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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Are Terrorists Trying to Buy Ambulances?; Israeli Defense Minister Opposes Military Policy of Sharon; Winds Aid Balloonist on Worldwide Trip

Aired June 20, 2002 - 17:00   ET

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

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR, "WOLF BLITZER REPORTS": It's Thursday, June 20, 2002. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.

We begin with a possible new threat, in which terrorists may try to use emergency vehicles to deliver bombs or bombers. Let's go live to New York. That's where CNN's Deborah Feyerick is standing by with details. Deborah?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, police right now are not telling us whether, in fact, they have found the two men who were here at Movie Time Cars wanting to buy an ambulance. They will not say whether they have questioned the men or what any reason may have been for them wanting to buy this ambulance.

Police cars and ambulances pack the lot at Movie Time Cars in northern New Jersey. The prop company rents them to movies and TV shows, like NBC's "Third Watch" and HBO's "The Sopranos."

But a week ago, two men, described as Middle Eastern, walked in asking to buy an ambulance, in cash, on the spot. The owner said no, writing down the license plate number and calling police after the men had left.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were of dark complexion, about 5'8" to 5'10" and fairly casually dressed. And that's really it.

FEYERICK: Any accent?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A slight accent. That, with the combination of the way they looked, led me to believe they were Middle Eastern. Where? I don't know. But it threw up the red flags for us.

FEYERICK: Police say they have identified the owner of the white truck the men were driving.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know who the registered owner is. At this time, there are investigators in the field attempting to interview him.

FEYERICK: New York City ambulances run by the fire department received an alert Wednesday night to check all worker credentials. Ambulances have been used in Israel to smuggle suicide bombers. New York City Police say they're aware of the terror tactic. Intelligence after 9/11 warned that bogus ambulances or fire trucks could be used in further attacks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to be more vigilant, as we've said many times after 9/11, in a whole host of areas and this is one area.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Buying an ambulance or fire truck is not as hard as you might think. On eBay on Thursday, 11 ambulances, six fire trucks and five police cars were listed for sale.

Now, we spoke to union officials for the fire department, for the ambulance specifically, and they said the real problem, Wolf, is not the ambulances run by their company. They say that those are very well guarded, and it's difficult to get their hands on. They say the biggest concern is private ambulance companies because there's not as strict regulation there. And they're concerned that if anyone were to get their hands on an ambulance, it may be that way. Although as you heard, you can just go on-line and buy one that way -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Deborah Feyerick in New York, thank you very much. And hopefully, during the course of this hour, we'll be speaking with the New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly for a further update on this story.

Now to the Middle East, for the third day in a row, a deadly terror attack against Israelis, this time a raid on a West Bank settlement, even as Israeli troops move to take back territory from the Palestinians. For the latest, let's go live to Jerusalem and CNN's Christiane Amanpour. She has all the details -- Christiane.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, this happened a few hours ago. According to police and settlers at the Itamar settlement near Nablus, a Palestinian did infiltrate the settlement. It does not have a fence around it, we're told, and it is the home to some of the most militant Israeli settlers.

He went into a house and killed four members, we are told, of one family. There are four other people who have been injured, including, we are told, two board policemen. They are not sure, either the settlers or the army at this moment, whether there may be a second Palestinian involved in this infiltration. And they're trying to find out whether that is the case. There are some conflicting reports about that.

When news of this attack broke, the Israeli prime minister convened with his advisers. He had been at a gathering of one of the world Jewish organizations. He was due to give a speech and hand out awards. He went and gathered with his advisers, and afterwards, his spokesmen said, describing this attack on settlers, describing it as a horrendous attack that would necessarily call for a response. This, of course, is the third attack in as many days here in Israel and in the West Bank. There was a suicide bombing attack in northeastern Jerusalem last night, which claimed seven lives, and the day before a suicide bomber killed 19 people, also in Jerusalem.

As Israel tries to formulate its response, there are deep divisions emerging between the prime minister's office and the office of the defense minister. The prime minister's office having declared a major new policy of sending in troops and armor to various towns and cities in the West Bank -- but of sending them in to occupy or reoccupy land and hold on to it until suicide bombings stop.

Today the defense minister has directly contradicted that policy, saying that he is "completely against any kind of permanent or punitive occupation of Palestinian land." So there is a difference of opinion.

