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Michael Jackson Trial; Battle Over Judges; 'Daily Dose'

Aired May 19, 2005 - 11:00   ET

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

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


CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Here's what's happening right "Now in the News."
The FBI would have broader powers to issue subpoenas in a plan to extend the Patriot Act. The proposal would allow investigators to subpoena records and terrorism investigations without a judge's initial approval. A Senate committee could take up the measure in a hearing next week.

Extremists from radical environmental and animal rights groups now pose the most serious domestic terror threat. That's the assessment from top federal law enforcement officials. They cite groups like the Earth Liberation Front and the Animal Liberation Front; however, some lawmakers question the idea that ecoterrorism is the country's greatest danger.

The archbishop of Baltimore is boycotting a commencement speech by former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Cardinal William Keeler says he won't attend the graduation because of Giuliani's support for abortion rights. Now, Giuliani is the keynote speaker at the Loyola College of Maryland commencement tomorrow night.

Good morning. It's 11:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 8:00 a.m. out West. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Carol Lin. Daryn's on assignment

We're going to begin with the Michael Jackson child molestation trial. It's set to resume this hour. And CNN talk show host Larry King may be among those called to testify.

CNN's Ted Rowlands is covering the trial in Santa Maria, California.

Ted, Larry knows a lot of people, but what does he have to do in the Michael Jackson trial?

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Carol.

Well, what Larry King will offer for the defense is a conversation that he had with attorney Larry Feldman. Larry Feldman is the attorney that represented the 1993 victim against Michael Jackson and consulted with the current alleged victims -- alleged victim in '93, and the current alleged victim here in this case. And according to the defense, King talking with Feldman at a deli in Hollywood came to the conclusion that Feldman thought that the woman, the mother in this case, was "crazy."

Larry King is here in Santa Maria. He is at the courthouse.

Before he is able to testify in front of the jury, however, the judge wants to hammer out exactly what was said and exactly what will be said in front of this jury. This is a classic hearsay case, Larry King talking about what Larry Feldman said at a deli.

The reason it is allowed in is for impeachment, because attorney Larry Feldman earlier on the stand said that anybody who would get up on the stand here and say that he talked about this victim's -- this alleged victim's family would be "a liar." So for that reason, it's sort of an open door for the defense to bring Larry King on.

It's unclear how much of his story he'll be able to recount to this jury on behalf of the defense for being a defense witness. That will be hammered out before he takes the stand. He is expected to take the stand at some point during the morning session here.

The other big headline out of the trial is that the defense has informed the judge that they have significantly pared down their witness list, and they believe that the defense case will be concluded sooner than later. The judge said, "We have weeks to go," and the defense said, "Well, your honor, we'd like to correct you. It may not be weeks. We have cut a lot of our potential witnesses."

So the judge didn't argue with that. This has drawn on for quite a while. And he said that he would be very pleased if they were going to wrap up sooner than later. And that does seem to be the case -- Carol

LIN: But, of course, Ted, it denies the audience the opportunity to see, say, the likes of Elizabeth Taylor or Jay Leno taking the stand. So we thought that perhaps there might be some character witnesses coming to take the stand in -- you know, in defense of Michael Jackson. So are you saying that the celebrity list is going to end with our very own Larry King?

ROWLANDS: It will not end. Jay Leno will take the stand presumably next week. He is scheduled to take the stand, because Jay Leno will not be a character witness for Michael Jackson. He will talk about an interaction that he had with the alleged victim's family as well.

However, Liz Taylor, Stevie Wonder, et al, may not take the stand. And the reason is, is that the judge has been very clear here, that if you bring on any of these character witnesses, the prosecution has the complete right in their rebuttal case to do the same against Michael Jackson. And they could bring on people that could talk about his alleged drug abuse and other things that supposedly -- most likely not...

LIN: Oh, sorry, we lost the signal. Oh.

ROWLANDS: Yes.

LIN: Sorry, Ted, we're having some signaling problems. But I think we caught the last part and the gist of what you're saying. Anyway, a whole can of worms could open up there.

ROWLANDS: OK.

LIN: All right. Ted Rowlands live in Santa Maria.

All right. Police in Idaho have interviewed a man sought for questioning in the case of two missing children and a triple homicide. They say Robert Lutner provided no new information on the children's whereabouts. Authorities named Lutner as a person of interest but not a suspect in the case.

