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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports
Herpes Vaccine Shows Promise for Women in Clinical Trials
Aired November 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 HOST: WOLF BLITZER REPORTS starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice over): Important news on the medical front, can researchers stop the spread of a disease that affects one in five Americans? If it comes to war, will Saddam Hussein be bomb-proof?
DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: They have tunneled underground dramatically.
BLITZER: Can the U.S. bust his bunkers? "Bush at War," the early days of the fight against terror. I'll go inside the administration with Bob Woodward. In California, a shocking rise in the number of autistic children. Some anguished parents blame a routine vaccination. And would Jesus drive a gas guzzler? Evangelicals take up the environment and take on Detroit.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (on camera): It's Wednesday, November 20, 2002. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.
We begin with breaking news right now. A report just released that impacts one out of five every Americans. It's a condition many people do not talk openly about. Now a new medical advance could help make herpes history. We go to CNN Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen on that, as well as another breaking story on a potential weapon against cervical cancer -- Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf, two very exciting stories coming out right now from the New England Journal of Medicine. One in five Americans, as you said, has genital herpes, painful sores on the genitals that are passed on sexually. Herpes doesn't go away. The virus stays in the body for life and the sores go away and then come back again.
There's no real treatment until perhaps now. Doctors gave men and women a vaccine against genital herpes and it worked but only for the women. That's good news for women and for babies. Hundreds of babies die every year because their mothers pass on the herpes and more babies become mentally retarded.
There is one caveat, the vaccine worked only for the women who had not been exposed to the type of herpes that infects the mouth. The vaccine won't be available commercially for five years. Some doctors think all girls should be given this vaccine along with all the other childhood vaccines -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Elizabeth, what about cervical cancer and the whole relationship there. What's going on that front?
COHEN: Right, cervical cancer, Wolf, is the second leading cancer killer among women and now doctors are talking about the beginning of the end of cervical cancer. Most cases of cervical cancer are caused by the human patholoma (ph) virus and a new vaccine was 100 percent effective at preventing infection of that strain of the virus that causes half of all cervical cancer.
Doctors are working on vaccines against the other viruses that are other causes of cervical cancers. So who would get these vaccines? You'd have to get it before you become sexually active, so some doctors again want to give it along with measles, mumps, rubella and all the other childhood vaccines. Now, this vaccine also wouldn't be commercially available for several years -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Elizabeth Cohen with important medical news. Thanks very much Elizabeth for joining us.
COHEN: Thanks.
BLITZER: Joining us now with some advice on how both to prevent genital herpes and cervical cancer, Dr. Jennifer Berman and her sister the psychotherapist Laura Berman. They're in the Discovery Health Channel studio in Burbank, California. They're the hosts of "Berman and Berman For Women Only." Jennifer, thanks so much first of all to you, and Laura as well. But Jennifer, tell our viewers who aren't all that familiar with herpes, first of all what is it?
DR. JENNIFER BERMAN, UROLOGIST: Herpes is actually in the family of pox virus. It's a virus not much unlike chicken pox that causes ulcers and lesions on the genital area, the penis, the vagina, the scrotum, the labia and all around that area, and the problem with it is as we mentioned there is no cure. It can lay dormant throughout one's life cycle and then you can have multiple recurrences throughout your life cycle, and things such as stress, things such as depression.
DR. LAURA BERMAN, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: Diet.
J. BERMAN: Diet and also sun exposure can cause recurrences.
BLITZER: If someone has it, Laura, what do they do about it?
L. BERMAN: Well, the problem is there are ways to deal with the outbreaks. There's new medications that have come out that actually will alleviate the pain and alleviate the blisters and many people will take that medication ongoing when they get outbreaks on a regular basis. The problem is that not only can you give the herpes to someone else when you have an outbreak, but you can also give it to someone. You can shed the virus when you don't have an outbreak. You can also be a silent carrier where you don't even know you have herpes and you're giving it to someone else.
BLITZER: Jennifer, what about that. There are no symptoms sometimes. How do you know? What do you do? What do doctors expect you to do if there are no symptoms?
J. BERMAN: If there are no symptoms, it's really a problem. That's the devastating thing about this disease but there are screening tests, both blood tests and genital smears that can be done and I recommend anybody that's sexually active and gynecologists in particular that are seeing young women or men that are sexually active that those people be screened.
L. BERMAN: Right.
J. BERMAN: It's important.
BLITZER: And, Laura what about cervical cancer now. There seems to be this relationship that Elizabeth Cohen just spoke about.
L. BERMAN: Right and that's very promising. If there's a potential for preventing the spread of both herpes and genital warts, that's going to be tremendously promising and tremendously exciting. I kind of chuckled to myself because on the one hand I think it's a fabulous idea to be giving young children the vaccine sometime in the future, but it does require a nod on the part of the parents that those children may be becoming sexually active in the upcoming years and it may be a very loaded topic for parents and doctors to talk about.
J. BERMAN: The other thing that's scary, I'm sorry, is that it might -- you really need to be careful because the safer sex practices are really important.
L. BERMAN: Right.
J. BERMAN: And if a young girl thinks oh I can't get herpes and I can't be (UNINTELLIGIBLE) virus.
L. BERMAN: And I can take the pill and not get pregnant.
J. BERMAN: And I can take the pill and not get pregnant, I don't need to use condoms and that really can have devastating consequences.
BLITZER: And just to be on the precise side, Jennifer, this vaccine might not be available for as long as five years but it's still potentially a huge development today.
J. BERMAN: It is a huge development, and also one other thing we need to mention is that it didn't work in men, believe it or not. It was only women so it's all up to us again.
BLITZER: All right, women get the break this time.
L. BERMAN: Yes for a change.
BLITZER: Thanks to both of you, Jennifer and Laura Berman, the Berman sisters thanks so much as usual for your expertise.
J. BERMAN: Thanks.
L. BERMAN: Thank you.
J. BERMAN: Thank you.
BLITZER: In some other important medical news, hundreds of people in Nebraska are being tested for Hepatitis C and so far 81 of the tests have come back positive. State health officials say they believe the outbreak is linked to a cancer clinic in Freemont. That clinic is no longer open. Hepatitis C is a viral infection of the liver and it can lead to Psorosis or cancer of the liver.
A cruise liner about to dock in Ft. Lauderdale is the subject of a strange maritime mystery. Despite efforts to thoroughly sanitize it, something onboard continues to make people very sick. CNN National Correspondent Susan Candiotti is in South Florida. She's joining me now live with this unusual story. Tell us what's happening, Susan.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is unusual, Wolf. Well, we're talking about Holland America's Amsterdam, and because of a virus hundreds of people have taken ill aboard that ship during four recent cruises, including one that's going on right now. And so, the cruise line, after consulting with the Centers for Disease Control has voluntarily decided to take the ship out of service to give the ship a thorough cleansing. It hopes this time of killing the bug.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI (voice over): After four straight outbreaks and as many sailings aboard the same ship and more than 500 sick passengers and crew, Holland America is anchoring the Amsterdam. Virginia Steinwag (ph) and her husband fell ill on the cruise that returned last week.
VIRGINIA STEINWAG, PASSENGER: You just sit in the bathroom for 12 hours. I mean you can't leave. Then the next day you can't -- you can't keep anything down, and then you know the third day you're weak.
CANDIOTTI: The culprit, according to the Centers for Disease Control is the common Norwalk virus, in this case not believed to be transmitted by food or water.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is our belief that an individual brought this virus onto the ship.
CANDIOTTI: No matter how it got there, despite sanitizing the ship, the virus kept attacking. Sick passengers were quarantined, suffering from diarrhea and vomiting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody shook hands. You couldn't touch anything on the tables. There wasn't even salt and paper on the tables. The buffet line, they all served you.
CANDIOTTI: Holland America paid for flights home from Caribbean ports of call for passengers who fell ill during cruises. However, some passengers said they did not learn about the repeated outbreaks until they boarded the ship.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They should have told us not 20 minutes before we boarded.
CANDIOTTI: Holland America defended its decision to keep sailing, insisting it was doing all it could to prevent further infections.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're cleaning every poker chip.
CANDIOTTI: On its current sailing, more than 70 passengers and crew caught the virus. Before leaving on that cruise, some passengers were not at all worried and joked about what they do to stay well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not going to drink the water or breathe the air then.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI: Certainly hope not, however the ship he is on, the Amsterdam will be back in port in Ft. Lauderdale early tomorrow morning, and we know that for one thing lawyers will be watching very closely because, as it turns out Wolf, there's already a class action lawsuit that has been filed against Holland America Cruise Lines just last month because of a viral outbreak aboard another one of its cruise ships last July where more than 100 people took ill, involving this very same virus. So, we're anxious to see what happens when the people get off this cruise ship tomorrow.
BLITZER: We're anxious to see as well and I'm sure you'll tell us. Susan Candiotti in Miami thanks very much. A manhunt is over. Indiana Police today captured the second of two escapees that escaped from a jail in Kentucky but a search continues for a woman they allegedly kidnapped in a multi-state crime spree. CNN's Charles Molineaux is joining me now live from Chalotte (ph), North Carolina -- Charles.