Nonetheless, there are troops and armored personnel carriers and other vehicles in some towns in the West Bank, and they are trying to go after what they believe may be suspected terrorists or go after anybody or anything that they may have information on -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Christiane, with the funerals of all of these Israeli civilians who have been killed over the past few days, I assume the mood among the rank and file in Israel is furious right now. What kind of pressure is the government under to respond?

AMANPOUR: Well, that is the case. There is a very obviously high-level of stress, fear, and anxiety, and a demand for some kind of effective way to stop this. And that, in fact, is what one of the government officials told us last night.

That one of the reasons for this declaration, this rather dramatic declaration about reoccupying Palestinian territory and holding on to it, was, in part and in great part, due to satisfy public opinion. Many of the government spokesmen we talked to said candidly that they never expected they could actually reoccupy land and do all that entails, which means running Palestinian affairs. So clearly, there is a great deal of pressure on the prime minister and a desire by the people to have something done.

Tonight, extraordinarily, there is a story out about the defense minister. He has said that he went to jail to visit some of these suicide bombers, those who have been arrested and who failed in their mission, to try to find out the motives behind what they're trying to do. And he said they, the ones he met, were driven, he felt, by a sense, quote, "of despair that won't fade until Palestinians can dream of a better life."

This an extraordinary development, really, inside Israel at the moment. He says that, while he never justified any of the attacks, obviously, he was trying to understand -- and trying to understand their motives. So there are these very, very conflicting strains of public opinion in Israel at the moment. On the one hand, desperate for some kind of solution to this, and on the other hand, desperate for a permanent political solution as well -- Wolf. BLITZER: Christiane Amanpour, thank you very much for joining us from Jerusalem once again. Let's go back to our top story now, a potential threat involving ambulances and other emergency vehicles in the New York City area.

For that, let's go to the New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. He's New York's top cop commissioner. Thanks for joining us. What do you make of this late-breaking development, this potential threat?

COMM. RAYMOND KELLY, COMMISSIONER, NEW YORK CITY POLICE: This was communication that went between city agencies, really, telling agencies to be on the alert. This was not an official alert that was put out by any agency. Again, a story was written by the "New York Daily News" today. I think it's generally a good thing. We need to be more vigilant after 9/11, and this is one of the areas that we have to look at. We know that terrorists have used emergency vehicles overseas. They've used them in Israel to move terrorists and to attack civilians, so it's something we have to be concerned about.

BLITZER: I don't know about you, commissioner, but I was shocked today to learn how relatively easy it is to go out and buy an ambulance or some other sort of emergency vehicle at almost any community in the United States. Isn't that shocking to you?

KELLY: Well, I think it is somewhat surprising, and again, we have to be more vigilant. We have to be more conscious of these threats. We're at war, as has been said so many times, and this is just another area that we have to look at. And I think as a result of this type of information coming out, people will be more vigilant.

BLITZER: What can communities around the country do about this potential threat?

KELLY: I think what they should be doing is making certain that their emergency vehicles are secured, secured at the scene of events or when they're parked overnight. There may be some color coding system or some means of positive identification. You know, it is all part of kind of a big mosaic of things we have to do to be on our guard after September 11. We should have been on our guard before September 11th, but hopefully some good things will come of it and one of them being more vigilant in this area and a lot of other areas.

BLITZER: Commissioner Kelly, I've known you for a long time, and you're a straight shooter. The 4th of July, another important date coming up, how concerned are you about that date?

KELLY: I think we have to be concerned about any time large numbers of people are gathered together. We are going to have, in New York, a lot of additional security in place, a lot of different procedures that we'll have in place. I think people should feel secure. We are going to do everything we reasonably can do to make certain it is a safe and peaceful holiday.

BLITZER: Commissioner Kelly, let's hope that happens. Thanks, once again, for joining us. It's always good to have you on our program.

Ever since September 11, government officials have been weighing the pros and cons of resuming routine smallpox vaccinations in the United States. The disease was wiped out decades ago, but is considered a possible bioterror weapon. Now, a panel working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has come up with a recommendation. Let's go live to CNN Medical Correspondent, Rhonda Rowland. She's in Atlanta. She has all the details -- Rhonda.

RHONDA ROWLAND, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, this has been a pressing issue ever since the government contracted to make enough smallpox vaccine available for every American by the end of the year. So the panel of top experts meeting here have deliberated for two days, and they've come up with their answer, and that is not to vaccinate the general public. That is, they will not make it available to the general public.

