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Ebersol Jet Crash; Medical Marijuana and Anti-Drug Laws; Ukraine Crisis

Aired November 29, 2004 - 13:59   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.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: What caused a plane carrying an NBC sports executive to crash? Investigators move in on the scene.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Terrorists on tape. A supposed new tape from Osama bin Laden's right-hand man aired on Arabic television. We'll tell you what he had to say.

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: I'm technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg. Spyware is becoming a Web surfer's worst nightmare. You probably have it and you don't even know it's there. So what it is, and can you fight back? I'll give you some anti-spying tools.

(MUSIC)

PHILLIPS: And we're as happy as a cheeseburger in paradise, as Jimmy Buffett leaves "Margaritaville" and joins us here on LIVE FROM to talk about his new project.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, our own version of "Margaritaville," I'm Kyra Phillips.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris, in for Miles O'Brien. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

Snow, fog, ice and fire, elements surrounding the deadly crash of a private jet carrying a major force in broadcasting and two of his sons in Colorado. The wintry weather may or may not have had anything to do with yesterday's disaster in which two people are known dead and the 14-year-old son of NBC executive Dick Ebersol is presumed dead. We get the latest from CNN's Sean Callebs at the Montrose, Colorado, airport -- Sean.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Federal officials now taking control of this investigation. The FAA and NTSB, they'll have a couple of jumping-off points as they try to determine the exact cause of this fatal crash.

One, the weather. At the time of scheduled takeoff yesterday, it was snowy. It was cold. It was windy. They'll look at the de-icing procedure, and they'll also look at the maintenance of this aircraft.

Now, eyewitnesses say that once the plane began to take off from this end of the runway, it first veered to the right, then it veered to try to correct that. At that point it slid through a fence, slammed into an area just past a canal with sagebrush and cedar trees. And these pictures were taken by one of the eyewitnesses.

You can see the thick black smoke billowing into the air, and also flames around the area where the fuselage would be. Now, when they came over, they described exactly what they first saw.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You could definitely smell fuel. There was small flames starting to -- starting -- out of the front and back of the airplane, both, there were small flames starting to rise. You could tell it was just a matter of time before, you know, that thing went into a big inferno of flames.

CALLEBS: NBC sports chief Dick Ebersol is married to actress Susan Saint James. Now, apparently Ebersol's oldest son, Charles, a student at Notre Dame, helped him out of the wreckage. But 14-year- old Edward "Teddy" Ebersol, apparently the seat he was in was thrown from the wreckage at the time of the crash.

Authorities searched throughout the day yesterday but found no sign of the 14-year-old. No doubt the search will resume today.

Just a short bit about the aircraft. It is a 600 Series Challenger built in Canada, a somewhat old plane, last built in 1983. Now, the FAA, NTSB investigating. It's going to take sometime to determine the exact cause of this crash.

Sean Callebs, CNN, Montrose, Colorado.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And there's this: U.S. Army investigators are rushing to the site of a Black Hawk helicopter crash near Waco, Texas. Seven troops from Fort Hood were on board. And The Associated Press quotes two witnesses as saying they saw four bodies.

The military isn't commenting on the casualties, nor on the cause of the crash which happened in heavy fog. Initial reports indicated the Black Hawk hit a guide wire on a TV transmission tower.

PHILLIPS: It's long been a prescription for controversy, now it's a federal case of the highest order. The Supreme Court is deciding whether state laws allowing medical marijuana can coexist with federal anti-drug laws.

CNN's Kimberly Osias has the details now -- Kim.

KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra.

Well, if you have a doctor's prescription to smoke marijuana, you're legal in 11 states, at least for now. The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this morning regarding the federal government's right to overrule those state laws.