CHARLES MOLINEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf, the fact is we now have two kidnapping suspects locked up but their kidnapping victim is still missing. That makes for a mighty scary scenario. This gas station here in Chalotte is the last place the three of them are believed to have been together. It has now become the epicenter of a frantic hunt that police are still referring to as a rescue mission.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MOLINEAUX (voice over): Police have launched an intense new search for the missing Alice Donovan with helicopters and ground crews combing the North Carolina/South Carolina state line, this after the second man accused of kidnapping her has been caught but she's still missing.
Twenty-five-year-old Chadrick Fulks was arrested after he allegedly tried to rob a bank in Middlebury, Indiana. Monday night, the FBI says Fulks got away from police in a high-speed chase in Marion, Ohio at speeds of up to 130 miles an hour. Fulks alleged accomplice, 21-year-old Brandon Basham was caught in Ashland, Kentucky on Sunday. He's accused of attempting a carjacking there and shooting it out with police before he finally surrendered. Police say Fulks and Basham broke out of a jail in Hopkins County, Kentucky two weeks ago. Investigators say that fact alone made them dangerous.
CLYDE MERRYMAN, FBI: They're desperate once they've escaped. They know there going to be the subject of a manhunt. They do something. They commit a crime and it's a natural tendency unfortunately for the nature of the crimes to escalate and the violence to escalate and that's what we're seeing.
MOLINEAUX: Fulks and Basham's trail took them from Kentucky, where police say they carjacked a man, to Indiana where they allegedly left him tied to a tree, to South Carolina where they're accused of shooting at a man who caught them robbing a house and where they're suspected of carjacking 44-year-old Alice Donovan.
The FBI says she was kidnapped and her BMW was taken from a Wal- Mart parking lot in Conway, South Carolina. That was last Thursday and she hasn't been seen since. The latest clues in the case have brought out helicopter and ground search teams in Brunswick County, North Carolina and Orie County, South Carolina along U.S. Highway 17 where police say Fulks and Basham came through and where they now think the two left Alice Donovan somewhere.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody along U.S. 17, I believe say something. I believe they might have saw that BMW pull over. Anybody who saw any vehicle matching this description needs to immediately, immediately call 9-1-1 and give us a location.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MOLINEAUX: Meanwhile, police are still trying to establish a connection between Chadrick Fulks and that bank robbery in Indiana, as well as a whole assortment of other crimes, robberies, thefts, and carjackings in about five different states.
He was actually picked up in Indiana after police tipped off local police as to a house where they thought that he was. You're looking at him as he was hauled in after being picked up actually along with his brother, who was also picked up by police in Indiana.
So, they are both now in custody. The question is what has happened to Alice Donovan? Police here say they are definitely in a race against time. They're very concerned that what happened to that victim in Indiana who was tied to a tree and left out in the elements may well have happened to her. So, at this point, they're saying every second counts -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Let's hope they find her. Charles Molineaux thanks very much for that report. Deep underground, where will Saddam Hussein go if the bombs start falling? A CNN exclusive, the hide-and- seek game that could take place deep underground, plus the autism debate, does a vaccine cause the mysterious condition or are parents simply being misled? We'll hear from both sides of this passionate and heart-wrenching issue.
And what would Jesus drive, the ad campaign that's putting religion into car shopping, and we want your opinion. Should you take religious beliefs into account when buying a car? Log onto cnn.com/wolf, but first a look at news making headlines around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice over): Power transfer in Pakistan, President Pervez Musharraf says he'll hand over power to a new civilian prime minister in the next day or two. The announcement comes on the eve of a vote in parliament to elect the country's first prime minister since General Musharraf seized power in a military coup in 1999.
A verdict sparks outrage in South Korea, a U.S. military court acquitted an American soldier of negligent homicide in the deaths of two South Korean schoolgirls. Sergeant Fernando Nino (ph) commanded the vehicle that ran over the 14-year-old girls in June. The trial of Nino's driver begins tomorrow. Protesters demand the men be tried in their South Korean court.
More violent protests in Venezuela, troops fired teargas and pellets to prevent supporters of President Huge Chavez from clashing with opposition marchers. Days of protest were triggered by Mr. Chavez ordering the military to take over the capitol's police force.
Beautiful by deadly, a snail found in waters off Australia's Great Barrier Reef could be the source of a new powerful pain relieving drug. Researchers say the venom of the cone snail contains a compound that may be as strong as morphine in easing chronic pain.
Royal dogfight, Britain's Princess Anne goes to court tomorrow to fight for the life of a dog. One of her English bull terriers reportedly attacked two young boys in April. Charged with allowing the dog to be dangerously out of control, Princess Anne will be the first British royal to appear in court on criminal charges since King Charles I was beheaded in the 17th Century. If convicted, she could be jailed for up to six months. Her dog faces a possible death sentence.
Miss Prison contests held recently in Lithuania's only prison for women, the 21-year-old winner who's halfway through a four-year sentence received a prize of about $1,100, and that's our look around the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Now, a CNN exclusive. If the United States goes to war with Iraq, one of the first goals will be to cut off Saddam Hussein's communications with his troops. But CNN has learned that current U.S. weapons may not be enough to do the job. A scramble is now underway to solve that problem. This note to our viewers, none of the information in this report is classified. Here's CNN's Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In the first hours of a war, the U.S. military believes Saddam Hussein will run to a bunker deep beneath one of his presidential palaces. The Iraqis have built hardened bunkers designed specifically to withstand attack by current U.S. weapons. Innovative construction techniques shield key areas from blast waves.
CNN has been told by U.S. defense sources that one of those bunkers dozens of feet under central Baghdad has vital communications gear for Saddam to talk to his men while under attack. The U.S. they say can not quickly destroy it without risking killing nearby civilians. Inspectors may never even find it.
RUMSFELD: They have tunneled underground dramatically. It's going to be very hard for the inspectors to find anything.
STARR: CNN has learned two new massive bombs, which could be carried on the B-2 and B-52 bombers are now being urgently designed in hopes they can be ready early next year. One proposed weapon, Big Blu, is a 30,000-pound bomb packed with 3,500 pounds of explosives aimed at penetrating 150 feet of earth, far deeper than the current 5,000-pound bomb which penetrates about two dozen feet.
The other proposed weapon, a 20,000-pound bomb packed with 18,000 pounds of explosives. This would replace the Vietnam era 15,000-pound Daisy cutter also used in Afghanistan. The bomb detonates in the air over the target, creating a massive air blast. The U.S. will use it to destroy hardened revetments protecting Iraqi scud missiles and weapons.
STARR (on camera): The work on both these weapons is vital, say defense officials. But even if they are not ready in time for Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld wants them in the inventory. Today, there are more than 1,500 deeply-buried military targets around the world. Barbara Starr CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: And once again, none of the information in this report was classified. Military officials at the most senior levels for years have openly said that Iraq has studied U.S. bombing campaigns and has continued to bury its weapons and its military assets in those hardened bunkers.
A surge in autism in California has parents pointing the finger. Is a vaccine to blame? Doctors say no but there's a growing cry for more answers. We'll hear from both sides of this debate when we return. Plus, he's suspected of being the wannabe 20th hijacker but did al Qaeda lose confidence in Zacarias Moussaoui before the terror plan ever got off the ground, new evidence that could help his defense.
And war on terror, inside the Bush White House, the details you didn't know about the days after September 11th. The Pulitzer Prize winning reporter, Bob Woodward, will join me live. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: California is dealing with a puzzling and heart wrenching health issue, the rate of autism in the state's children has almost tripled in the last 15 years and no one knows why. One suspected cause is the mercury used in vaccines given to infants and state lawmakers are looking into the matter. CNN's Rusty Dornin reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Picture perfect, a happy, healthy baby. Then at 15 months, just like every other baby, Russell Rollins got his measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination.
RICK ROLLINS, FATHER: He has a very physical reaction to those vaccines including a high-pitch scream and days of high-pitched crying and listlessness.
DORNIN: Ten years later, those problems continue. Russell Rollins is autistic. How do you describe what you go through as a parent of an autistic child?
ROLLINS: It's a living hell. It's a living hell for everyone involved. It's a living hell for my son who suffers terribly from this disorder.
DORNIN: And it's a struggle that most autistic kids go through in the classroom. We're at the ABC School for Autistic Children, classes are full. Are you seeing bigger numbers, more kids knocking at the door to get in places like this?
ROLLINS: Yes, both in our school and in our in-home services, even in comparison to last year. We probably have 15 more kids than we had the year previous.
DORNIN: And parents are asking questions. No one knows what causes the brain development disorder but Rick Rollins who has become an activist for autism thinks the vaccine is connected.
ROLLINS: Thirty-three percent of new families with children of autism believe that vaccines played a role in the development of their child's autism.
DORNIN: But a recent, well-respected Danish study found no link between vaccinations and autism. Epidemiologist and pediatrician Robert Byrd doesn't believe the measles vaccine is a problem but he says concern about what's in some vaccinations is justified. Byrd applauds the removal last year of a small amount of mercury used as a preservative in some vaccines.
