Return to Transcripts main page
The Situation Room
Veterans at Risk of Identity Theft; Allegations of Corruption Brought Against Louisiana Congressman
Aired May 22, 2006 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: To our viewers, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where new pictures and information are arriving all the time. Standing by, CNN reporters across the United States and around the world to bring you tonight's stop stories.
Happening now -- they defended their country, but their country left their personal data unguarded. And now more than 26 million veterans are at risk of identity theft. It's 7:00 p.m. here in Washington, where a Capitol Hill corruption probe is taking a startling turn, with allegations about bribery and cold cash kept in a congressman's freezer.
And there are storm warnings out of Miami right now, where forecasters predict a very busy hurricane season ahead, telling coastal residents to be prepared.
And Bill Clinton offers his own dire warnings of global warming and natural disasters. I'm Wolf Blitzer, and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
We begin with a developing story. It may have been a simple burglary, a routine break-in. A computer disk stolen from the home of a top government analyst. But on that computer, the names, the Social Security numbers, the birth dates of more than 26 million Americans, every living armed forces veteran since 1975, and the implications are simply enormous.
Let's go straight to your chief national correspondent, John King, who is watching this story. John, our viewers are asking already, how could this happen?
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, this is the largest data breach in history. More than 26 million names, including the names of 25 million living military veterans. Government analyst took these disks home, the Department of Veterans' Affairs, say, he was not supposed to do that. He's been placed on leave because of that. But he took these disks home. Says his house was then burglarized, sometime this month. The government won't say exactly when those disks were taken.
Now the attorney general says today there's no evidence that the thieves even know the value of what they have. No identity theft reported as yet from any of these veterans. The veterans are being told. There's a new hotline set up for them, the major credit agencies have been told. But again, more than 25 million living veterans now have their names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and other personal information on disks that are out floating around somewhere. The criminal investigation of the burglary is under way. Cyber crime experts says this is a problem the government has long ignored, that it collects too much information to begin with, keeps it in one place. They say that if the thieves do not what they have, they could wait weeks, months, even years to steal the identities of these veterans.
And Wolf, Congress soon will look into this as well, not only look into how the Department of Veterans Affairs is are handling this, and how other agencies across the government handle such sensitive information.
BLITZER: People are going to ask, how it is possible that an analyst can bring this kind of enormous data to his house?
KING: Well, they're not supposed. But in this age of telecommuting and in this age of CD-ROMs and the like, this analyst apparently didn't get all his work done at the office, decided to bring information home. Lives in a neighborhood where burglaries are a problem. He was not supposed to do that and is being disciplined because of it.
The larger question, of course, is who has those disks, and do they know what they have? In many cases, computers are stolen. The thieves throw away the disks. But in this case, if they realize what they have, Wolf, cybercrime experts say they have treasure trove of information they could use for years to come.
BLITZER: What a nightmare. John, thank you very much. We're going to stay on top of this.
There is another important story we're watching here in Washington tonight, a U.S. congressman targeted in a corruption probe, and he is denying wrongdoing. He's trying to conduct business as usual, but it's anything but.
The reported evidence against Democratic Congressman William Jefferson reads like something from a Capitol Hill scandal sheet, includes tens of thousands of dollars allegedly stashed in his freezer.
Our justice correspondent Kelli Arena is following the story. She is joining us live. Kelli?
KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Congressman Jefferson met with reporters this afternoon. He would not specifically respond to any allegations, saying he has been advised by council not to do so. But he did vow to stay in office.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA (voice-over): FBI agents are examining materials they collected over the weekend from Congressman William Jefferson's Capitol Hill office. Their search lasted nearly 18 hours. Jefferson, a Louisiana Democrat, is under investigation for bribery. He denies any wrongdoing.
REP. WILLIAM JEFFERSON, (D) LOUISIANA: I will simply say to you that there's two sides to this story, and we'll have a chance in the right forum to express our side of it.
ARENA: According to newly unsealed court papers, federal agents found $90,000 in cash last year in Jefferson's Washington, D.C. home. It was allegedly stashed in a freezer, and divided among several food containers.
Agents told a judge the money was part of a $100,000 payment made by an FBI informant. The case is just one of more than 2,000 FBI public corruption investigations that are currently under way.
ROBERT MUELLER, FBI DIRECTOR: Corrupt public officials betray the trust of our society and threaten the foundation of our democracy.
ARENA: Other highly visible cases include the investigation of lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and the probe into associates of Congressman Randy Cunningham. Considering the huge amounts of money in play, government watchdog groups say the temptation for public officials is greater than it's ever been.
