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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

One Dead, Four Seriously Injured In British Counterterrorism Raid; Investigation Into High School Athlete Owning Hummer

Aired January 14, 2003 - 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.


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Saddam Hussein at the helm and President Bush says he's had it.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm sick and tired of games and deception.

BLITZER: But the U.N. says hold on.

KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: I don't think we are there yet.

BLITZER: Tough talk on North Korea but this time from a former president, his target the White House.

Foreign probe, who tipped British authorities on rocker Pete Townshend?

Job search 2003: a surprising discovery about your resume and your race.

How long before his dream comes true? I'll ask Coretta Scott King.

And, what's wrong with this picture? All the NBA stars drive cars like this, but a high school athlete?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I had a vehicle like that and I was 17 years old, I'd expect them to investigate me too.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: It's Tuesday, January 14, 2003. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.

With a massive U.S. buildup underway, President Bush today hinted that Iraqi weapons hunt may have entered its final stages. We get the story now from our CNN White House Correspondent Dana Bash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The president made his frustration clear. BUSH: Time is running out on Saddam Hussein. He must disarm. I'm sick and tired of games and deception.

BASH: Mr. Bush sent a strong signal he is running out of patience, while patience is precisely what leaders of the U.N. are urging.

ANNAN: I think the resolution is very clear.

BASH: U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan reminding reporters inspectors are just now getting up to speed and if they determine there has been a breach...

ANNAN: There should be serious consequences and I don't think we are there yet and so I really don't want to talk about nor is the council talking about war.

BASH: The White House is presented with a complicated diplomatic dance. On the one hand, aides say the president has no specific timetable for deciding to forcefully disarm Iraq, on the other reminding the world the terms of U.N. Resolution 1441, that the burden of proof is on Iraq, not inspectors, to reveal weapons of mass destruction.

BUSH: We said we expect Saddam Hussein for the sake of peace to disarm. That's the question, is Saddam Hussein disarming? He's been given 11 years to disarm. And so, the world came together and we have given him one last chance to disarm. So far I haven't seen any evidence that he is disarming.

BASH: Another factor, getting the U.S. military in place and ready to attack at an optimal time. As tens of thousands of troops ship off to the Persian Gulf, the question is how long can they cool their heels waiting for inspectors to complete their work?

(on camera): With the January 27 deadline looming, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice met with New York with Chief Weapons Inspector Hans Blix. She urged his team to take Iraqi scientists out of the country before the end of the month in the hopes of finding that elusive smoking gun.

Dana Bash CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: With their bosses on the way to Baghdad warning Iraq to cooperate, U.N. weapons inspectors today swooped in on a number of suspect sites including missile facilities, a munitions depot, and a complex which houses Iraq's own disarmament agency the so-called National Monitoring Directorate.

Iraq insists it has already come clean about its weapons program, with the Foreign Minister Naji Sabri saying the declaration to the U.N. "answered everything."

Meantime, the Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz has warned that Saddam Hussein is not about to give up, saying he'll stay in Iraq for a very long time and will "fight to the last bullet."

Hundreds of Iraqis took to the streets today, among them Muslim and Christian clerics. Outside the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad, they pledged loyalty to Saddam Hussein, denounced U.S. military threats, and warned that any invasion would be met by a holy war.

And, American pilots will soon be taking part in the weapons hunt. U.S. and U.N. officials tell CNN the Pentagon will lend U.S. spy planes to the effort. They'll be flown by American crews but the planes will carry U.N. markings and they'll be under orders of the chief U.N. weapons inspectors.

While U.N. inspectors are asking for more time, the U.S. troop deployment is already in very high gear. Is the military buildup past the point of no return?

Here's our CNN Senior Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Savannah, Georgia Tuesday an army transport ship was loaded with more than 1,400 tanks and other vehicles for the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, just another part of the massive deployment that could put more than 150,000 troops in the Gulf region by February.

But with Turkey so far refusing to host U.S. ground forces, with U.S. allies pressing for a second U.N. resolution, and with U.N. inspectors still on the ground, the U.S. military runs the risk of being all dressed up with nowhere to go, at least not anytime soon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How long can you let 200,000 U.S. troops sit in the sand?

ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECY.: The question is how long will it take for Saddam Hussein to come clean and prove to the world that he's disarmed?

MCINTYRE: If the U.S. deploys its troops too early, it pays a price. It costs hundreds of millions of dollars, exacts a toll on families and businesses, and makes vital training more difficult.

BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE, U.S. ARMY (RET.): You have to think about how to maintain those shooting skills, those communicating skills, those moving skills, survival skills while you're deployed, and shrewd, prudent commanders have planned for that, and they're doing it right now.

MCINTYRE: But the upside to the longer deployment window is it gives the U.S. more time to move all the logistics it needs ahead of time instead of after the war begins.

(on camera): Pentagon sources insist the U.S. has not reached the point of no return but they also say President Bush would not have approved all the recent deployments of U.S. troops if he didn't expect to have to use them. Jamie McIntyre CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Here's your chance to weigh in on this story. Our web question of the day is this. Should President Bush give inspectors another year to finish their job or go to war in the coming weeks? We'll have the results later in this broadcast. Vote at cnn.com/wolf.

While you're there, I'd love to hear from you. Send me your comments. 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.

Turning now to another crisis, the nuclear standoff with North Korea, the Bush administration today welcomed offers of help by China and Russia but said a solution depends on North Korea's actions.

We get more now from our State Department Correspondent Andrea Koppel.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Bush said it was up to North Korea to turn back the clock to a time when he says the U.S. was ready to make a deal.

BUSH: An initiative which would talk about energy and food because we care deeply about the suffering of the North Korean people.

KOPPEL: But, Mr. Bush said, North Korea's decision to develop a secret nuclear weapons program forced him to put that offer on hold.

BUSH: People say well are you willing to talk to North Korea? Of course we are but what this nation won't do is be blackmailed.

KOPPEL: In an interview, Secretary of State Powell said even if this standoff ends peacefully, the two sides will need a new arrangement and not just go back to the existing framework.