DR. ROBERT BYRD, EPIDEMIOLOGIST: To have anything that's potentially harmful packaged with something that's supposed to be entirely good is a bad package.
DORNIN: Byrd authored a recent study that ruled out better testing and population increases as possible causes for California's dramatic increase. He believes what's happening here is probably happening nationwide. California has the only system for registering autistic children.
There is no biological test for autism. Some researchers believe there could be connection between genetics and the environment, but Rollins says he knows vaccines are only one possibility. Do you believe there could be other factor as well?
BYRD: Absolutely. You know I don't think anyone in any area of research in autism believe there's one single cause. We worry day and night about his future and who's going to take care of him when we're gone.
DORNIN: Rusty Dornin CNN, Sacramento, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: A provision in the new Homeland Security Bill gives vaccine makers stronger liability protection and Congressman Dan Burton of Indiana is angry about that. He says there's an autism epidemic in the United States and he says parents who think vaccines are to blame will have their legal recourse cut off.
Congressman Burton is with us right now from Indianapolis. Here in Washington Dr. Marie McCormick with the Harvard School of Public Health and an expert on child healthcare. Thanks to both of you for joining us. Congressman Burton, your grandson has autism. Why do you believe there is this link between the vaccines and autism?
REP. DAN BURTON (R), INDIANA: Well, Wolf, I became aware of this when my grandson received nine shots in one day, seven of which contained Thimerosol (ph) which has mercury in it and just a few days later he became radically different, banging his head against the wall, running around and flapping his arms, and he became autistic, and that's a story that we found through our investigations that goes all over the country. Fifty, 20 years ago, we had one in 10,000 children that they thought was autistic. Now, it's more than one out of 250, according to the CDC and HHS.
BLITZER: Well, that seems like a pretty impressive case there Dr. McCormick. Is Congressman Burton on the right track?
DR. MARIE MCCORMICK, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL: No, we don't really think so. We've done two reports at the Institute of Medicine where I'm chairing a committee on immunization safety. The first was on MMR and autism, and the second was on Thimerosol. In the first report, we actually said we could not find a causal association and rejected a causal association between MMR and autism, and in the second we said the information was insufficient to link the Thimerosol to neuro-developmental disorders broadly, not just autism, and clearly further study needed to be done on that order.
BLITZER: So, what about that, Congressman?
BURTON: Well, let me read to you what it says in that report. It says it's biologically plausible, biologically plausible. That means that it could occur, so they don't really know. But if you look at an internal memo at Health and Human Services that I subpoenaed, they didn't give it to us without us subpoenaeing it, it says, this is from HHS:
"Preliminary screening of ICD-9 codes for possible neurological and renal conditions following exposures to vaccines containing Thimerosol before three months of age showed a statistical association for the overall category of neurological developmental disorders and for two conditions within the category, speech delay and attention deficit disorder."
BLITZER: All right.
BURTON: So the HHS people admit that there is a statistical connection between the two.
BLITZER: Dr. McCormick, I want you to respond but you too like Congressman Burton has a personal stake in this. I understand you have a niece and a nephew both of whom suffer from autism as well.
MCCORMICK: Yes, that's true and I think that while my brother is certainly very concerned about this, he doesn't blame vaccines. We also saw those data. They were presented to our committee with regard to Thimerosol. The consensus of the epidemiologists on the committee was that it was a very, very weak association and there's a great deal of difficulty in that study actually verifying the diagnoses that they were looking at, because they were made in the clinical context and not in special developmental centers.
In fact, the CDC is now in the process of looking at conducting its study, where they would actually do formal psychometric testing so that they can verify these diagnoses and make sure what they're looking at.
BLITZER: Well, let me ask you this doctor. If it's not these vaccines, what possibly can cause this huge increase in the number of autistic cases, especially in California, as we've just seen?
MCCORMICK: Well, I don't think the California experience is unique. There are now two quite substantial and authoritative reviews in literature by two quite well know figures in the field that really believe as part of this, and a good part of this, is changing diagnoses on autism. We've had three major revisions of the psychiatric manual that sets out the criteria for autism over the past 30-years. And indeed, the spectrum has been expanded from very severe disease to less severe forms, including Aspirger syndrome in which what is called high functioning autistic individuals.
BLITZER: All right.
MCCORMICK: I think another issue though is people have become much more sensitive to the issue of autism, and particularly because there are now educational techniques that can be used to improve the outcomes of these children. So they're much more likely to refer. You know when you couldn't do anything, you don't refer.
BLITZER: All right. Well, we're going to continue this discussion, Dr. McCormick, thanks for joining us. Congressman Burton, unfortunately, we lost his satellite signal from Indianapolis. But we're going to have both of you back and continue this very important and heart-wrenching discussion. Thanks to both of you for joining us.
Was Zacarias Moussaoui too incompetent to take part in the September 11th hijacking? New evidence that both implicates and helps him. Plus, the secrets of the West Wing. What was going on behind the scenes September 11? We'll ask Bob Woodward. He'll be with me live. And Michael Jackson says sorry, but gives fans another odd thriller. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Turning now to the war against terrorism is a possible key break in a case accused al Qaeda terrorist, Zacarias Moussaoui. It involves his alleged role in last year's attacks. Our justice correspondent, Kelli Arena, has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sources say that accused terrorist, Zacarias Moussaoui, was originally meant to be part of the September 11 attacks, according to senior al Qaeda operative, Ramzi Binalshibh. But those sources say Binalshibh told interrogators the terror organization lost confidence in Moussaoui. One legal expert says that the government, through links, is trying to establish a stronger link through Moussaoui and the attacks.
WILLIAM MOFFITT, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It's gotten in the press the idea that there is a connection, which is something that the government has not been able to establish in the working papers, so the indictment did not establish.
ARENA: According to sources, Binalshibh, a self-proclaimed organizer of the 9/11 attacks, who was arrested in September, told U.S. officials that Moussaoui met with Khalid Sheikh Mohammad back in the winter of 2000 in Afghanistan. Government sources say Mohammad is believed to be a mastermind of the attacks.
According to those sources, Binalshibh says Mohammad gave Moussaoui contact names in the United States and that Moussaoui was sent money at least twice. The news comes in the wake of public suggestions the government's case against Moussaoui is not very strong, and that the White House is considering a military tribunal rather than a civilian trial, a move justice officials are adamantly against.
JOHN ASHCROFT, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL: The Department of Justice is prepared to move forward with the prosecution. ARENA: But sources also say that Binalshibh told them that Mohammad thought Moussaoui was not discrete enough, and so it was decided not to use him in the September 11 attacks or provide him with any details unless it was absolutely necessary. Some actually suggest that actually works in Moussaoui's favor by proving he was not intimately involved in the plot.
Moussaoui, who is representing himself, has requested access to Binalshibh. The government has objected in the name of national security.
JIM ROBINSON, FORMER ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL: He's obviously provided useful information that allowed the government to anticipate and to interfere with other terrorist attacks. And that's the number one priority for the use of him at the moment.
ARENA: Moussaoui's standby counsel has refused to comment on the developments, and it's unclear whether Moussaoui himself is even ware of what Binalshibh has said.
Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Anybody who's picked up the "Washington Post" or gone to its Web site the past few days have seen that captivating excerpts from Bob Woodward's important new book. It's called " Bush At War" and it gives readers an insider's view of all the internal struggles involving the president and his cabinet members. The author, Pulitzer Price winner, Bob Woodward joins me now live.
Congratulations.
BOB WOODWARD, ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR, "WASHINGTON POST": Thank you.
BLITZER: First of all, on the new book, have you gotten any angry phone calls from the White House as a result of this book?
WOODWARD: Not yet.
BLITZER: No one's complaining?
WOODWARD: Not that -- I've heard indirectly a few complaints, but it's not about what they said, it's about what others said.
BLITZER: It's a -- the normal process is that you go ahead, you've got your great sources, you write the book, and then people start wondering, well, maybe I went too far in giving this information. They don't come up with buyer's remorse, if you will?
WOODWARD: Sometimes that happens. But in this case, I had the notes, lots of NSC meetings so you could see not just what was decided but how they got there.
BLITZER: What... WOODWARD: Also, the president himself talked for two hours and 25 minutes and verified the things that were in the notes and some of the major turning...
BLITZER: He turned out to be a pretty good source.
WOODWARD: He did. He didn't deny a thing.
BLITZER: That's not a bad source when you're dealing with the Bush administration. Let me read something from the book because it says something about this man, the president of the United States. "I do not need to explain why I say things. That's the interesting thing about being the president. Maybe somebody needs to explain to me why they say something, but I don't feel like I owe anybody an explanation." What does that say to you about the president?
WOODWARD: Well, it's a level of self-confidence, but it is in the context that it's very important to state what the context was. He decided, through feeling, as he explained, that we should start the bombing about a week before we did in Afghanistan. So he went to the war cabinet, to the NSC, and said, "OK, are we ready to go next Monday or Tuesday? And everyone was quite surprised. He delayed it a week when Condi Rice and Don Rumsfeld said, "We really aren't ready." And I asked, "Well, why did you do that?" And he said, "Well, I was trying to provoke people, and I don't have to explain that I'm trying to provoke them."