However, they are recommending it for two particular groups. One, smallpox response groups, which will be teams in individual states who would respond if there is an outbreak. In addition to them, certain medical personnel at hospitals designated to treat cases if there is an outbreak. So we're talking about professionals ranging from doctors, nurses, lab technicians, disease detectives, to even laundry service people. And this would include 10,000 to 20,000 people across the country.

The scientists here have been trying to debate the risks and benefits of vaccination, looking at what the real threat is, the real threat of an outbreak of smallpox. And they see it as low but not zero. However, they say this vaccine is very risky. It is the most dangerous vaccine that's available. And today, we have about 40 million people with compromised immune systems due to organ transplants, cancer treatment, HIV, AIDS and skin diseases, who could be at considerable risk. And, Wolf, these are groups that did not exist back in the 1907s when we stopped the routine vaccinations.

BLITZER: Rhonda Rowland, thank you for that report.

Would this selective vaccination of health care workers be enough to protect the rest of us from a smallpox bioterror attack? Joining me now is Dr. Sue Bailey, former assistant secretary of defense for health affairs. Sue, thanks, once again, for joining us. Do you think this is a wise recommendation from the CDC?

DR. SUE BAILEY, FORMER ASST. DEFENSE SECRETARY FOR HEALTH AFFAIRS: I think it is a very conservative recommendation. It is the one they have to make right now. They have to look at the risks and the rewards, and frankly, this is a dangerous vaccine. It is something that we're going to have to consider possibly in the future, but for now, it is the best we can do.

BLITZER: Those 10,000 to 20,000 workers on the front lines in this war, hospital workers, others, what percentage of them are presumably, given past record of this smallpox vaccine, at risk for complications or, God forbid, even death? BAILEY: It is estimated that one out of a million people vaccinated could die. So you could see if we did the entire population, we could be looking at hundreds of deaths. We're also very concerned about the side effects. You can have encephalitis, which also can kill, and a variety of other serious side effects. So you'll see a percentage about like that for those who would receive the vaccine.

BLITZER: One out of a million doesn't sound like a lot, but what about the side effects? What percentage would get negative side effects?

BAILEY: Whether or not they would come down with encephalitis, a brain inflammation that, in fact, can kill. That would be relatively low as well, but still a real consideration it would happen. What are the numbers? Well, it depends on how many people we, in fact, vaccinate. It looks like we're going to do thousands of people.

BLITZER: If, God forbid, there were a smallpox attack, an outbreak somewhere in the United States, how long would it take for all 280 million Americans to be vaccinated?

BAILEY: I think that's the real issue. Can we have enough vaccine on hand? Can we communicate effectively so people won't run for the hills if there's an outbreak or an attack? That is the real issue. We have to be able to have it there so we can provide it within a seriously small number of days. You only have four to seven days to get everybody vaccinated that's encountered or been exposed to the attack or exposed, in fact, to smallpox. To do that ring vaccination idea, to be able to move in quickly, to quarantine, to control, to communicate, to have the vaccine you need on hand, that's going to take a lot of work. So I hope Homeland Defense is ready for it.

BLITZER: I know one of the options that was before the CDC was to recommend against wholesale widespread vaccinations, but to leave the option open if an individual decided he or she wanted to get that vaccine, let that person get it. What's wrong with that kind of an option?

BAILEY: It is kind of like the Cipro issue. People would be running out and getting this vaccine that really shouldn't. For example, babies around 1 year old cannot really take this vaccination. Neither can pregnant women. The question would be would there be danger by doing it that way, and furthermore I think we really count on our CDC to give their best recommendation.

BLITZER: And that's their best recommendation, at least as of today. Let's hope it never materializes. Dr. Sue Bailey, thank you for joining us.

BAILEY: You're welcome.

