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Doctors in Vienna: Yushchenko's Dramatic Disfigurement is Result of Dioxin Poisoning

Aired December 14, 2004 - 13:30   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: Backing out of Iraq, Poland's defense minister announcing today that the U.S. ally will cut its troop strength in Iraq by nearly one-third in February. That cut is part of a long-standing plan to reduce the presence of Polish troops.
The U.N. suspends humanitarian operations in the strife-torn Darfur region of Sudan. Two Sudanese employees of the U.N.-linked group "Save the Children" were killed when their convoy came under fire from unidentified gunmen.

This is the second time "Save the Children" employees have died in that area. Two workers were killed by a landmine in Northern Darfur in October.

In medical news, could doctors soon identify likely Alzheimer's patients with a simple scratch and sniff test? Well, researchers at New York's Columbia University say that patients with early Alzheimer's may be unable to smell certain odors, including strawberries, smoke, soap and cloves.

Although there's no cure for Alzheimer's yet, early diagnosis helps determine the most beneficial treatment options.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Now to the unfolding political drama in Ukraine and allegations that opposition candidate, Viktor Yushchenko, was deliberately poisoned by someone who wanted him dead or at least incapacitated.

Doctors in Vienna Yushchenko's dramatic disfigurement is a result of dioxin poisoning -- an investigation underway. If this were a movie, it would be called, perhaps, "Over the Top." But such political skullduggery is far from farfetched at least according to Tony Mendez, a former CIA agent during the cold war, seen there on the left.

He is the author of the "Master of Disguise, My Secret Life in the CIA." He joins us now from Washington. Good to have you back, Tony.

TONY MENDEZ, FMR. CIA SPY: Thanks for having me back.

O'BRIEN: All right. First of all, what's your gut tell you? Do you think he was, in fact, poisoned?

MENDEZ: Well, my gut tells me that this is just more of the same of the old cold war. You know, we're probably in a new kind of power struggle.

O'BRIEN: So the cold war may be over, but some of the tactics remain. As you look back on the history of the cold war and some of the tactics of the old KGB, certainly this kind of thing was in the portfolio, so to speak.

MENDEZ: Yes, well actually you probably have several groups that are closely allied to the KGB as well, such as the security service in the Ukraine, as well as, you know, the Russian mafia, the local mafia.

I mean, they're all going -- they're all the same guys. So, we don't know exactly where the source is, but I would guess that it was a serious attempt.

O'BRIEN: Now, Yushchenko's chief of staff is telling us that he was warned in July that his boss' life might be in danger and that it might be poisoning in fact. I guess maybe they knew something that they weren't sharing publicly until all this came to pass.

MENDEZ: Well, the KGB, as well as the Ukrainian Service, would have a whole array of gadgets. We have a great display at the International Spy Museum of the different types of assassination weapons that have been developed over the years. And most of them are Russian. And they're very, very clever, very effective.

I went back...

O'BRIEN: Now, you've got, actually, didn't you bring one of the types of devices that have been used over the course of history?

MENDEZ: Yes. As a matter of fact, this is the KGB's kiss of death. This is a lipstick pistol.

And if you look inside it, what looks like lipstick is, in fact, the muzzle of a 4.5 single shot pistol. And all you have to do is get close enough and, you know, this is going to work as good as any assassination weapon.

But they had gas pistols that they've used on a couple of Ukrainian dissident leaders over the years. And of course they had the umbrella that they loaned to the Bulgarians to kill Markov in London, a whole array of gadgets that were not invented for fun. They were invented because there was a need.

O'BRIEN: And that was actually poison on the tip of an umbrella, that one you were talking about Markov, right?

MENDEZ: Actually, it's a pellet laced with ricin.

O'BRIEN: Ricin, ooh.

MENDEZ: ... and it -- the umbrella acts as a pellet gun and fires the pellet, in his case, into his thigh.