Shasta Groene and her brother Dylan were reported missing from their home where the bodies of their mother, brother and a third person were discovered. Divers will be searching ponds and creeks near the home today.

And a bank robbery suspect is in critical condition in Kansas this morning after a bizarre ordeal. Police say the man took six people hostage. They say he ordered them into a minivan and forced them to drive toward the airport. Well, he was shot by police as he ran toward a plane on the runway. The hostages were not hurt.

In Philadelphia, police say they have no motive in a killing captured by a surveillance camera. It shows a man following a woman from a bus stop before shooting her in the head. The final image shows the attacker running across a parking lot. Police say they don't know if the woman knew the gunman or whether she was targeted at random.

President Bush is on the road this morning, but he's sure to keep a close eye on the Senate where debate is over his stalled judicial nominees, and it's under way.

CNN's Elaine Quijano now at the White House.

Elaine, we understand there's some maneuvering right now on Capitol Hill. What -- what are the folks saying at the White House?

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hello to you, Carol.

Of course, as that debate continues, folks here will be keeping a close eye on it. But President Bush today is turning his attention to the issue of Social Security. In fact, earlier this morning, the president left the White House en route to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he'll take part in another of what the White House is calling a conversation on the issue. But his trip, in fact, highlights the delicate balance that the administration is trying to strike.

On the one hand, the president wants to push through his ambitious legislative goals like Social Security and tax reform. At the same time, though, if this fight over judicial nominees escalates to the point of the so-called nuclear option being used, that, of course, would make it quite difficult for his agenda to get passed.

Now, Mr. Bush very much believes that his judicial nominees, including the two at the center of the debate right now, Janice Rogers Brown and Pricilla Owen, should get up-or-down votes, yet the administration said the president does not want to get involved in specific Senate procedures. Still, the White House is putting the pressure on Democrats.

Yesterday, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said there would be consequences for Democrats, specifically the Senate Democratic leadership, if they continue down the filibuster path. It is unclear today, Carol, whether or not President Bush will, in fact, mention the judicial nominee fight during his remarks at that conversation on Social Security in Wisconsin.

The president just arriving, we are told. There, a live picture now as he arrives, touches down in Wisconsin. That event set to take place just a couple of hours from now -- Carol.

LIN: We'll be tuning in then to see what he has to say. Thanks very much. Elaine Quijano at the White House.

Well, women's rights are very high on the agenda as first lady Laura Bush heads to the Mideast. Mrs. Bush leaves tonight for Jordan, where she is scheduled to speak at the World Economic Forum on Saturday. Her five-day tour will then take her to Jerusalem and on to Egypt. The first lady will visit schools and meet with women to discuss educational and political opportunities.

And we've got more on a developing story we first reported yesterday on women in combat. Is the female role in the military shrinking? We have the very latest details on this question.

And think these are pretty gross? Well, you could be exposed to millions of them in your very own home. And they could be making you sick. We're going to show you what you can do about it.

And...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have a job?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm actually currently unemployed. And -- but I saw the movie. And if you're watching this, you didn't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Well, maybe you did. The force is with "Star Wars" fans as they flocked to the theaters at midnight last night. A live report from the "Star" watchers fan watch coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: What if your house is making you sick? Well, that happens to be the case for millions of people who suffer from indoor allergies. In our "Daily Dose" of health news, Senior Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta examines the causes of indoor allergies and ways to combat them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When they bought their new house in late 2004, Allyson and Reid Winnick were filled with promise and pride.

ALLYSON WINNICK, INDOOR ALLERGY SUFFERER: We moved here October 1, into a pristine, gorgeous home on the beach, and within a couple of weeks we all started getting sick, coughs and congestion and runny noses.

GUPTA: The whole family was besieged by a mysterious illness. They were exhausted, moving at a slower pace. It became harder to wake up in the morning, and 7-year-old Justin was late for school almost every day.

WINNICK: I was ready to move out.

GUPTA: Increasingly frustrated and confused, the Winnicks had air samples taken in their new home. They feared it was sinister mold growing in the air ducts, or even asbestos, or fiberglass from new construction. It was neither.

WINNICK: It was lots of dust mites. Lots and lots of dust mites. And nothing else. Everything else claim out clean.

It was in every room that we tested, the bedrooms, the playroom, the living room. It was everywhere.

GUPTA: The Winnicks were suffering from indoor allergies from dust mites. Dust mites are microscopic spiders so small that 7,000 of them can fit on a dime. They thrive in humidity and feed off skin cells humans shed.