BLITZER: An interesting thing -- I think you came around, like a lot of people, including myself, in talking to this president maybe originally underestimating him, but when you see him in action, you realize he's the real thing.
WOODWARD: Well, he's in charge. In many ways, he dominates this group of very strong men and women. At the same time, he needs them and he kind of knows he needs them. And so he gets information and recommendations from them.
BLITZER: Let me read another excerpt from the book. It says, "Look, I'm the toxic Texan, right? IN these people's minds, I'm the new guy. They don't know who I am. The imagery must be just unbelievable." What was he referring to?
WOODWARD: Particularly in the European press, where people say, you know, that this guy from Texas, who -- maybe it only passed through Europe by accident -- who is he, how can he be president of the United States?
BLITZER: And they underestimate him, but probably to their own regret.
WOODWARD: Well, you know, just -- there's another side to this. The war in many respects has gone well, but lots of things are unanswered. And now bin Laden surfaces. And if we get hit by another large terrorist attack in this country, all of the things that seem to have gone right in the last 14 months will be wiped out. BLITZER: He had the courage to give the go order for the war in Afghanistan, but that was after 9/11. Three thousand Americans with killed. Will he have the guts to go ahead and order strikes against Iraq, start a war if necessary?
WOODWARD: Well, if necessary is the important issue. And what he's done and what I lay out in the book is how Colin Powell went to him, insisted on a private meeting, and at a two-hour dinner, laid out the consequences of war with Iraq and literally said to him, "You know, you can't do it alone. It won't work. You need bases, you need over flight rights, you need allies, you need friends, like in any undertaking like this."
And in the face of the resistance of Cheney particularly and Rumsfeld, to a certain extent, the president decided to go to the U.N., now has unanimous resolution. So in a sense, think if he had gone alone versus the idea of having the world behind him. Big difference.
BLITZER: Huge difference. "Bush At War," Bob Woodward's new book. Good work.
WOODWARD: Thanks.
BLITZER: Thanks again.
You've heard the warning about smallpox vaccines, but the Israelis are reporting no side effects at all. The real life human study that may decide whether you get the shot. Plus, what would Jesus drive? An evangelical group is turning SUVs into a religious issue. A look at their crusade still to come.
And we want your opinion. Should you take religious believes into account when buying a car? Log on to CNN.com/Wolf. That's where you can vote right now. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Should you get vaccinated against smallpox? The deadly disease was eradicated decades ago, but there are serious concerns it may be revived as a terror weapons. As the Bush Administration weighs a decision, it's looking to Israel for some answers. We turn once again to our medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the first large group in decades to be vaccinated against smallpox, 15,000 Israeli health workers, police officers and other first responders. It's a dangerous vaccine, one that can kill, but so far, it's gone well. No one's died. No one's become seriously ill. And President Bush's health advisers have been watching Israel, as they contemplate mass vaccinations in the United States.
DR. BOAZ LEV, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, ISRAELI HEALTH MINISTRY: The authorities there have tremendous interest in what's going on here, trying to learn what our experiences are.
COHEN: And that good experience with the vaccine has bolstered the argument for vaccinating U.S. healthcare workers, and then the population as soon as possible.
DR. BILL BICKNELL, BOSTON UNIVERSITY: But serious complications and deaths are doing to be extremely rare and we've seen in the case of Israel, at the present time, it sounds like zero.
COHEN: Statistically speaking, the smallpox vaccine kills one in million people and causes encephalitis to one in 3,000 cases. But Dr. Bill Bicknell and others are trying to convince President Bush that the side effects in reality will be far fewer, as long as health authorities do what the Israelis have done -- weed out people who should not get the vaccine, such as those with certain medical conditions. And if the vaccine does make people sick, there's a treatment for some of the side effects. It's called vaccinia immune globulin and it's made from the blood of people who've already been vaccinated.
Other experts are urging President Bush not to vaccinate anyone, unless there's an actual smallpox attack. They say the Israel experience might be good, but it's too small to draw any conclusions.
DR. CARLOS DEL RIO, EMORY UNIVERSITY: We would really worry about vaccinating people and having to live with the consequences of vaccination, and the complications of vaccination.
COHEN: Dr. Carlos Del Rio adds that it's not just the vaccinated person who's at risk. Anyone else who touches the vaccination site could get sick.
DEL RIO: Somebody's patch is going to fall off. Something is going to happen.
COHEN: These are the very issues the president and his advisers are debating now, a decision about who should get the smallpox vaccine and when, is expected in the next few weeks.
Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Another odd thriller from the self-anointed king of pop after an apology for putting one over the balcony, Michael Jackson shows off his kids again, sort of. And Jesus walked, but would he drive an SUV? A new campaign wants you to answer no, then follow suit. Religion and car shopping when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: If you own a gas-guzzling vehicle like an SUV, do you consider yourself a sinner when you fill it up or kick it into high gear? In a new ad campaign, some concerned citizens try to play the religious card.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): An ad campaign mixing religion and the environment.
ANNOUNCER: If we love our universe and we cherish God's creation, maybe we should ask, what would Jesus drive?
BLITZER: This new ad put out by a group called the Evangelical Environmental Network, was unveiled today in Detroit. That group and several other religious organizations met today with officials from the Ford Motor Company and GM. They say the cars, SUVs, and trucks that we make and buy in America are polluting too much of God's creation.
REV. JIM BALL, EVANGLEICAL ENVIRONMENTAL NETWORK: We want folks to understand that transportation choices are moral choices.
BLITZER: The campaign wants people to consider those moral choices when buying a new car, truck or SUV. The Evangelical Environmental Network, or EEN, spent only $65,000, as a so-called initial buy in ad campaign. So far, the ad is slated to run in eight small to medium television markets across four states.
PAUL GORMAN, NATIONAL RELIGIOUS PARTNERSHIP FOR THE ENVIRONMENT: If American automobile companies will build and market cars with better fuel economy, the American religious community will encourage its people to buy them. As they build them, we'll share news about this. And if they build them, we will come.
BLITZER: As for its role, GM says this is still a consumer issue.
CHRIS PREUSS, GM SPOKESMAN: This is a consumer choice issue. And our vehicles that improve in efficiency are passenger cars -- 133 percent over the last several decades. Our cars are 99 percent clean at the tail pipes, so we feel comfortable that we've done more than our share to meet society's challenges here.
BLITZER: We wanted to find more about EEN, the group releasing this ad. They say they are partners with World Vision and 22 other religious and social groups, including World Vision and Habitat For Humanity in various endeavors. World Vision confirmed to us that they have participated with EEN in some other social awareness programs.
As for how many people belong to EEN, the head of the group told us only that about 8,000 people subscribe to its magazine. Mainstream religious and evangelical groups have been involved in environmental campaigns before. But the question remains -- is the use of Jesus' name and likeness appropriate in discussing environmental issues?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: And that's our "Web Question of The Day." Should you take religious beliefs into account when buying a car? We'll have the results coming up. Vote at CNN.com/Wolf . While you're there, I'd love to hear from you. Send me your comments, your questions. I'll try to read some of them on the air each day at the end of this program. That's also of course where you can read my daily online column, CNN.com/Wolf.
One day after a shocking incident in Berlin, pop superstar, Michael Jackson, is apologizing. As we showed you yesterday, Jackson drew outrage from around the world when he held his baby son out of a fourth floor hotel window. In a statement today, Jackson says he made a terrible mistake and would never have intentionally endangered the lives of his children. The statement said Jackson was showing off his son to fans who had gathered outside the hotel.
And a day after the incident, namely today, Jackson treated his children to a visit to a Berlin Zoo. The children wore veils; look at this, reportedly to protect them from becoming a target of kidnappers. Michael Jackson.
We'll be back with the results of our "Web Question of The Day." Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Our "Picture of The Day," the launch of Boeing's newest and most powerful rocket. The Delta IV blasted off on its inaugural flight just moments ago from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Delta IV is said to be a vital part of the Air Force's push for more reliable and economical rockets. Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we have liftoff of the first Boeing Delta IV rocket, carrying the W-5 telecommunications satellite for Utilsat (ph), France.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: And there it is, a smooth takeoff.
Here's how our weighing in on our "Web Question of The Day." Earlier we asked you this -- should you take religious beliefs into account when buying a car? Twenty-one percent of you say yes, 79 percent of you say no. Remember, this is not a scientific poll.
We have some e-mails. Judy writes this -- "I was extremely upset by your coverage of Michael Jackson dandling his baby over the balcony of his hotel room. I hope I am not alone in my disgust for this freak and my concern for that innocent baby. I hope the proper authorities have been called in, as this is nothing less than child abuse." That opinion from Judy, shared by a lot of other e-mailers out there as well.
That's all the time we have today. Join me tomorrow, of course, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern, weekdays as well at noon Eastern for "SHOW DOWN IRAQ."
Until then, thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE" is coming up next. Jan Hopkins is filling tonight for Lou.