O'BRIEN: Now, the use of dioxin, is that in the spy handbook as one of the preferred ways to do it? MENDEZ: Well, dioxin is an industrial toxin that's out there. Actually, we all have dioxin in our tissue now because it's being put off as a fluid, into water. The fish are absorbing it.

And any fatty substance will hold it. So it wouldn't be unusual to find dioxin but not the level that he obviously onboard, and that's going to be lethal.

O'BRIEN: But as far as you know, over the years, did the KGB or those various groups, did they use dioxin? Was that one of the tools?

MENDEZ: I would say dioxin is probably a little more contemporary than a lot of the tools. The ricin in the umbrella tip is very effective. Certainly, the gas guns had the cyanide pellets in them that vaporized.

But, you know, poisons are sort of the stock and trade of the espionage game.

O'BRIEN: And I guess we -- the presumption would be that somehow they got it into his food, correct?

MENDEZ: Exactly. It would be a very effective way to do it. Either inhale it or ingest it would be two ways you could get lethal doses. And you know, it was alleged that during the Church investigation, there was a refrigerator found at CIA that had shellfish toxins and cobra venom and that sort of thing.

I couldn't comment one way or another, but that was alleged, it was certainly a rumor.

O'BRIEN: Interesting. So a refrigerator loaded with all kind of things that you could stick in food and cause great harm to somebody?

MENDEZ: Yes, when the Bulgarians came to the KGB and said, what are the options for Markov? He said, well, we've got this salve that you could rub on him or you've got this pellet, or you can, you know, here's some poison for his food.

So poisons are, you know, part of the -- part of the arsenal.

O'BRIEN: And I guess, even as you say, post-cold war, when the stakes are high, unfortunately this kind of thing is going to happen.

MENDEZ: It's all about geopolitics and where the power accrues, you know? And of course we've got the spread of democracy out there, the Bush doctrine. A lot of folks in the world are not really comfortable with it yet.

O'BRIEN: Tony Mendez, thank you very much -- former CIA agent, during the cold war, author of "The Master of Disguise, My Secret Life in the CIA," joining us once again. We appreciate you giving us a glimmer of insight into that cloak and dagger world -- Kyra?

MENDEZ: Thanks for having me. PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, the search for a new security of homeland secretary. Who is on the "A" list now as dust settles on the whole Bernard Kerik drama? A look at the top names in play, we're live from the White House.

It's a great day for DVD and video game renters everywhere, the demise of the late fee.

More LIVE FROM right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: The Bush administration carefully narrowing down potential candidates to fill the critical post of homeland security secretary -- this after last week's embarrassing about-face from Bernard Kerik, the president's first pick for the job.

CNN White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux, here with a look at who's in the running now. Hello, Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles.

Well, the White House, as well as the Bush administration, of course, very eager to get beyond the Bernie Kerik debacle. They say they are very satisfied with his explanation as well as his apology.

They are looking at potential nominees. Some of those in the front-runner we have been talking to from administration sources saying the first one, Asa Hutchinson. He is the undersecretary for border and transportation security.

He leads more than 110,000 employees, basically is responsible for coordinating the enforcement activities of the borders, the waterways, transportation and immigration.

Another name that keeps coming up, that is Fran Townsend. She is the adviser, the homeland security adviser to the president. She reports to President Bush on matters of policy, as well as combating terrorism.

She came to the White House -- very interesting background -- from the U.S. Coast Guard. That is where she served in terms of looking at intelligence matters, and before that spent about more than a dozen years at the justice department.

And finally, the most interesting, possible pick -- a lot of bipartisan support on this one, a lot of buzz on the hill -- that is Senator Joe Lieberman. He is, of course, the Democrat from Connecticut, most notably, Al Gore's running mate back in 2000.

He was the author of the homeland security legislation to create the department. Democratic sources saying that he would be open to the position if he was offered this, and Republican sources saying that the president, looking at all three of these candidates, as well as some others, very seriously -- Miles?