Putting a face on the issue is 39-year-old Angel Raich. She's a married mother of two and suffers from a brain tumor and fibromyalgia. Those conditions give her chronic pain and make eating anything difficult. Raich says marijuana is her only relief and credits the herb for saving her life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGEL RAICH, SUFFERS FROM BRAIN TUMOR: I need to use cannabis every two hours. If I don't medicate every two hours, I become debilitated. In fact, just standing here now, my body is actually trying to go in spasm, and you can actually see my physical body already changing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OSIAS: Attorney Randy Barnett pled her case and that have another woman with chronic back pain, claiming states should maintain their autonomy in allowing the use of marijuana for medical purposes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RANDY BARNETT, RAICH'S ATTORNEY: The idea here is that the existence of states and states' laws protects liberty. And in this case, it's the liberty of people to use medical cannabis provided that their activities are regulated according to state law and strictly for medical use, and are not in any way having any effect adverse on the broader regulatory scheme of the United States government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OSIAS: Federal lawyers argue the position of the Bush administration, use of marijuana and other narcotics is illegal. The government also says there are health risks to marijuana use which give it the right to regulate the drug.

Also, the administration says buying marijuana puts money in the hands of terrorists. Other opponents say legalizing any drug under any circumstances is a slippery slope.

Well, an interesting twist here. Raich's attorney bases his argument on the Constitution's commerce clause, saying Raich and other patients don't sell cannabis interstate or sell it period. So trafficking isn't an issue.

Win or lose, the laws in the 11 states will remain in effect. Marijuana smokers would have to be prosecuted federally -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Kimberly Osias, thanks so much -- Tony.

HARRIS: The crisis in Ukraine appears to be veering toward a turning point today, and that massive throng of protestors may be getting its way. As the country's supreme court heard a challenge to the recent election, the outgoing president endorsed demands for a new election amid charges that the one held eight days ago was fixed.

CNN's Jill Dougherty has the latest from the Ukrainian capital.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Rapidly-changing political events here in Ukraine as the supreme court hears the complaint from the opposition. An entire day spent in that court as the opposition tries to prove convincingly that there was massive vote fraud in many areas of Ukraine during that election that took place over a week ago.

Then the other event today, Viktor Yanukovych, the candidate supported by the government, saying that he could be open to the idea of holding maybe a recount or maybe a -- actually a new election in two regions that had massive questions about that vote and that turnout and how the vote went.

Finally, you have President Leonid Kuchma, the outgoing president, saying that he, too, would welcome some type of recount or perhaps even a rebirth if it can solve this political dilemma.

Then in the later afternoon, Viktor Yushchenko, the opposition candidate, going back down to that cold Independence Square where there are hundreds of thousands of people still rallying. Eight days later they are still in the streets, and he's telling them, "Stay there. You have changed Ukraine in the past week, and keep it up."

Last note, President Kuchma, however, warning that all of this, the people in the streets and the shutdowns of buildings, et cetera threatened the economic, the financial system of Ukraine.

Jill Dougherty, CNN, Kiev, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: It's been a while, but from the Middle East today, another pronouncement from Osama bin Laden's second in command. In a video clip aired first on Al-Jazeera, Ayman al-Zawahiri refers to the recent U.S. elections, though the outcome, he says, means nothing to al Qaeda. He says what matters is U.S. policy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AYMAN AL-ZAWAHIRI, BIN LADEN'S CHIEF DEPUTY (through translator): We have a final advice to America that I have to say, although they are not willing to listen. You have to choose between two ways of dealing with Muslims. You either deal with them based on respect and mutual benefit, or you deal with them as they are just land that's ready for you to take them over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: It's not clear exactly when or obviously where that tape was made.

HARRIS: And Kyra, we're just getting this word in that the plane that crashed carrying Dick Ebersol and two of his sons was not de- iced. Now, it's important to mention that we don't know at this point what, in fact, caused the plane to go down. But that we do know as of this moment that the plane that carried Dick Ebersol and his two sons was not de-iced. We'll continue to follow the story and bring you the latest developments.

Who's watching your every point and click online? More people than you think. Ahead, how you can outsmart the spies scoping out your computer.

And if you want to return some of that impulse buying that you did over the weekend, the store may not let you. We'll have details on a crackdown on so-called serial returners.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Wintry weather makes for a slow start to the work week. In Denver, commuters had to navigate in this snowy mess. A winter storm dumped snow across the nation's center states over the holiday weekend.