Former President Jimmy Carter had a hand in negotiating that 1994 deal to put the North's nuclear program on ice and, in an op-ed Tuesday, criticized the Bush White House for provoking this crisis by including North Korea in the axis of evil, leaving Pyongyang, he said, "to assume that they were next on America's hit list after Iraq."

(on camera): But now the administration is hoping that a series of diplomatic missions to North Korea and the region this week, and the prospects of more food and energy will help diffuse this escalating crisis in a way that both sides save face.

Andrea Koppel CNN at the State Department.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Concern about international trouble spots may be eroding President Bush's popularity. A new CNN/USA Today Gallup Poll puts Mr. Bush's job approval rating at 58 percent. That's still pretty high but it's five points lower than last week and it coincides with a similar decline in approval for the way the president is handling world affairs.

Rock superstar Pete Townshend out on bail, find out how a child porn bust here in the United States helped lead to his arrest.

Plus, 17-year-old sniper suspect John Lee Malvo, should he face the death penalty as an adult; prosecutors making their case right now.

And, the $50,000 question hanging over a high school basketball star, how does a kid from the projects afford a luxury SUV? We'll have a closer look, but first today's news quiz.

Who was the first basketball player to turn pro straight out of high school, Moses Malone, Darryl Dawkins, Bill Willoughby, Kobe Bryant, the answer coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: She's speaking out on a dream her late husband announced to the world. I'll speak with Coretta Scott King. That's coming up on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The Who's legendary guitarist Pete Townshend must report back to British police by the end of the month after his arrest in the child pornography crackdown.

Townshend was released on bail late yesterday after his arrest on suspicion of possessing and making indecent images of children. He admits he visited a website advertising child pornography but says he was only doing research for his autobiography. While British police have arrested 1,300 suspects in the crackdown, the investigation has its roots on this side of the Atlantic Ocean.

Here's CNN Justice Correspondent Kelli Arena. She's got some details on this - Kelli.

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, this investigation dates back to 1999. That's when U.S. federal agents raided the home of a Texas couple, Thomas and Janice Reedy (ph).

Now, the Reedys who are now in jail were running a business called Landslide Productions, which sold subscriptions to websites offering child pornography. According the U.S. Postal Service, the business took in a staggering $1.4 million a month and it serviced more than 250,000 subscribers.

Now, customers had to provide a credit card number for access to the site. After cracking the code to unscramble the account numbers, postal inspectors tracked down the credit cardholders and arrested 170 people in the United States but many of the subscribers lived outside the United States.

Now, more than 7,000 of those customers were located in the United Kingdom. That information led investigators to Pete Townshend.

BLITZER: Frightening statistics, Kelli Arena thanks very much for that report. Pete Townshend, of course, is one of rock and roll's legendary figures.

CNN's Ann McDermott gives us a closer look at the man, at his accomplishments.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANN MCDERMOTT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In recent years, Pete Townshend's been a solo act mostly, playing new works and classics by The Who.

But occasionally, the 57-year-old would get together with his old band mates for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, for example.

JOHN ENDWHISTLE (ph): Thank you. Thank you.

MCDERMOTT: That's John Endwhistle who died last year. Drummer Keith Moon died of an overdose in 1978, but survivors Townshend and Roger Daltry continue to tour from time to time.

What really made The Who made music history with their rock opera "Tommy." That's Daltry in the 1975 movie, featuring Townshend songs about a deaf, dumb, and blind kid who are also abused as a child, songs Townshend wrote in the late '60s, including his signature "Pinball Wizard."

Townshend has recently suggested he might have been abused as a child, after acknowledging he was the target of a police investigation into Internet child pornography. He reportedly said he was doing research.

At Monday night's "American Music Awards," Elton John was asked to comment on his old friend's arrest.

ELTON JOHN: You know I'm a friend of Pete's. I love Pete and my thoughts are with him.

MCDERMOTT: In recent years, Townshend has demonstrated his interest in computers, as he touted an interactive version of "Tommy" in this promotional video and at the same time commented on the young rocker he used to be.

PETE TOWNSHEND: I was a handsome, witty, and exceptionally debonair young gentleman as I still am today.

MCDERMOTT: Maybe, but until now anyway what he was really best known for being was a rock legend.

Ann McDermott CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Seventeen-year-old sniper suspect John Lee Malvo was back in court today facing prosecutors who want him tried as an adult. If that happens, Malvo could face a death sentence.

CNN's Jeanne Meserve is outside the courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia. That's just outside Washington, D.C. - Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, prosecutor Robert Horan is putting forward the evidence relating to four shooting sites and crime scenes. He says there is one common denominator. People at all these scenes were shot in ambush by the same rifle.

That rifle, he says, was found in the car in which Malvo was arrested, and he says he will establish that Malvo's fingerprints are on that weapon and that that was the weapon used in the killings. He is going to be putting 25 witnesses on the stand. When I left the courtroom a short time ago, we were on witness number eight.

The most compelling witness by far at this point has been William Franklin. He is the husband of Linda Franklin, the F.B.I. analyst who was gunned down in a Home Depot parking lot exactly three months ago.

William Franklin described how he and his wife were struggling to put a bookshelf into their car. He heard a loud noise, which he at first thought was the sound of a board hitting asphalt, and he felt a spray on his face.

He turned, saw his wife wounded. He described in a faltering voice how he went to her side, touched her, stayed with her until emergency crews arrived. He said only later did he realize that that spray on his face had been his wife's blood. Most of the other witnesses have been law enforcement officers who have been involved in securing crime scenes and collecting evidence.

Just before I left the courtroom, a dispatcher from Rockville City Police was on the stand. She talked about how she'd gotten a phone call on October 15. It was unlike other calls related to the sniper shooting she said in that most of the others had to do with information or tips.

Then the tape was played in the courtroom. It was a bit difficult to make out because of the quality of the tape and also because of the acoustics in the courtroom, but you did hear some of those signature phrases, phrases like "Call me God," and "Do not release to press." Those are phrases that also showed up in some of the notes that showed up at some of the sniper crime scenes.