O'BRIEN: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House, thank you very much -- Kyra?

PHILLIPS: How critical is the homeland security department to protect the nation from terrorism? Take, for example, what happened on Japan's rail system nine years ago.

CNN's Bill Hemmer shows us what Japan has done in the years since to protect its homeland.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID KAPLAN, AUTHOR: Aum was a doomsday sect that was intent on jump starting the apocalypse.

BILL HEMMER, CNN "AMERICAN MORNING" ANCHOR (voice-over): On March 20, 1995, this group of home grown terrorists launched an attack on Tokyo's subway system, the world's busiest, using deadly sarin nerve gas.

Twelve people were killed, more than 5,000 people injured. And Japan's image as a safe haven from terror was shattered.

KAPLAN: Aum 's attacks paralyzed Japanese society. They declared a day of fear which paralyzed much of Tokyo. People didn't go out of their houses. I mean, it really was quite amazing what this one doomsday sect was able to accomplish in a pretty sophisticated society.

HEMMER: David Kaplan, author of "The Cult At The End Of The World," says the Aum Shin Rikyo attack sounded alarms in Tokyo and in Washington.

KAPLAN: The 9/11 commission in the United States talked about a failure of imagination, why we didn't see 9/11 coming.

This attack, the subway attack, was Aum's 9/11. And so, it's been a huge wake-up call, not just for the Japanese but for people everywhere, that terrorists can get a hold of these terribly destructive weapons.

HEMMER: Although it's not clear what, if anything, al Qaeda may have learned from Aum, Japan nearly 10 years after the sarin gas attack, could become a target again.

KAPLAN: Japan's been part of the coalition that's gone into Iraq. Japanese are strong backers of elements of U.S. foreign policy that have upset radical Muslims around the world.

HEMMER: And, Kaplan says, counterterrorism officials believe another attack on Japanese soil is a case of not if, but when.

KAPLAN: What I think the big danger is, now that Aum Shin Rikyo is pretty well contained is what comes next? What is on the boards heading our way that we just don't see?

We didn't see Oklahoma City coming. We didn't see 9/11 coming. We didn't see the Tokyo subway attack. What's next? (END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Join CNN's Bill Hemmer tomorrow morning as he hosts "AMERICAN MORNING" live from Tokyo. It all begins at 7:00 Eastern.

RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rhonda Schaffler at the New York Stock Exchange.

Good-bye late fees, that's what one video rental chain is saying. I'll have all the details coming up on LIVE FROM so stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Well, you've heard of the lap of luxury. Well, that's sort of the concept behind one of the hottest gift items in Tokyo. I'm looking for Bill Hemmer in this picture to see if he's shopping there.

Yes, Bill would like that.

It's the lap pillow. And although looking at it might make you a little uncomfortable, buyers say it's the perfect substitute for the laps of significant others. Just minus a torso. You can...

PHILLIPS: Pull that skirt down a little bit. Anyway, the foam, full form is said to be just the right height for watching TV, napping without causing discomfort to your partner.

Now simulated snuggling is apparently big business in Japan. The boyfriend pillow has already been a hit with single women.

O'BRIEN: And now we do know why Bill Hemmer is in Tokyo, right?

All right. Let's go now to...

PHILLIPS: Poor bill, he can't defend himself.

O'BRIEN: I know, it's really mean.

Every year, the magazine, "Time" magazine, takes on the daunting task of sorting through thousands of images to choose those that are best. And they best capture the past 12 months.

PHILLIPS: And "Times" "Year It Pictures" is now on newsstands. "Time's" photo editor, Mary Anne Golon, talked with us about this year's, or how these years pictures -- this year's pictures -- were selected.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY ANNE GOLON, "TIME" PHOTO EDITOR: In 2004, it was very clear that we needed to cover the president and the challenger to the presidency, John Kerry. We also knew that we had to cover the biggest international story of the year, which continues to be the war in Iraq. But then we looked at the world events. And unfortunately, when you're putting together the best photos of the year, it's not often as pretty a picture as you'd like it to be.