BILL HOGAN, CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEGRITY: The opportunities for corruption on a grand scale, I think, are just sitting there. We have more than $2 billion a year, spent on lobbying members of Congress.
ARENA: As part of the FBI's post-9/11 restructuring, more than 200 agents were shifted to public corruption units, an area where it was believed the FBI could have a greater impact.
MUELLER: Public corruption and protecting civil rights are the top criminal priorities for the FBI.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA: That investment seems to be paying off. In the last two years, Director Mueller says that more than 1,000 corrupt government employees have been convicted, Wolf.
BLITZER: Kelli, thanks for that. And this note, Congressman Jefferson is calling the weekend search of his congressional office "an unprecedented and outrageous violation of the separation of powers."
Senate majority leader Bill Frist says he, too is concerned about that. And he's discussing it with legal experts. The attorney general Alberto Gonzales was asked today if the search of Jefferson's office on Capitol Hill amounted to one branch of government intruding on the other.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALBERTO GONZALES, ATTORNEY GENERAL: This is an ongoing investigation, so I really can't really get into the details about the search, about the investigation, but of course, we understand the equities involved here, and the institutional concerns and I intend, and I think the executive branch intends to work with the Congress to allay those concerns.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: A historian on Capitol Hill says there's no record of any member's congressional office ever, ever being searched by representatives from the executive branch of government. This is a story that's ongoing. We're going to watch all aspects of it.
Elsewhere here in Washington, President Bush is calling Iraq's newly sworn-in unity government in Iraq a victory for freedom in the Middle East. Tonight he's no doubt hoping to get some credit for that with Americans that are strongly opposed to the war and eager to see all U.S. troops come home as quickly as possible. Let's bring in our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.
Suzanne?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, there are still some key positions in Iraq that have to be filled. And they really go to the heart of Iraq's problems, and perhaps the United States' problems, that is security. Nevertheless, the administration is really characterizing this as a milestone moment, but one that essentially has to work.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEORGE W. BUSH, U.S. PRESIDENT: The terrorists fought this moment with all their hateful power.
MALVEAUX (voice-over): This moment, Iraqi independence, and the formation of a unity government. President Bush needs this victory, and with his legacy tied to it, it's no surprise he's describing the creation of the new Iraq government this way.
BUSH: A watershed event that took place this weekend in Iraq.
MALVEAUX: After three elections, multiple constitutions, and a string of temporary leaders, Saturday's vote was the final step in forming the first full-term Iraqi government since the toppling of Saddam Hussein. It's what could be seen as the last hope for saving the U.S. mission in Iraq.
ZALMAY KHALILZAD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ: Iraq's future is about the future of the world, and we need to do everything we can that this country succeeds, that it can stand on its own feet.
MALVEAUX: White House officials say that includes keeping U.S. troops there until Iraqi forces can protect themselves. Mr. Bush refused to project when U.S. soldiers would return home and warned of more violence ahead.
BUSH: Our nation's been through three difficult years in Iraq. And the way forward will bring more days of challenge and loss.
MALVEAUX: But he also, in a rare move, acknowledged past mistakes.
BUSH: There have been setbacks and missteps like Abu Ghraib, that have been difficult to overcome. Yet, we now reach a turning point in the struggle between freedom and terror.
MALVEAUX: Measuring Iraq's success in both big ways and small. Case in point, Mr. Bush's new relationship with Iraq's speaker, a leader who once opposed the U.S. invasion.
BUSH: It was said to me he wouldn't have taken my phone call a year ago. He's now taken it twice.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: And Wolf, later this week, President Bush is going to be meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair here at the White House to discuss the latest, the situation on Iraq. Senior administration officials saying they will not make any major announcement when it comes to coalition troop or U.S. troop withdrawals, but rather a broad statement, saying that the Iraqis, of course, have to assume more responsibility, and that they earn that role to resume responsibility for their own security. Wolf?
BLITZER: Suzanne at the White House, thank you very much.
Fresh examples tonight of what Mr. Bush is calling the challenge and loss ahead in Iraq. At least 16 Iraqis were killed in attacks across the country today, and the Pentagon confirms yet another United States marine died in Iraq yesterday. Two-thousand, four-hundred fifty-five American servicemen and women have died in Iraq since the start of the war just more than three years ago.
And now to the other war. That one in Afghanistan. Today in Kandahar, body after body of injured Afghans were dropped off at the hospital after U.S. air strike killed dozens. U.S. warplanes targeted a religious school and homes, hoped to take out only Taliban fighters, but among the dead were 17 civilians.