The prosecution maintains that the voice on the tape, the male voice, is that of Malvo. Of course, what Mr. Horan is trying to establish is probable cause here. If he succeeds in that, this matter will go to a grand jury and 17-year-old John Lee Malvo will be tried as an adult, back to you.

BLITZER: Jeanne, any timetable how long this is all going to play out before we know the result?

MESERVE: This particular phase, it's very clear they're not going to get through all 25 witnesses today. This will go on tomorrow. Right now court is scheduled to reconvene at 9:00 in the morning.

It looks the way this is going now as though it could take a good part of the day. Then, as I say, it goes potentially to the grand jury if the judge does indeed find there is probable cause here.

BLITZER: Jeanne Meserve standing by for us. Thanks very much Jeanne.

American pilots at a hearing for a deadly mistake that killed four Canadian soldiers, should they go to jail or is the U.S. Air Force simply looking for a scapegoat? We'll go live to Louisiana where they're facing charges.

Plus, Giuliani traffic jam, find out why the wannabe super cop dominated the morning news in Mexico City.

And, is the Civil Rights Movement in the United States still alive or a thing of the past? We'll ask Coretta Scott King. She joins me live to talk race and the future of America, but first, a look at news making headlines around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Controversial visit, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited a shrine in Tokyo that honors Japan's war dead. Critics, including China and South Korea say the shrine glorified Japanese militarism. They say the prime minister's repeated visits to the shrine reopen emotional wounds from World War II.

Korea protest, South Korean activists scuffled with police outside the U.S. Embassy in Seoul. They were protesting the U.S. stance against North Korea's nuclear program and the U.S. troop presence inside South Korea.

Cyclone's aftermath, authorities are assessing the damage in the Pacific Island nation of Fiji following a powerful cyclone. The storm left a popular tourist town under several feet of water and the collapse of a church may have killed two children.

Against the elements, a cold wave is taking a toll on northern India. Many poor people live on the streets and near freezing temperatures are blamed for hundreds of deaths. Authorities have been distributing quilts and building temporary shelters.

Just not cricket, plans for the English Cricket Team to play in Zimbabwe brought an angry protest in Britain. Demonstrators forced their way into a news conference called by the England and Wales Cricket Board. Critics say the English team should boycott Zimbabwe to protest human rights abuses there. What's up in Cambodia, the nation's first escalators in the nation's first shopping mall? Despite the presence of special escalator instructors, some shoppers were dubious at first but once they got the hang of it, it was a different story, the second story as a matter of fact, and that's our look around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: As we reported at the top of this show, a British law enforcement officer was stabbed to death. Four of his colleagues were wounded, in a counterterrorism raid that occurred in Manchester, England.

CNN's Matthew Chance is on the phone. He's got some additional details. What's going on, Matthew?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, Wolf, police forensic teams up in Manchester in the north of England are carrying out searches outside the house where this attack took place on the officer, which ended in his death of course and the serious injury of four others.

They say they were attacked by a man wielding a large kitchen knife as they moved in as part of an anti-terrorism operation to arrest one individual. They say when they entered the property though, they were confronted by three.

As I said, forensic teams are now operating outside and inside that location, that house, some police wearing chemical protection suits. The three men involved though said to be of North African origin are now in police custody - Wolf.

BLITZER: This is in connection with this entire investigation of Ricin, that deadly poison that was discovered last week by counterterrorism specialists in England? Is this what part of this overall bigger terrorism plot that's alleged out there?

CHANCE: It certainly is and police have been making that connection very early on, saying that this was part of a much wider countrywide operation to get to the bottom of who was responsible and what sort of kind of conspiracy there was behind this plan that was uncovered to manufacture the very poisonous substance Ricin.

Some of that substance was discovered in a flat in the north of London. Police say that the arrests they were making today, the operation they were on today was part of that counterterrorism operation - Wolf.

BLITZER: And finally before I let you go, Matthew, those arrested, I believe all of them North Africans, are they believed to have a direct connection to al Qaeda?

CHANCE: That's not being spelled out for us but yes. I mean they are of North African origin as described to us by the police. The area where they were detained and where the attack took place tonight is in an ethically mixed area in the north of the northern city of Manchester, though it's said by police that these individuals are not from the local community. They seem to have secreted themselves, located themselves, in this very ethnically mixed area.

BLITZER: All right, Matthew Chance with the latest on that counterterrorism raid that seems to have gone astray earlier today in Manchester in the northern part of England. Thanks, Matthew very much.

Meanwhile, here in the United States, a military hearing began in Louisiana today focusing on an accidental bombing in Afghanistan. The U.S. Air Force General must decide whether two U.S. pilots should face a court martial for the deaths of four Canadians.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is outside of Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana - Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, this hearing has gotten underway today. Only one witness called so far and that was the Canadian Army captain that was in charge of the training exercise that was accidentally bombed or mistakenly bombed by two U.S. American pilots last April.

Now without a doubt, this is a situation, an unprecedented situation for the U.S. military and many of the people who are involved in this say that the eyes of U.S. service people around the world are paying close attention to what happens at this Air Force base.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA (voice-over): These Canadian soldiers survived the friendly-fire bombing. Now they're reliving that dark April night in Afghanistan when four comrades were killed by an American bomb.

They're the first witnesses to testify in an Article 32 hearing that will determine if two American pilots should be court martialed. Families of the Canadian soldiers say they haven't come to Louisiana on a witch hunt, only to make sure this accident never happens again.

CLAIRE LEGER, MOTHER: I want to hear ways of fixing this. I know there is a way of fixing this. I mean you just don't bomb indiscriminately. That's not the way of fighting a war hopefully.

LAVANDERA: Seventy Canadian soldiers were part of the unit firing live rounds in a training drill near Kandahar that night, but Major Harry Schmidt and Major Bill Umbach were convinced the unit was an al Qaeda force firing at their F-16 fighter jets.

They swooped in in what they thought was self defense and launched a 500-pound laser-guided bomb. Moments later they were told to leave the area because friendlies were on the ground. It was already too late.

DAVID BECK, UMBACH'S ATTORNEY: Had the pilots known Canadians were training below them, it would not have happened.