In Madrid, I was particularly moved by how the train station became a memorial. And we ran one image where there were just hundreds and hundreds of red candles and the 40 days of mourning in Beslan, as well.

There's something incredible about the historical quality and human emotion that comes through in the work that we really wanted to share that with our readers.

We try to find the images that will really, wow, you, that will give you the kind of intimacy that takes you right to the scene.

The opening photo from Iraq, this picture jumps out because you are literally on the end of a gun barrel. It has that kind of emotional value of putting you just right in the middle of the action.

The whole story of AIDs -- you know, we've all seen images of how the disease ravages people -- and it's a very hard thing to look at. And we have this delightful image of a bunch of AIDs orphans. But there's so much light and brightness in their faces. It was a way to get at a very important story without seeing a very familiar image.

We also included a wonderful image of two women and their child when Gavin Newsom allowed gay couples to marry in San Francisco. The child is between them with this wonderful look on her face. But it was just such a bright, happy moment.

We ran a fabulous Olympics photo of Rulon Gardner. This year he retired after having won the bronze medal. There's a wonderful image where they leave their shoes behind in a circle on the floor when they're retiring, at the end of the match. The image is so compelling. You go, oh, yes, the Olympics were this year.

We've got this image of these children running, you know, dashing happily through these yellow locusts everywhere. It was just an amazing thing to look at it because they're not registering that this is a horrible thing, you know, that they have these locusts.

There were amazing images from the hurricane. And we ended up with one that we thought was really unusual. We found an image of grapefruits, just hundreds of grapefruits floating in water in a flooded grapefruit field. And it just felt so fresh and different.

Society today, we're so inundated with visual information and imagery that one of the challenges of putting together a photo issue of this type is to really be able to surprise the reader, to bring them something that they maybe haven't seen, or maybe they don't remember seeing, or maybe they want to see again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Good photos. You already saw them last night. You had a heads up. But we've got a double whammy...

O'BRIEN: You know, they were actually better the second time, really.

PHILLIPS: Yes, we get...

O'BRIEN: Savor them more.

PHILLIPS: ... to look at them.

O'BRIEN: All right. Some big news for movie-loving procrastinators.

PHILLIPS: That's us. Rhonda Schaffler joining us live from the New York Stock Exchange.

O'BRIEN: Which part, the procrastinating or movie-loving?

SCHAFFLER: Both...

PHILLIPS: We're procrastinators.

SCHAFFLER: ... with the two of you, I'd think.

PHILLIPS: There you go.

O'BRIEN: I hear you, headline.

SCHAFFLER: There's a lot of people out there, and it's hard to imagine how people just think nothing about paying these late fees. Blockbuster's been thinking a lot about it. In fact, Blockbuster's going to get rid of the late fees for movies and video game rentals.

There is a catch, though, of course. There's now going to be a one-week grace period after the due date, if the game or movie isn't returned by then. Blockbuster will automatically sell the product to the customer. Now, if customers don't want to buy the movie or game, they can return the product within 30 days for a credit. But it's only a partial credit.

Blockbuster expects the new policy to attract more customers and more rentals, making up for the $250 million to $300 million in late fees.

Here on Wall Street, stocks still treading water ahead of that fed decision on interest rates. The Dow only up 2 points. NASDAQ slightly higher. That's it from Wall Street.

We will have the fed decision on interest rates in about 15 minutes and, of course, the market reaction to it.

Until then, Kyra, Miles, back to you.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Rhonda.

O'BRIEN: Thank you, Rhonda. Coming up in the second hour of LIVE FROM, all the day's top stories.

PHILLIPS: And a dark story of the search for cheaper medicine -- one woman's journey from Mexican pharmacy to Mexican jail to U.S. federal prison and finally to freedom.