Meanwhile, recent fighting in southern Afghanistan has killed more than 280 militants, Afghan forces, coalition forces and civilians since Wednesday. Clearly, a bad situation, still, in that so-called other war in Afghanistan. Jack Cafferty is joining us now from New York with the "Cafferty File." Hi, Jack.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, Wolf.
The attorney general of the United States says the government has the legal authority to prosecute journalists for publishing classified information, and it all goes back to protecting national security. Alberto Gonzales didn't cite which laws he was talking about but it's believed he was referring to espionage laws, which have never in this country's history, ever, been used against journalists.
But the government is very is upset that "The New York Times" revealed the existence of the NSA warrantless eavesdropping program. The nation's top law enforcement officer, that would Mr. Gonzalez, also says that the Bush administration would not hesitate to track reporters phone calls as part of a criminal leak investigation, although he was quick to assure everyone that the government would not track those calls routinely or randomly.
Some critics say going after reporters for exposing stuff like the NSA program endangers freedom of the press and the public's right to know what our government is up to. Here's the question. Should journalists be prosecuted for publishing classified information? Email us at caffertyfile@cnn.com or go to cnn.com/caffertyfile or don't write to us at all. We know what you're thinking.
BLITZER: Jack, thank you very much. Jack Cafferty with the "Cafferty File."
Coming up here in THE SITUATION ROOM, brace yourself for the big one. We have the hurricane forecast. Find out how bad this season, which is only a week away, will actually be.
Plus, global warming. Bill Clinton now says it's a bigger threat than terrorism. But is it to blame for the nasty weather? I'll ask Max Mayfield, the director of the National Hurricane Center. Here's here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
Extreme education. We'll take a closer look inside the school books, the text books in Saudi Arabia, and find out why some say they're teaching hate and breeding the next generation of terrorists.
And pain at the pumps. The government reveals if big oil has been gouging you. Ali Velshi will have the bottom line. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. Hurricane season starts next week, and while the Gulf Coast is still reeling from Katrina, there's a new forecast out today, warning of as many as 10, 10 hurricanes in the coming months. CNN's Jeanne Meserve is joining us with the details. Jeanne?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, scientists say we are in a very active period for hurricanes that could last 10 or even 20 years.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: NOAA is predicting an above normal hurricane season.
MESERVE (voice-over): Thirteen to 16 named storms. Eight to 10 are predicted to become hurricanes, with 4 to 6 of those Category 3 or stronger. Forecasters blame warm sea surface temperatures and wind patterns that make for less wind sheer, which ordinarily disrupts hurricane formation. 2005 delivered Katrina, Rita, Wilma, 28 named storms in all. Experts caution we shouldn't be lulled by the more modest projections for this year.
MAX MAYFIELD, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: It's not all about the numbers. It takes that one hurricane over your house to make for a bad year.
MESERVE: Particularly worrisome, the Gulf Coast, where the last storm season continues to have an impact.
DAVID PAULISON, ACTING DIRECTOR, FEMA: Obviously, the infrastructure, particularly in Mississippi and Louisiana, to a lesser extent Alabama and Texas is very weak. A lot of damage.
MESERVE: In addition to stockpiling more supplies, FEMA says it's improved its delivery methods, its communication and more. But emergency managers say citizens have got to prepare, too.
CRAIG FULGATE, FLA. DIVISION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: It is no longer something that you can look to somebody else to come in and save you. If you haven't done everything you can to save yourself.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE: But surveys show only about a third of Americans have done anything to prepare for a disaster. Wolf?
BLITZER: All right, Jeanne, thank you very much.
The House of Representatives here in Washington, meanwhile, is expected to vote tonight on a bill that would require emergency officials to include pets in their disaster plans. An estimated 600,000 pets either died or were left homeless by Hurricane Katrina. There's a similar bill moving through the Senate right now.
And behind the hurricane headlines, there's a growing storm over the role of global warming, with high profile figures right at the center of the debate. CNN's Brian Todd joining us with more on this part of the story.
Brian?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it involves Bill Clinton, Al Gore, a host of others from the realms of Hollywood and publishing, all weighing in on this suddenly resurgent debate.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice-over): As a political issue, global warming may never have been hotter. Take former President Clinton, who compared it to the war on terror.
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT: Climate change is the most -- more remote than terror, but a more profound threat to the future of the children and grandchildren and great grandchildren I hope all of you have them.
TODD: Clinton gave the same warnings we've heard from others, that if the polar icecap keeps melting at its current rate, in 50 years, it will pour fresh water into the North Atlantic, blocking the flow of the Gulf Stream, causing unbearably cold winters in Europe, massive drought in Africa, and millions of refugees.