What's next in the forecast? Jacqui Jeras joins us live from the Weather Center.

Hi, Jacqui.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Thanks so much -- Tony.

HARRIS: In news "Across America" now, at the White House a horse-drawn carriage makes a special delivery. First Lady Laura Bush received the official White House Christmas tree this morning. During the tree's arrival, the first lady asked all Americans to remember the sacrifices of military families this holiday.

Cash register bells were ringing for retailers on Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year. A national survey says some 86 million Americans spent almost $23 billion shopping over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Analysts say that's a strong start to the season.

And today is Black Monday for online retailers. The Monday following Thanksgiving is one of the most active shopping days online. It is estimated that consumers will spend more than $15 billion on the Internet for gifts this holiday.

PHILLIPS: All right. Before clicking your mouse to buy that holiday gift online though, beware. And trust me, because I'm haunted by this.

Your every shopping move may be monitored. Spyware programs secretly installed on your computer may be reporting your activities to marketers. CNN technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg has some ways we can hopefully protect ourselves.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIEBERG: You may not know much about spyware, but let's start with something you probably know way too much about, those pesky pop- up ads. (voice-over): The pop-up ad for the X10 camera -- remember that? It was among the very first pop up ads to really sweep the Web. For a while there in 2001, it popped up again and again and again.

(on camera): Back then, such ads were pretty new. But to help illustrate how things have changed, imagine that this tennis racket is like the cursor or the mouse on your screen and you're trying to close down those pop up ads. Well, initially, there was sort of a slow, steady stream -- annoying, but still manageable. Then, along came something called spyware, little software programs that would install themselves on your computer. And pretty soon that slow, steady stream turned into a raging flood, a torrent, if you will, of pop up ads popping up faster than you can close them down. A little help?

(voice-over): And that's no coincidence. Most spyware is adware, as in advertisements, designed to force you to click on them. But other versions of spyware actually track you around the Web, reporting your movements back to third parties. Some spyware even records everything you type, including sensitive information.

How does this stuff get on your computer in the first place?

Well, you get it just by surfing the Web. When you visit certain sites, spyware programs insert themselves on your machine.

(on camera): So how do you know if you've got it? Well, the truth is there's no easy way to know. Look around on your desktop and you're not going to find an icon for spyware. That's because the people who make spyware don't want you to know that it's there.

(voice-over): One big tip-off that your machine has been infected is it'll start to run slower, freeze up or even crash frequently. A recent study found that nine out of 10 computers connected to the Internet have been compromised with spyware lots of times. Dozens of different spyware programs are running all at the same time.

We sat down with Mark Rasch, a lawyer and computer security expert with the company Solutionary, to find out more.

(on camera): Now, spyware, beyond just providing all of these pop up ads, you're saying that it collects information, it collects what I am typing? What do they then do with that information?

MARK RASCH, SOLUTIONARY, INC.: What we've created with the Internet is this whole market economy in personal information. It's very important for me to know what are you looking at, what are you buying, what are you not buying, what time of day are you surfing, who are you. So there's a whole marketplace for information. And so what that spyware is trying to do is collect that information and the people who are purveying it trying to sell it.

SIEBERG (on camera): Actually, we've been tracked online since the early days of the Web through something called a cookie. Most company Web sites use them. Here's how they work. When you visit Company X's Web site, a small file gets placed on your computer called a cookie, which tracks your movement on that particular Web site and remembers things like the links you clicked on and how long you were there.

Now, once you leave that Web site, the cookie stays on your computer. But it doesn't report back on where else you go on the Web.

Not so with spyware. It can follow you anywhere.

RASCH: So here we have a computer that's acting very sluggish and we don't know why.

SIEBERG (voice-over): We turned off the spyware filter on a computer in our office then we ran some spyware scanning software to see what it picked up.

RASCH: So we'll run one of the programs here and see how many copies of spyware we've got on this machine.

SIEBERG: How many would you guess are on there?