BLITZER: Here's your chance to weigh in on this very important story. Our web question of the day is this: Do you want a smallpox vaccination? Vote on my web page, cnn.com/Wolf. That's where you can vote. While you're there, let me know what you're thinking. Send me your comments, and I'll try to read some of them on the air each day at the end of this program. That's also, by the way, where you can read my daily on-line column at cnn.com/Wolf.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Following up on a story CNN reported first yesterday, broke in here, the Attorney General John Ashcroft has been asked to investigate possible leaks from a joint congressional committee investigating intelligence failures before September 11. At issue are reports that the National Security Agency, the super secret electronic spy agency, intercepted two messages in Arabic that may have warned about the attacks. CNN National Security Correspondent, David Ensor, reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: The two al Qaeda communications intercepted by the U.S. on September 10 were both from Afghanistan to Saudi Arabia, knowledgeable sources tell CNN. Speaking in Arabic, two different individuals in Afghanistan appeared to be notifying others in Saudi Arabia, sources say, that major attacks were imminent against the United States.

That word came amid controversy in Washington over reports, first on CNN, quoting the exact phrases used in the two conversations intercepted by the National Security Agency the day before the 9/11 attacks - intercepted, but not translated until September 12th. Two veiled messages of what was to come: "The match begins tomorrow," said one, according to congressional sources. "Tomorrow is zero hour," said the other.

ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The information that was leaked was alarmingly specific, and the president does have very deep concerns about anything that would be inappropriately leaked that could, in any way, endanger America's ability to gather intelligence information.

ENSOR: Fleischer cited the example of Osama bin Laden's satellite phone, saying once a report in 1998 said the U.S. was listening in, he stopped using it. At the president's request, Vice President Cheney contacted leaders of the joint intelligence committee probe into clues missed before 9/11 to complain about the leaks.

REP. PORTER GOSS (R), INTELLIGENCE CHAIRMAN: When the vice president calls you up and says there is a story in a major paper says, and on a major network, that is attributed to congressional sources, obviously that gets our attention. We want to know if that is true, to what extent, so we can put a stop to that. I think that is the reason we have asked for a professional investigation by the attorney general.

ENSOR: The controversy thrusts into the public eye an agency that usually tries to avoid attention. Using high-tech sensors, well- placed bugs, and massive computer power, the National Security Agency daily sifts through literally millions of intercepts of communications, from phone calls, to e-mails to Internet messages, looking for information to help protect this country. In a rare interview last year, General Michael Hayden, NSA's director, stressed the less is known about specific intercepts, sources and methods, in his view, the better.

GEN. MICHAEL HAYDEN, DIRECTOR, NSA: You and your viewers need to understand that it's that very privateness, that very secretiveness, that enables us to continue to do our mission.

ENSOR: To this day, officials say they do not know for sure the identities of the two persons communicating from Afghanistan September 10th, though both clearly had inside knowledge from al Qaeda leaders. At the NSA, officials are now hoping to get back out of the public eye just as soon as possible. David Ensor, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: David Ensor, our national security correspondent, who broke this story yesterday.

There's new concern about the president's security after a small, private plane violated restricted White House airspace last night. The F-16's that scrambled to intercept the off-course plane would have been too late to prevent a terrorist attack. For more, let's go to CNN Senior Pentagon Correspondent, Jamie McIntyre. He has been looking into the timetable -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, when that Cessna 182 violated the restricted airspace over Washington, it put the pentagon's fighter jet response procedures to the test, and today, some pentagon officials sheepishly admit those procedures are lacking.

Let's look at the timeline. At 7:59, the Cessna entered restricted airspace, a 15-mile circle around Washington, off limits to most small private planes. Four minutes later, at 8:03, the FAA notified the North American Air Defenses, NORAD. Two minutes after that, at 8:06, the Cessna passed within a few miles of the White House and two Air National Guards F-16s got orders to scramble from Andrew's Air Force Base. The F-16s took off at 8:17. That was within their designated 15 minute response time, but the intercept, south of Washington, much too late if the plane had been a terrorist weapon.

Now, last April, when the pentagon ended round-the-clock combat air patrols over New York and Washington, they said they weren't compromising any protection because the planes would be on a 15 minute alert and be able to respond quickly. But we found out, with this incident, that this wasn't quick enough had this been an actual threat. And the pentagon now is taking a look at the lessons learned. There's no word yet whether they'll go back to combat air patrols all the time. Wolf?

BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre with more solid reporting from the Pentagon. Thank you very much.