CLINTON: I am not one of those that is pessimistic about the future of the world, assuming we get off our duffs and do something about climate change in a timely fashion.
TODD: The latest in a veritable media blitz that includes the new documentary from Mr. Clinton's former vice president.
AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT: I hope you all enjoy the movie.
TODD: And cover stories in major magazines. But there's a counter movement. A "National Review" piece refutes the climate change warnings, as does Fred Smith, from the Competitive Enterprise Institute.
FRED SMITH, COMPETITIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: It would be like if you looked at your child's growth rate in its first decade of life and said, my God, my child's been growing dramatically, from almost nothing to taller than I am. If this continues by the time my child is 40 or 50, they'll be 20, 30 feet high. Of course, they don't.
TODD: Smith's group has a media blitz of its own.
ANNOUNCER: Carbon dioxide. They call it pollution. We call it life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: What do scientists call it? Researchers agree that the planet has gotten warmer over the past century and humans have had something to do with it. But they can't project with certainty how bad it will get and can't draw any link yet with the intensity of recent hurricanes. Wolf?
BLITZER: Brian Todd reporting. Brian Todd, thank you.
Still to come tonight, here in THE SITUATION ROOM, Max Mayfield, the director of the National Hurricane Center, joins us. He'll tell us what's worrying him the most about this coming hurricane season, which begins in a week. I'll ask him also about the global warming situation, and this season's hurricane forecast. That's coming up.
And political smackdown. Find out why these two politicians don't seem to like each other very much. Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Bracing for the big one. The official government hurricane forecast is now out. We'll talk to the director of the National Hurricane Center, Max Mayfield about what you can expect this season. We'll get to that momentarily.
But first, other important news happening right now. Are Palestinians heading to a civil war? There's been a major clash between Hamas militiamen and the Palestinian Authority security forces. CNN's John Vause has the story from Gaza. John?
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the tension between the new Hamas army and forces loyal to the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas erupted in gunfire and bloodshed here on the streets of Gaza.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE (voice-over): No one knows for certain who started shooting first, each side blames the other. But caught in the cross fire and killed, the driver of a Jordanian ambassador.
For almost two hours, downtown Gaza City was a battlefield, as the heavily armed gunmen from the Hamas militia launched grenades and traded fire with the regular security forces, loyal to the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. It was chaos.
(on camera): The gun fire was coming from the second and third floor of the Palestinian parliament building here in Gaza City. They were shooting in that direction. We don't know who is in that building, there was return fire coming from that direction, as well. Once again, we don't know who has been shooting at whom.
(voice-over): And down and scurrying for cover, Palestinian civilians. And with this clash, Gaza, it seems is inching closer to civil war.
The Hamas army is growing by the day. These are the latest recruits, men once loyal to Mahmoud Abbas, but now, they've changed sides. Hamas has deployed its forces throughout the Gaza Strip. Facing off, often directly across the street from the regular security services.
Hamas and Mahmoud Abbas say they want to avoid a civil war. But on the streets, both sides continue to shoot at each other and appear ready for a major confrontation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Hamas and Mahmoud Abbas both say they don't want a civil war, but on the ground, the reality is, the men are shooting at each other almost daily and appear to be preparing for a major showdown. Wolf?
BLITZER: John Vause in Gaza thank you. Tomorrow, President Bush meets with the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at the White House. We'll have extensive coverage.
Just ahead, are you prepared for the worst? Forecasters warning, the upcoming hurricane season will be very, very busy. I'll ask Max Mayfield, the director of the National Hurricane Center, just how busy he thinks it will be.
And curriculum of hate? Schoolbooks teaching intolerance in Saudi Arabia despite promises that would be removed.
Find out why some say it's a breeding ground for more terrorists. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back to THE SITUATION ROOM. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. We're going to get to Dr. Max Mayfield, the director of the National Hurricane Center in a moment. His ominous hurricane forecast is now official. First, though, Betty Nguyen joining us from the CNN center with more on some other important news happening right now. Betty?
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, there, Wolf. Without explaining why, today, the security refused to consider a direct challenge to a lethal injection case. A Tennessee death row inmate claims lethal injection amounts to cruel and unusual punishment and unconstitutional. Now, some experts suggest that a painkiller used to numb a prisoner during an execution can wear off before the prisoner actually dies.
Now to Iraq. Hi drama at the Saddam Hussein trial. Hussein's half brother compared the U.S. military's 2004 assault in Fallujah to the bloody crackdown on Shiite that Hussein himself allegedly ordered in 1982. That prompted Saddam to smile and laugh.