The Winnicks aren't alone; 99 percent of all households have them. The average number in any given bed? Two million.

DR. GILLIAN SHEPERD, ALLERGY SPECIALIST: In the case of the dust mites, what the allergy substance is, is, disgustingly, it is a very potent protein in the fecal dropping of these mites. And they tend to be in highest concentrations in bedding, in pillows.

GUPTA: While the Winnicks' indoor allergy trigger is the dust mite, there are several other culprits when it comes to indoor allergies.

SHEPERD: Indoor allergies are extremely common. Probably vastly more common than seasonal allergies. The number one culprit are the pets at home.

GUPTA: With cats and dogs, the actual allergen isn't their hair, but a protein found in their saliva, dander, skin and urine. It's so pervasive it is easily transported on an owner's clothing.

As for cats, even if you remove one from a room, it takes six months before it's free of cat allergen. Also, there may be a reason why some people are allergic to some cats and not others. DR. CLIFFORD BASSETT, ALLERGY SPECIALIST: The darker the color the pet dander on cats, the more allergy symptoms. And male cats have more dander and seem to have more allergenic properties than female cats in a variety of preliminary studies.

GUPTA: Besides dust mites and pet dander, cockroaches are also a major source of indoor allergies in cities.

SHEPERD: One of the difficulties in many of these perennial allergens is that you can clean vigorously; however, they're going to recur. So it's something that requires ongoing effort.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to use vibration and suction to get the -- to get the allergens out of it. Just roll it up now.

GUPTA: The Winnicks turned to Healthy Nest, a company that specializes in testing and ridding the home of allergens. The treatments can cost hundreds of dollars.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A good idea is actually to uncover the bed and leave it open. Leave windows open when you can. And if you have the opportunity to expose your mattress or your bed to direct sunlight, that's an excellent thing to do.

GUPTA: Other ways to fight indoor allergies, keep humidity below 50 percent, possibly with a dehumidifier. Use allergy protectant covers for your mattress, box springs and pillows. Wash your sheets weekly in hot water and use a hot dryer. Vacuum weekly with a HEPA filter.

Consider hardwood or tile floors. Carpets can accumulate 1,000 times more allergen than non-carpeted floors. As for stuffed toys, put them in a plastic bag and freeze for 24 hours to kill those mites.

Now six months after finding the dust mites, the Winnicks have learned to deal with them.

WINNICK: So everything's good. No one sneezes in the morning when they wake up anymore.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Well, to get your "Daily Dose" of health news online, log on to our Web site. You'll find the latest medical news, a health library and information on diet and fitness. The address is CNN.com/health.

Well, yesterday we reported here first about the proposal to reduce the role of women in combat. Are some in Congress now backing off that plan? The latest on this controversial idea next.

First it was hockey, now it's the NBA, headed toward a lockout, too. Well, maybe. A live report on the NBA playoffs and its future coming up. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

LIN: In the meantime, if you're planning on going to a few games over the weekend, think about this: you know, first it was baseball, then football, and today now the National Basketball Association is answering to Congress on steroids in big league sports. NBA commissioner David Stern, NBA players union rep Billy Hunter, and Washington Wizards guard Juan Dixon are in front of a House committee, if you can believe it, at this hour.

Currently, veteran NBA players are tested once a year for steroids, and that is during pre-season. One congressional spokesman calls that a Shaquille O'Neal-sized hole. I presume that means pretty big in the NBA's policy. Stern says he wants testing four times a year and he'd make it random. The debate continues

Phoenix Suns' guard Steve Nash proves why he's the league MVP during his team's 114-108 win over the Dallas Mavericks. Nash had 34 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists to lead the Suns to a 3-2 lead in their playoff series.

But enjoy it while it lasts. The NBA may be headed for an off- season lockout in July. Contract talks are dead, at least for now. This happened very suddenly.

CNN sports correspondent, Larry Smith, here to talk about this live.

It seemed like things were going pretty well up until last Friday

LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, they were until about April 19. This is when the wheels began to come off the proverbial bus, if you will.

LIN: OK.

SMITH: Now, certainly with time comes change. Three months ago at the all-star break, officials from the NBA and the players union were all grins, saying they could have a new labor agreement in place before the regular season ended. Well, now the league could be headed for its second work stoppage in seven years.