The White House Press Secretary, Ari Fleischer, is downplaying the White House evacuation. He says the president was never in jeopardy, and wouldn't have been in risk even if the errant plane had gotten closer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FLEISCHER: Suffice it to say, there are multiple levels of protection for the president that are somewhat redundant, that are overlapping. And I'm not going to be able to discuss each and every one of those, but again, the Secret Service is extraordinarily good at what they do. The president has full confidence in them, and I think last night's events boar that out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: For more on the military response to the White House airspace incursion, let's go to CNN's Miles O'Brien at the CNN center in Atlanta -- Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, let's talk a little about the Cessna 182, the plane involved in the particular incident. It is kind of a workhorse of general aviation, sort of a Chevy of the sky, if you will. It's a single engine. It is not pressurized. It can only go to about 18,000 feet. It cruises at about 160 miles an hour. It's a four-seater, and weighs about 3,000 pounds loaded with gas, a little lighter than most heavier sport utility vehicles.

Let's take a look at the route of flight of this particular aircraft. The plane began its journey outside of Boston, in the Gardner area, and was headed down to Raleigh/Durham, which would put it on a course normally to the east of Washington, D.C., some 40 nautical miles. But if you take a look at this map - this is the radar image from last night.

If you take a look at that spot right there, and we'll go in closer to give you a better sense of it, there was a line of thunderstorms in that area at that time, at about 8:00 p.m. Eastern time. So what the pilot did and what is quite obvious, he called flight service, tried to get a route around it and deviated this way, which put him into harm's way over Washington, D.C.

Let's take a closer look at Washington and give you a sense of what exactly was in store there. This area here, which kind of looks like Mickey Mouse ears, is off limits to general aviation unless you're talking to a controller or you can fly over it above 10,000 feet. Now, this particular plane was flying at 10,500 feet, normally would be OK, except for the fact that since 9/11 there's been a 15 mile disk put around the Washington Monument, which extends up to 18,000 feet. And 18,000 feet is something that that plane could not attain.

And so when this plane hit that particular spot, the alarm bells went off. And what made it even worse is you see these little red zones here. That's the mall and the capitol and the White House. And that other red spot there is where the vice president lives. That is prohibited airspace. Nobody flies there or should fly there, and thus, at that point, the decision was made to scramble those fighters from Andrew's Air Force Base located here. Very close, but obviously things were happening quickly. The plane was very close to that prohibited space right before the call was made to those F-16s.

Just to show you very quickly, back in 1994, on September 12th of all days, a Cessna about the same size, a four seater, flew into the White House, and it was a suicide mission by somebody who had stolen that particular plane. No damage to the White House caused by that particular event. The pilot was killed in that incident. Wolf?

BLITZER: Miles O'Brien, bringing back some memories of when I used to cover the White House. Thank you very much. Miles, of course, is CNN's resident licensed pilot, as well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: And this just in. A grand jury has indicted retired priest Paul Shanley on 16 new charges, including 10 counts of rape of a child, relating to four alleged male victims. He's to be arraigned next week. CNN, of course, will continue to update you on this as additional details come in.

In a stunning reversal, of course, the U.S. Supreme Court today ruled executing mentally disabled criminals is unconstitutional. The 6-3 ruling comes just 13 years after the high court declared such executions were acceptable. Today's decision is confined to mentally retarded defendants convicted of murder.

Joining us now to discuss this dramatic change is Paul Rothstein of the Georgetown University Law Center. Thanks, Professor, so much for joining us. Let me read from Justice John Paul Stevens, speaking for the majority. "Those mentally retarded persons who meet the law's requirements for criminal responsibility should be tried and punished when they commit crimes. But because of their disabilities in areas of reasoning, judgment and control of their impulses, however, they do not act with the level of moral culpability that characterizes the most serious criminal conduct."

A pretty surprising decision, wasn't it?

PAUL ROTHSTEIN, LAW PROFESSOR, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Well, I think it may reflect a new and growing sensitivity on the Supreme Court to the fact that if we're going to have the death penalty, it has to be done as fairly as possible.

BLITZER: How attuned are these Justices, historically, to sort of what they described as the public mood in the country? Because as you know, this is a 180-degree reversal from an earlier Supreme Court.

ROTHSTEIN: Well, the constitutional clause says that cruel and unusual punishment is banned. So in ferreting out what's unusual, the Justices look to what the states do. And since they ruled on this last time, a whole number of states, their legislatures have said that "We will not execute these people." And so that trend is what was significant to Justice Stevens, that this is now regarded as unusual in this country to execute mentally retarded people, people who have an IQ so low that they're like preteens, essentially. BLITZER: Justice Scalia had a scathing dissent. I'm sure you read that. He's very upset about this, saying that this is really no basis in law, just personal opinion.