RASCH: I would guess if it's been running for about a day and a half, I would guess probably around a thousand.

SIEBERG: A thousand different programs or files that are all trying to generate ads and get your information?

RASCH: That's right. So, so far, in the last six or seven seconds, it's got 211 different objects recognized and 44 running processes.

SIEBERG: It's just overwhelming at this point.

RASCH: And so what people end up doing is they end up buying new computers that they don't need, simply because their old computers are just filled with this gunk.

SIEBERG: All right, so you've heard what spyware can do to you. But what can you do about spyware?

Well, the first thing you might want to consider is changing the Web browser you use. It turns out that most spyware programs can only run on Microsoft's Internet Explorer.

Now, beyond that, you're going to have to roll up your sleeves and get some spyware blocking or scanning programs. There are plenty of them out there, including Adware, Spy Box, Spy Sweeper.

Also, companies like Norton and McAfee have spyware upgrades for their anti- virus software. There are lots to choose from. You're just going to have to search around a little.

The bottom line is, whichever you choose, keep it updated and run it regularly because spyware is likely here for the long haul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: All right. So let me get this straight. You play tennis and eat cookies while on assignment?

SIEBERG: That's pretty much it.

PHILLIPS: We've got to work on that forehand, pal.

SIEBERG: And I sort of get myself into people's computers. Just like spyware. You see my picture in there?

PHILLIPS: All right. What's, I mean, serendipitous, ironic, I don't know, is that it happened to my computer. The spyware kept coming up. Now, what it said to me was, "Somebody's spying on you, click on to this to make sure..."

SIEBERG: You're infected, you need to clean this out, right?

PHILLIPS: Right. But you're saying that's actually a part of the scam.

SIEBERG: Exactly. That is a bait and switch, basically, where you get a pop-up ad that looks like it's saying your machine is infected. And so many of us are hit with spyware that it seems reasonable. And you think, well, maybe I should click on that.

But don't, because that is potentially going to be putting more spyware on your computer. So when it comes to actually getting rid of it and trying to get the right programs, you really have to go to the legitimate sites. Start with a Norton or a McAfee.

There are other ones we mentioned, like Ad-Aware, Spybot, Spy Sweeper. These are companies that are dedicated to actually getting rid of it, not putting more on your machine.

PHILLIPS: And you're saying something -- quickly -- is going on with Congress?

SIEBERG: Congress does have a couple of bills they're looking at. They have passed the House; they've sort of stalled in the Senate.

They would make it spyware legal. We're talking about jail time and fines. But that's not going to do the entire trick here.

You can think back to the canned spam act of last year. Everybody still has spam. So it's one of those things where it's really going to be up to you to download these programs. It takes no time at all to scan your computer and see what's on there. Trust me, it will scare you what's on there.

PHILLIPS: Hey, you know where my computer is. So thank you so much.

SIEBERG: Yes. I'll leave the set here and I'll do that right now.

PHILLIPS: Go ahead and clean it out for me. I owe you.

SIEBERG: All right.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Daniel.

HARRIS: Don't forget me, all right?

PHILLIPS: OK. You don't have it yet.

HARRIS: You never know.

PHILLIPS: Spyware -- I'll spy on you.

HARRIS: His last CD went platinum and tore up the charts. And now Jimmy Buffett has ambitions of rising to the top of your reading list. Don't miss the LIVE FROM interview coming up in just a couple of minutes.

RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rhonda Schaffler in New York. Watch out, serial exchangers. I'll tell you why you might just have to learn to live with buyers' remorse.

Stay tuned. Lots more LIVE FROM coming right up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: You know, it may be a little harder to return that reindeer sweater. Why would anyone want to toughen that up?

PHILLIPS: Yours is actually a Santa Claus...

HARRIS: Is it?

PHILLIPS: ... with a big old red hat, right?

HARRIS: You've got to...

PHILLIPS: You always wear that vest. You wear that vest...

