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The Situation Room
Spying Slugfest; Massive Manhunt Under Way in Massachusetts; John Boehner Elected to Replace Tom DeLay as House Majority Leader; Super Bowl Security Extraordinary; Law Enforcement Departments Face Difficulties Recruiting; Web Sites, Pirate Radio Offer Howard Stern For Free; Saddam Skips Court; Drug Smuggling With Puppies; Weight Loss Pill
Aired February 02, 2006 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: It's 5:00 p.m. here in Washington, and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where news and information from around the world arrive at one place at the same time.
Happening now, we're on the security watch. Senators and spy chiefs in a Capitol Hill showdown over electronic eavesdropping.
And Iran's nuclear program. Urgent new concerns and a new warning.
In Detroit, it's 5:00 p.m. also. They're going to extraordinary lengths to secure the Super Bowl with anti-terror patrols by land, sea and air.
And it's 5:00 p.m. in Colombia, where a drug gang tried to send heroin into this country sewn into the bodies of puppies. A cruel fate for some of the dogs, but others get a new lease on life.
I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
We begin with our CNN "Security Watch" and a Senate slugfest over domestic spying. The nation's spy chiefs today complained to lawmakers that turning a spotlight on such secret programs has undermined national security. Some lawmakers complain they have been kept in the dark.
Let's turn to our National Security Correspondent David Ensor for all of the days developments -- David.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, Mr. Negroponte and the other spy chiefs came to Capitol Hill as they do every year to talk about the threats to the United States, Iran, al Qaeda. But most of the questions were either about leaks or about the NSA controversy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR (voice-over): The spy chiefs faced a barrage of pointed questions from Intelligence Committee Democrats angered by the president's National Security Agency domestic surveillance program and the fact that most of them were never briefed about it. SEN. JAY ROCKEFELLER (D-WV), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: This rationale for withholding information from Congress is flat-out unacceptable and nothing more than political smoke.
ENSOR: But, in fact, Rockefeller was one of the few who were briefed. Director of Nation Intelligence John Negroponte stressed that the NSA carefully reviews and minimizes any information collected on Americans.
JOHN NEGROPONTE, NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE DIRECTOR: It's been a standard procedure of the NSA for the many, many years that it has been in its existence. General Hayden may want to amplify.
SEN. RON WYDEN (D), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Mr. Director, that answer isn't good enough for me. That answer is essentially, trust us. The Congress and the public just have to trust us. And Ronald Reagan put it very well, he said trust, but verify.
ENSOR: Frustrated Democrats pressed for details, including how many al Qaeda members have been monitored, communicated to or from the United States by the program.
GEN. MICHAEL HAYDEN, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: Yes, sir. I do know that number, but I'm unable to give it in this kind of an environment, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. And will you give us that then in closed session?
HAYDEN: I'm not at liberty to do that, sir.
ENSOR: Republican senators' ire was directed at leaks to the media about CIA secret prisons in Europe, as well as the NSA surveillance program.
SEN. CHRISTOPHER BOND (R), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: The rampant leaking and uncertainty over detainees and intelligence techniques has shaken the confidence of our intelligence operators in the field.
PORTER GOSS, CIA DIRECTOR: I'm sorry to tell you that the damage has been very severe to our capabilities to carry out our mission.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR: Spy chiefs and senators, Wolf. None of them were happy today.
BLITZER: David Ensor reporting.
David, thank you very much for that.
Iran's nuclear program is another urgent issue both here and at the Vienna headquarters of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) NEGROPONTE: We judge that Tehran probably does not yet have a nuclear weapon and probably has not yet produced or acquired the necessary fissile material. Nevertheless, the danger that it will acquire a nuclear weapon, and the ability to integrate it with ballistic missiles Iran already possesses, it is a reason for immediate concern.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: The International Atomic Energy Agency is trying to derail Iran's nuclear effort. Its board has been meeting in Vienna, Austria, to discuss whether to report Iran to the United Nations Security Council, as favored by the U.S. and its European allies. But Iran warns, if that happens, it will start enriching uranium, a move which could lead to weapons production.
Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security
Moving on to other news, the Bush administration plans to ask Congress for another $70 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In Iraq alone, the battle against insurgents is costing the U.S. military an estimated $1 billion a week. So far, according to the Pentagon, the U.S. has spent $250 billion in Iraq.
Congress will be asked to dig deeper for hurricane relief. Sources familiar with the figures say the administration wants another $18 billion for Gulf Coast reconstruction, bringing the total so far to more than $100 billion.
A line of severe thunderstorms moved across the New Orleans area earlier this morning damaging homes and businesses. And a suspected tornado tore through the suburb of Kenner and the international airport. An airport concourse repaired after Hurricane Katrina suffered what's being described as significant damage and two jetways were put out of commission.
