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Clinton Library Opens; Possible Second Case of Mad Cow Disease in U.S.; Senate Investigates Vioxx Recall

Aired November 18, 2004 - 14:02   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: Is it another case of Mad Cow right here in the United States? Concerns raised after inconclusive tests. We're on the story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The bus hit the wall. So then I looked up there, and there's no bus driver.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Harrowing moments...

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Harrowing...

LIN: Sorry, Miles. Go ahead.

O'BRIEN: Harrowing moments high above Tampa Bay. Passengers have to act fast to save their own lives.

LIN: And presidential tribute. An historic gathering to honor former President Bill Clinton. We're going to take you live once again to Little Rock.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What you're looking at here is the remnants of an old farm. Originally, this was on 75 acres of land.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: And it was reality TV before we ever heard of that term. This hour the stars of "This Old House," who really spawned a who generation of programs, will be here to give you ideas and talk about what they have been up to of late.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Miles O'Brien. Kyra Phillips off today.

LIN: And I'm Carol Lin. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

Well, it's been almost a year since America's first known case of Mad Cow Disease prompted boycotts and demands for better screening, which has now turned up the possibility of America's second case of Mad Cow Disease. Officials stress the initial tests on the unidentified cow was inconclusive, and the animal never entered the food chain. Conclusive results are several days away.

But in the meantime, we're going to turn to CNN's medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, for a refresher on the disease and its human counterpart.

Elizabeth, hard to believe that we may have another scare on our hands come the holiday season?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is really important to remember something, which is that just as recently as this past summer there were several scares like the one we're having now.

Several screening tests turned out to be inconclusive, and then when they went and did the second round of tests, which are much better tests, it turned out that it was not Mad Cow Disease. So that's very important to remember.

But let's go over a little bit about what we know about this current situation. What we know is that the test results will be back in four to seven days. That's when we expect to hear whether or not this cow actually did have Mad Cow Disease.

Also, as Carol said, the meat did not enter the food chain. Also very important to remember. And that in general, the risk of Mad Cow Disease in this country is minimal.

Now that did not prevent Japan and several other countries from saying when we had -- when there was a real case of Mad Cow Disease found about 11 months ago those countries said we don't want your meat and still to this day don't take that meat.

LIN: So what else -- what additionally can the government be doing to prevent Mad Cow Disease in this country?

COHEN: Right. There are also consumer advocates who say that the government is not doing enough to keep Mad Cow Disease out of this country.

First of all, they say that certain kinds of meat should be banned. For example, the spinal column should not be allowed to be processed and put on the market. Neck bones should not be allowed to be processed and put on the market.

And that's because Mad Cow Disease is a disease of the central nervous system, and those parts of the cow are the kind that would be the most likely to have the disease.

Also, advocates want be a mandatory I.D. system for cows. Right now when they find that a cow has Mad Cow Disease they have to trace back where did that cow live? What was it eating, because that's where the cow would have gotten the Mad Cow Disease from?

But it's very hard to do that right now. It's very hard. Cows, they move around a lot, those cows.

LIN: Yes.

COHEN: They go from farm to farm, and they're bought and they're sold. And so there's no good way to trace back right now, and they think there ought to be a good way.

LIN: You bet. All right. Thanks very much, Elizabeth.

COHEN: Thanks.

LIN: All right. We have different kinds of cows in this world. One is a cash cow, for example, that talks to Wall Street. And for the pharmaceutical company giant, Merck, well, it's under the microscope today because of one of its cash cows.

Some people on Capitol Hill want to know why it took so long to take the very profitable drug Vioxx off the market.

CNN's Chris Huntington has the latest on that -- Chris.

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol Lin, well, as we speak, the remaining members of the Senate Finance Committee are continuing to question Raymond Gilmartin. He's the chairman and CEO of Merck.

Of course, he is central in the whole controversy over Vioxx, the painkiller that the company removed from the market for links to heart disease back in September.

Gilmartin, as expected, stood his ground, saying that they acted only when they had hard clinical data that linked Vioxx to heart disease, and he said that they did not get that data confirmed until late September. September 23 is the date certain that he put forward.

And he said that they acted within a week to pull the drug off the market.