LAVANDERA: The pilots' attorneys say a communication breakdown led to the accident. They say Schmidt and Umbach were never told friendly forces were in that area. The attorneys also say this hearing will hurt American forces around the world.

CHARLES GITTINS, SCHMIDT'S ATTORNEY: The repercussions are significant and they've already been felt. In fact, the repercussions are that there are at least 1,000 fighter pilots watching what's going on here and what they're being told is that if they make a mistake they will not be backed up by their commanders.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: Wolf, now Umbach and Schmidt could face, if this were to go on to a court martial trial and if they were convicted in that trial, they could face up to 64 years in a military prison - Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, we'll be watching this hearing. Ed Lavandera thanks very much.

Discrimination, alive and well, how the name on your resume impacts your chances of getting a job, a startling study on who's making the cut and who is being cut out.

Plus, remembering Martin Luther King, Jr., is there another leader strong enough to fill his shoes today? His widow, Coretta Scott King, will join me live.

And, why is a high school basketball star riding around in a $55,000 hummer? The luxury gift raises serious questions about exploitation and sports.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOLF BLITZER, HOST: That's our "Web Question of The Day." Meanwhile, welcome back to CNN. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. Coming up, Coretta Scott King on the future of the civil rights movement.

And what's in a name? According to a new study, quite a bit that can help or hurt you when you're looking for a job. Researchers at the University of Chicago and M.I.T. sent 5,000 resumes out in response to want ads. Some with white sounding names like Neil, Brett or Greg and others with black sounded names like Rasheed, Kareem or Tyrone. Joining me to discuss what was found, Marianne Bertrand from the University of Chicago Business School.

Marianne, thanks so much for joining us. What did you find out? Tell our viewers.

MARIANNE BERTRAND, UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SCHOOL OF BUSINESS: So basically, we found out, we -- you know, we responded to these -- about 1,300 employment ads and sent all type of resumes. And we kind of randomly assigned to the resumes either very white sounding names or very black sounding names. And what we found was basically huge differences in callback rates for interviews across these different names.

So the best way to describe the results is that, you know, for applicants with a white-sounding name, we found that we need to send about 10 resumes to expect one callback. With African-American sounding names, we needed to send about 15 resumes to expect one callback. So it's about a 50 percent difference in callback rate.

BLITZER: So the impact, the point being that there still appears to be widespread racism in the job market. Is that what your study suggested?

BERTRAND: I'm not sure whether you want to talk about racism. I mean I think this is definitely evidence on discrimination. So this might be a sign of prejudice that some employers have prejudice against African-Americans. But you could also say that, you know, employers have some preconceived views about, you know, African- Americans and whites. So, for example, you know, employers may believe that even for the same credentials an African -- that is African-American may perform worse on the job, and may just, you know, employers may just react to these preconceived views and these views might be right or might be wrong.

BLITZER: So in the response basically, as you just said, and I'll put it up on the screen to show the viewers, white sounding names generated one response for 10 resumes whereas black sounding names one response per 15 resumes.

BERTRAND: That's exactly right.

BLITZER: And the whole notion -- did you have a chance by the way to take a look at Asian-sounded names or...

BERTRAND: No, we...

BLITZER: ... Hispanic sounding names?

BERTRAND: No that would be extremely interesting. To try to achieve, you know, a specifically relevant study, you going to have to, you know -- once you look at different ethnic groups, besides just white and African-American, you would have to increase the size of the study much, much more. So I think it would be interesting follow-up, but something that we've not done so far.

BLITZER: All right, Marianne Bertrand of the University of Chicago, thanks for joining us.

As we mentioned at the top of this program, trouble discount, retail giant Kmart says it will close hundreds of stores and shed tens of thousands of jobs as parts of the efforts to emerge from bankruptcy. CNN's Mary Snow is joining us now live from New York with some detail.

You got a big Kmart sign right behind you. Is that one of the stores on the hit list potentially, Mary?

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is, Wolf. We're in Brooklyn, New York and this Kmart is one of 326 stores slated to be closed. Also, a distribution center in Texas also slated to close down and up to 37,000 people will lose their jobs. As you mentioned Kmart is saying this is all part of a plan for it to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy by April of 2003.

And you know this is the second big cut in less than a year. Back in march, Kmart at that point closed more than 280 stores, laying off about 22,000 employees at that time. And it was just last January that the big retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Hardest hit in this round of cuts is the state of Texas, which is slated to have 54 stores closed in the state. Alaska, at this point, will no longer have any Kmarts.

And what's really happened here is that the chain came out saying that it was shutting down stores that were unprofitable. Also, they had to get out of some of their leases. And as many analysts and experts will tell you, Kmart has been so hard hit by competition from Wal-Mart and Target -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Mary, have you had a chance to speak to people behind you, some of the people going in and out of the stores, employees, as well?

SNOW: No employees just yet, Wolf, but some of the people who were -- I did speak with here in the parking lot were not all that surprised to hear about this closing because they knew the store was in trouble when it filed for Chapter 11 and they thought that it was possible that it would shut down eventually.

BLITZER: Mary Snow outside a Kmart in Brooklyn. Thanks, Mary, for that report.

And this just in to CNN, another attorney has asked to be let go from Robert Blake's defense team. The lawyer said to be uncomfortable with the actor's continuing desire to talk to the news media. Blake is charged with the murder and the shooting death of the wife in May 2001. His original attorney also quit after Blake gave a jailhouse interview. Blake is scheduled to give a deposition tomorrow in a civil case filed by his late wife's children.

A 17-year-old basketball star driving a luxury SUV sparks an investigation. An innocent gift or an athletic payoff? A closer look when we come back. Plus, the battle of the bulge, why all fat is not -- repeat -- not equal.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Earlier we asked -- who was the first basketball player to turn pro straight out of high school? The answer, Moses Malone. He skipped college to play for Utah in the now defunct American Basketball Association. That was in 1974. Bill Willoughby was the first high school student to hit the NBA. He did it the following year, 1975.