Moving on now to other news around the country, a massive manhunt is now under way for the suspect in an attack in a gay bar in Massachusetts.
Our Deborah Feyerick is joining us now live from New Bedford with more on this horrible, horrible story -- Deb.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, it is an all- out manhunt. Police across Massachusetts looking for 18-year-old Jacob Robida.
Now, police say that around midnight he walked into the Puzzles lounge and asked the bartender whether in fact it was a gay bar. Well, something about the man made the bartender suspicious. The bartender telling CNN that his face was stone cold, that it was emotionless.
Well, Police say Robida walked toward the back of the bar, towards two men who were playing pool there, and after several minutes of watching them, he pulled out a hatchet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was going to go up behind him and kind of huddle him and put him to the ground. And just as I was doing that, another customer had come up as well and blindsided him, forcing him to the ground and the hatchet out of his hand on to the floor of the bar.
And just as that happened, just seconds later, he pulls out a handgun from out of his pocket, fires one shot directly up in the air which got everybody's attention, and we all moved away. And gets up and proceeds to shoot the first person that he attacked with the hatchet in the face. Then turns to the second person that he attacked with the hatchet and shot him twice in the head.
At that same time, there was a customer coming out of the bathroom, which is also in the back of the bar behind the pool table, and he turns the gun on him, fires one shot at him which went into his abdomen, in one end, out the other.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Now, all three men survived. Two are in critical condition. The third is in good condition. The district attorney is right now investigating whether the shooter knew any of his victims.
Now, a neighbor upstairs described Robida, saying that "he hates everyone and there are swastikas all over his room."
Police are not saying whether he has a criminal record. But a few years ago, when he was just a teenager, he did attend a program at the police academy. Some kids that are sent there actually are mandated to go there by the court. It's not clear whether in fact he was one of those, but it's sort of a scared-straight program where the kids learn self-discipline and things like that.
Now, Robida was injured. Hospitals were alerted that he might be showing up there to receive medical treatment.
He is described as extremely violent and possibly suicidal. When he left the Puzzles lounge early, early this morning, he was driving a 1999 green Pontiac Grand Am.
Again, an all-out manhunt, Wolf, across Massachusetts.
Back to you.
BLITZER: And Deb, he's only 18 years old, is that right?
FEYERICK: He's only 18. And his mom is very, very worried about him. Somebody knocked on her door and she was just in a terrible way.
BLITZER: Deb Feyerick is going to have a lot more on this in THE SITUATION ROOM 7:00 p.m., later tonight.
Deb, thank you very much.
Let's go back to New York and Jack Cafferty. He's standing by.
Hi, Jack.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Wolf.
"The Washington Post" ran a cartoon in Sunday's paper that made a lot of waves, big waves. Take a look at this.
This is -- Tom Toles drew this. He's a Pulitzer Prize winner.
It shows a quadruple amputee being visited in the hospital by a Dr. Rumsfeld. The wounded figure is a soldier and the doctor is saying, "I'm listing your condition as battle-hardened."
Needless to say, a lot of people didn't think it was very funny, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff. They called the cartoon "beyond tasteless." And in a later to "The Post" editor, they said, "The Post and Mr. Toles have done a disservice to readers and to The Post's reputation by using such a callous depiction of those who volunteer to defend this nation and as a result suffer traumatic and life-altering wounds."
The newspaper caught a lot of flak for running it as well. Here's what their editorial page editor said in a statement...
"While I certainly can understand the strong feelings, I took it to be a cartoon about the state of the Army and not one intended to demean wounded soldiers."
And the cartoonist, Tom Toles, said this, "I certainly never intended it to be in any way a personal attack on or a derogatory comment on the service or sacrifice on American soldiers."
However, I really don't care what any of them think. I'd like to know what you think.
Here's the question: Did "The Washington Post" make a mistake publishing this cartoon about a quadruple amputee soldier?
You can send your thoughts to CaffertyFile@CNN.com and we'll read a few of them a bit later.
You know, political cartoons traditionally, Wolf, in this country have been nothing sort of vicious. The best ones are often the meanest ones. I'm not sure how I feel about this, though. This is pretty close to the edge.
BLITZER: All right, Jack. Thanks very much.
And by the way, the defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, who was in that cartoon, was asked for his reaction earlier today when he was over at the National Press Club here in Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: You know, no one questions the rights of a cartoonist to do what they want to do. And people do it all of the time. They have been doing it for decades.
People made fun of George Washington. They just brutally savaged Abraham Lincoln.
I was alive during the Roosevelt era and you can recall what was said about him in the public press and the cartoons. They were vicious and -- really vicious.
The hostility during that war -- I was here during the period of Vietnam. And Lyndon Johnson had -- couldn't leave the White House to give a speech anywhere. There were buses. He had to put buses around the White House so no one could drive in there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Once again, Jack's going to be back later this hour with your thoughts on this cartoon.