LIVE FROM's "Hour of Power" begins right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired December 14, 2004 - 13:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Backing out of Iraq, Poland's defense minister announcing today that the U.S. ally will cut its troop strength in Iraq by nearly one-third in February. That cut is part of a long-standing plan to reduce the presence of Polish troops.
The U.N. suspends humanitarian operations in the strife-torn Darfur region of Sudan. Two Sudanese employees of the U.N.-linked group "Save the Children" were killed when their convoy came under fire from unidentified gunmen.

This is the second time "Save the Children" employees have died in that area. Two workers were killed by a landmine in Northern Darfur in October.

In medical news, could doctors soon identify likely Alzheimer's patients with a simple scratch and sniff test? Well, researchers at New York's Columbia University say that patients with early Alzheimer's may be unable to smell certain odors, including strawberries, smoke, soap and cloves.

Although there's no cure for Alzheimer's yet, early diagnosis helps determine the most beneficial treatment options.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Now to the unfolding political drama in Ukraine and allegations that opposition candidate, Viktor Yushchenko, was deliberately poisoned by someone who wanted him dead or at least incapacitated.

Doctors in Vienna Yushchenko's dramatic disfigurement is a result of dioxin poisoning -- an investigation underway. If this were a movie, it would be called, perhaps, "Over the Top." But such political skullduggery is far from farfetched at least according to Tony Mendez, a former CIA agent during the cold war, seen there on the left.

He is the author of the "Master of Disguise, My Secret Life in the CIA." He joins us now from Washington. Good to have you back, Tony.

TONY MENDEZ, FMR. CIA SPY: Thanks for having me back.

O'BRIEN: All right. First of all, what's your gut tell you? Do you think he was, in fact, poisoned?

MENDEZ: Well, my gut tells me that this is just more of the same of the old cold war. You know, we're probably in a new kind of power struggle.

O'BRIEN: So the cold war may be over, but some of the tactics remain. As you look back on the history of the cold war and some of the tactics of the old KGB, certainly this kind of thing was in the portfolio, so to speak.

MENDEZ: Yes, well actually you probably have several groups that are closely allied to the KGB as well, such as the security service in the Ukraine, as well as, you know, the Russian mafia, the local mafia.

I mean, they're all going -- they're all the same guys. So, we don't know exactly where the source is, but I would guess that it was a serious attempt.

O'BRIEN: Now, Yushchenko's chief of staff is telling us that he was warned in July that his boss' life might be in danger and that it might be poisoning in fact. I guess maybe they knew something that they weren't sharing publicly until all this came to pass.

MENDEZ: Well, the KGB, as well as the Ukrainian Service, would have a whole array of gadgets. We have a great display at the International Spy Museum of the different types of assassination weapons that have been developed over the years. And most of them are Russian. And they're very, very clever, very effective.

I went back...

O'BRIEN: Now, you've got, actually, didn't you bring one of the types of devices that have been used over the course of history?

MENDEZ: Yes. As a matter of fact, this is the KGB's kiss of death. This is a lipstick pistol.

And if you look inside it, what looks like lipstick is, in fact, the muzzle of a 4.5 single shot pistol. And all you have to do is get close enough and, you know, this is going to work as good as any assassination weapon.

But they had gas pistols that they've used on a couple of Ukrainian dissident leaders over the years. And of course they had the umbrella that they loaned to the Bulgarians to kill Markov in London, a whole array of gadgets that were not invented for fun. They were invented because there was a need.

O'BRIEN: And that was actually poison on the tip of an umbrella, that one you were talking about Markov, right?

MENDEZ: Actually, it's a pellet laced with ricin.

O'BRIEN: Ricin, ooh.

MENDEZ: ... and it -- the umbrella acts as a pellet gun and fires the pellet, in his case, into his thigh.

