkish troops. Britain handed over the control of the force in a ceremony today in Kabul. Afghanistan's new President Hamid Karzai was among those who attended the handover.

And new research is showing promise in the battle against Parkinson's Disease. The work performed at the National Institute of Health involved embryonic mouse stem cells transplanted into rats. Researchers say the symptoms of Parkinson's Disease in the rats improved significantly, and they say the research could be a step toward a treatment for the disease in humans.

Public playgrounds in the United States are getting safer, but many still hold hidden dangers, that word today from two consumer groups. Their nationwide study found a number of problems, including surfaces that are too hard, equipment that is too high, improper swing placement, and overall poor maintenance.

Well Amtrak used to rule the rails, but now the railroad giant could be looking at the end of the line. Find out what may knock it off the tracks when we come back.

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ANNOUNCER: The government created Amtrak in 1971. The nation's passenger railroad is supposed to be a for-profit corporation, but Amtrak's never made money. In fact, it lost more than one billion dollars last year. Amtrak serves over 500 communities in 45 states across the nation.

LIN: Amtrak says its train stations will start shutting down by the middle of next week, unless the government signs off on a $200 million financing package. The Bush Administration has long offered - offered a long-term plan but as CNN's Patty Davis explains, the rail company says its problems are more immediate.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Nancy Allen is on her way to Williamsburg, Virginian on Amtrak, but it might be her last trip for a while. Amtrak, in deep financial trouble, says it will be forced to shut down temporarily in less than two weeks if it doesn't get a $200 million cash infusion to keep running.

NANCY ALLEN, AMTRAK PASSENGER: It would be really a disappointment because it is a way for people to get around quickly and economically and I feel like it's something that we need to keep.

DAVIS: Some members of Congress call it a looming disaster.

U.S. SENATOR RICHARD RUBIN (D), ILLINOIS: We are literally coming down to a matter of hours as to whether or not Amtrak is going to shut down service in America. How did it ever get to this point?

DAVIS (on camera): The Transportation Department says it won't bail Amtrak out without serious reform. While it's looking for ways to help, it's making no promises.

DAVIS (voice over): Amtrak's problems, transportation officials say, run deep.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because Amtrak will: a) never be profitable; and b) will always need, just like every other mode of passenger transportation, some form of public investment or subsidy.

DAVIS: Amtrak is $4 billion in debt. Although ridership picked up after September 11th, it hasn't been significant enough to solve Amtrak's financial woes.

NORMAN MINETA, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: The country can ill afford to throw billions of federal dollars at Amtrak and just hope that those problems will disappear. DAVIS: The Bush Administration is proposing a long-term fix, dropping routes that don't make money, ending Amtrak's monopoly over city-to-city rail service, requiring states to pay more, and making the popular Washington to Boston route a partnership between the Federal Government and states.

ALLEN: We really need to keep this part of our American History.

DAVIS: Whatever it takes, Nancy Allen says, to keep Amtrak rolling along. Patty Davis, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: So balloonist Steve Fossett is off to a fast start in his latest attempt to fly solo around the world. His ground crew says Fossett's flight across Australia has been faster than expected and at the present rate, he could complete his trip in 12 days, instead of the scheduled 16.

Well, Germany is the odds-on favorite to win tomorrow's World Cup Quarter Final in Seoul, but an ambitious American team feels it has nothing to lose. Germany is bigger, stronger, and more talented. It's a three-time champion. But, with a couple of early round upsets under its belt, the U.S. squad has been tuning up for a match it thinks it can win. Who knew?

And that's our report for tonight. I'm Carol Lin. "LARRY KING LIVE" is up next.

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