TO ORDER A COPY OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired November 20, 2002 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: WOLF BLITZER REPORTS starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice over): Important news on the medical front, can researchers stop the spread of a disease that affects one in five Americans? If it comes to war, will Saddam Hussein be bomb-proof?
DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: They have tunneled underground dramatically.
BLITZER: Can the U.S. bust his bunkers? "Bush at War," the early days of the fight against terror. I'll go inside the administration with Bob Woodward. In California, a shocking rise in the number of autistic children. Some anguished parents blame a routine vaccination. And would Jesus drive a gas guzzler? Evangelicals take up the environment and take on Detroit.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (on camera): It's Wednesday, November 20, 2002. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.
We begin with breaking news right now. A report just released that impacts one out of five every Americans. It's a condition many people do not talk openly about. Now a new medical advance could help make herpes history. We go to CNN Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen on that, as well as another breaking story on a potential weapon against cervical cancer -- Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf, two very exciting stories coming out right now from the New England Journal of Medicine. One in five Americans, as you said, has genital herpes, painful sores on the genitals that are passed on sexually. Herpes doesn't go away. The virus stays in the body for life and the sores go away and then come back again.
There's no real treatment until perhaps now. Doctors gave men and women a vaccine against genital herpes and it worked but only for the women. That's good news for women and for babies. Hundreds of babies die every year because their mothers pass on the herpes and more babies become mentally retarded.
There is one caveat, the vaccine worked only for the women who had not been exposed to the type of herpes that infects the mouth. The vaccine won't be available commercially for five years. Some doctors think all girls should be given this vaccine along with all the other childhood vaccines -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Elizabeth, what about cervical cancer and the whole relationship there. What's going on that front?
COHEN: Right, cervical cancer, Wolf, is the second leading cancer killer among women and now doctors are talking about the beginning of the end of cervical cancer. Most cases of cervical cancer are caused by the human patholoma (ph) virus and a new vaccine was 100 percent effective at preventing infection of that strain of the virus that causes half of all cervical cancer.
Doctors are working on vaccines against the other viruses that are other causes of cervical cancers. So who would get these vaccines? You'd have to get it before you become sexually active, so some doctors again want to give it along with measles, mumps, rubella and all the other childhood vaccines. Now, this vaccine also wouldn't be commercially available for several years -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Elizabeth Cohen with important medical news. Thanks very much Elizabeth for joining us.
COHEN: Thanks.
BLITZER: Joining us now with some advice on how both to prevent genital herpes and cervical cancer, Dr. Jennifer Berman and her sister the psychotherapist Laura Berman. They're in the Discovery Health Channel studio in Burbank, California. They're the hosts of "Berman and Berman For Women Only." Jennifer, thanks so much first of all to you, and Laura as well. But Jennifer, tell our viewers who aren't all that familiar with herpes, first of all what is it?
DR. JENNIFER BERMAN, UROLOGIST: Herpes is actually in the family of pox virus. It's a virus not much unlike chicken pox that causes ulcers and lesions on the genital area, the penis, the vagina, the scrotum, the labia and all around that area, and the problem with it is as we mentioned there is no cure. It can lay dormant throughout one's life cycle and then you can have multiple recurrences throughout your life cycle, and things such as stress, things such as depression.
DR. LAURA BERMAN, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: Diet.
J. BERMAN: Diet and also sun exposure can cause recurrences.
BLITZER: If someone has it, Laura, what do they do about it?
L. BERMAN: Well, the problem is there are ways to deal with the outbreaks. There's new medications that have come out that actually will alleviate the pain and alleviate the blisters and many people will take that medication ongoing when they get outbreaks on a regular basis. The problem is that not only can you give the herpes to someone else when you have an outbreak, but you can also give it to someone. You can shed the virus when you don't have an outbreak. You can also be a silent carrier where you don't even know you have herpes and you're giving it to someone else.
BLITZER: Jennifer, what about that. There are no symptoms sometimes. How do you know? What do you do? What do doctors expect you to do if there are no symptoms?
J. BERMAN: If there are no symptoms, it's really a problem. That's the devastating thing about this disease but there are screening tests, both blood tests and genital smears that can be done and I recommend anybody that's sexually active and gynecologists in particular that are seeing young women or men that are sexually active that those people be screened.
L. BERMAN: Right.
J. BERMAN: It's important.
BLITZER: And, Laura what about cervical cancer now. There seems to be this relationship that Elizabeth Cohen just spoke about.
L. BERMAN: Right and that's very promising. If there's a potential for preventing the spread of both herpes and genital warts, that's going to be tremendously promising and tremendously exciting. I kind of chuckled to myself because on the one hand I think it's a fabulous idea to be giving young children the vaccine sometime in the future, but it does require a nod on the part of the parents that those children may be becoming sexually active in the upcoming years and it may be a very loaded topic for parents and doctors to talk about.
J. BERMAN: The other thing that's scary, I'm sorry, is that it might -- you really need to be careful because the safer sex practices are really important.
L. BERMAN: Right.
J. BERMAN: And if a young girl thinks oh I can't get herpes and I can't be (UNINTELLIGIBLE) virus.
L. BERMAN: And I can take the pill and not get pregnant.
J. BERMAN: And I can take the pill and not get pregnant, I don't need to use condoms and that really can have devastating consequences.
BLITZER: And just to be on the precise side, Jennifer, this vaccine might not be available for as long as five years but it's still potentially a huge development today.
J. BERMAN: It is a huge development, and also one other thing we need to mention is that it didn't work in men, believe it or not. It was only women so it's all up to us again.
BLITZER: All right, women get the break this time.
L. BERMAN: Yes for a change.
BLITZER: Thanks to both of you, Jennifer and Laura Berman, the Berman sisters thanks so much as usual for your expertise.
J. BERMAN: Thanks.
L. BERMAN: Thank you.
J. BERMAN: Thank you.
BLITZER: In some other important medical news, hundreds of people in Nebraska are being tested for Hepatitis C and so far 81 of the tests have come back positive. State health officials say they believe the outbreak is linked to a cancer clinic in Freemont. That clinic is no longer open. Hepatitis C is a viral infection of the liver and it can lead to Psorosis or cancer of the liver.
A cruise liner about to dock in Ft. Lauderdale is the subject of a strange maritime mystery. Despite efforts to thoroughly sanitize it, something onboard continues to make people very sick. CNN National Correspondent Susan Candiotti is in South Florida. She's joining me now live with this unusual story. Tell us what's happening, Susan.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is unusual, Wolf. Well, we're talking about Holland America's Amsterdam, and because of a virus hundreds of people have taken ill aboard that ship during four recent cruises, including one that's going on right now. And so, the cruise line, after consulting with the Centers for Disease Control has voluntarily decided to take the ship out of service to give the ship a thorough cleansing. It hopes this time of killing the bug.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI (voice over): After four straight outbreaks and as many sailings aboard the same ship and more than 500 sick passengers and crew, Holland America is anchoring the Amsterdam. Virginia Steinwag (ph) and her husband fell ill on the cruise that returned last week.
VIRGINIA STEINWAG, PASSENGER: You just sit in the bathroom for 12 hours. I mean you can't leave. Then the next day you can't -- you can't keep anything down, and then you know the third day you're weak.
CANDIOTTI: The culprit, according to the Centers for Disease Control is the common Norwalk virus, in this case not believed to be transmitted by food or water.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is our belief that an individual brought this virus onto the ship.
CANDIOTTI: No matter how it got there, despite sanitizing the ship, the virus kept attacking. Sick passengers were quarantined, suffering from diarrhea and vomiting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody shook hands. You couldn't touch anything on the tables. There wasn't even salt and paper on the tables. The buffet line, they all served you.
CANDIOTTI: Holland America paid for flights home from Caribbean ports of call for passengers who fell ill during cruises. However, some passengers said they did not learn about the repeated outbreaks until they boarded the ship.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They should have told us not 20 minutes before we boarded.
CANDIOTTI: Holland America defended its decision to keep sailing, insisting it was doing all it could to prevent further infections.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're cleaning every poker chip.
CANDIOTTI: On its current sailing, more than 70 passengers and crew caught the virus. Before leaving on that cruise, some passengers were not at all worried and joked about what they do to stay well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not going to drink the water or breathe the air then.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI: Certainly hope not, however the ship he is on, the Amsterdam will be back in port in Ft. Lauderdale early tomorrow morning, and we know that for one thing lawyers will be watching very closely because, as it turns out Wolf, there's already a class action lawsuit that has been filed against Holland America Cruise Lines just last month because of a viral outbreak aboard another one of its cruise ships last July where more than 100 people took ill, involving this very same virus. So, we're anxious to see what happens when the people get off this cruise ship tomorrow.
BLITZER: We're anxious to see as well and I'm sure you'll tell us. Susan Candiotti in Miami thanks very much. A manhunt is over. Indiana Police today captured the second of two escapees that escaped from a jail in Kentucky but a search continues for a woman they allegedly kidnapped in a multi-state crime spree. CNN's Charles Molineaux is joining me now live from Chalotte (ph), North Carolina -- Charles.