Based on the headlines and the hype it's easy to confuse Lebron James with any other NBA star. He is a star. Fans pack the stands to watch him burn the net. And he drives a $50,000 Hummer SUV. But Lebron James plays on a high school team in Ohio. Just where does the kid who lives in a public housing project get the money for a Hummer? The story now from Joe Mazan of our affiliate, WOIO.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Lebron James isn't living a life of luxury yet but his luxury SUV may turn his life upside down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And no one ever gave me a car, but then I'm not 6-foot-8 with the great moves of the hoop.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Ohio High School Athletic Association is investigating how James received this $55,000 hummer. Gloria James claims she gave the vehicle to the son for the 18th birthday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was just a nice birthday present, you know. That's the way I see it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (on camera): A present you would like to get, too?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I would really like to get one of those.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (voice-over): According to an association bylaw, an athlete forfeits his or her amateur by capitalizing on athletic fame by receiving money or gifts of monetary value.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, oh, oh, of course. They need to investigate about it. They need to because he isn't supposed to be having no Hummer. No, no, no.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If James violated any of the rules, he would have to give up his amateur eligibility. Officials at James' high school, St. Vincent and St. Mary, wouldn't comment about the investigation, but are cooperating with the state's investigation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I had a vehicle like that and I was 17 years old, I'd expect them to investigate me, too.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: You can expect Lebron James to be playing in the NBA next year despite this controversy. That report from Joe Mazan (ph) of our affiliate, WOIO.

The battle of the bulge that could save the lives of women. Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is up next.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: When you're fat, does it matter where your fat is at? Researchers say you bet it does. I'll explain when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: When it comes to cleaning teeth, there's apparently a clear winner among toothbrushes. A study by a nonprofit group gives top honors to the Braun Oral-B Electric Toothbrush. The study says it's clearly more effective than other electric toothbrushes and manual toothbrushes as well.

A new study just released says exercise is critical for older women who want to cut their risk of cancer, heart disease and other chronic illnesses. Our medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, is joining us from the CNN Center to shed some more light on this important story -- Elizabeth.

COHEN: Wolf, what the study found is that when women exercise, they lost weight a lot more effectively than women who didn't exercise. Now, I can hear you all thinking, well, duh, of course. If you exercise, you're going to lose more weight.

But here's the interesting part of the study. What they found is that these women who exercised lost what's called intra-abdominal fat. That's the fat that's deep inside the belly. You can see it right there. That's an example of abdominal fat. And when it's deep inside the belly there, it causes some real problems inside the body and I'll get to that in a minute. When that fat for some reason that's deep inside the body, seems to lead to lead to metabolic and chemical changes that lead to all sorts of diseases. People who have a lot of abdominal fat are more likely to get heart disease or more likely to get stroke, more likely to get breast cancer and more likely to get colon cancer.

Now, people who carry their weight around their hips, well, that's not the best thing either. You certainly don't want to be overweight but carrying the weight along your hips isn't as dangerous. It doesn't seem to lead to those diseases. There you have an example of hip fat. So the bottom line of the story is that when you exercise, you're not only losing weight but you seem to be losing the weight deep inside the belly, the best place to lose weight -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Now, here's a question that affects me and a lot of our other viewers out there. Does this study apply to men, as well?

COHEN: Yes, researchers believe that this theory applies to men as well as women, in fact, maybe even more to men. Men tend to carry their weight in their stomachs, which is the worst place to carry it. Women tend to carry it more in their hips.

BLITZER: All right. The bottom line is let's all exercise. Is that right?

COHEN: Absolutely.

BLITZER: I'm going to go exercise. I try to exercise every day.

COHEN: Good for you.

COHEN: Elizabeth Cohen, thanks very much.

Time is running out for your turn to weigh in on the "Web Question of The Day." Should President Bush give inspectors another year to finish their job or go to war in the coming weeks? Log on to CNN.com/Wolf. That's where you can vote. We'll have the results immediately when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Now our "Picture of The Day" courtesy of last night's American Music Awards and Sheryl Crow who made a statement when accepting her award.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, multiplatinum artist and winner tonight, Sheryl Crow.

SHERYL CROW, MUSICIAN: Hi, everybody. I know this is an awards show but I just want encourage everybody to get involved in some kind of movement for peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: There she is making her statement. By the way, in case you're curious, here's a clip from her song, "Soak Up The Sun," which won the award for her.

(MUSIC CLIP)

BLITZER: And for those of you who are interested, she's 40 years old. She's very talented, as well.

Now, here's how you're weighing in on our "Web Question of The Day." Remember, we've been asking you this -- should President Bush give inspectors another year to finish their job or go to war in the coming weeks? Look at this, 71 percent of you say wait another year. Twenty-nine percent of you say go to war in the coming weeks. You can find the exact vote tally, continue to vote, by the way, on our website. That's CNN.com/Wolf. Remember, this is not necessarily a scientific poll. Repeat this is not a scientific poll.

That's all the time we have today. Please join me again tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. Eastern. Don't forget "SHOWDOWWQ: IRAQ" weekdays noon Eastern. Until then, thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE" is coming up next.

TO ORDER A COPY OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.





Counterterrorism Raid; Investigation Into High School Athlete Owning Hummer>


Aired January 14, 2003 - 17:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Saddam Hussein at the helm and President Bush says he's had it.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm sick and tired of games and deception.

BLITZER: But the U.N. says hold on.

KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: I don't think we are there yet.

BLITZER: Tough talk on North Korea but this time from a former president, his target the White House.

Foreign probe, who tipped British authorities on rocker Pete Townshend?

Job search 2003: a surprising discovery about your resume and your race.

How long before his dream comes true? I'll ask Coretta Scott King.

And, what's wrong with this picture? All the NBA stars drive cars like this, but a high school athlete?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I had a vehicle like that and I was 17 years old, I'd expect them to investigate me too.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: It's Tuesday, January 14, 2003. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.

With a massive U.S. buildup underway, President Bush today hinted that Iraqi weapons hunt may have entered its final stages. We get the story now from our CNN White House Correspondent Dana Bash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The president made his frustration clear. BUSH: Time is running out on Saddam Hussein. He must disarm. I'm sick and tired of games and deception.