Meanwhile, a female attorney for Hussein was physically thrown out of the court just minutes after she had been let back in. The lawyer was ejected for ignoring the chief judge's warning to be quiet.
Well, check this out. Plucked from peril. Today in California, crews rescue a person who was stranded on a tiny island in the Los Angeles River. The river was filled with rain after a major storm. Look at that. It was a dangerous operation. The blades of the fire department's helicopter hovered just near power lines. You can see it there. It is unclear how this person became stranded in the first place.
And, Wolf, you have to check this out. Forget about rivals trading political punch lines, these are actual political punches. You will see it here in just a second. In the Czech Republic, it's fist, right over left, after right wing politician smacks -- oh, right there -- the leftist Czech health minister. It happened at a meeting in Prague on Saturday.
You can actually hear the cheers there. The man who threw the fist punch says he smacked the Czech health minister after that minister insulted him and his wife. Apparently, they don't mess around -- Wolf.
BLITZER: A nice little political brawl in the Czech Republican.
NGUYEN: Yes. Wow. BLITZER: Thanks, Betty, for that.
More now on the new official hurricane forecast, which has just come out today. It raises lots of questions, especially in the wake of Katrina. For some answers, we turn to the country's best-known hurricane expert.
And joining us now is Max Mayfield. He is the director of the National Hurricane Center.
Mr. Mayfield, thanks, as usual, for joining us. Let's just review some of the forecast from last year, the 2005 hurricane season, which all of us remember. At that time, the National Hurricane Center predicted 12 to 15 named storms. There were 28. The National Hurricane Center predicted seven to 9 hurricanes, there turned out to be 15.
This year, today, you're saying that there will be 13 to 16 named storms, eight to 10 hurricanes, four to six Category 3 or higher, which are the most powerful. How confident are you, given the track record from last year? Clearly, it was much worse than you assumed it was going to be.
MAX MAYFIELD, DIR., NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: Well, that's absolutely, true, Wolf. If you look at all of the seasonal forecasters, there are a lot of people that do this. Europeans make a seasonal hurricane forecast. Our friend in Colorado state, the Cuban forecast office in Havana, a lot of universities. So a lot of make a seasonal forecast, and everybody was way below what actually happened last year.
This is our best shot this year. But those numbers are very significant. I certainly hope we're not low balling the numbers this time. Those numbers are much above average, and people need to sit up and take notice and be prepared.
BLITZER: And people hopefully will be paying attention more so this year than last year because the last time around, you guys were pretty much sounding the alarm bells before Hurricane Katrina, before Rita. Unfortunately, a lot of viewers out there, a lot of local officials, state officials, were not paying as much attention.
MAYFIELD: And, Wolf, one thing that really concerns me is, we just had a Mason Dixon poll taken that was released last week of people in coastal areas, Texas to Maine, and 60 percent of the people surveyed said that they still do not have a hurricane plan. To me, that's almost unbelievable after the last two hurricane seasons and after Hurricane Katrina.
BLITZER: It is unbelievable when you think about people are supposed to learn from mistakes. There's a lot of speculation out there that global warming is causing a more intense weather pattern and as a result, more hurricanes and more powerful hurricanes. What's your assessment?
MAYFIELD: Well, it's a very fair question, and the answer to that is not agreed to by all the scientists. From my perspective here at the National Hurricane Center, even without invoking the global warming arguments, the research of meteorologists are telling us that we're in this very active period for major hurricanes that maybe will last at least another 10 to 20 years. That's not good news. And we need to be prepared.
BLITZER: So is this just -- perhaps not necessarily global warming but just part of a cyclical pattern that occurs, warmer waters, and as a result, more hurricanes?
MAYFIELD: Well, that's what some people think. And I'm very aware of the studies that say we have more Category 4 and 5 hurricanes. I personally think that's due to better observations, and in particular, the satellite technique that we use to estimate the intensity of the hurricanes.
That technique really was not even published until the mid-1980s. And a lot of countries didn't use those until later in the 1980s. So of course, we have more Category 4 and 5 on the record books since 1970, in part due to that.
BLITZER: Is there any way when you make these forecasts for the season, you can assess where these hurricanes might wind up, whether in the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the East Coast, perhaps all the way up along the eastern seaboard region, up to New England? Is there any way of assessing where these hurricanes, tropical storms, might wind up?
MAYFIELD: Wolf, the science is not there yet to do that with any accuracy. I mean, people can make the forecast. That's easy to do. But to have a meaning -- I personally think that it is a real disservice to target, you know, just specific areas. That's telling the other people they can let their guard down. And we don't want that to happen.