Let's go to CNN's Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN Center in Atlanta. She's watching a developing story.
Fred, what are you picking up?
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, this taking place in Alexandria, just outside D.C. there. A construction crane accident has taken place. A construction crane has fallen, injuring two construction workers.
You're looking at live pictures right now of the scene at the beltway interchange with the southbound Route 1 lanes. This happening at the height of rush hour.
We don't have any more information on the status of the two construction workers, just that that construction crane fell, resulting in the two injuries of those construction workers there in Alexandria, Virginia -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Thanks very much, Fred. We'll update our viewers as we get some more information
Up ahead, puppies being used to smuggle drugs. We first told you about this in THE SITUATION ROOM yesterday. Today, we'll explore how large the problem is.
And millions will be rooting, tens of thousands will attend. But does that make Super Bowl XL in Detroit this weekend a tempting target for terrorists? We're going to show you what law enforcement is doing to keep the game safe. Our Brian Todd is on the scene.
And might a weight loss pill that actually works be just around the corner? We're going to tell you what some doctors are now saying.
You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back.
The headline, John Boehner of Ohio elected in an upset victory to replace Tom DeLay as the House majority leader. The subtext, though, has everything to do with the lobbying scandal rocking Washington, especially the Republican Party right now.
Let's go live to Capitol Hill. Our Congressional Correspondent Ed Henry has the latest -- Ed.
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, that's right, Republicans here on the Hill clearly trying to get their political footing back in time for the midterm elections. That's why we saw such a dramatic upset today.
John Boehner beating the front-runner, Roy Blunt, to replace Tom DeLay as majority leader. Blunt was, just to put it point blank, was seen as being too close to Tom DeLay, who of course stepped aside amid that Jack Abramoff lobbying probe, as well as those indictments down in Texas that DeLay has been battling for months now.
Boehner's win a clear sign Republicans are nervous about the political situation heading into November. And they also realize they're picking a new legislative point person here for the president. His legislative agenda, if you will, went off track a bit in 2005. They want to get it back on track.
There's a lot on John Boehner's shoulders. And he attacked it right away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R), MAJORITY LEADER: I came here to help solve the problems that the American people face every day. And I think what you're going to see us do is rededicate ourselves to dealing with issues, big issues that the American people expect us to deal with in terms of trying to improve their incomes, their prospects for jobs, and to better security for Americans all over this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: But Democrats are already charging this is rally not a major shakeup for three reasons. First of all, they note that Boehner himself has had some pretty close ties to lobbyists over the years.
Second of all, John Shadegg, the third candidate in this majority leader race was rejected soundly. He was the candidate who was pushing for the most dramatic lobbying and budget reform up here.
And finally, Roy Blunt is not exiting the stage. In fact, he's staying on as number three in the Republican hierarchy. He's going to stay on as the majority whip. And so Democrats are saying, is this really a shakeup or not -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Ed Henry reporting.
Thank you very much. Good question. We'll continue to follow this story.
Coming up, a tanker ground off Alaska with 100,000 barrels of oil on board. Navy teams are rushing to the scene. We're going to have the latest.
Plus, a weight loss pill that actually might work. Is it just around the corner? We'll take a look at what the future may hold.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Let's head back to Fred at the CNN Center in Atlanta for a closer look at other stories making news.
Hi, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Hi again, Wolf.
We're learning details now of the funeral for Coretta Scott King. It will be held Tuesday at a mega church in suburban Atlanta where her daughter Bernice is a minister. The widow of Martin Luther King Jr. died two days ago in Mexico where she was seeking treatment for ovarian cancer.
West Virginia mining companies are heeding the governor's call to stand down and focus on safety after 16 mining deaths in the last month. Thousands of mine employees heard safety lectures at the start of the shifts today and state inspectors have been ordered to speed up safety checks at all of the state's 544 mines.
A tanker carrying 100,000 barrels of oil is aground off Nikiski, Alaska. U.S. Coast Guard officials say the 600-foot ship broke free from the dock, although it's not clear how. They say the hull of the ship appears intact. Tugs are on the scene assisting and a Navy team is on the way as well to help.
The good news is the home heating oil delivery was right on time. The bad news, it went to the wrong house which doesn't even have an oil tank. The fuel company mistakenly pumped at least 50 gallons right into the finished basement of the wrong Long Island home. The owners are now staying in a hotel until the mess is cleaned up -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Ooh, that sounds ugly.
WHITFIELD: Yes, that's smart.
BLITZER: That is not good. I wonder if they can even clean that up.
WHITFIELD: I wonder about that, too.
BLITZER: Somebody's going to be paying a lot of money for that mistake.
Thanks very much, Fred, for that.
Apples, BlackBerries and pineapples. We're talking business, not fruit salad.
Ali Velshi has got "The Bottom Line."