ROTHSTEIN: Well, he says since it's only 18 states that ban execution of the mentally retarded, that's not even a majority of states. And he says that's a pretty poor basis upon which to judge the national mood. But Justice Stevens says "It's the trend that's important to us."

BLITZER: What does this say about the Supreme Court, this decision, about the future trend of decisions on other important cases that we can anticipate?

ROTHSTEIN: Well, I think, specifically with the death penalty, it does flag a kind of growing realization that we have problems in administering the death penalty fairly, and maybe they're going to police that a little bit more vigorously, although I know there's some decisions that look in the opposite direction, and some people think they're really not very sensitive. But at least some of the Justices are, I think.

BLITZER: While I have you, very briefly, another major decision by the Supreme Court today that affects a lot of Americans out there -- HMOs.

ROTHSTEIN: Yes, it says that states can add additional rights to what patients have to sue their HMOs, even though there's pretty extensive federal regulation that was widely regarded as preempting the states. So that's a big victory for patients of HMOs. In this particular case, a state law said you have a right to an independent review if an HMO denies a particular surgery or treatment, and the Supreme Court upheld that. And there was a lot of doubt about whether state rights granted to patients would be upheld.

BLITZER: Professor Rothstein, thanks, as usual, for joining us.

ROTHSTEIN: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Firefighters across Colorado are still battling the flames. CNN's Charles Molineaux is on the front lines in Lake George. He's got details -- Charles.

CHARLES MOLINEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Wolf. First off, the firestorm that rages around that federal Park Service worker accused of setting the fire. A bond hearing is still going on right now in federal court in Denver for Terry Lynn Barton. She's the one accused of starting the fire. Earlier, she pleaded not guilty to four federal counts connected with the fire, counts which, if she's convicted on them, could get her 65 years in jail.

Meanwhile, here at the southern end of the Hayman fire, the biggest fire in Colorado history, fire crews are trying to take advantage of some unusually good conditions. Overnight temperatures dropped, the humidity went up dramatically. We even had some rain. And right now, crews -- about 2,450 firefighters are out there on the fire lines, trying to make as much progress as they can before an expected wave of drier, hotter weather that's supposed to come up over the weekend.

Now, earlier today, some people who were actually evacuated from their homes were allowed to get in and take a look at their homes. Those homes were apparently still standing. This is in some of the area already burned over by the fire, but in some cases, these homes were saved by air drops. A few hundred gallons of that orange slurry that comes out of those tankers apparently was enough to save some of these homes. It was that close. Some of these people have been sitting for days, waiting to hear what happened to their homes. For them, it has been a harrowing week.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBBIE NIGH, RESIDENT: Very, very frightening, very frightening because it's hard to tell when you're looking, you know, from helicopter shots exactly where they are. And you know, you hear the reporters say, "Well, it's in such-and-such an area," and then we grab a map and look real quick to see where exactly that is. But we're really lucky because they stopped the fire before it even got onto the part of the property where our home is.

BOB NIGH, RESIDENT: You can see exactly where the fire line stopped. Yeah. It's very easy. It's black.

MOLINEAUX: And then there's your house.

B. NIGH: Yeah, house is fine. All the trees are fine around us. Just, like I said, on the north side, it burned on the ground, did not get up in the trees. All of our aspens back there are orange from the slurry, but that works for me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MOLINEAUX: Some 95 structures, including probably dozens of homes have been reported destroyed, although the Forest Service still doesn't know exactly how many because they haven't been able to get in and figure out which ones exactly were destroyed and which ones used to be houses.

We're still waiting to hear whether or not Terry Lynn Barton gets out on bond. Prosecutors want her locked up. They say she is a flight risk, that she may try to fly the coop just because there's a lot of animosity in the community towards her. And of course, we're going to stay tuned for the latest on that -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Charles Molineaux, once again from the front lines in Colorado, thank you very much.

A new survey says the average United States driver sits 15 minutes in rush-hour traffic each working day, four times longer than 20 years ago. The Texas Transportation Institute says Los Angeles -- we're seeing a picture of Los Angeles -- has the worst delays, adding up to 136 hours a year for the average driver. It's not even 3:00 PM in San Francisco, and as you can see, traffic across the Bay Bridge already is getting heavy. It's a little foggy in San Francisco, as well. The survey says the beautiful city of San Francisco has the nation's second worst rush-hour traffic. It's followed by Chicago, Washington, D.C., Seattle, Miami and Boston.