BLITZER: Well, what about like people in New York or New Jersey or Massachusetts. Should they be more relaxed than people in Florida or New Orleans?
MAYFIELD: Well, they can be a little bit more relaxed, but a big, big concern is up in the northeast, just because a hurricane is such a rare event up there. You know, hurricanes don't happen very much. And the storm of record up there is a 1938 hurricane that hit Long Island and then went up into New England.
Twenty-four hours before that hurricane hit Long Island, it was east of Daytona Beach, Florida. So, people up there in the northeast, you know, are not going to have too much time. History teaches that it's happened in the past, and I can assure that it will happen again sometime. I can't tell you if that is going to be this year or not.
BLITZER: Is there any way of knowing when Alberta, which is the first named storm for this coming season -- when that might hit, June, July, August? Is there any way of being accurate in terms of that forecast? MAYFIELD: We really can't say it like that, Wolf. I mean, typically, we have a June storm about every other year. Last year was very active, and well, we had two in June and five in July. I don't think we will see anything like that again, but people need, if they possibly can, to be ready before the hurricane season starts, which is on June 1st.
BLITZER: Last year, you ran out of names. You had to go to the Greek alphabet. Do you think you're going to do that again this year?
MAYFIELD: Well, I certainly hope we don't have to do that again. You know, that is the plan, and if we get through the 21 letters on our list, we'll use that again if we need to.
BLITZER: Here's what David Paulison, the acting FEMA director, said last month. He said, "We will be prepared for another active hurricane season in 2006...Americans want to know if we are ready for future disasters and they are and looking to us for reassurance and that is reassurance we can give them."
In our most recent CNN poll, we asked the American public whether they were very confident, somewhat confident or not confident that the federal government has the ability to handle hurricane damage. Twelve percent said they were very confident. Forty percent said they were somewhat confident. But forty-five percent, almost half, said they were not confident at all.
How confident should the American public be that the federal government based on everything you know is ready to deal with this coming hurricane season?
MAYFIELD: Well, you know, Wolf, I'm a meteorologist. But I will say this -- well, let me say two things. One, Dave Paulison used to be the fire chief here in Miami Dade County during Hurricane Andrew. He's been at FEMA a number of years now. He certainly understands what hurricanes are all about. If anybody can do a good job up there, it's Dave Paulison.
And then, I also, just really don't think that it's reasonable to expect the federal government to solve everybody's problems for them. We really urge people to take that individual responsibility and be as self-sufficient as you possibly can for at least the first 72 hours.
BLITZER: Well, give us -- because we only have less than a minute left. What practical advice, Max Mayfield, should you give the American public right now as we head into this new hurricane season, two or three of the most important things our viewers should be doing?
MAYFIELD: You need to know your vulnerability to all the hazards, if you are in one of the storm surge evacuation zones. You need to know exactly where you are going to evacuate to, to reach safe shelter.
But even if you are outside of that storm surge zone, you still need to have that hurricane plan, the storm shutters, the drinking water, the batteries, the radios, all of those common sense things. And you need to have those things on hand now before the season starts.
BLITZER: Max Mayfield is the director of the National Hurricane Center. Max Mayfield, thanks for your excellent work. We'll be speaking often. I guess, that's unfortunate, but I enjoy always speaking with you. Thanks very much for helping our viewers.
MAYFIELD: My pleasure, Wolf.
BLITZER: And what would happen if a Category 2 hurricane hit New York City? The storm surge could force an evacuation of Brooklyn.
Our Internet reporter Jacki Schechner has more on how you can prepare for hurricane season -- Jacki.
JACKI SCHECHNER, INTERNET REPORTER: Wolf, this is an animation of what would happen to the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel if a Category 2 hurricane hit New York. Obviously, you are not going to want to be in there. All that water comes from the storm surge. And simply put, the storm surge is the water that's pushed ashore by the hurricane winds.
Now, how does the National Hurricane Center calculate how high that's going to be? Something called the Slosh Model. Sea, lake and over land surges from hurricanes. And they use a series of factors to calculate how high that surge is possibly going to be. It has a 20 percent plus or minus accuracy there. But they calculate that out.
You can go online to the National Hurricane Center national preparedness web site, they have got all of the information you need, the upcoming names for the hurricane season, checklists for your family, really a comprehensive resource for you there -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jacki, thank you very much.