What's going on, Ali?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's very rare that I can actually make a fruit salad out of the things going on in business today. Which one do you want first?
BLITZER: Let's try pineapple.
VELSHI: OK. Pineapple -- Dole -- Dole and Del Monte both grow their pineapples in Hawaii. Del Monte saying they're no longer going to grow their pineapples in Hawaii, it's too expensive to go through the whole process of having these -- running these farms and distributing and all of that.
They lease land there. They're going to give up that lease. They're going to buy pineapples on the open market. They say it's cheaper.
Wolf, this is the same outsourcing trend we see everywhere else, people getting out of the business of doing it themselves and letting other people specialize, in this case, growing the pineapples. It's going -- it should result in lower costs for Del Monte for the pineapples that they can. I don't know if it's going to result in lower costs for the pineapples that we end up buying -- Wolf.
BLITZER: I love pineapples.
All right. Let's talk apples.
VELSHI: Apples, of course the iPod. There is somebody who is suing Apple because he says that listening to those iPods can cause permanent hearing damage.
He hasn't suffered hearing damage himself. He is filing it as a class action suit. The point is, anything you put in your ear is going to, you know, potentially hurt you. But he says that Apple sells so many of these things that they should have a label on it to say, don't listen to this thing for too long or too loud -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Well, if they could just lower the volume, then it won't be too loud. You would think that's not a tough fix.
BlackBerries.
VELSHI: BlackBerries, mine is never far from me. The saga continues.
There's a small company that is suing the maker of the BlackBerry. Research in Motion saying that it was their patent, their idea, and Research and Motion has been using it for years.
Two big gains for Research in Motion this week. One was the patent office saying that they're issuing a non-final rejection of the other company's suit against them. I don't know what a non-final rejection is, but the Department of Justice also filing a court brief saying, don't switch these things off, too many of us use it, meaning in the Department of Justice, law enforcement and the government.
The court has said that if it does end up ordering BlackBerry to shut down its service, it has to do so without affecting governmental organizations that use it. So we will continue to follow that one -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Thanks very much, Ali, for that.
I hope they don't shut it off. I've sort of become dependant on mine...
VELSHI: Yes.
BLITZER: ... like a lot of people.
Coming up, securing the Super Bowl. It's a team effort by forces from the United States and Canada. They're on an anti-terror patrol by land, sea and air. We're on the scene. Our Brian Todd is there.
And in our 7:00 p.m. Eastern hour, the coming hurricane season, get this, could be worst than last year's string of disasters. And other parts of the country could see fire and rain. It all has to do with a weather pattern called La Nina. That's at 7:00 p.m. Eastern right here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
We'll have the details.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: In our CNN "Security Watch, the attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, is coming under pressure to come clean about the electronic eavesdropping carried out in this country without court orders.
Our Justice correspondent, Kelli Arena, spoke with him earlier today, and Kelli is joining us now with more on the story -- Kelli.
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Senate Democrats are pushing the attorney general to turn over classified legal opinions on the president's domestic surveillance program in advance of his testimony before a Senate committee on Monday. If he continues to refuse, Senator Dianne Feinstein says the documents should be subpoenaed.
In an interview earlier today, the attorney general defended the administration's stance.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ARENA: Some members of Congress have said, well, look, there was initially some concern over this program, some inside debate within the Justice Department over this program. That could help them understand what the thinking was at the time, what limitations if any were sent on this program.
Wouldn't that be helpful?
ALBERTO GONZALES, ATTORNEY GENERAL: I think, of course, people have a natural curiosity about the operations of the program and on our thinking and the deliberations that went into our analysis. But part of -- part of what we're trying to protect is the ability of lawyers within the department to have a very open and candid discussion, debate about some of these complicated legal issues that I've already outlined.
We want to encourage that. People may -- lawyers -- I mean, this is our job, is to discuss difficult issues. And to disagree.
ARENA: We've heard two things from you, that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is still relevant in the war on terror. But I've also heard you say that it doesn't allow you to move quickly enough.
Why not just change FISA?
GONZALES: It is clear that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act still remains very, very relevant. And these -- this is a very important tool on the war on terror. But the question whether or not FISA is effective or not is, quite frankly, irrelevant to the question of whether or not the president is acting lawfully.
If the president is acting without any kind of legal authority, the fact that FISA is effective or not, quite frankly, doesn't make -- shouldn't make a difference.
And if, in fact -- if we all assume or believe that the president is acting lawfully, then the president should -- as commander in chief, should choose which tool is the most effective, the tools under the terrorist surveillance program, the tools under FISA. The president should choose which tool is the most effective in protecting America.
ARENA: Can you tell us any more about how narrow the program is? You said that you would hope to be able to talk in more specific terms. Can you?
GONZALES: The physics are such that we have a great degree of confidence -- I don't know if certainty is the right word, but, certainly, a great degree of confidence that every call that's being surveilled, one end is outside the United States.