HARRIS: You can't make it easy enough to return -- oh, boy. Let's check in now with Rhonda Schaffler at the New York Stock Exchange to tell us why returns are going to get a little more difficult and tricky -- Rhonda.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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


Aired November 29, 2004 - 13:59   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: What caused a plane carrying an NBC sports executive to crash? Investigators move in on the scene.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Terrorists on tape. A supposed new tape from Osama bin Laden's right-hand man aired on Arabic television. We'll tell you what he had to say.

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: I'm technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg. Spyware is becoming a Web surfer's worst nightmare. You probably have it and you don't even know it's there. So what it is, and can you fight back? I'll give you some anti-spying tools.

(MUSIC)

PHILLIPS: And we're as happy as a cheeseburger in paradise, as Jimmy Buffett leaves "Margaritaville" and joins us here on LIVE FROM to talk about his new project.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, our own version of "Margaritaville," I'm Kyra Phillips.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris, in for Miles O'Brien. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

Snow, fog, ice and fire, elements surrounding the deadly crash of a private jet carrying a major force in broadcasting and two of his sons in Colorado. The wintry weather may or may not have had anything to do with yesterday's disaster in which two people are known dead and the 14-year-old son of NBC executive Dick Ebersol is presumed dead. We get the latest from CNN's Sean Callebs at the Montrose, Colorado, airport -- Sean.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Federal officials now taking control of this investigation. The FAA and NTSB, they'll have a couple of jumping-off points as they try to determine the exact cause of this fatal crash.

One, the weather. At the time of scheduled takeoff yesterday, it was snowy. It was cold. It was windy. They'll look at the de-icing procedure, and they'll also look at the maintenance of this aircraft.

Now, eyewitnesses say that once the plane began to take off from this end of the runway, it first veered to the right, then it veered to try to correct that. At that point it slid through a fence, slammed into an area just past a canal with sagebrush and cedar trees. And these pictures were taken by one of the eyewitnesses.

You can see the thick black smoke billowing into the air, and also flames around the area where the fuselage would be. Now, when they came over, they described exactly what they first saw.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You could definitely smell fuel. There was small flames starting to -- starting -- out of the front and back of the airplane, both, there were small flames starting to rise. You could tell it was just a matter of time before, you know, that thing went into a big inferno of flames.

CALLEBS: NBC sports chief Dick Ebersol is married to actress Susan Saint James. Now, apparently Ebersol's oldest son, Charles, a student at Notre Dame, helped him out of the wreckage. But 14-year- old Edward "Teddy" Ebersol, apparently the seat he was in was thrown from the wreckage at the time of the crash.

Authorities searched throughout the day yesterday but found no sign of the 14-year-old. No doubt the search will resume today.

Just a short bit about the aircraft. It is a 600 Series Challenger built in Canada, a somewhat old plane, last built in 1983. Now, the FAA, NTSB investigating. It's going to take sometime to determine the exact cause of this crash.

Sean Callebs, CNN, Montrose, Colorado.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And there's this: U.S. Army investigators are rushing to the site of a Black Hawk helicopter crash near Waco, Texas. Seven troops from Fort Hood were on board. And The Associated Press quotes two witnesses as saying they saw four bodies.

The military isn't commenting on the casualties, nor on the cause of the crash which happened in heavy fog. Initial reports indicated the Black Hawk hit a guide wire on a TV transmission tower.

PHILLIPS: It's long been a prescription for controversy, now it's a federal case of the highest order. The Supreme Court is deciding whether state laws allowing medical marijuana can coexist with federal anti-drug laws.

CNN's Kimberly Osias has the details now -- Kim.

KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra.

Well, if you have a doctor's prescription to smoke marijuana, you're legal in 11 states, at least for now. The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this morning regarding the federal government's right to overrule those state laws.