CHARLES MOLINEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf, the fact is we now have two kidnapping suspects locked up but their kidnapping victim is still missing. That makes for a mighty scary scenario. This gas station here in Chalotte is the last place the three of them are believed to have been together. It has now become the epicenter of a frantic hunt that police are still referring to as a rescue mission.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MOLINEAUX (voice over): Police have launched an intense new search for the missing Alice Donovan with helicopters and ground crews combing the North Carolina/South Carolina state line, this after the second man accused of kidnapping her has been caught but she's still missing.
Twenty-five-year-old Chadrick Fulks was arrested after he allegedly tried to rob a bank in Middlebury, Indiana. Monday night, the FBI says Fulks got away from police in a high-speed chase in Marion, Ohio at speeds of up to 130 miles an hour. Fulks alleged accomplice, 21-year-old Brandon Basham was caught in Ashland, Kentucky on Sunday. He's accused of attempting a carjacking there and shooting it out with police before he finally surrendered. Police say Fulks and Basham broke out of a jail in Hopkins County, Kentucky two weeks ago. Investigators say that fact alone made them dangerous.
CLYDE MERRYMAN, FBI: They're desperate once they've escaped. They know there going to be the subject of a manhunt. They do something. They commit a crime and it's a natural tendency unfortunately for the nature of the crimes to escalate and the violence to escalate and that's what we're seeing.
MOLINEAUX: Fulks and Basham's trail took them from Kentucky, where police say they carjacked a man, to Indiana where they allegedly left him tied to a tree, to South Carolina where they're accused of shooting at a man who caught them robbing a house and where they're suspected of carjacking 44-year-old Alice Donovan.
The FBI says she was kidnapped and her BMW was taken from a Wal- Mart parking lot in Conway, South Carolina. That was last Thursday and she hasn't been seen since. The latest clues in the case have brought out helicopter and ground search teams in Brunswick County, North Carolina and Orie County, South Carolina along U.S. Highway 17 where police say Fulks and Basham came through and where they now think the two left Alice Donovan somewhere.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody along U.S. 17, I believe say something. I believe they might have saw that BMW pull over. Anybody who saw any vehicle matching this description needs to immediately, immediately call 9-1-1 and give us a location.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MOLINEAUX: Meanwhile, police are still trying to establish a connection between Chadrick Fulks and that bank robbery in Indiana, as well as a whole assortment of other crimes, robberies, thefts, and carjackings in about five different states.
He was actually picked up in Indiana after police tipped off local police as to a house where they thought that he was. You're looking at him as he was hauled in after being picked up actually along with his brother, who was also picked up by police in Indiana.
So, they are both now in custody. The question is what has happened to Alice Donovan? Police here say they are definitely in a race against time. They're very concerned that what happened to that victim in Indiana who was tied to a tree and left out in the elements may well have happened to her. So, at this point, they're saying every second counts -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Let's hope they find her. Charles Molineaux thanks very much for that report. Deep underground, where will Saddam Hussein go if the bombs start falling? A CNN exclusive, the hide-and- seek game that could take place deep underground, plus the autism debate, does a vaccine cause the mysterious condition or are parents simply being misled? We'll hear from both sides of this passionate and heart-wrenching issue.
And what would Jesus drive, the ad campaign that's putting religion into car shopping, and we want your opinion. Should you take religious beliefs into account when buying a car? Log onto cnn.com/wolf, but first a look at news making headlines around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice over): Power transfer in Pakistan, President Pervez Musharraf says he'll hand over power to a new civilian prime minister in the next day or two. The announcement comes on the eve of a vote in parliament to elect the country's first prime minister since General Musharraf seized power in a military coup in 1999.
A verdict sparks outrage in South Korea, a U.S. military court acquitted an American soldier of negligent homicide in the deaths of two South Korean schoolgirls. Sergeant Fernando Nino (ph) commanded the vehicle that ran over the 14-year-old girls in June. The trial of Nino's driver begins tomorrow. Protesters demand the men be tried in their South Korean court.
More violent protests in Venezuela, troops fired teargas and pellets to prevent supporters of President Huge Chavez from clashing with opposition marchers. Days of protest were triggered by Mr. Chavez ordering the military to take over the capitol's police force.
Beautiful by deadly, a snail found in waters off Australia's Great Barrier Reef could be the source of a new powerful pain relieving drug. Researchers say the venom of the cone snail contains a compound that may be as strong as morphine in easing chronic pain.
Royal dogfight, Britain's Princess Anne goes to court tomorrow to fight for the life of a dog. One of her English bull terriers reportedly attacked two young boys in April. Charged with allowing the dog to be dangerously out of control, Princess Anne will be the first British royal to appear in court on criminal charges since King Charles I was beheaded in the 17th Century. If convicted, she could be jailed for up to six months. Her dog faces a possible death sentence.
Miss Prison contests held recently in Lithuania's only prison for women, the 21-year-old winner who's halfway through a four-year sentence received a prize of about $1,100, and that's our look around the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Now, a CNN exclusive. If the United States goes to war with Iraq, one of the first goals will be to cut off Saddam Hussein's communications with his troops. But CNN has learned that current U.S. weapons may not be enough to do the job. A scramble is now underway to solve that problem. This note to our viewers, none of the information in this report is classified. Here's CNN's Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In the first hours of a war, the U.S. military believes Saddam Hussein will run to a bunker deep beneath one of his presidential palaces. The Iraqis have built hardened bunkers designed specifically to withstand attack by current U.S. weapons. Innovative construction techniques shield key areas from blast waves.
CNN has been told by U.S. defense sources that one of those bunkers dozens of feet under central Baghdad has vital communications gear for Saddam to talk to his men while under attack. The U.S. they say can not quickly destroy it without risking killing nearby civilians. Inspectors may never even find it.
RUMSFELD: They have tunneled underground dramatically. It's going to be very hard for the inspectors to find anything.
STARR: CNN has learned two new massive bombs, which could be carried on the B-2 and B-52 bombers are now being urgently designed in hopes they can be ready early next year. One proposed weapon, Big Blu, is a 30,000-pound bomb packed with 3,500 pounds of explosives aimed at penetrating 150 feet of earth, far deeper than the current 5,000-pound bomb which penetrates about two dozen feet.
The other proposed weapon, a 20,000-pound bomb packed with 18,000 pounds of explosives. This would replace the Vietnam era 15,000-pound Daisy cutter also used in Afghanistan. The bomb detonates in the air over the target, creating a massive air blast. The U.S. will use it to destroy hardened revetments protecting Iraqi scud missiles and weapons.
STARR (on camera): The work on both these weapons is vital, say defense officials. But even if they are not ready in time for Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld wants them in the inventory. Today, there are more than 1,500 deeply-buried military targets around the world. Barbara Starr CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: And once again, none of the information in this report was classified. Military officials at the most senior levels for years have openly said that Iraq has studied U.S. bombing campaigns and has continued to bury its weapons and its military assets in those hardened bunkers.
A surge in autism in California has parents pointing the finger. Is a vaccine to blame? Doctors say no but there's a growing cry for more answers. We'll hear from both sides of this debate when we return. Plus, he's suspected of being the wannabe 20th hijacker but did al Qaeda lose confidence in Zacarias Moussaoui before the terror plan ever got off the ground, new evidence that could help his defense.
And war on terror, inside the Bush White House, the details you didn't know about the days after September 11th. The Pulitzer Prize winning reporter, Bob Woodward, will join me live. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: California is dealing with a puzzling and heart wrenching health issue, the rate of autism in the state's children has almost tripled in the last 15 years and no one knows why. One suspected cause is the mercury used in vaccines given to infants and state lawmakers are looking into the matter. CNN's Rusty Dornin reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Picture perfect, a happy, healthy baby. Then at 15 months, just like every other baby, Russell Rollins got his measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination.
RICK ROLLINS, FATHER: He has a very physical reaction to those vaccines including a high-pitch scream and days of high-pitched crying and listlessness.
DORNIN: Ten years later, those problems continue. Russell Rollins is autistic. How do you describe what you go through as a parent of an autistic child?
ROLLINS: It's a living hell. It's a living hell for everyone involved. It's a living hell for my son who suffers terribly from this disorder.
DORNIN: And it's a struggle that most autistic kids go through in the classroom. We're at the ABC School for Autistic Children, classes are full. Are you seeing bigger numbers, more kids knocking at the door to get in places like this?
ROLLINS: Yes, both in our school and in our in-home services, even in comparison to last year. We probably have 15 more kids than we had the year previous.
DORNIN: And parents are asking questions. No one knows what causes the brain development disorder but Rick Rollins who has become an activist for autism thinks the vaccine is connected.
ROLLINS: Thirty-three percent of new families with children of autism believe that vaccines played a role in the development of their child's autism.
DORNIN: But a recent, well-respected Danish study found no link between vaccinations and autism. Epidemiologist and pediatrician Robert Byrd doesn't believe the measles vaccine is a problem but he says concern about what's in some vaccinations is justified. Byrd applauds the removal last year of a small amount of mercury used as a preservative in some vaccines.