And we also -- and the president has authorized surveillance with respect to only those calls where we have a reasonable basis, which is very similar to probable cause, a reasonable basis to believe that one person on the call is member of al Qaeda or a member of a group affiliated with al Qaeda.
That determination is not made by local -- a local appointee.
ARENA: Either -- so, they have to belong to a terrorist group? It's not somebody who is linked to a terrorist group?
GONZALES: It can't be just any terrorist group. It can't be a member of Hezbollah, for example. We are talking about someone who is a member of al Qaeda or someone how has worked -- a member of a group that is working in concert or assisting or helping al Qaeda, assisting in part of the al Qaeda effort to destroy the United States.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA: Now, the attorney general wouldn't get any more specific about the NSA program, arguing that the people who most want to know the operational details are terrorists.
In response to our interview today, Senator Patrick Leahy, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said no one, not even the president, is above the law, and president gets to pick and choose which laws to follow and which to ignore, Wolf.
So, you can bet, on Monday, we're going to see some fireworks.
BLITZER: We will be covering it extensively. Thanks very much, Kelli, for that. Good work.
ARENA: Thank you.
BLITZER: A terror attack on the Super Bowl was once the subject of a hit movie. Today, the threat is all too real and the level of security ahead of Super Bowl Sunday is extraordinary right now.
CNN's Brian Todd is in Detroit. He's joining us live -- Brian.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, we're heading into this game with the highest of profiles, just two weeks after Osama bin Laden's latest threat to attack the U.S.
Here, there is one security issue that sets Detroit apart, but it is a huge one, the fact that Ford Field, right behind me, where the game will be played, is less than a mile away from an international border. That border between the U.S. and Canada runs right up the middle of the Detroit River. And security forces are gearing up. We rode along with U.S. Coast Guard speedboats as they practiced how to head off potential terrorists.
With all this border area covering hundreds of miles of open water between the U.S. and Canada, we asked Coast Guard Rear Admiral Robert Papp, who coordinates all U.S. Homeland Security agencies here for this event, what keeps him up at night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REAR ADMIRAL ROBERT PAPP, U.S. COAST GUARD: The thing that would keep me awake at night, as a Coast Guard officer and in relation to this border, is the -- the ability of small undetected boats to get across, bringing either smugglers or people or people who would do us harm. That's why, in this specific area, we have set up a -- a maritime security zone along the riverfront here in Detroit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: Now, that riverfront security zone, though, doesn't cover hundreds of miles of open border in adjacent water, stretching all the way up into Canada. So, U.S. and Canadians are going to be conducting extensive patrols on those waters this week.
Another critical security component, Wolf, air cover. There will be a 30-mile no-fly zone for most non-commercial flights on Super Bowl Sunday. And we also rode along this week with Coast Guard choppers and a jet as they practiced an air intercept. That was quite an experience.
We're going to have a lot more of this at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time. But there is one important thing to note here, Wolf. As of right now, U.S. and Canadian security officials tell us there's no specific, credible threat to Super Bowl -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Let's hope it stays that way, Brian. We will see you back here in THE SITUATION ROOM, 7:00 p.m. Eastern -- Brian Todd on the scene at the Super Bowl in Detroit.
Also, in our "Security Watch," a crisis spreading to law enforcement departments nationwide -- they're having an increasingly hard time recruiting new officers and deputies.
CNN's Chris Lawrence is standing by in Los Angeles to explain what's going on -- Chris.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, I spoke with departments all over the country.
And they tell me, they're reaching a crisis point. They just can't recruit enough officers to replace the ones that are retiring. And this latest shooting on Sunday, here in suburban Los Angeles, and the home video of it that was shown all over the country may only make it that much harder to recruit.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE (voice-over): Home video captures the end of a police chase in Chino, California. A sheriff's deputy draws his weapon on the passenger, an unarmed airman just back from Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get up. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going get up.
(GUNSHOTS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE: Some say videos like this are hurting the image of officers everywhere and are partly to blame for police jobs going unfilled.
LIEUTENANT MIKE BARLETTA, SAN DIEGO COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: The media questions or spotlights bad behavior by law enforcement so much that I think that turns people off.
LAWRENCE: Lieutenant Mike Barletta says San Diego can't recruit nearly enough deputies. So, he's gone all over the country, handing out applications.
BARLETTA: We took it to Chicago, San Francisco, Phoenix, Las Vegas.
LAWRENCE: And other agencies are aggressively recruiting in his background. King County, Washington, flooded San Diego with ads.
BARLETTA: We just don't need any more competition. It -- it makes it a little frustrating.
LAWRENCE: Across the country, departments are desperate.