Back then it was a seven-month work stoppage that shortened the 1998, '99 season from 82 to 50 games. And the league is breaking off talks at this time, accusing the union of backing off concessions agreed upon in earlier talks this year, saying they changed their mind on length of contracts, the size of annual raises and long-term contracts. Among the issues, as well as the hot topic of an age limit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILLY HUNTER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NBPA: We're not going to do a bad deal. So that's -- that's my mantra. We're not going to do a bad deal. Now, if that means as a result we've got a lockout, then we just got another lockout

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLES BARKLEY, NBA ANALYST: The NBA season starts in November. So whatever happens during the summer is irrelevant. They're both posturing. But there's enough money for everybody.

And as a player, I want the players to get whatever they can. But I think it would be -- it's obviously killed hockey, and it would be a disservice to the fans and the game itself if we get locked out or go on strike.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: And that's the thing, NBA officials on both sides said that they learned lessons seven years ago of the damage that could be wrought by a work stoppage. It would be hard to imagine, Carol, both winter sports, NBA and the NHL, both silent at the same time. The NHL, keep in mind, has yet to solve their work issues either.

LIN: You wonder how patient fans can be. And I was thinking last week, because apparently they were ready to maybe put a little bit of something on paper, and then all things came to a halt.

You talk about some of the deals being offered. OK, they sound pretty good to me. I mean, seven-year guaranteed contracts, nobody I know has anything like that. 12.5 percent raise, where the best we can hope for maybe is 2 to 4 percent on a good day.

SMITH: Yes, exactly. Right. Right, especially when you get to a certain point.

LIN: So what are these players having to complain about?

SMITH: Well, that's the one thing, is that, keep in mind, the NBA, players union would like to be as strong as the baseball players union. Or perceived as strong. That's one thing.

You never want to give up something that you've already gotten in past bargaining agreements. Years ago, you got the seven years guaranteed, 10 percent raises if you trade -- if you change teams in free agency, 12.5 percent raise every year if you stay with your team. They don't want to give those things up.

So, you know, what's happening behind closed doors we're not being told exactly. But there's a players union -- certainly, if they may come back and say, if the agents are coming in, or Billy Hunter is coming in and saying, wait a minute, these are things we have, we don't to give these things up, and the NBA is saying, wait a minute, I thought we already agreed to this...

LIN: Right.

SMITH: ... that's where the problem is. LIN: July 1 is supposed to be...

SMITH: July 1 is the first day that it could be. But as Charles Barkley said, we have six weeks left. NBA finals beginning in two- and-a-half weeks. A lot of things still can happen. And training camp doesn't begin until the first of October. So even if there is a work stoppage, not reason to panic yet until it gets to September, early October.

LIN: All right. We're going to be talking about this through the summer maybe, huh?

SMITH: Yes.

LIN: All right. Thanks, Larry.

SMITH: OK.

LIN: Well, we know him as the alleged terror leader in Iraq's insurgency, but who really is Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and where did he come from? An in-depth look into the man behind the reputation next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Good morning. A House-passed bill calls for changes to the color-coded terror alert system. Instead of nationwide warnings, it would require targeted alerts for specific cities or a region. A Senate version of the bill is still in the works.

The Bush administration must decide today what it's going to do with the Cuban militant Luis Posada Carriles. Immigration rules require it. The Castro foe was arrested in Miami, where exiles see him as a hero. But Posada could be extradited to Venezuela, where he's wanted in a 1976 bombing.

And John Bolton's nomination to U.N. ambassador gets a blistering critique from Democrats. A 53-page report concludes Bolton tried to punish an analyst who disagreed with him on intelligence and misled Congress about the matter. Republicans counter the allegations were not proven. A vote on Bolton's nomination is not yet on the Senate calendar.

A follow-up to our story yesterday. A House committee backs off a bill that would have banned women from many combat support positions.

Critics say the measure would have closed nearly 22,000 jobs to women. Instead, the committee approved an amendment that puts the current Pentagon policy into law. That policy bans women from serving in direct ground combat.

The amendment was approved as part of the bill authorizing defense spending for the upcoming year. The full House is expected to vote on it next week.

Now to the fight for Iraq. As many as 15 people were killed in attacks today, nine of them in a failed assassination attempt in Mosul.

An official with the country's oil ministry was killed in western Baghdad. He was gunned down outside his house this morning.

An aide to Iraq's most powerful Shiite cleric was shot and killed in Baghdad's Sadr City. He was the second aide to the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani to be shot this week.

And in Baquba, two Iraqi police officers were killed by a roadside bomb. Another police officer and a civilian were wounded.