Putting a face on the issue is 39-year-old Angel Raich. She's a married mother of two and suffers from a brain tumor and fibromyalgia. Those conditions give her chronic pain and make eating anything difficult. Raich says marijuana is her only relief and credits the herb for saving her life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGEL RAICH, SUFFERS FROM BRAIN TUMOR: I need to use cannabis every two hours. If I don't medicate every two hours, I become debilitated. In fact, just standing here now, my body is actually trying to go in spasm, and you can actually see my physical body already changing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OSIAS: Attorney Randy Barnett pled her case and that have another woman with chronic back pain, claiming states should maintain their autonomy in allowing the use of marijuana for medical purposes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RANDY BARNETT, RAICH'S ATTORNEY: The idea here is that the existence of states and states' laws protects liberty. And in this case, it's the liberty of people to use medical cannabis provided that their activities are regulated according to state law and strictly for medical use, and are not in any way having any effect adverse on the broader regulatory scheme of the United States government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OSIAS: Federal lawyers argue the position of the Bush administration, use of marijuana and other narcotics is illegal. The government also says there are health risks to marijuana use which give it the right to regulate the drug.

Also, the administration says buying marijuana puts money in the hands of terrorists. Other opponents say legalizing any drug under any circumstances is a slippery slope.

Well, an interesting twist here. Raich's attorney bases his argument on the Constitution's commerce clause, saying Raich and other patients don't sell cannabis interstate or sell it period. So trafficking isn't an issue.

Win or lose, the laws in the 11 states will remain in effect. Marijuana smokers would have to be prosecuted federally -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Kimberly Osias, thanks so much -- Tony.

HARRIS: The crisis in Ukraine appears to be veering toward a turning point today, and that massive throng of protestors may be getting its way. As the country's supreme court heard a challenge to the recent election, the outgoing president endorsed demands for a new election amid charges that the one held eight days ago was fixed.

CNN's Jill Dougherty has the latest from the Ukrainian capital.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Rapidly-changing political events here in Ukraine as the supreme court hears the complaint from the opposition. An entire day spent in that court as the opposition tries to prove convincingly that there was massive vote fraud in many areas of Ukraine during that election that took place over a week ago.

Then the other event today, Viktor Yanukovych, the candidate supported by the government, saying that he could be open to the idea of holding maybe a recount or maybe a -- actually a new election in two regions that had massive questions about that vote and that turnout and how the vote went.

Finally, you have President Leonid Kuchma, the outgoing president, saying that he, too, would welcome some type of recount or perhaps even a rebirth if it can solve this political dilemma.

Then in the later afternoon, Viktor Yushchenko, the opposition candidate, going back down to that cold Independence Square where there are hundreds of thousands of people still rallying. Eight days later they are still in the streets, and he's telling them, "Stay there. You have changed Ukraine in the past week, and keep it up."

Last note, President Kuchma, however, warning that all of this, the people in the streets and the shutdowns of buildings, et cetera threatened the economic, the financial system of Ukraine.

Jill Dougherty, CNN, Kiev, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: It's been a while, but from the Middle East today, another pronouncement from Osama bin Laden's second in command. In a video clip aired first on Al-Jazeera, Ayman al-Zawahiri refers to the recent U.S. elections, though the outcome, he says, means nothing to al Qaeda. He says what matters is U.S. policy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AYMAN AL-ZAWAHIRI, BIN LADEN'S CHIEF DEPUTY (through translator): We have a final advice to America that I have to say, although they are not willing to listen. You have to choose between two ways of dealing with Muslims. You either deal with them based on respect and mutual benefit, or you deal with them as they are just land that's ready for you to take them over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: It's not clear exactly when or obviously where that tape was made.

HARRIS: And Kyra, we're just getting this word in that the plane that crashed carrying Dick Ebersol and two of his sons was not de- iced. Now, it's important to mention that we don't know at this point what, in fact, caused the plane to go down. But that we do know as of this moment that the plane that carried Dick Ebersol and his two sons was not de-iced. We'll continue to follow the story and bring you the latest developments.

Who's watching your every point and click online? More people than you think. Ahead, how you can outsmart the spies scoping out your computer.

And if you want to return some of that impulse buying that you did over the weekend, the store may not let you. We'll have details on a crackdown on so-called serial returners.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Wintry weather makes for a slow start to the work week. In Denver, commuters had to navigate in this snowy mess. A winter storm dumped snow across the nation's center states over the holiday weekend.