Near Seattle, any deputy who brings in a new hire gets an extra 40 hours vacation. Lexington, Kentucky, gives new officers $7,400 for down payment on a home. The LAPD offers a quarter-million dollar retirement payment after 20 years. And it even sent recruiters to Florida beaches to recruit college students on spring break.
BARLETTA: It's probably became lot more cutthroat.
LAWRENCE: Police recruiters used to be able to count on people coming out of the military. But the Pentagon has its own recruiting problems.
BARLETTA: There's a number of bases locally who are not allowing my recruiters to go on their base.
LAWRENCE: The shortage is getting worse, not better.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE: One officer told me, when he came into the force, there would be 400 people lined up competing for maybe 10 jobs. Now he says the glamour is gone from the job. And because of videos, like the one we saw earlier, he said, some people just think that all cops are bad -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. That's a serious problem.
Thanks very much, Chris Lawrence, for reporting that story.
Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
Let's move on.
A fly in the ointment in radio shock jock Howard Stern's master plan to try to conquer all media. Last month, Stern defected to the pay-to-listen service Sirius Satellite Radio. But not everyone is paying. Pirate radio stations and Web site are popping up all over the place, offering Stern's programs for free.
Our senior Internet producer and cyber-law expert, Alex Wellen, is here to explain what is going on.
We see these sites coming up all over the place. They're having Howard Stern's radio program put up. If they share these files online, are they breaking the law?
ALEX WELLEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNET PRODUCER: The individual users are breaking the law.
I mean, we have seen this change a little bit. We see perfect digital copies distributed on a large scale, but the law isn't any different. There's fair-use defenses. So, you can say, we can do the news. We can show certain clips. There are parody. There's education reasons.
But, ultimately, it's an unauthorized use. And all the people out there that have copies of music, and they have pictures -- and I know they don't like to hear this -- but those TV and radio stations, that is unauthorized copyrighted infringement. Nothing has changed.
BLITZER: So, what are the legal repercussions?
WELLEN: At the high end, again, at the very high end, on the civil side, you could be charged $150,000 per infringement. But we never see that.
On the criminal side, though, you could see some imprisonment, up to five years in prison, up to $250,000 in fines. The point is that what we're going to see is a chilling effect. This will happen. Lawsuits will come down. And, ultimately, people will start closing down these sites that have all this copyright infringement.
BLITZER: And, quickly, what about the companies that share this technology to do it? What is their story?
WELLEN: Well, that is just the most interesting part about it.
We have this tension back and forth between technology on the one side and the law. And, ultimately, it will be interesting to see whether new technology, like BitTorrent, that is out there, that takes all the information from many different places and sends it to a person, is it giving it -- is it doing something that's non- infringing? But, clearly, if any of those people are using that type of technology for copyrighted work, they're breaking the law.
BLITZER: Alex, thanks very much for bringing that information to us.
Still to come, helpless puppies turned into drug couriers with heroin sewn into their bodies. But now some are getting a second chance to live a dog's life. We will tell you what's going on.
And, in our 7:00 p.m. Eastern hour, here in THE SITUATION ROOM, will next year's weather bring serious problems of nearly biblical proportions, from drought, to rain, to more powerful hurricanes? Will people blame it all on La Nina? We are going to explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back.
Prosecution witnesses testified against Saddam Hussein today. But Saddam wasn't there to hear the arguments. It's the latest twist in a trial that is turning into a strange spectacle.
CNN's Aneesh Raman has the story from Baghdad.
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it has been a rough start to the trial of Saddam Hussein. And now a new crisis looms.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAMAN (voice-over): Captured with much fanfare, he was diminished in a simple image from tyrant to prisoner. But, as a defendant, proving Saddam Hussein's guilt in court has proved chaotic, at best.
From the start, Saddam has taken every opportunity to rant against the war, against the U.S., against his detention.
SADDAM HUSSEIN, FORMER IRAQI PRESIDENT (through translator): I would like to say, yes, we were beaten by the Americans. And we were tortured, every one of us.
RAMAN: He has boycotting sessions, prayed in court, at times, seemed in control of the entire process. It's a perception that led the chief judge to resign, amid pressure from the government to speed things up.
So, on Sunday, in came a new chief judge, with a new dictate about political diatribes.
RAOUF RASHEED ABDEL-RAHMAN, CHIEF JUDGE (through translator): Any accused who oversteps the line will be thrown out of this court and will be tried in absentia.
RAMAN: And that's what happened. Barzan Tikriti, Saddam's half- brother, was forcibly removed, prompting Saddam, three other defendants, and their entire defense team to walk out. And the defendants haven't returned since, leaving the trial to now take place with eight empty chairs. And unless the chief judge resigns, Saddam's lawyers say they and he are not coming back.