He dismissed estimates of how many heart attacks could have been caused by the drug, and he even gave Vioxx a ringing personal endorsement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAYMOND GILMARTIN, CEO, MERCK PHARMACEUTICAL: Mr. Chairman, Merck believed wholeheartedly in Vioxx. I believed wholeheartedly in Vioxx. In fact, my wife was taking Vioxx and using Vioxx up until the day we withdrew it from the market.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTINGTON: Now other witnesses here before the Senate Finance Committee particularly a Dr. David Graham, who is with the FDA's Office of Drug Safety, really blew the lid off the hearing when he said that he had been pressured to cover up his findings that in his estimate as many as 100,000 people could have suffered heart attacks as a result of Vioxx and as he put it, 30 percent to 40 percent of those were fatal.

This is how he described the pressure within the FDA to keep those conclusions under the lid.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. DAVID GRAHAM, FDA OFFICE OF DRUG SAFETY: I was pressured to keep my conclusions and recommendations. One drug safety manager recommended that I should be barred from presenting the poster (ph) at the meeting and also noted that Merck needed to know our study results.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTINGTON: Now, the FDA did not send acting Commissioner Lester Crawford. He had been invited but declined, because in fact, he is having to deal with the concern about the flu vaccine.

But Sandra Quidra (ph), who runs the FDA's new drug office did respond to those concerns raised by Dr. Graham. She said there is always high-level concern and discussion about the risks and rewards of a drug.

She did not -- she dismissed the notion that Graham had been suppressed. She said that the FDA drug safety program is not broken by any stretch of the imagination. She stood her ground.

One interesting thing that will come out. Another doctor here, though, completely disputed the notion that Merck could draw a bright line saying that heart attacks only show up in patients who took Vioxx for more than 18 months. That could become a crucial bit of testimony, a crucial bit of contention in the court cases ahead for Merck on Vioxx -- Carol Lin.

LIN: All right. A lot to cover. Thanks very much. Just call me Carol. Thanks very much, Chris -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: The calendar says November. And the weather is dismal. But if you've been watching CNN you know Little Rock, Arkansas, is -- well, it's presidents' day there. In particular, President Clinton's day.

It's the gala opening of the man from Hope's presidential library, a glittering structure boasting two billion photos, 76 million documents and 75,000 assorted artifacts, not to mention a full scale reproduction of the Oval Office.

The current chief executive, all of the living former presidents, save President Ford, who is ailing, and -- are there. And a couple Clinton show biz friends, as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP) O'BRIEN: Bono and The Edge, singing about the rain there.

CNN's John King has covered rock stars. He's covered rulers, regents and rogues who've passed through the White House and the state house in Boston, for that matter. But he joins us now with his reflections on all of these things.

It's got to be an interesting confluence of events, John, particularly in the recent wake of the election, the timing here is interesting. And it makes for a strange dynamic, I suppose, in the crowd there.

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It's an extraordinary day. You see not only the former president, Bill Clinton, on his big day, the dedication of his library, but the members, as you noted, of an exclusive club.

Former President Bush who, of course, Bill Clinton beat back in 1992. Former President Bush making jokes about that, making light of it. The current President Bush paying tribute to a man that he essentially ran against in Campaign 2000, much more so than running against Al Gore. Remember, George W. Bush ran for president, saying he would restore honesty and integrity to the White House.

But they are members of an exclusive club. They come together from time to time. They have, of course, the shared experience of living in the White House, having to deal with crises and tragedy.

Bill Clinton, for example, had Oklahoma City bombing in his first term. George W. Bush had the 9/11 attacks.

So they come together on a day of unity. John Kerry in the audience on this very rainy day. And several of the speakers, Hillary Rodham Clinton, the senator now, former first lady, at the end I think summed it up best by saying that, yes, this is an America that is divided. This is an America that just went through a very contentious election, but it's a reminder that there are days when we should put the brakes on partisan politics and get together and celebrate the country.

O'BRIEN: Well, of course, when you say put the brakes on, that's a relative term. It is a political group. And undoubtedly, there's a bit of ennui (sic) among the Democrats as they look at President Clinton, really a rock star for their party. And really -- and there's nobody to succeed him anywhere close, right?