What's next in the forecast? Jacqui Jeras joins us live from the Weather Center.

Hi, Jacqui.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Thanks so much -- Tony.

HARRIS: In news "Across America" now, at the White House a horse-drawn carriage makes a special delivery. First Lady Laura Bush received the official White House Christmas tree this morning. During the tree's arrival, the first lady asked all Americans to remember the sacrifices of military families this holiday.

Cash register bells were ringing for retailers on Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year. A national survey says some 86 million Americans spent almost $23 billion shopping over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Analysts say that's a strong start to the season.

And today is Black Monday for online retailers. The Monday following Thanksgiving is one of the most active shopping days online. It is estimated that consumers will spend more than $15 billion on the Internet for gifts this holiday.

PHILLIPS: All right. Before clicking your mouse to buy that holiday gift online though, beware. And trust me, because I'm haunted by this.

Your every shopping move may be monitored. Spyware programs secretly installed on your computer may be reporting your activities to marketers. CNN technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg has some ways we can hopefully protect ourselves.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIEBERG: You may not know much about spyware, but let's start with something you probably know way too much about, those pesky pop- up ads. (voice-over): The pop-up ad for the X10 camera -- remember that? It was among the very first pop up ads to really sweep the Web. For a while there in 2001, it popped up again and again and again.

(on camera): Back then, such ads were pretty new. But to help illustrate how things have changed, imagine that this tennis racket is like the cursor or the mouse on your screen and you're trying to close down those pop up ads. Well, initially, there was sort of a slow, steady stream -- annoying, but still manageable. Then, along came something called spyware, little software programs that would install themselves on your computer. And pretty soon that slow, steady stream turned into a raging flood, a torrent, if you will, of pop up ads popping up faster than you can close them down. A little help?

(voice-over): And that's no coincidence. Most spyware is adware, as in advertisements, designed to force you to click on them. But other versions of spyware actually track you around the Web, reporting your movements back to third parties. Some spyware even records everything you type, including sensitive information.

How does this stuff get on your computer in the first place?

Well, you get it just by surfing the Web. When you visit certain sites, spyware programs insert themselves on your machine.

(on camera): So how do you know if you've got it? Well, the truth is there's no easy way to know. Look around on your desktop and you're not going to find an icon for spyware. That's because the people who make spyware don't want you to know that it's there.

(voice-over): One big tip-off that your machine has been infected is it'll start to run slower, freeze up or even crash frequently. A recent study found that nine out of 10 computers connected to the Internet have been compromised with spyware lots of times. Dozens of different spyware programs are running all at the same time.

We sat down with Mark Rasch, a lawyer and computer security expert with the company Solutionary, to find out more.

(on camera): Now, spyware, beyond just providing all of these pop up ads, you're saying that it collects information, it collects what I am typing? What do they then do with that information?

MARK RASCH, SOLUTIONARY, INC.: What we've created with the Internet is this whole market economy in personal information. It's very important for me to know what are you looking at, what are you buying, what are you not buying, what time of day are you surfing, who are you. So there's a whole marketplace for information. And so what that spyware is trying to do is collect that information and the people who are purveying it trying to sell it.

SIEBERG (on camera): Actually, we've been tracked online since the early days of the Web through something called a cookie. Most company Web sites use them. Here's how they work. When you visit Company X's Web site, a small file gets placed on your computer called a cookie, which tracks your movement on that particular Web site and remembers things like the links you clicked on and how long you were there.

Now, once you leave that Web site, the cookie stays on your computer. But it doesn't report back on where else you go on the Web.

Not so with spyware. It can follow you anywhere.

RASCH: So here we have a computer that's acting very sluggish and we don't know why.

SIEBERG (voice-over): We turned off the spyware filter on a computer in our office then we ran some spyware scanning software to see what it picked up.

RASCH: So we'll run one of the programs here and see how many copies of spyware we've got on this machine.

SIEBERG: How many would you guess are on there?

RASCH: I would guess if it's been running for about a day and a half, I would guess probably around a thousand.