O'BRIEN: Now, the use of dioxin, is that in the spy handbook as one of the preferred ways to do it? MENDEZ: Well, dioxin is an industrial toxin that's out there. Actually, we all have dioxin in our tissue now because it's being put off as a fluid, into water. The fish are absorbing it.

And any fatty substance will hold it. So it wouldn't be unusual to find dioxin but not the level that he obviously onboard, and that's going to be lethal.

O'BRIEN: But as far as you know, over the years, did the KGB or those various groups, did they use dioxin? Was that one of the tools?

MENDEZ: I would say dioxin is probably a little more contemporary than a lot of the tools. The ricin in the umbrella tip is very effective. Certainly, the gas guns had the cyanide pellets in them that vaporized.

But, you know, poisons are sort of the stock and trade of the espionage game.

O'BRIEN: And I guess we -- the presumption would be that somehow they got it into his food, correct?

MENDEZ: Exactly. It would be a very effective way to do it. Either inhale it or ingest it would be two ways you could get lethal doses. And you know, it was alleged that during the Church investigation, there was a refrigerator found at CIA that had shellfish toxins and cobra venom and that sort of thing.

I couldn't comment one way or another, but that was alleged, it was certainly a rumor.

O'BRIEN: Interesting. So a refrigerator loaded with all kind of things that you could stick in food and cause great harm to somebody?

MENDEZ: Yes, when the Bulgarians came to the KGB and said, what are the options for Markov? He said, well, we've got this salve that you could rub on him or you've got this pellet, or you can, you know, here's some poison for his food.

So poisons are, you know, part of the -- part of the arsenal.

O'BRIEN: And I guess, even as you say, post-cold war, when the stakes are high, unfortunately this kind of thing is going to happen.

MENDEZ: It's all about geopolitics and where the power accrues, you know? And of course we've got the spread of democracy out there, the Bush doctrine. A lot of folks in the world are not really comfortable with it yet.

O'BRIEN: Tony Mendez, thank you very much -- former CIA agent, during the cold war, author of "The Master of Disguise, My Secret Life in the CIA," joining us once again. We appreciate you giving us a glimmer of insight into that cloak and dagger world -- Kyra?

MENDEZ: Thanks for having me. PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, the search for a new security of homeland secretary. Who is on the "A" list now as dust settles on the whole Bernard Kerik drama? A look at the top names in play, we're live from the White House.

It's a great day for DVD and video game renters everywhere, the demise of the late fee.

More LIVE FROM right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: The Bush administration carefully narrowing down potential candidates to fill the critical post of homeland security secretary -- this after last week's embarrassing about-face from Bernard Kerik, the president's first pick for the job.

CNN White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux, here with a look at who's in the running now. Hello, Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles.

Well, the White House, as well as the Bush administration, of course, very eager to get beyond the Bernie Kerik debacle. They say they are very satisfied with his explanation as well as his apology.

They are looking at potential nominees. Some of those in the front-runner we have been talking to from administration sources saying the first one, Asa Hutchinson. He is the undersecretary for border and transportation security.

He leads more than 110,000 employees, basically is responsible for coordinating the enforcement activities of the borders, the waterways, transportation and immigration.

Another name that keeps coming up, that is Fran Townsend. She is the adviser, the homeland security adviser to the president. She reports to President Bush on matters of policy, as well as combating terrorism.

She came to the White House -- very interesting background -- from the U.S. Coast Guard. That is where she served in terms of looking at intelligence matters, and before that spent about more than a dozen years at the justice department.

And finally, the most interesting, possible pick -- a lot of bipartisan support on this one, a lot of buzz on the hill -- that is Senator Joe Lieberman. He is, of course, the Democrat from Connecticut, most notably, Al Gore's running mate back in 2000.

He was the author of the homeland security legislation to create the department. Democratic sources saying that he would be open to the position if he was offered this, and Republican sources saying that the president, looking at all three of these candidates, as well as some others, very seriously -- Miles?

O'BRIEN: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House, thank you very much -- Kyra?