NAJEEB AL-NUAIMI, DEFENSE ATTORNEY FOR FORMER IRAQI PRESIDENT SADDAM HUSSEIN: We are not going to appear on the court. He has to apologize to our lawyer. He has to apologize to everyone. If he wants to conduct it, he has to conduct it from the proper procedures.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RAMAN: Wolf, the court is now in a major bind. They can force Saddam into his chair, but that gives him a chance to scream and stall the process further. Or they can push ahead with witness testimony, continue to have the absence of Saddam Hussein and his co-defendants act as a presence of its own, a sign of defiance, cutting at the court's legitimacy -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Aneesh Raman in Baghdad, thank you very much.
Coming up, a dangerous worm may already be attached to your computer. Our Internet team is ready to tell you how to kill it.
Also, do you want to lose some weight? Who doesn't? A pill to do just that might be in all of our future. We will take a closer look.
You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: We will get to Mary Snow shortly.
A dangerous e-mail worm is on the loose, though. And if it's already on your computer, it could erase all of your most precious files tomorrow.
Our Internet reporter, Jacki Schechner, has the latest on what is called the Kama Sutra worm and what you can do right now to try to stop it.
JACKI SCHECHNER, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Here's the deal, Wolf.
If you or someone in your family has gotten an e-mail with a subject line like this, and you have opened it, you may have inadvertently downloaded this virus onto your computer. Here's a map that gives you an idea of how this has been distributed.
Obviously, the U.S., high-tech, we have gotten a lot of it here, also in Turkey, in India and Peru, of all places. Now, this is just a seriously malicious worm. It's something called -- called vandalism online. What it is going to do is erase all of your most precious documents. So, you got that term paper that you worked on, this is it's going to look like instead. It's set to hit at midnight tonight, the 3rd of the month. February 3rd is when this is set to go off. It's going to affect things like your Excel files. Those PowerPoint presentations you worked on, gone, also, your Adobe files. So, you have got to be careful with all of this stuff.
Now, the good news -- I'm not going to leave you without the good news -- is that you can fix this now. You can go to sites like F- Secure or Symantec. These are sites that have anti-virus software. Download this on to your computer now, clean it up, make sure you get rid of this before midnight tonight.
Interesting quick thing to note, Wolf, is that if the computer clock is wrong, this may have already done something to your computer. So, if your clock is actually a little bit ahead and it's not set to midnight, it may have already done something. So...
BLITZER: All right, Jacki, thanks very much -- useful information from Jacki Schechner.
Jack Schechner is -- Jack Cafferty is in New York. We have got a lot of Jackis and Jack.
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: It's hard to -- confuse all you guys.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.
What's the latest with "The Cafferty File," Jack?
CAFFERTY: There's only one Wolf, though, right?
BLITZER: That's correct.
CAFFERTY: Have you done anything now to get your -- protect yourself against this Kama Sutra situation?
BLITZER: You know, I'm sort of a fatalist. I...
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: I'm worried.
CAFFERTY: Just let that worm take its chance, right?
BLITZER: Yes. That's right.
(LAUGHTER)
CAFFERTY: OK.
"The Washington Post" ran a controversial editorial cartoon in Sunday's paper. Tom Toles' cartoon, it shows a quadruple amputee being visited in the hospital by a Dr. Rumsfeld.
Do we have it? There it is.
The doctor says -- quote -- "I'm listing your condition as battle-hardened."
Hang on one second. You will be able to see it a little more clearly. The question this hour is, did "The Washington Post" make a mistake by publishing a cartoon about a quadruple amputee soldier?
Six hundred e-mails in the last 40 minutes or so.
Randy in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: "Probably. The cartoon can be misconstrued as an attack on the troops. Therefore, it will be such for political purposes."
Andrew in Grand Junction, Colorado: "The cartoon figure is clearly labeled as representing the state of the U.S. Army. Anyone offended should be equally offended at how our military leadership has allowed the Army to get to such a state, that a cartoon like this can accurately be used to describe the situation."
James writes: "It stinks. 'The Washington Post' can go to hell with their innuendoes. It is a disgrace, what they did.'
Patrick writes: "It's just a political attack on the president, at the cost of our soldiers' honor. I and many of my friends are tired of the over-liberal folks in the press."
Connie in Houston, Texas: "The cartoon is harsh. So is the truth. This cartoon is not about disrespecting our soldiers. It's about disrespecting the people who have put them in harm's way."
And Russ writes: "Now you know why we who grew up in D.C. call it 'The Washington Compost.'"
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: All right.
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: Thanks.
CAFFERTY: Have you heard that before?
BLITZER: No, I haven't, but I'm sure a lot of people have.
Thanks very...
CAFFERTY: You learn stuff here on THE SITUATION ROOM.
BLITZER: A lot of useful information.
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: Veteran anti-drug officials say they have now seen it all, clever drug smugglers using little puppies to fetch their drugs into the United States.
CNN's Mary Snow is in New York. She has more details on a story we first reported yesterday -- Mary.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And, Wolf, we are finding out more about what happened to those dogs that were targeted by heroin traffickers.