SIEBERG: A thousand different programs or files that are all trying to generate ads and get your information?

RASCH: That's right. So, so far, in the last six or seven seconds, it's got 211 different objects recognized and 44 running processes.

SIEBERG: It's just overwhelming at this point.

RASCH: And so what people end up doing is they end up buying new computers that they don't need, simply because their old computers are just filled with this gunk.

SIEBERG: All right, so you've heard what spyware can do to you. But what can you do about spyware?

Well, the first thing you might want to consider is changing the Web browser you use. It turns out that most spyware programs can only run on Microsoft's Internet Explorer.

Now, beyond that, you're going to have to roll up your sleeves and get some spyware blocking or scanning programs. There are plenty of them out there, including Adware, Spy Box, Spy Sweeper.

Also, companies like Norton and McAfee have spyware upgrades for their anti- virus software. There are lots to choose from. You're just going to have to search around a little.

The bottom line is, whichever you choose, keep it updated and run it regularly because spyware is likely here for the long haul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: All right. So let me get this straight. You play tennis and eat cookies while on assignment?

SIEBERG: That's pretty much it.

PHILLIPS: We've got to work on that forehand, pal.

SIEBERG: And I sort of get myself into people's computers. Just like spyware. You see my picture in there?

PHILLIPS: All right. What's, I mean, serendipitous, ironic, I don't know, is that it happened to my computer. The spyware kept coming up. Now, what it said to me was, "Somebody's spying on you, click on to this to make sure..."

SIEBERG: You're infected, you need to clean this out, right?

PHILLIPS: Right. But you're saying that's actually a part of the scam.

SIEBERG: Exactly. That is a bait and switch, basically, where you get a pop-up ad that looks like it's saying your machine is infected. And so many of us are hit with spyware that it seems reasonable. And you think, well, maybe I should click on that.

But don't, because that is potentially going to be putting more spyware on your computer. So when it comes to actually getting rid of it and trying to get the right programs, you really have to go to the legitimate sites. Start with a Norton or a McAfee.

There are other ones we mentioned, like Ad-Aware, Spybot, Spy Sweeper. These are companies that are dedicated to actually getting rid of it, not putting more on your machine.

PHILLIPS: And you're saying something -- quickly -- is going on with Congress?

SIEBERG: Congress does have a couple of bills they're looking at. They have passed the House; they've sort of stalled in the Senate.

They would make it spyware legal. We're talking about jail time and fines. But that's not going to do the entire trick here.

You can think back to the canned spam act of last year. Everybody still has spam. So it's one of those things where it's really going to be up to you to download these programs. It takes no time at all to scan your computer and see what's on there. Trust me, it will scare you what's on there.

PHILLIPS: Hey, you know where my computer is. So thank you so much.

SIEBERG: Yes. I'll leave the set here and I'll do that right now.

PHILLIPS: Go ahead and clean it out for me. I owe you.

SIEBERG: All right.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Daniel.

HARRIS: Don't forget me, all right?

PHILLIPS: OK. You don't have it yet.

HARRIS: You never know.

PHILLIPS: Spyware -- I'll spy on you.

HARRIS: His last CD went platinum and tore up the charts. And now Jimmy Buffett has ambitions of rising to the top of your reading list. Don't miss the LIVE FROM interview coming up in just a couple of minutes.

RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rhonda Schaffler in New York. Watch out, serial exchangers. I'll tell you why you might just have to learn to live with buyers' remorse.

Stay tuned. Lots more LIVE FROM coming right up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: You know, it may be a little harder to return that reindeer sweater. Why would anyone want to toughen that up?

PHILLIPS: Yours is actually a Santa Claus...

HARRIS: Is it?

PHILLIPS: ... with a big old red hat, right?

HARRIS: You've got to...

PHILLIPS: You always wear that vest. You wear that vest...

HARRIS: You can't make it easy enough to return -- oh, boy. Let's check in now with Rhonda Schaffler at the New York Stock Exchange to tell us why returns are going to get a little more difficult and tricky -- Rhonda.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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