DR. ROBERT BYRD, EPIDEMIOLOGIST: To have anything that's potentially harmful packaged with something that's supposed to be entirely good is a bad package.
DORNIN: Byrd authored a recent study that ruled out better testing and population increases as possible causes for California's dramatic increase. He believes what's happening here is probably happening nationwide. California has the only system for registering autistic children.
There is no biological test for autism. Some researchers believe there could be connection between genetics and the environment, but Rollins says he knows vaccines are only one possibility. Do you believe there could be other factor as well?
BYRD: Absolutely. You know I don't think anyone in any area of research in autism believe there's one single cause. We worry day and night about his future and who's going to take care of him when we're gone.
DORNIN: Rusty Dornin CNN, Sacramento, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: A provision in the new Homeland Security Bill gives vaccine makers stronger liability protection and Congressman Dan Burton of Indiana is angry about that. He says there's an autism epidemic in the United States and he says parents who think vaccines are to blame will have their legal recourse cut off.
Congressman Burton is with us right now from Indianapolis. Here in Washington Dr. Marie McCormick with the Harvard School of Public Health and an expert on child healthcare. Thanks to both of you for joining us. Congressman Burton, your grandson has autism. Why do you believe there is this link between the vaccines and autism?
REP. DAN BURTON (R), INDIANA: Well, Wolf, I became aware of this when my grandson received nine shots in one day, seven of which contained Thimerosol (ph) which has mercury in it and just a few days later he became radically different, banging his head against the wall, running around and flapping his arms, and he became autistic, and that's a story that we found through our investigations that goes all over the country. Fifty, 20 years ago, we had one in 10,000 children that they thought was autistic. Now, it's more than one out of 250, according to the CDC and HHS.
BLITZER: Well, that seems like a pretty impressive case there Dr. McCormick. Is Congressman Burton on the right track?
DR. MARIE MCCORMICK, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL: No, we don't really think so. We've done two reports at the Institute of Medicine where I'm chairing a committee on immunization safety. The first was on MMR and autism, and the second was on Thimerosol. In the first report, we actually said we could not find a causal association and rejected a causal association between MMR and autism, and in the second we said the information was insufficient to link the Thimerosol to neuro-developmental disorders broadly, not just autism, and clearly further study needed to be done on that order.
BLITZER: So, what about that, Congressman?
BURTON: Well, let me read to you what it says in that report. It says it's biologically plausible, biologically plausible. That means that it could occur, so they don't really know. But if you look at an internal memo at Health and Human Services that I subpoenaed, they didn't give it to us without us subpoenaeing it, it says, this is from HHS:
"Preliminary screening of ICD-9 codes for possible neurological and renal conditions following exposures to vaccines containing Thimerosol before three months of age showed a statistical association for the overall category of neurological developmental disorders and for two conditions within the category, speech delay and attention deficit disorder."
BLITZER: All right.
BURTON: So the HHS people admit that there is a statistical connection between the two.
BLITZER: Dr. McCormick, I want you to respond but you too like Congressman Burton has a personal stake in this. I understand you have a niece and a nephew both of whom suffer from autism as well.
MCCORMICK: Yes, that's true and I think that while my brother is certainly very concerned about this, he doesn't blame vaccines. We also saw those data. They were presented to our committee with regard to Thimerosol. The consensus of the epidemiologists on the committee was that it was a very, very weak association and there's a great deal of difficulty in that study actually verifying the diagnoses that they were looking at, because they were made in the clinical context and not in special developmental centers.
In fact, the CDC is now in the process of looking at conducting its study, where they would actually do formal psychometric testing so that they can verify these diagnoses and make sure what they're looking at.
BLITZER: Well, let me ask you this doctor. If it's not these vaccines, what possibly can cause this huge increase in the number of autistic cases, especially in California, as we've just seen?
MCCORMICK: Well, I don't think the California experience is unique. There are now two quite substantial and authoritative reviews in literature by two quite well know figures in the field that really believe as part of this, and a good part of this, is changing diagnoses on autism. We've had three major revisions of the psychiatric manual that sets out the criteria for autism over the past 30-years. And indeed, the spectrum has been expanded from very severe disease to less severe forms, including Aspirger syndrome in which what is called high functioning autistic individuals.
BLITZER: All right.
MCCORMICK: I think another issue though is people have become much more sensitive to the issue of autism, and particularly because there are now educational techniques that can be used to improve the outcomes of these children. So they're much more likely to refer. You know when you couldn't do anything, you don't refer.
BLITZER: All right. Well, we're going to continue this discussion, Dr. McCormick, thanks for joining us. Congressman Burton, unfortunately, we lost his satellite signal from Indianapolis. But we're going to have both of you back and continue this very important and heart-wrenching discussion. Thanks to both of you for joining us.
Was Zacarias Moussaoui too incompetent to take part in the September 11th hijacking? New evidence that both implicates and helps him. Plus, the secrets of the West Wing. What was going on behind the scenes September 11? We'll ask Bob Woodward. He'll be with me live. And Michael Jackson says sorry, but gives fans another odd thriller. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Turning now to the war against terrorism is a possible key break in a case accused al Qaeda terrorist, Zacarias Moussaoui. It involves his alleged role in last year's attacks. Our justice correspondent, Kelli Arena, has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sources say that accused terrorist, Zacarias Moussaoui, was originally meant to be part of the September 11 attacks, according to senior al Qaeda operative, Ramzi Binalshibh. But those sources say Binalshibh told interrogators the terror organization lost confidence in Moussaoui. One legal expert says that the government, through links, is trying to establish a stronger link through Moussaoui and the attacks.
WILLIAM MOFFITT, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It's gotten in the press the idea that there is a connection, which is something that the government has not been able to establish in the working papers, so the indictment did not establish.
ARENA: According to sources, Binalshibh, a self-proclaimed organizer of the 9/11 attacks, who was arrested in September, told U.S. officials that Moussaoui met with Khalid Sheikh Mohammad back in the winter of 2000 in Afghanistan. Government sources say Mohammad is believed to be a mastermind of the attacks.
According to those sources, Binalshibh says Mohammad gave Moussaoui contact names in the United States and that Moussaoui was sent money at least twice. The news comes in the wake of public suggestions the government's case against Moussaoui is not very strong, and that the White House is considering a military tribunal rather than a civilian trial, a move justice officials are adamantly against.
JOHN ASHCROFT, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL: The Department of Justice is prepared to move forward with the prosecution. ARENA: But sources also say that Binalshibh told them that Mohammad thought Moussaoui was not discrete enough, and so it was decided not to use him in the September 11 attacks or provide him with any details unless it was absolutely necessary. Some actually suggest that actually works in Moussaoui's favor by proving he was not intimately involved in the plot.
Moussaoui, who is representing himself, has requested access to Binalshibh. The government has objected in the name of national security.
JIM ROBINSON, FORMER ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL: He's obviously provided useful information that allowed the government to anticipate and to interfere with other terrorist attacks. And that's the number one priority for the use of him at the moment.
ARENA: Moussaoui's standby counsel has refused to comment on the developments, and it's unclear whether Moussaoui himself is even ware of what Binalshibh has said.
Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Anybody who's picked up the "Washington Post" or gone to its Web site the past few days have seen that captivating excerpts from Bob Woodward's important new book. It's called " Bush At War" and it gives readers an insider's view of all the internal struggles involving the president and his cabinet members. The author, Pulitzer Price winner, Bob Woodward joins me now live.
Congratulations.
BOB WOODWARD, ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR, "WASHINGTON POST": Thank you.
BLITZER: First of all, on the new book, have you gotten any angry phone calls from the White House as a result of this book?
WOODWARD: Not yet.
BLITZER: No one's complaining?
WOODWARD: Not that -- I've heard indirectly a few complaints, but it's not about what they said, it's about what others said.
BLITZER: It's a -- the normal process is that you go ahead, you've got your great sources, you write the book, and then people start wondering, well, maybe I went too far in giving this information. They don't come up with buyer's remorse, if you will?
WOODWARD: Sometimes that happens. But in this case, I had the notes, lots of NSC meetings so you could see not just what was decided but how they got there.
BLITZER: What... WOODWARD: Also, the president himself talked for two hours and 25 minutes and verified the things that were in the notes and some of the major turning...
BLITZER: He turned out to be a pretty good source.
WOODWARD: He did. He didn't deny a thing.
BLITZER: That's not a bad source when you're dealing with the Bush administration. Let me read something from the book because it says something about this man, the president of the United States. "I do not need to explain why I say things. That's the interesting thing about being the president. Maybe somebody needs to explain to me why they say something, but I don't feel like I owe anybody an explanation." What does that say to you about the president?
WOODWARD: Well, it's a level of self-confidence, but it is in the context that it's very important to state what the context was. He decided, through feeling, as he explained, that we should start the bombing about a week before we did in Afghanistan. So he went to the war cabinet, to the NSC, and said, "OK, are we ready to go next Monday or Tuesday? And everyone was quite surprised. He delayed it a week when Condi Rice and Don Rumsfeld said, "We really aren't ready." And I asked, "Well, why did you do that?" And he said, "Well, I was trying to provoke people, and I don't have to explain that I'm trying to provoke them."