BASH: Mr. Bush sent a strong signal he is running out of patience, while patience is precisely what leaders of the U.N. are urging.

ANNAN: I think the resolution is very clear.

BASH: U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan reminding reporters inspectors are just now getting up to speed and if they determine there has been a breach...

ANNAN: There should be serious consequences and I don't think we are there yet and so I really don't want to talk about nor is the council talking about war.

BASH: The White House is presented with a complicated diplomatic dance. On the one hand, aides say the president has no specific timetable for deciding to forcefully disarm Iraq, on the other reminding the world the terms of U.N. Resolution 1441, that the burden of proof is on Iraq, not inspectors, to reveal weapons of mass destruction.

BUSH: We said we expect Saddam Hussein for the sake of peace to disarm. That's the question, is Saddam Hussein disarming? He's been given 11 years to disarm. And so, the world came together and we have given him one last chance to disarm. So far I haven't seen any evidence that he is disarming.

BASH: Another factor, getting the U.S. military in place and ready to attack at an optimal time. As tens of thousands of troops ship off to the Persian Gulf, the question is how long can they cool their heels waiting for inspectors to complete their work?

(on camera): With the January 27 deadline looming, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice met with New York with Chief Weapons Inspector Hans Blix. She urged his team to take Iraqi scientists out of the country before the end of the month in the hopes of finding that elusive smoking gun.

Dana Bash CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: With their bosses on the way to Baghdad warning Iraq to cooperate, U.N. weapons inspectors today swooped in on a number of suspect sites including missile facilities, a munitions depot, and a complex which houses Iraq's own disarmament agency the so-called National Monitoring Directorate.

Iraq insists it has already come clean about its weapons program, with the Foreign Minister Naji Sabri saying the declaration to the U.N. "answered everything."

Meantime, the Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz has warned that Saddam Hussein is not about to give up, saying he'll stay in Iraq for a very long time and will "fight to the last bullet."

Hundreds of Iraqis took to the streets today, among them Muslim and Christian clerics. Outside the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad, they pledged loyalty to Saddam Hussein, denounced U.S. military threats, and warned that any invasion would be met by a holy war.

And, American pilots will soon be taking part in the weapons hunt. U.S. and U.N. officials tell CNN the Pentagon will lend U.S. spy planes to the effort. They'll be flown by American crews but the planes will carry U.N. markings and they'll be under orders of the chief U.N. weapons inspectors.

While U.N. inspectors are asking for more time, the U.S. troop deployment is already in very high gear. Is the military buildup past the point of no return?

Here's our CNN Senior Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Savannah, Georgia Tuesday an army transport ship was loaded with more than 1,400 tanks and other vehicles for the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, just another part of the massive deployment that could put more than 150,000 troops in the Gulf region by February.

But with Turkey so far refusing to host U.S. ground forces, with U.S. allies pressing for a second U.N. resolution, and with U.N. inspectors still on the ground, the U.S. military runs the risk of being all dressed up with nowhere to go, at least not anytime soon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How long can you let 200,000 U.S. troops sit in the sand?

ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECY.: The question is how long will it take for Saddam Hussein to come clean and prove to the world that he's disarmed?

MCINTYRE: If the U.S. deploys its troops too early, it pays a price. It costs hundreds of millions of dollars, exacts a toll on families and businesses, and makes vital training more difficult.

BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE, U.S. ARMY (RET.): You have to think about how to maintain those shooting skills, those communicating skills, those moving skills, survival skills while you're deployed, and shrewd, prudent commanders have planned for that, and they're doing it right now.

MCINTYRE: But the upside to the longer deployment window is it gives the U.S. more time to move all the logistics it needs ahead of time instead of after the war begins.

(on camera): Pentagon sources insist the U.S. has not reached the point of no return but they also say President Bush would not have approved all the recent deployments of U.S. troops if he didn't expect to have to use them. Jamie McIntyre CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Here's your chance to weigh in on this story. Our web question of the day is this. Should President Bush give inspectors another year to finish their job or go to war in the coming weeks? We'll have the results later in this broadcast. Vote at cnn.com/wolf.

While you're there, I'd love to hear from you. Send me your comments. 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.

Turning now to another crisis, the nuclear standoff with North Korea, the Bush administration today welcomed offers of help by China and Russia but said a solution depends on North Korea's actions.

We get more now from our State Department Correspondent Andrea Koppel.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Bush said it was up to North Korea to turn back the clock to a time when he says the U.S. was ready to make a deal.

BUSH: An initiative which would talk about energy and food because we care deeply about the suffering of the North Korean people.

KOPPEL: But, Mr. Bush said, North Korea's decision to develop a secret nuclear weapons program forced him to put that offer on hold.

BUSH: People say well are you willing to talk to North Korea? Of course we are but what this nation won't do is be blackmailed.

KOPPEL: In an interview, Secretary of State Powell said even if this standoff ends peacefully, the two sides will need a new arrangement and not just go back to the existing framework.

Former President Jimmy Carter had a hand in negotiating that 1994 deal to put the North's nuclear program on ice and, in an op-ed Tuesday, criticized the Bush White House for provoking this crisis by including North Korea in the axis of evil, leaving Pyongyang, he said, "to assume that they were next on America's hit list after Iraq."

(on camera): But now the administration is hoping that a series of diplomatic missions to North Korea and the region this week, and the prospects of more food and energy will help diffuse this escalating crisis in a way that both sides save face.

Andrea Koppel CNN at the State Department.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Concern about international trouble spots may be eroding President Bush's popularity. A new CNN/USA Today Gallup Poll puts Mr. Bush's job approval rating at 58 percent. That's still pretty high but it's five points lower than last week and it coincides with a similar decline in approval for the way the president is handling world affairs.

Rock superstar Pete Townshend out on bail, find out how a child porn bust here in the United States helped lead to his arrest.

Plus, 17-year-old sniper suspect John Lee Malvo, should he face the death penalty as an adult; prosecutors making their case right now.