KING: It's great to see him, but he also is a reminder of what they didn't have in this past campaign.

I covered Bill Clinton for more than ten years, and I've covered many of the politicians in the crowd today. And no disrespect to the current president of the United States, there's nobody like Bill Clinton.

As many of the speakers, again, including former President Bush noted, he was knocked down so many times and yet, his trademark was he kept getting up. The Republicans, quoted, hated him, if you will, in the political context, but any Republican across the spectrum has a great deal of admiration for the guy's political skills. He was as tenacious as they come.

O'BRIEN: We're talking about the role of libraries, and while this one to all appearances looks like a glorified jet way to me, aside from all of that, we know the presidential libraries like to do more than just be a repository of information, and this one does it in spades.

What will the Clinton library be doing, aside from being a collection, and how does that -- how is that in any way in keeping with President Clinton's personality?

KING: The president himself noted -- the former president, Mr. Clinton, in his remarks that they're going to speed up the declassification, the public release of some of the documents.

Sometimes it takes 10, 25 years for a former president's papers to be put into public. He says he wants to put them as quickly as possible into the public. That, he says is a reflection of his commitment to openness in government.

There is an impeachment wing in this library. Some might find that out. President Clinton dedicating some space in his library to what was a defining moment in the second term of his presidency.

That again, of course, though, was a reflection of his tenacity. Bill Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives. He kept his job, and two Republican speakers lost their jobs in the wake of that scandal.

I think if anything -- anything tells you anything about Bill Clinton, that episode is it.

O'BRIEN: Yes. But just -- just to offer the other side, there are some that would say it is a bit of a glossed over job, but I supposed when you're building your own library you're allowed to gloss over these kinds of things.

KING: When you're in charge, you get to make the rules.

O'BRIEN: That's how it works. John King, thanks for that reminder. I appreciate that. We should all employ that in every day life all the time. Remember John's rules. You're not in charge; you're not making the rules.

All right. We'll take a quick break here and then to Carol.

LIN: That was fast break, because we need to move to Iraq.

Iraqi leaders say the battle of Falluja is won, but commanders on the ground say the city is not yet safe. So a Marine, a U.S. Marine and an Iraqi soldier there, for example, were killed today.

Now while clearing a building in the southern part of Falluja, earlier troops made two startling discoveries there. An apparent safe house with ties to terrorist mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and a bomb-making workshop. Inside, an SUV with a Texas registration sticker apparently was being converted for use as a bomb.

Now about the same time another vehicle exploded outside of a police station in western Baghdad. Officials say two civilians were killed, at least six people wounded. The day before police and U.S. Marines thwarted another car bomb attack just south of the capital.

O'BRIEN: Leaders in France and Britain are trying to move past Iraq and emphasize common ground. French President Jacques Chirac in Britain. Mr. Chirac and Prime Minister Tony Blair marking the hundredth anniversary of the pact that ended hostilities between their countries. The two more or less agreed to disagree on the Iraq war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACQUES CHIRAC, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): if you observe the way things are developing in the world in terms of security and the expansion of terrorism not just in the Middle East but throughout the world, if you look at all of that, including in Asia, for example, and particularly in Southeast Asia, if you look at all of that, you cannot say and be credible that the situation has significantly improved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: The two leaders tried to focus on mutual goals in such areas as Mideast peace, Africa and European defense.

Well, when the bus driver had a heart attack, what happens then? Well, the passengers had to spring into action or risk falling into Tampa Bay. It's an amazing story. You got to stay tuned to watch it.

And could it be one of the top songs of all time? Smells like we have a top ten list in the making. "Rolling Stone" magazine counts down the best songs ever. Of course, that's a subjective thing. But nevertheless, we love top ten lists, so we'll show it to you when we return.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Live picture now. To Howard County, Maryland, where we want to show you the scene of an accident there on the west bound lanes of Interstate 70 at about Route 29.

According to a local TV station one person was carried away in an ambulance. That person died. Two other people were flown away. Apparently, a truck spilling lumber across the road. Serious situation there.

As warranted, if we have any more on this situation, we will let you know. In the meantime we want to bring you a verdict. Guilty. A local television reporter is convicted of criminal contempt for refusing to name a source.