BLITZER: An interesting thing -- I think you came around, like a lot of people, including myself, in talking to this president maybe originally underestimating him, but when you see him in action, you realize he's the real thing.
WOODWARD: Well, he's in charge. In many ways, he dominates this group of very strong men and women. At the same time, he needs them and he kind of knows he needs them. And so he gets information and recommendations from them.
BLITZER: Let me read another excerpt from the book. It says, "Look, I'm the toxic Texan, right? IN these people's minds, I'm the new guy. They don't know who I am. The imagery must be just unbelievable." What was he referring to?
WOODWARD: Particularly in the European press, where people say, you know, that this guy from Texas, who -- maybe it only passed through Europe by accident -- who is he, how can he be president of the United States?
BLITZER: And they underestimate him, but probably to their own regret.
WOODWARD: Well, you know, just -- there's another side to this. The war in many respects has gone well, but lots of things are unanswered. And now bin Laden surfaces. And if we get hit by another large terrorist attack in this country, all of the things that seem to have gone right in the last 14 months will be wiped out. BLITZER: He had the courage to give the go order for the war in Afghanistan, but that was after 9/11. Three thousand Americans with killed. Will he have the guts to go ahead and order strikes against Iraq, start a war if necessary?
WOODWARD: Well, if necessary is the important issue. And what he's done and what I lay out in the book is how Colin Powell went to him, insisted on a private meeting, and at a two-hour dinner, laid out the consequences of war with Iraq and literally said to him, "You know, you can't do it alone. It won't work. You need bases, you need over flight rights, you need allies, you need friends, like in any undertaking like this."
And in the face of the resistance of Cheney particularly and Rumsfeld, to a certain extent, the president decided to go to the U.N., now has unanimous resolution. So in a sense, think if he had gone alone versus the idea of having the world behind him. Big difference.
BLITZER: Huge difference. "Bush At War," Bob Woodward's new book. Good work.
WOODWARD: Thanks.
BLITZER: Thanks again.
You've heard the warning about smallpox vaccines, but the Israelis are reporting no side effects at all. The real life human study that may decide whether you get the shot. Plus, what would Jesus drive? An evangelical group is turning SUVs into a religious issue. A look at their crusade still to come.
And we want your opinion. Should you take religious believes into account when buying a car? Log on to CNN.com/Wolf. That's where you can vote right now. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Should you get vaccinated against smallpox? The deadly disease was eradicated decades ago, but there are serious concerns it may be revived as a terror weapons. As the Bush Administration weighs a decision, it's looking to Israel for some answers. We turn once again to our medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the first large group in decades to be vaccinated against smallpox, 15,000 Israeli health workers, police officers and other first responders. It's a dangerous vaccine, one that can kill, but so far, it's gone well. No one's died. No one's become seriously ill. And President Bush's health advisers have been watching Israel, as they contemplate mass vaccinations in the United States.
DR. BOAZ LEV, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, ISRAELI HEALTH MINISTRY: The authorities there have tremendous interest in what's going on here, trying to learn what our experiences are.
COHEN: And that good experience with the vaccine has bolstered the argument for vaccinating U.S. healthcare workers, and then the population as soon as possible.
DR. BILL BICKNELL, BOSTON UNIVERSITY: But serious complications and deaths are doing to be extremely rare and we've seen in the case of Israel, at the present time, it sounds like zero.
COHEN: Statistically speaking, the smallpox vaccine kills one in million people and causes encephalitis to one in 3,000 cases. But Dr. Bill Bicknell and others are trying to convince President Bush that the side effects in reality will be far fewer, as long as health authorities do what the Israelis have done -- weed out people who should not get the vaccine, such as those with certain medical conditions. And if the vaccine does make people sick, there's a treatment for some of the side effects. It's called vaccinia immune globulin and it's made from the blood of people who've already been vaccinated.
Other experts are urging President Bush not to vaccinate anyone, unless there's an actual smallpox attack. They say the Israel experience might be good, but it's too small to draw any conclusions.
DR. CARLOS DEL RIO, EMORY UNIVERSITY: We would really worry about vaccinating people and having to live with the consequences of vaccination, and the complications of vaccination.
COHEN: Dr. Carlos Del Rio adds that it's not just the vaccinated person who's at risk. Anyone else who touches the vaccination site could get sick.
DEL RIO: Somebody's patch is going to fall off. Something is going to happen.
COHEN: These are the very issues the president and his advisers are debating now, a decision about who should get the smallpox vaccine and when, is expected in the next few weeks.
Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Another odd thriller from the self-anointed king of pop after an apology for putting one over the balcony, Michael Jackson shows off his kids again, sort of. And Jesus walked, but would he drive an SUV? A new campaign wants you to answer no, then follow suit. Religion and car shopping when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: If you own a gas-guzzling vehicle like an SUV, do you consider yourself a sinner when you fill it up or kick it into high gear? In a new ad campaign, some concerned citizens try to play the religious card.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): An ad campaign mixing religion and the environment.
ANNOUNCER: If we love our universe and we cherish God's creation, maybe we should ask, what would Jesus drive?
BLITZER: This new ad put out by a group called the Evangelical Environmental Network, was unveiled today in Detroit. That group and several other religious organizations met today with officials from the Ford Motor Company and GM. They say the cars, SUVs, and trucks that we make and buy in America are polluting too much of God's creation.
REV. JIM BALL, EVANGLEICAL ENVIRONMENTAL NETWORK: We want folks to understand that transportation choices are moral choices.
BLITZER: The campaign wants people to consider those moral choices when buying a new car, truck or SUV. The Evangelical Environmental Network, or EEN, spent only $65,000, as a so-called initial buy in ad campaign. So far, the ad is slated to run in eight small to medium television markets across four states.
PAUL GORMAN, NATIONAL RELIGIOUS PARTNERSHIP FOR THE ENVIRONMENT: If American automobile companies will build and market cars with better fuel economy, the American religious community will encourage its people to buy them. As they build them, we'll share news about this. And if they build them, we will come.
BLITZER: As for its role, GM says this is still a consumer issue.
CHRIS PREUSS, GM SPOKESMAN: This is a consumer choice issue. And our vehicles that improve in efficiency are passenger cars -- 133 percent over the last several decades. Our cars are 99 percent clean at the tail pipes, so we feel comfortable that we've done more than our share to meet society's challenges here.
BLITZER: We wanted to find more about EEN, the group releasing this ad. They say they are partners with World Vision and 22 other religious and social groups, including World Vision and Habitat For Humanity in various endeavors. World Vision confirmed to us that they have participated with EEN in some other social awareness programs.
As for how many people belong to EEN, the head of the group told us only that about 8,000 people subscribe to its magazine. Mainstream religious and evangelical groups have been involved in environmental campaigns before. But the question remains -- is the use of Jesus' name and likeness appropriate in discussing environmental issues?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: And that's our "Web Question of The Day." Should you take religious beliefs into account when buying a car? We'll have the results coming up. Vote at CNN.com/Wolf . While you're there, I'd love to hear from you. Send me your comments, your questions. I'll try to read some of them on the air each day at the end of this program. That's also of course where you can read my daily online column, CNN.com/Wolf.
One day after a shocking incident in Berlin, pop superstar, Michael Jackson, is apologizing. As we showed you yesterday, Jackson drew outrage from around the world when he held his baby son out of a fourth floor hotel window. In a statement today, Jackson says he made a terrible mistake and would never have intentionally endangered the lives of his children. The statement said Jackson was showing off his son to fans who had gathered outside the hotel.
And a day after the incident, namely today, Jackson treated his children to a visit to a Berlin Zoo. The children wore veils; look at this, reportedly to protect them from becoming a target of kidnappers. Michael Jackson.
We'll be back with the results of our "Web Question of The Day." Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Our "Picture of The Day," the launch of Boeing's newest and most powerful rocket. The Delta IV blasted off on its inaugural flight just moments ago from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Delta IV is said to be a vital part of the Air Force's push for more reliable and economical rockets. Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we have liftoff of the first Boeing Delta IV rocket, carrying the W-5 telecommunications satellite for Utilsat (ph), France.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: And there it is, a smooth takeoff.
Here's how our weighing in on our "Web Question of The Day." Earlier we asked you this -- should you take religious beliefs into account when buying a car? Twenty-one percent of you say yes, 79 percent of you say no. Remember, this is not a scientific poll.
We have some e-mails. Judy writes this -- "I was extremely upset by your coverage of Michael Jackson dandling his baby over the balcony of his hotel room. I hope I am not alone in my disgust for this freak and my concern for that innocent baby. I hope the proper authorities have been called in, as this is nothing less than child abuse." That opinion from Judy, shared by a lot of other e-mailers out there as well.
That's all the time we have today. Join me tomorrow, of course, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern, weekdays as well at noon Eastern for "SHOW DOWN IRAQ."
Until then, thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE" is coming up next. Jan Hopkins is filling tonight for Lou.
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