And, the $50,000 question hanging over a high school basketball star, how does a kid from the projects afford a luxury SUV? We'll have a closer look, but first today's news quiz.

Who was the first basketball player to turn pro straight out of high school, Moses Malone, Darryl Dawkins, Bill Willoughby, Kobe Bryant, the answer coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: She's speaking out on a dream her late husband announced to the world. I'll speak with Coretta Scott King. That's coming up on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The Who's legendary guitarist Pete Townshend must report back to British police by the end of the month after his arrest in the child pornography crackdown.

Townshend was released on bail late yesterday after his arrest on suspicion of possessing and making indecent images of children. He admits he visited a website advertising child pornography but says he was only doing research for his autobiography. While British police have arrested 1,300 suspects in the crackdown, the investigation has its roots on this side of the Atlantic Ocean.

Here's CNN Justice Correspondent Kelli Arena. She's got some details on this - Kelli.

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, this investigation dates back to 1999. That's when U.S. federal agents raided the home of a Texas couple, Thomas and Janice Reedy (ph).

Now, the Reedys who are now in jail were running a business called Landslide Productions, which sold subscriptions to websites offering child pornography. According the U.S. Postal Service, the business took in a staggering $1.4 million a month and it serviced more than 250,000 subscribers.

Now, customers had to provide a credit card number for access to the site. After cracking the code to unscramble the account numbers, postal inspectors tracked down the credit cardholders and arrested 170 people in the United States but many of the subscribers lived outside the United States.

Now, more than 7,000 of those customers were located in the United Kingdom. That information led investigators to Pete Townshend.

BLITZER: Frightening statistics, Kelli Arena thanks very much for that report. Pete Townshend, of course, is one of rock and roll's legendary figures.

CNN's Ann McDermott gives us a closer look at the man, at his accomplishments.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANN MCDERMOTT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In recent years, Pete Townshend's been a solo act mostly, playing new works and classics by The Who.

But occasionally, the 57-year-old would get together with his old band mates for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, for example.

JOHN ENDWHISTLE (ph): Thank you. Thank you.

MCDERMOTT: That's John Endwhistle who died last year. Drummer Keith Moon died of an overdose in 1978, but survivors Townshend and Roger Daltry continue to tour from time to time.

What really made The Who made music history with their rock opera "Tommy." That's Daltry in the 1975 movie, featuring Townshend songs about a deaf, dumb, and blind kid who are also abused as a child, songs Townshend wrote in the late '60s, including his signature "Pinball Wizard."

Townshend has recently suggested he might have been abused as a child, after acknowledging he was the target of a police investigation into Internet child pornography. He reportedly said he was doing research.

At Monday night's "American Music Awards," Elton John was asked to comment on his old friend's arrest.

ELTON JOHN: You know I'm a friend of Pete's. I love Pete and my thoughts are with him.

MCDERMOTT: In recent years, Townshend has demonstrated his interest in computers, as he touted an interactive version of "Tommy" in this promotional video and at the same time commented on the young rocker he used to be.

PETE TOWNSHEND: I was a handsome, witty, and exceptionally debonair young gentleman as I still am today.

MCDERMOTT: Maybe, but until now anyway what he was really best known for being was a rock legend.

Ann McDermott CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Seventeen-year-old sniper suspect John Lee Malvo was back in court today facing prosecutors who want him tried as an adult. If that happens, Malvo could face a death sentence.

CNN's Jeanne Meserve is outside the courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia. That's just outside Washington, D.C. - Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, prosecutor Robert Horan is putting forward the evidence relating to four shooting sites and crime scenes. He says there is one common denominator. People at all these scenes were shot in ambush by the same rifle.

That rifle, he says, was found in the car in which Malvo was arrested, and he says he will establish that Malvo's fingerprints are on that weapon and that that was the weapon used in the killings. He is going to be putting 25 witnesses on the stand. When I left the courtroom a short time ago, we were on witness number eight.

The most compelling witness by far at this point has been William Franklin. He is the husband of Linda Franklin, the F.B.I. analyst who was gunned down in a Home Depot parking lot exactly three months ago.

William Franklin described how he and his wife were struggling to put a bookshelf into their car. He heard a loud noise, which he at first thought was the sound of a board hitting asphalt, and he felt a spray on his face.

He turned, saw his wife wounded. He described in a faltering voice how he went to her side, touched her, stayed with her until emergency crews arrived. He said only later did he realize that that spray on his face had been his wife's blood. Most of the other witnesses have been law enforcement officers who have been involved in securing crime scenes and collecting evidence.

Just before I left the courtroom, a dispatcher from Rockville City Police was on the stand. She talked about how she'd gotten a phone call on October 15. It was unlike other calls related to the sniper shooting she said in that most of the others had to do with information or tips.

Then the tape was played in the courtroom. It was a bit difficult to make out because of the quality of the tape and also because of the acoustics in the courtroom, but you did hear some of those signature phrases, phrases like "Call me God," and "Do not release to press." Those are phrases that also showed up in some of the notes that showed up at some of the sniper crime scenes.

The prosecution maintains that the voice on the tape, the male voice, is that of Malvo. Of course, what Mr. Horan is trying to establish is probable cause here. If he succeeds in that, this matter will go to a grand jury and 17-year-old John Lee Malvo will be tried as an adult, back to you.

BLITZER: Jeanne, any timetable how long this is all going to play out before we know the result?

MESERVE: This particular phase, it's very clear they're not going to get through all 25 witnesses today. This will go on tomorrow. Right now court is scheduled to reconvene at 9:00 in the morning.

It looks the way this is going now as though it could take a good part of the day. Then, as I say, it goes potentially to the grand jury if the judge does indeed find there is probable cause here.

BLITZER: Jeanne Meserve standing by for us. Thanks very much Jeanne.

American pilots at a hearing for a deadly mistake that killed four Canadian soldiers, should they go to jail or is the U.S. Air Force simply looking for a scapegoat? We'll go live to Louisiana where they're facing charges.

Plus, Giuliani traffic jam, find out why the wannabe super cop dominated the morning news in Mexico City.