Jim Taricani of WJAR in Rhode Island could get up to six months in prison.

CNN's Deborah Feyerick is covering that case.

What happened, Deb?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, right now he doesn't know exactly how long he will get, the sentencing to happen on December 9.

But the federal judge did find the reporter, Jim Taricani, guilty of criminal contempt for refusing to reveal the identity of a source, a source who had given him a copy of an FBI surveillance tape. The tape was ultimately used in a federal corruption trial, but at the time that the tape aired on a local NBC affiliate here in Rhode Island, everyone involved in the case was under a very strict gag order.

Now, the reporter called this verdict an assault on journalistic freedom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM TARICANI, WJAR REPORTER: I made a promise to my source which I intend to keep. Although I'm willing to go to jail, I think it's wrong that journalists should face this threat simply for doing their jobs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Now, the judge said he did not have a problem with the tape airing. What he did have a problem with was the person who had broken the law by giving this tape to a reporter in the first place.

And because the reporter defied the direct order by the judge to answer questions by a special prosecutor, he, too, was found guilty, again, of contempt.

Now, about a dozen reporters around the country right now under fire. They have been subpoenaed in cases including the Los Alamos scientist, Wen Ho Li, and also reporters who were involved with the CIA Agent whose identity was also leaked.

Journalists say all of this amounts to an extraordinary violation of First Amendment rights, but anybody you talk to in the court system says this is a question of chaos. And you can can't have people running around defying judges. Otherwise, there simply would be no order in the court -- Carol.

LIN: So, Deb, real quick. When are we going to know the sentence? FEYERICK: We're going to know the sentence on December 9. He could face up to six months in prison, and the problem is that he does have a heart transplant. So he's really, really concerned.

He wants to make sure that when he does go to jail that at least he's some sort of an environment so that he ultimately makes it out OK and isn't subjected to illnesses and things that can be contracted in prison environment.

LIN: Wow. All right. Didn't know that. All right. Thanks very much, Deborah Feyerick.

Much more on LIVE FROM, so stay right there.

A heart transplant. That's what I said...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired November 18, 2004 - 14:02   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Is it another case of Mad Cow right here in the United States? Concerns raised after inconclusive tests. We're on the story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The bus hit the wall. So then I looked up there, and there's no bus driver.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Harrowing moments...

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Harrowing...

LIN: Sorry, Miles. Go ahead.

O'BRIEN: Harrowing moments high above Tampa Bay. Passengers have to act fast to save their own lives.

LIN: And presidential tribute. An historic gathering to honor former President Bill Clinton. We're going to take you live once again to Little Rock.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What you're looking at here is the remnants of an old farm. Originally, this was on 75 acres of land.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: And it was reality TV before we ever heard of that term. This hour the stars of "This Old House," who really spawned a who generation of programs, will be here to give you ideas and talk about what they have been up to of late.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Miles O'Brien. Kyra Phillips off today.

LIN: And I'm Carol Lin. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

Well, it's been almost a year since America's first known case of Mad Cow Disease prompted boycotts and demands for better screening, which has now turned up the possibility of America's second case of Mad Cow Disease. Officials stress the initial tests on the unidentified cow was inconclusive, and the animal never entered the food chain. Conclusive results are several days away.

But in the meantime, we're going to turn to CNN's medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, for a refresher on the disease and its human counterpart.

Elizabeth, hard to believe that we may have another scare on our hands come the holiday season?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is really important to remember something, which is that just as recently as this past summer there were several scares like the one we're having now.

Several screening tests turned out to be inconclusive, and then when they went and did the second round of tests, which are much better tests, it turned out that it was not Mad Cow Disease. So that's very important to remember.

But let's go over a little bit about what we know about this current situation. What we know is that the test results will be back in four to seven days. That's when we expect to hear whether or not this cow actually did have Mad Cow Disease.

Also, as Carol said, the meat did not enter the food chain. Also very important to remember. And that in general, the risk of Mad Cow Disease in this country is minimal.

Now that did not prevent Japan and several other countries from saying when we had -- when there was a real case of Mad Cow Disease found about 11 months ago those countries said we don't want your meat and still to this day don't take that meat.