As you pointed out, we just heard about this yesterday. Now, officials say, of the 10 dogs, four were found unharmed. Some died. Others were able to recover.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW (voice-over): It's a story that has sparked outrage, puppies being used to smuggle drugs. A top law enforcement official is giving new details on how the scheme was uncovered that led police to find six purebred puppies with three kilos of liquid heroin packets inserted in their stomachs.
That's more than a pound of the drug in each small dog. He says the plot unraveled when a tip to Colombian police led officers to farm in Medellin.
JOHN GILBRIDE, DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION: At the farm, they found a veterinary clinic, a makeshift veterinary clinic. =And they observed the 10 dogs. Upon inspecting the dogs, they found that the dogs had incisions in their bellies. And upon further inspection, they found that the dogs had, in fact, heroin packets implanted in their bellies.
SNOW: Of the six puppies with heroin inside of them, three later died from infections.
In Colombia, 22 people were arrested following a two-year investigation. The dogs were part of that plot and were discovered a year ago, but officers say they couldn't go public until the probe was complete. Details and media coverage have sparked outrage, even among hardened veterans who have seen a lot in their careers.
GILBRIDE: The use of puppies is just repulsive. It's outrageous. They're small. They're innocent. And they are being smuggled with heroin inside of their bodies.
SNOW: Animal rights activists say they're worried there could be more drug rings out there planning to use dogs or other animals.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are concerned that this is really the tip of the iceberg. And our hope is that people with information about such activities will come forward to law enforcement.
SNOW: Law enforcement officials say they have heard of dogs being used in the past as drug couriers, but not so many at one time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: Now, the dogs never left Colombia. We are told that those that survived have been adopted. And the DEA's office says the dogs were taken in by families of Colombian police officers -- Wolf. BLITZER: What a story.
Mary, thank you very much for updating our viewers.
And, later tonight, here in THE SITUATION ROOM, an hour or so from now, 7:00 p.m. Eastern, we will have more on this story. We will ask a top veterinarian about the risk to dogs used to smuggle drugs. That's coming up, 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
Up next, take a pill, lose weight, but is it simple as that? It might be in our future. That's coming up next -- right here in THE SITUATION ROOM
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back.
This week, CNN is starting a new series looking at breakthroughs that could just be around the corner. Today, how close are we to a better weight-loss pill?
Here's CNN Miles O'Brien.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My name is Iynez Arneferia (ph). I'm 59 years old. It has been a constant struggle for the last 30 years.
I started seeing doctors because of other medical problems. I have high blood pressure, as well as high cholesterol. And I learned that these health issues were linked to my weight. My ideal weight would be 145. If there was a magic potion, it would be possible to reach that weight.
But, right now, all of the things that are out on the market does not seem to geared towards middle-aged women like myself.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Iynez is not really expecting a quick fix, but she does have reason to worry. Three out of 10 adult Americans are categorized as obese, with an increased risk for type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.
If diet and exercise aren't enough, can science provide the solution?
(voice-over): Dr. Louis Eronie (ph) is an obesity expert at the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not just a lack of willpower, as many people think.
O'BRIEN: The key, he says, is our growing understanding of a complex body mechanism that makes it virtually impossible for the obese to lose weight and keep it off.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are mechanisms that have evolved over eons to try to prevent you from starving to death. So what I mean is you cut down on your food intake, and you body tries to make you hungry.
O'BRIEN: And no matter how much willpower you've got, it's a battle that's hard to win.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your brain, in a sense, loses control of your -- of your weight. It's an actual physical barrier.
O'BRIEN: A barrier science is beginning to overcome. While fat- blocking pills like Xenical have been around for years, another drug in pipeline controls appetite a whole different way. It targets the same receptors in the brain that cause marijuana smokers to get the munchies. The FDA may rule on that one by spring.
There are literally 100 other drugs in development to treat obesity. Within the next decade, says Eronie, one might be the big breakthrough.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know what is controlling these processes now. And now that we understand, I think that we're going to be able to control body weight completely.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If I hit my goal weight, my life would be much better because I would be healthier, and I would be on the road to having a very long life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: We leave you this hour with an important correction.
Last hour, we reported, the Georgia state Senate approved a new flag resembling the banner of the Confederacy.
That's incorrect. The state legislature has taken no such action. We learned this from a newspaper in Georgia. But we misread the article, got the facts wrong.
Getting the facts straight is job number one here for us here in THE SITUATION ROOM, throughout CNN. We wanted to set the record straight. When we screw up, we are going to apologize and let you know the truth.
We are here every weekday afternoon from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Eastern, back in one hour, 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
Until then, I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.
"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now -- Kitty Pilgrim filling in -- Kitty.
KITTY PILGRIM, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Wolf.
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