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 May 19, 2005 - 11:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Here's what's happening right "Now in the News."
The FBI would have broader powers to issue subpoenas in a plan to extend the Patriot Act. The proposal would allow investigators to subpoena records and terrorism investigations without a judge's initial approval. A Senate committee could take up the measure in a hearing next week.

Extremists from radical environmental and animal rights groups now pose the most serious domestic terror threat. That's the assessment from top federal law enforcement officials. They cite groups like the Earth Liberation Front and the Animal Liberation Front; however, some lawmakers question the idea that ecoterrorism is the country's greatest danger.

The archbishop of Baltimore is boycotting a commencement speech by former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Cardinal William Keeler says he won't attend the graduation because of Giuliani's support for abortion rights. Now, Giuliani is the keynote speaker at the Loyola College of Maryland commencement tomorrow night.

Good morning. It's 11:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 8:00 a.m. out West. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Carol Lin. Daryn's on assignment

We're going to begin with the Michael Jackson child molestation trial. It's set to resume this hour. And CNN talk show host Larry King may be among those called to testify.

CNN's Ted Rowlands is covering the trial in Santa Maria, California.

Ted, Larry knows a lot of people, but what does he have to do in the Michael Jackson trial?

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Carol.

Well, what Larry King will offer for the defense is a conversation that he had with attorney Larry Feldman. Larry Feldman is the attorney that represented the 1993 victim against Michael Jackson and consulted with the current alleged victims -- alleged victim in '93, and the current alleged victim here in this case. And according to the defense, King talking with Feldman at a deli in Hollywood came to the conclusion that Feldman thought that the woman, the mother in this case, was "crazy."

Larry King is here in Santa Maria. He is at the courthouse.

Before he is able to testify in front of the jury, however, the judge wants to hammer out exactly what was said and exactly what will be said in front of this jury. This is a classic hearsay case, Larry King talking about what Larry Feldman said at a deli.

The reason it is allowed in is for impeachment, because attorney Larry Feldman earlier on the stand said that anybody who would get up on the stand here and say that he talked about this victim's -- this alleged victim's family would be "a liar." So for that reason, it's sort of an open door for the defense to bring Larry King on.

It's unclear how much of his story he'll be able to recount to this jury on behalf of the defense for being a defense witness. That will be hammered out before he takes the stand. He is expected to take the stand at some point during the morning session here.

The other big headline out of the trial is that the defense has informed the judge that they have significantly pared down their witness list, and they believe that the defense case will be concluded sooner than later. The judge said, "We have weeks to go," and the defense said, "Well, your honor, we'd like to correct you. It may not be weeks. We have cut a lot of our potential witnesses."

So the judge didn't argue with that. This has drawn on for quite a while. And he said that he would be very pleased if they were going to wrap up sooner than later. And that does seem to be the case -- Carol

LIN: But, of course, Ted, it denies the audience the opportunity to see, say, the likes of Elizabeth Taylor or Jay Leno taking the stand. So we thought that perhaps there might be some character witnesses coming to take the stand in -- you know, in defense of Michael Jackson. So are you saying that the celebrity list is going to end with our very own Larry King?

ROWLANDS: It will not end. Jay Leno will take the stand presumably next week. He is scheduled to take the stand, because Jay Leno will not be a character witness for Michael Jackson. He will talk about an interaction that he had with the alleged victim's family as well.

However, Liz Taylor, Stevie Wonder, et al, may not take the stand. And the reason is, is that the judge has been very clear here, that if you bring on any of these character witnesses, the prosecution has the complete right in their rebuttal case to do the same against Michael Jackson. And they could bring on people that could talk about his alleged drug abuse and other things that supposedly -- most likely not...

LIN: Oh, sorry, we lost the signal. Oh.

ROWLANDS: Yes.

LIN: Sorry, Ted, we're having some signaling problems. But I think we caught the last part and the gist of what you're saying. Anyway, a whole can of worms could open up there.

ROWLANDS: OK.

LIN: All right. Ted Rowlands live in Santa Maria.

All right. Police in Idaho have interviewed a man sought for questioning in the case of two missing children and a triple homicide. They say Robert Lutner provided no new information on the children's whereabouts. Authorities named Lutner as a person of interest but not a suspect in the case.

Shasta Groene and her brother Dylan were reported missing from their home where the bodies of their mother, brother and a third person were discovered. Divers will be searching ponds and creeks near the home today.