Up ahead, here in THE SITUATION ROOM, extreme education, a closer look inside the new school books of Saudi Arabia. Find out why some say they are teaching hate and breeding the next generation of terrorists. Plus, pain at the pump. Are oil companies gouging consumers? Ali Velshi has the bottom line.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: And this just coming in, one of our top stories. An update the corruption probe of Congressman William Jefferson. As we've been reporting, the Louisiana Democrat contends an FBI raid of his Capitol Hill office this weekend, was an outrageous, his word, violation of the separation of powers between the executive and the legislative branches of the U.S. government.
Now the House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi is weighing in. In a statement issued just a few moments ago, Pelosi wrote this. She said "Members of Congress must obey the law and cooperate fully with any criminal investigation. If they don't, they will be held accountable."
She then said this: "Justice Department investigations must be conducted in accordance with constitutional protections and historical precedent so that our government system of checks and balances are not undermined. These constitutional protections were not devised by our founding fathers to put members above the law, but to protect the independence of the legislative branch and the American people from the abuse of power by the executive branch."
A strong statement from Nancy Pelosi of the Congressman William Jefferson investigation.
Other news we're following. Are Saudi schools sowing the seeds of distrust, hatred and even terrorism? It's an issue we first reported by our Brian Todd almost two years ago. Now, there's a disturbing new study, looking inside Saudi Arabia's textbooks. Let's bring in our senior national correspondent John Roberts, who's investigating. John?
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN SR. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good evening to you, Wolf. A curriculum of intolerance is how a new report from the democracy watchdog group Freedom House describes what Saudi students are being taught in school. Childhood lessons on religious hatred, Freedom House scholars say, could be a breeding ground for terrorism. I spoke with the report's author today, Nina Shea, and its chief researcher Ali Al-Ahmed.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALI AL-AHMED, INSTITUTE FOR GULF AFFAIRS: This issue is very urgent. It is part of the war on terrorism because in order to stop the flow of terrorists, you must go to the source, and this is the source of extremism and terrorism in Saudi Arabia.
ROBERTS (voice-over): The report points to lessons in Saudi textbooks, like this first grade reader that states "every religion other than Islam is false." Or this eighth grade textbook "The apes are the Jews while the swine are the Christians." And this ninth grade lesson, "The clash between this community and Jews and Christians has endured and it will continue as long as God wills."
But what's most troubling, according to the report's authors, is that these lessons linger, despite repeated assurances by Saudi officials that in the wake of September 11th, textbooks had been purged of all hateful and intolerant language.
NINA SHEA, FREEDOM HOUSE: The report is telling us that the Saudis have not lived up to their promises.
ROBERTS: There have been revisions to the textbooks. This March report from the Saudi Embassy to Congress pointed out some 20 examples. But critics say the changes are subtle. For example, in this fourth grade textbook they translated, the original degree that Muslims must hate the infidels and be hostile to them, now reads "hate the infidels, but do not be unjust to them."
SHEA: I believe that's a smoke screen and I think that's intended for them to come back to America and say, "Look, we've corrected the text books. We've scrubbed them, we've sanitized them of all the hate speech and hate ideology."
ROBERTS: And the text books are not just being used in Saudi Arabia. They are prevalent in Muslim religious schools around the world. They also form the curriculum at the Islamic Saudi Academy 12 miles south of the nation's capital. One of that school's former students, Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, is in prison of a 30-year sentence for conspiring with al Qaeda to assassinate President Bush.
AL-AHMED: Saudi Arabia does not only export oil, it also exports ideology. And in order to step a flow of that toxic ideology, we must reform the Saudi text books.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Saudi officials refused our request for an interview today, but they did say off camera that the reform of the text books and the curriculum is an ongoing process. The State Department, which critics complain hasn't done enough to follow through on this issue says, Saudi Arabia has made progress, but it's pretty clear, according to one official we talked to today Wolf, that they are falling short of the goals.
BLITZER: I suspect the Saudis are going to come under some intense criticism, especially in the Congress. John, thanks very much for that report.
Let's go to New York right now. Ali Velshi is standing by with tonight's bottom line.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Bottom line is that somewhere in this big thick report is some reporting about price gouging. Now this term price gouging has almost reached pornography status. In terms of actually defining it, you really kind of have to see it to understand it.
In a long-awaited report, the Federal Trade Commission today said it found 15 cases of gasoline price gouging in the wake of Katrina and Rita last year. But the FDC only looked at those companies that were already the subject of multiple complaints. And out of those, seven refiners, two wholesalers and six retailers, they actually had to take out the instances of increase in price that had to do with normal gas price increases or price trends.
Congress has defined price gouging as an instance when the average price of gasoline in September of 2005, after Hurricane Katrina, was higher than the average price of gasoline in the same area in August of 2004 without those increased costs and trends that I told you about.