PHILLIPS: How critical is the homeland security department to protect the nation from terrorism? Take, for example, what happened on Japan's rail system nine years ago.

CNN's Bill Hemmer shows us what Japan has done in the years since to protect its homeland.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID KAPLAN, AUTHOR: Aum was a doomsday sect that was intent on jump starting the apocalypse.

BILL HEMMER, CNN "AMERICAN MORNING" ANCHOR (voice-over): On March 20, 1995, this group of home grown terrorists launched an attack on Tokyo's subway system, the world's busiest, using deadly sarin nerve gas.

Twelve people were killed, more than 5,000 people injured. And Japan's image as a safe haven from terror was shattered.

KAPLAN: Aum 's attacks paralyzed Japanese society. They declared a day of fear which paralyzed much of Tokyo. People didn't go out of their houses. I mean, it really was quite amazing what this one doomsday sect was able to accomplish in a pretty sophisticated society.

HEMMER: David Kaplan, author of "The Cult At The End Of The World," says the Aum Shin Rikyo attack sounded alarms in Tokyo and in Washington.

KAPLAN: The 9/11 commission in the United States talked about a failure of imagination, why we didn't see 9/11 coming.

This attack, the subway attack, was Aum's 9/11. And so, it's been a huge wake-up call, not just for the Japanese but for people everywhere, that terrorists can get a hold of these terribly destructive weapons.

HEMMER: Although it's not clear what, if anything, al Qaeda may have learned from Aum, Japan nearly 10 years after the sarin gas attack, could become a target again.

KAPLAN: Japan's been part of the coalition that's gone into Iraq. Japanese are strong backers of elements of U.S. foreign policy that have upset radical Muslims around the world.

HEMMER: And, Kaplan says, counterterrorism officials believe another attack on Japanese soil is a case of not if, but when.

KAPLAN: What I think the big danger is, now that Aum Shin Rikyo is pretty well contained is what comes next? What is on the boards heading our way that we just don't see?

We didn't see Oklahoma City coming. We didn't see 9/11 coming. We didn't see the Tokyo subway attack. What's next? (END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Join CNN's Bill Hemmer tomorrow morning as he hosts "AMERICAN MORNING" live from Tokyo. It all begins at 7:00 Eastern.

RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rhonda Schaffler at the New York Stock Exchange.

Good-bye late fees, that's what one video rental chain is saying. I'll have all the details coming up on LIVE FROM so stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Well, you've heard of the lap of luxury. Well, that's sort of the concept behind one of the hottest gift items in Tokyo. I'm looking for Bill Hemmer in this picture to see if he's shopping there.

Yes, Bill would like that.

It's the lap pillow. And although looking at it might make you a little uncomfortable, buyers say it's the perfect substitute for the laps of significant others. Just minus a torso. You can...

PHILLIPS: Pull that skirt down a little bit. Anyway, the foam, full form is said to be just the right height for watching TV, napping without causing discomfort to your partner.

Now simulated snuggling is apparently big business in Japan. The boyfriend pillow has already been a hit with single women.

O'BRIEN: And now we do know why Bill Hemmer is in Tokyo, right?

All right. Let's go now to...

PHILLIPS: Poor bill, he can't defend himself.

O'BRIEN: I know, it's really mean.

Every year, the magazine, "Time" magazine, takes on the daunting task of sorting through thousands of images to choose those that are best. And they best capture the past 12 months.

PHILLIPS: And "Times" "Year It Pictures" is now on newsstands. "Time's" photo editor, Mary Anne Golon, talked with us about this year's, or how these years pictures -- this year's pictures -- were selected.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY ANNE GOLON, "TIME" PHOTO EDITOR: In 2004, it was very clear that we needed to cover the president and the challenger to the presidency, John Kerry. We also knew that we had to cover the biggest international story of the year, which continues to be the war in Iraq. But then we looked at the world events. And unfortunately, when you're putting together the best photos of the year, it's not often as pretty a picture as you'd like it to be.