And a bank robbery suspect is in critical condition in Kansas this morning after a bizarre ordeal. Police say the man took six people hostage. They say he ordered them into a minivan and forced them to drive toward the airport. Well, he was shot by police as he ran toward a plane on the runway. The hostages were not hurt.

In Philadelphia, police say they have no motive in a killing captured by a surveillance camera. It shows a man following a woman from a bus stop before shooting her in the head. The final image shows the attacker running across a parking lot. Police say they don't know if the woman knew the gunman or whether she was targeted at random.

President Bush is on the road this morning, but he's sure to keep a close eye on the Senate where debate is over his stalled judicial nominees, and it's under way.

CNN's Elaine Quijano now at the White House.

Elaine, we understand there's some maneuvering right now on Capitol Hill. What -- what are the folks saying at the White House?

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hello to you, Carol.

Of course, as that debate continues, folks here will be keeping a close eye on it. But President Bush today is turning his attention to the issue of Social Security. In fact, earlier this morning, the president left the White House en route to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he'll take part in another of what the White House is calling a conversation on the issue. But his trip, in fact, highlights the delicate balance that the administration is trying to strike.

On the one hand, the president wants to push through his ambitious legislative goals like Social Security and tax reform. At the same time, though, if this fight over judicial nominees escalates to the point of the so-called nuclear option being used, that, of course, would make it quite difficult for his agenda to get passed.

Now, Mr. Bush very much believes that his judicial nominees, including the two at the center of the debate right now, Janice Rogers Brown and Pricilla Owen, should get up-or-down votes, yet the administration said the president does not want to get involved in specific Senate procedures. Still, the White House is putting the pressure on Democrats.

Yesterday, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said there would be consequences for Democrats, specifically the Senate Democratic leadership, if they continue down the filibuster path. It is unclear today, Carol, whether or not President Bush will, in fact, mention the judicial nominee fight during his remarks at that conversation on Social Security in Wisconsin.

The president just arriving, we are told. There, a live picture now as he arrives, touches down in Wisconsin. That event set to take place just a couple of hours from now -- Carol.

LIN: We'll be tuning in then to see what he has to say. Thanks very much. Elaine Quijano at the White House.

Well, women's rights are very high on the agenda as first lady Laura Bush heads to the Mideast. Mrs. Bush leaves tonight for Jordan, where she is scheduled to speak at the World Economic Forum on Saturday. Her five-day tour will then take her to Jerusalem and on to Egypt. The first lady will visit schools and meet with women to discuss educational and political opportunities.

And we've got more on a developing story we first reported yesterday on women in combat. Is the female role in the military shrinking? We have the very latest details on this question.

And think these are pretty gross? Well, you could be exposed to millions of them in your very own home. And they could be making you sick. We're going to show you what you can do about it.

And...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have a job?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm actually currently unemployed. And -- but I saw the movie. And if you're watching this, you didn't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Well, maybe you did. The force is with "Star Wars" fans as they flocked to the theaters at midnight last night. A live report from the "Star" watchers fan watch coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: What if your house is making you sick? Well, that happens to be the case for millions of people who suffer from indoor allergies. In our "Daily Dose" of health news, Senior Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta examines the causes of indoor allergies and ways to combat them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When they bought their new house in late 2004, Allyson and Reid Winnick were filled with promise and pride.

ALLYSON WINNICK, INDOOR ALLERGY SUFFERER: We moved here October 1, into a pristine, gorgeous home on the beach, and within a couple of weeks we all started getting sick, coughs and congestion and runny noses.

GUPTA: The whole family was besieged by a mysterious illness. They were exhausted, moving at a slower pace. It became harder to wake up in the morning, and 7-year-old Justin was late for school almost every day.

WINNICK: I was ready to move out.

GUPTA: Increasingly frustrated and confused, the Winnicks had air samples taken in their new home. They feared it was sinister mold growing in the air ducts, or even asbestos, or fiberglass from new construction. It was neither.

WINNICK: It was lots of dust mites. Lots and lots of dust mites. And nothing else. Everything else claim out clean.

It was in every room that we tested, the bedrooms, the playroom, the living room. It was everywhere.

GUPTA: The Winnicks were suffering from indoor allergies from dust mites. Dust mites are microscopic spiders so small that 7,000 of them can fit on a dime. They thrive in humidity and feed off skin cells humans shed.