No signs of the missing girl kidnapped from her bedroom. Did a stranger abduct Elizabeth Smart, or was it an inside job? The chief of Salt Lake City police answers those questions and more when we come back. Plus, the USA goes for an against-all-odds victory, the kickoff to the World Cup. We're excited!

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: More than two weeks after the disappearance of Elizabeth Smart, there's still no sign of the Utah teen. Now a federal law enforcement official tells CNN's Jeanne Meserve the following. I want to be precise. Quote, "The trail is getting hotter. We are better off than even a week ago. We are hopeful that within the next week, we'll get back lab results that will help shed a light. The forensic evidence," this source goes on to say, "will be very important."

A short while ago, I spoke with Rick Dinse, the Salt Lake City police chief, about the investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Chief Dinse, thanks for joining us once again. It's, what, been two weeks since little Elizabeth Smart's been abducted. How close are you, Chief, to solving this case?

CHIEF RICK DINSE, SALT LAKE CITY POLICE: Well, Wolf, I can't put a date on it. I think we're making progress. We certainly have some promising leads that we're working on. We have not been able to identify any specific suspect or suspects yet and -- but we are progressing every day. And hopefully, we'll be able to solve this one. But as to a date, I can't do that yet.

BLITZER: You did say, what, on June 11 -- and I'll read what you said. You said, "We believe that it is possible we have already talked to or will talk to the suspect involved in this crime."

What did you mean then?

DINSE: Well, what I meant by that was that we had already done a lot of interviews up in the area, a lot of the evidence that we had gathered up to this point, a lot of information that we had received, we had some information by behavioral science specialists at the FBI academy. All of the things together made us conclude that the person that we may be looking for had some kind of connection to that house. It could have been family. It could have been somebody who had visited that house, somebody who knew the house, knew the family or had an ability to view that home and the family from some distance, perhaps -- maybe neighbors, maybe a worker in the area, but somebody who had the opportunity to know that location better than just, say, a casual bystander, somebody who happened into the area.

BLITZER: And you're still working under that assumption?

DINSE: We're basically still working under that assumption, although we -- we have expanded this investigation to all levels. I mean, we're not ignoring other leads that take us outside of this area, and we have been following on those leads also. So we're still well into this investigation. We have actively at least 400 leads that we are following up on right now.

BLITZER: And Bret Edmunds, the individual you want for questioning -- he's not believed to have anything to do with the actual abduction, is he?

DINSE: Well, we don't have him as a named suspect in this case, by any means. However, we would like to talk to him. We have him identified as being in the area and potentially in the area on the night of the occurrence. He's been a fugitive for some time, going back to about April of this year. And so when we identified him at one of the candlelight vigils -- he was in around that area that night -- he became somebody that we wanted to talk to, to find out what he knows about this. But to say that he is a suspect -- no, he is not a suspect. We just want to talk to him and find out what he knows. And obviously, he's a fugitive at the same time.

BLITZER: I noticed that you said that you took, what, 12 computers from the family. You've returned them all except one, a business computer belonging to the father, Ed Smart. Why are you holding on to that computer?

DINSE: Well, that's not totally accurate, I don't think. What we have -- we did take 12 computers, that's true. And we have returned almost all of the computers, and I think there are still some outstanding that we're going through. But Ed Smart's and, I believe, all the family computers that we took have been returned to him.

BLITZER: All right, Chief, good luck in this heart-wrenching case. All of us are watching closely. I'm sure no one's watching it more closely than you are. Thanks for joining us for that update.

DINSE: You're welcome, Wolf.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The queen of perfect caught up in an insider-trading scandal. We'll sort it all the details of what did and did not happen between Martha Stewart and ImClone. Stay with us.

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BLITZER: Martha Stewart is known for a lifestyle associated with good things. Now some say a single sale of stock may lead to bad things in her future, as talk turns from inside living to rumors of inside trading. Joining us once again from "Fortune" magazine, Andy Serwer. Andy, thanks for joining us. You notice that she pled yesterday innocent, not guilty. She said, "My sale of ImClone stock was entirely proper and lawful. The sale was based on information that was available to the public that day." Is that going to do the job for her?