So if you take all of that out, you're left with one gas station that the Federal Trade Commission says was gouging. One gas station in the entire country, and if you want to find out where it is, we can't tell you because the FTC won't tell us.
The report also found no evidence to suggest that the oil industry had manipulated prices. But as I said, it wasn't particularly comprehensive. President Bush has already ordered the FTC, along with the justice and energy departments to probe the most recent spike at the pump, the one we've been doing through now. Wolf?
BLITZER: Ali, thank you very much for the bottom line.
Coming up, the Dixie Chicks ruffled a lot of feathers with some very sharp criticism of President Bush. Now the country music stars are hatching some new criticism. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Tonight, The Dixie Chicks are back on center stage with new criticism of President Bush. Let's bring our senior political analyst in Bill Schneider, who is looking at the story. Bill?
BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Wolf, the Dixie Chicks caused a political furor three years ago. Now is the band ready to forgive and forget? Not on your life.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(off camera): Three years ago, just before the Iraq war, the Dixie Chicks caused a fire storm in the country music world when lead singer Natalie Maines told a London audience, "We're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas." Many fans responded with outrage. Boycotts, bans, boos, even death threats. A few days later, Mains issued an apology, sort of. She said, "I apologize to President Bush because my remark was disrespectful."
NATALIE MAINES, DIXIE CHICKS: My apology was for the words that I used but not for the motivation behind the words and for my beliefs.
SCHNEIDER: Now she tells "Time" magazine, "I apologized for disrespecting the office of the president, but I don't feel that way anymore. I don't feel he is owed any respect whatsoever." Their new album, out Tuesday, is defiant. The first single released from the album is called "Not Ready to Make Nice."
CHRIS WILLMAN, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: The chicks said, we were so hurt by what happened to us, that, you know, we're not ready to get over it. We don't think you got over it, either.
SCHNEIDER: Country radio is backing off from the new album. In interviews, The Dixie Chicks have expressed resentment of the country music world and its pressure for political conformity.
WILLMAN: They are definitely trying to reposition themselves as a rock friendly act, hoping that the audience that doesn't blink when Bruce Springsteen or Pearl Jam make a political statement is will embrace them with open arms.
(singing): How in the world can the word that I said send somebody so over the edge
SCHNEIDER: The Dixie Chicks are giving up country radio for what may be a from more valuable kind of exposure. Buzz. WILLMAN: They are depending on being in the news to sell this album. And they have certainly done that by being on the cover of "Time."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHNEIDER: And being on CNN, like THE SITUATION ROOM, and next week, on "LARRY KING LIVE." Wolf?
BLITZER: Thank you, Bill, for that. Let's find out what's coming up at the top of the hour with Paula.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Wolf. Thanks. Drew Griffin will investigate a fatal shooting by New Orleans police. The dead man was unarmed. And contrary to police testimony, he was shot in the back.
Also the woman who happened to inspire the TV series "Medium." She calls herself the secretary for the dead. Is she really psychic? And what about the law enforcement folks? what do they have to say? If you are a believer or skeptic, it is fascinating to listen to. Please join us.
BLITZER: Thanks, Paula we will be watching. Jack has your email, that's coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Here's Jack in New York. Hi, Jack.
CAFFERTY: The attorney general says the government has the legal authority to prosecute journalists for publishing classified information. Our question is, do you think they should be prosecuted or not?
Dee in Florida writes, "It depends on who classified the information and why. If it's classified for genuine national security issues, then yes they should be prosecuted and sent to jail. But if it was classified only because it embarrassed some slimy politician or tried to hide a president going outside the law to spy on American citizens, then of course not. Journalists are our check and balance of last resort."
Patricia writes, "No, Jack, reporters should never be prosecuted for learning the truth and telling the truth. More important, government workers should not be made into criminals because they tell the truth to reporters. Just because the administration doesn't like the truth, doesn't mean the American people shouldn't hear it."
Rick in Phoenix: "Journalists should not only be sent to prison, but if their information leads to the deaths of any Americans, then journalists should be executed for treason. Journalists deserve no special consideration on national security."
Sandy in New York writes, "Of course not. Without journalists we might believe that victory in Iraq is around the corner, that American Gulags do not exist and that our government is competent." David in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania: "Jack, journalists should be prosecuted for spending half their time reporting on the broken foot of a horse. If this is the best you can come up with, then I say let the trials begin."
BLITZER: Thanks, Jack. I'll see you tomorrow here in THE SITUATION ROOM. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington, let's go to New York. Paula is standing by. Hi, Paula.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