The Winnicks aren't alone; 99 percent of all households have them. The average number in any given bed? Two million.

DR. GILLIAN SHEPERD, ALLERGY SPECIALIST: In the case of the dust mites, what the allergy substance is, is, disgustingly, it is a very potent protein in the fecal dropping of these mites. And they tend to be in highest concentrations in bedding, in pillows.

GUPTA: While the Winnicks' indoor allergy trigger is the dust mite, there are several other culprits when it comes to indoor allergies.

SHEPERD: Indoor allergies are extremely common. Probably vastly more common than seasonal allergies. The number one culprit are the pets at home.

GUPTA: With cats and dogs, the actual allergen isn't their hair, but a protein found in their saliva, dander, skin and urine. It's so pervasive it is easily transported on an owner's clothing.

As for cats, even if you remove one from a room, it takes six months before it's free of cat allergen. Also, there may be a reason why some people are allergic to some cats and not others. DR. CLIFFORD BASSETT, ALLERGY SPECIALIST: The darker the color the pet dander on cats, the more allergy symptoms. And male cats have more dander and seem to have more allergenic properties than female cats in a variety of preliminary studies.

GUPTA: Besides dust mites and pet dander, cockroaches are also a major source of indoor allergies in cities.

SHEPERD: One of the difficulties in many of these perennial allergens is that you can clean vigorously; however, they're going to recur. So it's something that requires ongoing effort.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to use vibration and suction to get the -- to get the allergens out of it. Just roll it up now.

GUPTA: The Winnicks turned to Healthy Nest, a company that specializes in testing and ridding the home of allergens. The treatments can cost hundreds of dollars.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A good idea is actually to uncover the bed and leave it open. Leave windows open when you can. And if you have the opportunity to expose your mattress or your bed to direct sunlight, that's an excellent thing to do.

GUPTA: Other ways to fight indoor allergies, keep humidity below 50 percent, possibly with a dehumidifier. Use allergy protectant covers for your mattress, box springs and pillows. Wash your sheets weekly in hot water and use a hot dryer. Vacuum weekly with a HEPA filter.

Consider hardwood or tile floors. Carpets can accumulate 1,000 times more allergen than non-carpeted floors. As for stuffed toys, put them in a plastic bag and freeze for 24 hours to kill those mites.

Now six months after finding the dust mites, the Winnicks have learned to deal with them.

WINNICK: So everything's good. No one sneezes in the morning when they wake up anymore.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Well, to get your "Daily Dose" of health news online, log on to our Web site. You'll find the latest medical news, a health library and information on diet and fitness. The address is CNN.com/health.

Well, yesterday we reported here first about the proposal to reduce the role of women in combat. Are some in Congress now backing off that plan? The latest on this controversial idea next.

First it was hockey, now it's the NBA, headed toward a lockout, too. Well, maybe. A live report on the NBA playoffs and its future coming up. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

LIN: In the meantime, if you're planning on going to a few games over the weekend, think about this: you know, first it was baseball, then football, and today now the National Basketball Association is answering to Congress on steroids in big league sports. NBA commissioner David Stern, NBA players union rep Billy Hunter, and Washington Wizards guard Juan Dixon are in front of a House committee, if you can believe it, at this hour.

Currently, veteran NBA players are tested once a year for steroids, and that is during pre-season. One congressional spokesman calls that a Shaquille O'Neal-sized hole. I presume that means pretty big in the NBA's policy. Stern says he wants testing four times a year and he'd make it random. The debate continues

Phoenix Suns' guard Steve Nash proves why he's the league MVP during his team's 114-108 win over the Dallas Mavericks. Nash had 34 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists to lead the Suns to a 3-2 lead in their playoff series.

But enjoy it while it lasts. The NBA may be headed for an off- season lockout in July. Contract talks are dead, at least for now. This happened very suddenly.

CNN sports correspondent, Larry Smith, here to talk about this live.

It seemed like things were going pretty well up until last Friday

LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, they were until about April 19. This is when the wheels began to come off the proverbial bus, if you will.

LIN: OK.

SMITH: Now, certainly with time comes change. Three months ago at the all-star break, officials from the NBA and the players union were all grins, saying they could have a new labor agreement in place before the regular season ended. Well, now the league could be headed for its second work stoppage in seven years.