LIN: So what else -- what additionally can the government be doing to prevent Mad Cow Disease in this country?

COHEN: Right. There are also consumer advocates who say that the government is not doing enough to keep Mad Cow Disease out of this country.

First of all, they say that certain kinds of meat should be banned. For example, the spinal column should not be allowed to be processed and put on the market. Neck bones should not be allowed to be processed and put on the market.

And that's because Mad Cow Disease is a disease of the central nervous system, and those parts of the cow are the kind that would be the most likely to have the disease.

Also, advocates want be a mandatory I.D. system for cows. Right now when they find that a cow has Mad Cow Disease they have to trace back where did that cow live? What was it eating, because that's where the cow would have gotten the Mad Cow Disease from?

But it's very hard to do that right now. It's very hard. Cows, they move around a lot, those cows.

LIN: Yes.

COHEN: They go from farm to farm, and they're bought and they're sold. And so there's no good way to trace back right now, and they think there ought to be a good way.

LIN: You bet. All right. Thanks very much, Elizabeth.

COHEN: Thanks.

LIN: All right. We have different kinds of cows in this world. One is a cash cow, for example, that talks to Wall Street. And for the pharmaceutical company giant, Merck, well, it's under the microscope today because of one of its cash cows.

Some people on Capitol Hill want to know why it took so long to take the very profitable drug Vioxx off the market.

CNN's Chris Huntington has the latest on that -- Chris.

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol Lin, well, as we speak, the remaining members of the Senate Finance Committee are continuing to question Raymond Gilmartin. He's the chairman and CEO of Merck.

Of course, he is central in the whole controversy over Vioxx, the painkiller that the company removed from the market for links to heart disease back in September.

Gilmartin, as expected, stood his ground, saying that they acted only when they had hard clinical data that linked Vioxx to heart disease, and he said that they did not get that data confirmed until late September. September 23 is the date certain that he put forward.

And he said that they acted within a week to pull the drug off the market.

He dismissed estimates of how many heart attacks could have been caused by the drug, and he even gave Vioxx a ringing personal endorsement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAYMOND GILMARTIN, CEO, MERCK PHARMACEUTICAL: Mr. Chairman, Merck believed wholeheartedly in Vioxx. I believed wholeheartedly in Vioxx. In fact, my wife was taking Vioxx and using Vioxx up until the day we withdrew it from the market.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTINGTON: Now other witnesses here before the Senate Finance Committee particularly a Dr. David Graham, who is with the FDA's Office of Drug Safety, really blew the lid off the hearing when he said that he had been pressured to cover up his findings that in his estimate as many as 100,000 people could have suffered heart attacks as a result of Vioxx and as he put it, 30 percent to 40 percent of those were fatal.

This is how he described the pressure within the FDA to keep those conclusions under the lid.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. DAVID GRAHAM, FDA OFFICE OF DRUG SAFETY: I was pressured to keep my conclusions and recommendations. One drug safety manager recommended that I should be barred from presenting the poster (ph) at the meeting and also noted that Merck needed to know our study results.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTINGTON: Now, the FDA did not send acting Commissioner Lester Crawford. He had been invited but declined, because in fact, he is having to deal with the concern about the flu vaccine.

But Sandra Quidra (ph), who runs the FDA's new drug office did respond to those concerns raised by Dr. Graham. She said there is always high-level concern and discussion about the risks and rewards of a drug.

She did not -- she dismissed the notion that Graham had been suppressed. She said that the FDA drug safety program is not broken by any stretch of the imagination. She stood her ground.

One interesting thing that will come out. Another doctor here, though, completely disputed the notion that Merck could draw a bright line saying that heart attacks only show up in patients who took Vioxx for more than 18 months. That could become a crucial bit of testimony, a crucial bit of contention in the court cases ahead for Merck on Vioxx -- Carol Lin.

LIN: All right. A lot to cover. Thanks very much. Just call me Carol. Thanks very much, Chris -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: The calendar says November. And the weather is dismal. But if you've been watching CNN you know Little Rock, Arkansas, is -- well, it's presidents' day there. In particular, President Clinton's day.