In Madrid, I was particularly moved by how the train station became a memorial. And we ran one image where there were just hundreds and hundreds of red candles and the 40 days of mourning in Beslan, as well.

There's something incredible about the historical quality and human emotion that comes through in the work that we really wanted to share that with our readers.

We try to find the images that will really, wow, you, that will give you the kind of intimacy that takes you right to the scene.

The opening photo from Iraq, this picture jumps out because you are literally on the end of a gun barrel. It has that kind of emotional value of putting you just right in the middle of the action.

The whole story of AIDs -- you know, we've all seen images of how the disease ravages people -- and it's a very hard thing to look at. And we have this delightful image of a bunch of AIDs orphans. But there's so much light and brightness in their faces. It was a way to get at a very important story without seeing a very familiar image.

We also included a wonderful image of two women and their child when Gavin Newsom allowed gay couples to marry in San Francisco. The child is between them with this wonderful look on her face. But it was just such a bright, happy moment.

We ran a fabulous Olympics photo of Rulon Gardner. This year he retired after having won the bronze medal. There's a wonderful image where they leave their shoes behind in a circle on the floor when they're retiring, at the end of the match. The image is so compelling. You go, oh, yes, the Olympics were this year.

We've got this image of these children running, you know, dashing happily through these yellow locusts everywhere. It was just an amazing thing to look at it because they're not registering that this is a horrible thing, you know, that they have these locusts.

There were amazing images from the hurricane. And we ended up with one that we thought was really unusual. We found an image of grapefruits, just hundreds of grapefruits floating in water in a flooded grapefruit field. And it just felt so fresh and different.

Society today, we're so inundated with visual information and imagery that one of the challenges of putting together a photo issue of this type is to really be able to surprise the reader, to bring them something that they maybe haven't seen, or maybe they don't remember seeing, or maybe they want to see again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Good photos. You already saw them last night. You had a heads up. But we've got a double whammy...

O'BRIEN: You know, they were actually better the second time, really.

PHILLIPS: Yes, we get...

O'BRIEN: Savor them more.

PHILLIPS: ... to look at them.

O'BRIEN: All right. Some big news for movie-loving procrastinators.

PHILLIPS: That's us. Rhonda Schaffler joining us live from the New York Stock Exchange.

O'BRIEN: Which part, the procrastinating or movie-loving?

SCHAFFLER: Both...

PHILLIPS: We're procrastinators.

SCHAFFLER: ... with the two of you, I'd think.

PHILLIPS: There you go.

O'BRIEN: I hear you, headline.

SCHAFFLER: There's a lot of people out there, and it's hard to imagine how people just think nothing about paying these late fees. Blockbuster's been thinking a lot about it. In fact, Blockbuster's going to get rid of the late fees for movies and video game rentals.

There is a catch, though, of course. There's now going to be a one-week grace period after the due date, if the game or movie isn't returned by then. Blockbuster will automatically sell the product to the customer. Now, if customers don't want to buy the movie or game, they can return the product within 30 days for a credit. But it's only a partial credit.

Blockbuster expects the new policy to attract more customers and more rentals, making up for the $250 million to $300 million in late fees.

Here on Wall Street, stocks still treading water ahead of that fed decision on interest rates. The Dow only up 2 points. NASDAQ slightly higher. That's it from Wall Street.

We will have the fed decision on interest rates in about 15 minutes and, of course, the market reaction to it.

Until then, Kyra, Miles, back to you.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Rhonda.

O'BRIEN: Thank you, Rhonda. Coming up in the second hour of LIVE FROM, all the day's top stories.

PHILLIPS: And a dark story of the search for cheaper medicine -- one woman's journey from Mexican pharmacy to Mexican jail to U.S. federal prison and finally to freedom.

LIVE FROM's "Hour of Power" begins right after this.

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