Back then it was a seven-month work stoppage that shortened the 1998, '99 season from 82 to 50 games. And the league is breaking off talks at this time, accusing the union of backing off concessions agreed upon in earlier talks this year, saying they changed their mind on length of contracts, the size of annual raises and long-term contracts. Among the issues, as well as the hot topic of an age limit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILLY HUNTER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NBPA: We're not going to do a bad deal. So that's -- that's my mantra. We're not going to do a bad deal. Now, if that means as a result we've got a lockout, then we just got another lockout

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLES BARKLEY, NBA ANALYST: The NBA season starts in November. So whatever happens during the summer is irrelevant. They're both posturing. But there's enough money for everybody.

And as a player, I want the players to get whatever they can. But I think it would be -- it's obviously killed hockey, and it would be a disservice to the fans and the game itself if we get locked out or go on strike.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: And that's the thing, NBA officials on both sides said that they learned lessons seven years ago of the damage that could be wrought by a work stoppage. It would be hard to imagine, Carol, both winter sports, NBA and the NHL, both silent at the same time. The NHL, keep in mind, has yet to solve their work issues either.

LIN: You wonder how patient fans can be. And I was thinking last week, because apparently they were ready to maybe put a little bit of something on paper, and then all things came to a halt.

You talk about some of the deals being offered. OK, they sound pretty good to me. I mean, seven-year guaranteed contracts, nobody I know has anything like that. 12.5 percent raise, where the best we can hope for maybe is 2 to 4 percent on a good day.

SMITH: Yes, exactly. Right. Right, especially when you get to a certain point.

LIN: So what are these players having to complain about?

SMITH: Well, that's the one thing, is that, keep in mind, the NBA, players union would like to be as strong as the baseball players union. Or perceived as strong. That's one thing.

You never want to give up something that you've already gotten in past bargaining agreements. Years ago, you got the seven years guaranteed, 10 percent raises if you trade -- if you change teams in free agency, 12.5 percent raise every year if you stay with your team. They don't want to give those things up.

So, you know, what's happening behind closed doors we're not being told exactly. But there's a players union -- certainly, if they may come back and say, if the agents are coming in, or Billy Hunter is coming in and saying, wait a minute, these are things we have, we don't to give these things up, and the NBA is saying, wait a minute, I thought we already agreed to this...

LIN: Right.

SMITH: ... that's where the problem is. LIN: July 1 is supposed to be...

SMITH: July 1 is the first day that it could be. But as Charles Barkley said, we have six weeks left. NBA finals beginning in two- and-a-half weeks. A lot of things still can happen. And training camp doesn't begin until the first of October. So even if there is a work stoppage, not reason to panic yet until it gets to September, early October.

LIN: All right. We're going to be talking about this through the summer maybe, huh?

SMITH: Yes.

LIN: All right. Thanks, Larry.

SMITH: OK.

LIN: Well, we know him as the alleged terror leader in Iraq's insurgency, but who really is Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and where did he come from? An in-depth look into the man behind the reputation next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Good morning. A House-passed bill calls for changes to the color-coded terror alert system. Instead of nationwide warnings, it would require targeted alerts for specific cities or a region. A Senate version of the bill is still in the works.

The Bush administration must decide today what it's going to do with the Cuban militant Luis Posada Carriles. Immigration rules require it. The Castro foe was arrested in Miami, where exiles see him as a hero. But Posada could be extradited to Venezuela, where he's wanted in a 1976 bombing.

And John Bolton's nomination to U.N. ambassador gets a blistering critique from Democrats. A 53-page report concludes Bolton tried to punish an analyst who disagreed with him on intelligence and misled Congress about the matter. Republicans counter the allegations were not proven. A vote on Bolton's nomination is not yet on the Senate calendar.

A follow-up to our story yesterday. A House committee backs off a bill that would have banned women from many combat support positions.

Critics say the measure would have closed nearly 22,000 jobs to women. Instead, the committee approved an amendment that puts the current Pentagon policy into law. That policy bans women from serving in direct ground combat.

The amendment was approved as part of the bill authorizing defense spending for the upcoming year. The full House is expected to vote on it next week.

Now to the fight for Iraq. As many as 15 people were killed in attacks today, nine of them in a failed assassination attempt in Mosul.

An official with the country's oil ministry was killed in western Baghdad. He was gunned down outside his house this morning.

An aide to Iraq's most powerful Shiite cleric was shot and killed in Baghdad's Sadr City. He was the second aide to the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani to be shot this week.

And in Baquba, two Iraqi police officers were killed by a roadside bomb. Another police officer and a civilian were wounded.

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