It's the gala opening of the man from Hope's presidential library, a glittering structure boasting two billion photos, 76 million documents and 75,000 assorted artifacts, not to mention a full scale reproduction of the Oval Office.

The current chief executive, all of the living former presidents, save President Ford, who is ailing, and -- are there. And a couple Clinton show biz friends, as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP) O'BRIEN: Bono and The Edge, singing about the rain there.

CNN's John King has covered rock stars. He's covered rulers, regents and rogues who've passed through the White House and the state house in Boston, for that matter. But he joins us now with his reflections on all of these things.

It's got to be an interesting confluence of events, John, particularly in the recent wake of the election, the timing here is interesting. And it makes for a strange dynamic, I suppose, in the crowd there.

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It's an extraordinary day. You see not only the former president, Bill Clinton, on his big day, the dedication of his library, but the members, as you noted, of an exclusive club.

Former President Bush who, of course, Bill Clinton beat back in 1992. Former President Bush making jokes about that, making light of it. The current President Bush paying tribute to a man that he essentially ran against in Campaign 2000, much more so than running against Al Gore. Remember, George W. Bush ran for president, saying he would restore honesty and integrity to the White House.

But they are members of an exclusive club. They come together from time to time. They have, of course, the shared experience of living in the White House, having to deal with crises and tragedy.

Bill Clinton, for example, had Oklahoma City bombing in his first term. George W. Bush had the 9/11 attacks.

So they come together on a day of unity. John Kerry in the audience on this very rainy day. And several of the speakers, Hillary Rodham Clinton, the senator now, former first lady, at the end I think summed it up best by saying that, yes, this is an America that is divided. This is an America that just went through a very contentious election, but it's a reminder that there are days when we should put the brakes on partisan politics and get together and celebrate the country.

O'BRIEN: Well, of course, when you say put the brakes on, that's a relative term. It is a political group. And undoubtedly, there's a bit of ennui (sic) among the Democrats as they look at President Clinton, really a rock star for their party. And really -- and there's nobody to succeed him anywhere close, right?

KING: It's great to see him, but he also is a reminder of what they didn't have in this past campaign.

I covered Bill Clinton for more than ten years, and I've covered many of the politicians in the crowd today. And no disrespect to the current president of the United States, there's nobody like Bill Clinton.

As many of the speakers, again, including former President Bush noted, he was knocked down so many times and yet, his trademark was he kept getting up. The Republicans, quoted, hated him, if you will, in the political context, but any Republican across the spectrum has a great deal of admiration for the guy's political skills. He was as tenacious as they come.

O'BRIEN: We're talking about the role of libraries, and while this one to all appearances looks like a glorified jet way to me, aside from all of that, we know the presidential libraries like to do more than just be a repository of information, and this one does it in spades.

What will the Clinton library be doing, aside from being a collection, and how does that -- how is that in any way in keeping with President Clinton's personality?

KING: The president himself noted -- the former president, Mr. Clinton, in his remarks that they're going to speed up the declassification, the public release of some of the documents.

Sometimes it takes 10, 25 years for a former president's papers to be put into public. He says he wants to put them as quickly as possible into the public. That, he says is a reflection of his commitment to openness in government.

There is an impeachment wing in this library. Some might find that out. President Clinton dedicating some space in his library to what was a defining moment in the second term of his presidency.

That again, of course, though, was a reflection of his tenacity. Bill Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives. He kept his job, and two Republican speakers lost their jobs in the wake of that scandal.

I think if anything -- anything tells you anything about Bill Clinton, that episode is it.

O'BRIEN: Yes. But just -- just to offer the other side, there are some that would say it is a bit of a glossed over job, but I supposed when you're building your own library you're allowed to gloss over these kinds of things.

KING: When you're in charge, you get to make the rules.

O'BRIEN: That's how it works. John King, thanks for that reminder. I appreciate that. We should all employ that in every day life all the time. Remember John's rules. You're not in charge; you're not making the rules.

All right. We'll take a quick break here and then to Carol.

LIN: That was fast break, because we need to move to Iraq.

Iraqi leaders say the battle of Falluja is won, but commanders on the ground say the city is not yet safe. So a Marine, a U.S. Marine and an Iraqi soldier there, for example, were killed today.