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: I don't think so, Wolf. She still has to answer to the congressional committee. Apparently, she has sent in more documents, but we understand that the committee may be seeking more documents. The committee also may want to speak to that Merrill Lynch broker, Martha Stewart's broker, and talk about those trades. And the congressional committee keeps saying over and over, Wolf, you know, "We just can't take her word for it, at this point." It doesn't look right. It may end up being that she did not commit insider trading, but she needs to explain it.

BLITZER: So walk through for our viewers briefly what the issue -- the heart of this issue is.

SERWER: Well, what's going on here is Martha Stewart had a close relationship with the CEO of this biotech company called ImClone, and ImClone was trying to get its drug approved by the FDA. There had been a lot of speculation in the stock of ImClone. It had gone up a lot, and it started to drift down as it got close to the time when the FDA was going to reveal whether or not it was going to approve this drug.

Now, the CEO of the company, Sam Waksal (ph), Martha Stewart's friend, found out from the FDA that the FDA was not going to rule favorably. He then allegedly told family members, who then sold stock before the FDA announcement. And apparently, he tried to, as well. That would be illegal. That would be insider trading.

Now Martha Stewart also sold stock the day before the FDA announcement, the same day that Waksal's family members sold stock. She says that she sold stock only because the stock drifted below a price target where she wanted to sell the stock if it got below that price target. So that's why, you know, she's saying the whole thing's sort of a coincidence, Wolf, that she sold that day simply because the stock got low, not because she heard that the FDA was going to rule unfavorably.

BLITZER: Andy, there was a curious development today. Her TV show replayed an interview that she did about year or so ago with the congressman who's leading this investigation, Billy Tauzin of Louisiana. He likes to cook Creole, apparently. What do you make of that?

SERWER: I mean, I don't know whether this is silly stuff or serious stuff. I think it's little bit of both. It sure is fun. It was fun to watch. We've all been talking about it. I mean, it's really incredible. Here the head of the congressional committee who's investigating this woman, investigating Martha Stewart, appeared on her TV show cooking Cajun, you know, stirring up some okra in the frying pan or whatever they were doing. I watched it with the sound off, so I couldn't hear what they were talking about. But they were having a good old time.

Now, you know, I don't know what this is going to do to the investigation. Does he have to recuse himself, or now does he feel compelled to really throw the book at her to make it look like there's no conflict of interest? And from the congressman's perspective, I mean, how could he have anticipated, Wolf, that this was going to be a conflict of interest down the road? I mean, what could be more innocent a year ago than cooking on TV with Martha Stewart?

BLITZER: Whatever it was, I'm sure it was delicious, but we'll have to try that Creole on another occasion. Andy Serwer of "Fortune" magazine, a CNN contributor, thanks for joining us.

Globe-trotting in an air balloon just got a whole lot easier. Why strong winds may put Steve Fossett on a fast track for the record- breaking success. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Let's get a preview of "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE." That begins right at the top of the hour -- Lou.

LOU DOBBS, HOST: Thank you, Wolf. Coming up next: President Bush is angry about a leak of intelligence, and he wants to know exactly who's responsible. We'll have the latest for you tonight from the White House.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has voted to create a new accountability body for the accounting industry. The chairman of the SEC, Harvey Pitt, is my guest tonight. And from telemarketing to door-to-door solicitation, invasions of our homes seem to be unavoidable. We'll have a special report for you. And also tonight, the role of small wars in American policy on the "Dobbs List."

All of that and more at the top of the hour. Please join us. Now back to Wolf Blitzer -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank you very much, Lou.

Updating you on a story we told you about yesterday -- the balloonist Steve Fossett is off to a fast start in his latest attempt to fly solo around the world. His ground crew says Fossett's flight across Australia has been faster than expected, and at the present rate, he could complete his trip in 12 days instead of 16.

Germany is the odds-on favorite to win tomorrow's World Cup quarter-final in Seoul. But an ambitious American team feels it has nothing to lose. Germany is bigger, stronger and more talented. It's a three-time champion. But with a couple of early-round upsets under its belt, the U.S. squad has been tuning up for a match it thinks it can win.

That's all the time we have today. I'll be back tomorrow at 5:00 Eastern. Until then, thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE" begins right now. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com