Now while clearing a building in the southern part of Falluja, earlier troops made two startling discoveries there. An apparent safe house with ties to terrorist mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and a bomb-making workshop. Inside, an SUV with a Texas registration sticker apparently was being converted for use as a bomb.

Now about the same time another vehicle exploded outside of a police station in western Baghdad. Officials say two civilians were killed, at least six people wounded. The day before police and U.S. Marines thwarted another car bomb attack just south of the capital.

O'BRIEN: Leaders in France and Britain are trying to move past Iraq and emphasize common ground. French President Jacques Chirac in Britain. Mr. Chirac and Prime Minister Tony Blair marking the hundredth anniversary of the pact that ended hostilities between their countries. The two more or less agreed to disagree on the Iraq war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACQUES CHIRAC, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): if you observe the way things are developing in the world in terms of security and the expansion of terrorism not just in the Middle East but throughout the world, if you look at all of that, including in Asia, for example, and particularly in Southeast Asia, if you look at all of that, you cannot say and be credible that the situation has significantly improved.

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O'BRIEN: The two leaders tried to focus on mutual goals in such areas as Mideast peace, Africa and European defense.

Well, when the bus driver had a heart attack, what happens then? Well, the passengers had to spring into action or risk falling into Tampa Bay. It's an amazing story. You got to stay tuned to watch it.

And could it be one of the top songs of all time? Smells like we have a top ten list in the making. "Rolling Stone" magazine counts down the best songs ever. Of course, that's a subjective thing. But nevertheless, we love top ten lists, so we'll show it to you when we return.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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LIN: Live picture now. To Howard County, Maryland, where we want to show you the scene of an accident there on the west bound lanes of Interstate 70 at about Route 29.

According to a local TV station one person was carried away in an ambulance. That person died. Two other people were flown away. Apparently, a truck spilling lumber across the road. Serious situation there.

As warranted, if we have any more on this situation, we will let you know. In the meantime we want to bring you a verdict. Guilty. A local television reporter is convicted of criminal contempt for refusing to name a source.

Jim Taricani of WJAR in Rhode Island could get up to six months in prison.

CNN's Deborah Feyerick is covering that case.

What happened, Deb?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, right now he doesn't know exactly how long he will get, the sentencing to happen on December 9.

But the federal judge did find the reporter, Jim Taricani, guilty of criminal contempt for refusing to reveal the identity of a source, a source who had given him a copy of an FBI surveillance tape. The tape was ultimately used in a federal corruption trial, but at the time that the tape aired on a local NBC affiliate here in Rhode Island, everyone involved in the case was under a very strict gag order.

Now, the reporter called this verdict an assault on journalistic freedom.

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JIM TARICANI, WJAR REPORTER: I made a promise to my source which I intend to keep. Although I'm willing to go to jail, I think it's wrong that journalists should face this threat simply for doing their jobs.

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FEYERICK: Now, the judge said he did not have a problem with the tape airing. What he did have a problem with was the person who had broken the law by giving this tape to a reporter in the first place.

And because the reporter defied the direct order by the judge to answer questions by a special prosecutor, he, too, was found guilty, again, of contempt.

Now, about a dozen reporters around the country right now under fire. They have been subpoenaed in cases including the Los Alamos scientist, Wen Ho Li, and also reporters who were involved with the CIA Agent whose identity was also leaked.

Journalists say all of this amounts to an extraordinary violation of First Amendment rights, but anybody you talk to in the court system says this is a question of chaos. And you can can't have people running around defying judges. Otherwise, there simply would be no order in the court -- Carol.

LIN: So, Deb, real quick. When are we going to know the sentence? FEYERICK: We're going to know the sentence on December 9. He could face up to six months in prison, and the problem is that he does have a heart transplant. So he's really, really concerned.

He wants to make sure that when he does go to jail that at least he's some sort of an environment so that he ultimately makes it out OK and isn't subjected to illnesses and things that can be contracted in prison environment.

LIN: Wow. All right. Didn't know that. All right. Thanks very much, Deborah Feyerick.

Much more on LIVE FROM, so stay right there.

A heart transplant. That's what I said...

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