And, is the Civil Rights Movement in the United States still alive or a thing of the past? We'll ask Coretta Scott King. She joins me live to talk race and the future of America, but first, a look at news making headlines around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Controversial visit, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited a shrine in Tokyo that honors Japan's war dead. Critics, including China and South Korea say the shrine glorified Japanese militarism. They say the prime minister's repeated visits to the shrine reopen emotional wounds from World War II.

Korea protest, South Korean activists scuffled with police outside the U.S. Embassy in Seoul. They were protesting the U.S. stance against North Korea's nuclear program and the U.S. troop presence inside South Korea.

Cyclone's aftermath, authorities are assessing the damage in the Pacific Island nation of Fiji following a powerful cyclone. The storm left a popular tourist town under several feet of water and the collapse of a church may have killed two children.

Against the elements, a cold wave is taking a toll on northern India. Many poor people live on the streets and near freezing temperatures are blamed for hundreds of deaths. Authorities have been distributing quilts and building temporary shelters.

Just not cricket, plans for the English Cricket Team to play in Zimbabwe brought an angry protest in Britain. Demonstrators forced their way into a news conference called by the England and Wales Cricket Board. Critics say the English team should boycott Zimbabwe to protest human rights abuses there. What's up in Cambodia, the nation's first escalators in the nation's first shopping mall? Despite the presence of special escalator instructors, some shoppers were dubious at first but once they got the hang of it, it was a different story, the second story as a matter of fact, and that's our look around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: As we reported at the top of this show, a British law enforcement officer was stabbed to death. Four of his colleagues were wounded, in a counterterrorism raid that occurred in Manchester, England.

CNN's Matthew Chance is on the phone. He's got some additional details. What's going on, Matthew?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, Wolf, police forensic teams up in Manchester in the north of England are carrying out searches outside the house where this attack took place on the officer, which ended in his death of course and the serious injury of four others.

They say they were attacked by a man wielding a large kitchen knife as they moved in as part of an anti-terrorism operation to arrest one individual. They say when they entered the property though, they were confronted by three.

As I said, forensic teams are now operating outside and inside that location, that house, some police wearing chemical protection suits. The three men involved though said to be of North African origin are now in police custody - Wolf.

BLITZER: This is in connection with this entire investigation of Ricin, that deadly poison that was discovered last week by counterterrorism specialists in England? Is this what part of this overall bigger terrorism plot that's alleged out there?

CHANCE: It certainly is and police have been making that connection very early on, saying that this was part of a much wider countrywide operation to get to the bottom of who was responsible and what sort of kind of conspiracy there was behind this plan that was uncovered to manufacture the very poisonous substance Ricin.

Some of that substance was discovered in a flat in the north of London. Police say that the arrests they were making today, the operation they were on today was part of that counterterrorism operation - Wolf.

BLITZER: And finally before I let you go, Matthew, those arrested, I believe all of them North Africans, are they believed to have a direct connection to al Qaeda?

CHANCE: That's not being spelled out for us but yes. I mean they are of North African origin as described to us by the police. The area where they were detained and where the attack took place tonight is in an ethically mixed area in the north of the northern city of Manchester, though it's said by police that these individuals are not from the local community. They seem to have secreted themselves, located themselves, in this very ethnically mixed area.

BLITZER: All right, Matthew Chance with the latest on that counterterrorism raid that seems to have gone astray earlier today in Manchester in the northern part of England. Thanks, Matthew very much.

Meanwhile, here in the United States, a military hearing began in Louisiana today focusing on an accidental bombing in Afghanistan. The U.S. Air Force General must decide whether two U.S. pilots should face a court martial for the deaths of four Canadians.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is outside of Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana - Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, this hearing has gotten underway today. Only one witness called so far and that was the Canadian Army captain that was in charge of the training exercise that was accidentally bombed or mistakenly bombed by two U.S. American pilots last April.

Now without a doubt, this is a situation, an unprecedented situation for the U.S. military and many of the people who are involved in this say that the eyes of U.S. service people around the world are paying close attention to what happens at this Air Force base.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA (voice-over): These Canadian soldiers survived the friendly-fire bombing. Now they're reliving that dark April night in Afghanistan when four comrades were killed by an American bomb.

They're the first witnesses to testify in an Article 32 hearing that will determine if two American pilots should be court martialed. Families of the Canadian soldiers say they haven't come to Louisiana on a witch hunt, only to make sure this accident never happens again.

CLAIRE LEGER, MOTHER: I want to hear ways of fixing this. I know there is a way of fixing this. I mean you just don't bomb indiscriminately. That's not the way of fighting a war hopefully.

LAVANDERA: Seventy Canadian soldiers were part of the unit firing live rounds in a training drill near Kandahar that night, but Major Harry Schmidt and Major Bill Umbach were convinced the unit was an al Qaeda force firing at their F-16 fighter jets.

They swooped in in what they thought was self defense and launched a 500-pound laser-guided bomb. Moments later they were told to leave the area because friendlies were on the ground. It was already too late.

DAVID BECK, UMBACH'S ATTORNEY: Had the pilots known Canadians were training below them, it would not have happened.

LAVANDERA: The pilots' attorneys say a communication breakdown led to the accident. They say Schmidt and Umbach were never told friendly forces were in that area. The attorneys also say this hearing will hurt American forces around the world.

CHARLES GITTINS, SCHMIDT'S ATTORNEY: The repercussions are significant and they've already been felt. In fact, the repercussions are that there are at least 1,000 fighter pilots watching what's going on here and what they're being told is that if they make a mistake they will not be backed up by their commanders.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: Wolf, now Umbach and Schmidt could face, if this were to go on to a court martial trial and if they were convicted in that trial, they could face up to 64 years in a military prison - Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, we'll be watching this hearing. Ed Lavandera thanks very much.

Discrimination, alive and well, how the name on your resume impacts your chances of getting a job, a startling study on who's making the cut and who is being cut out.

Plus, remembering Martin Luther King, Jr., is there another leader strong enough to fill his shoes today? His widow, Coretta Scott King, will join me live.

And, why is a high school basketball star riding around in a $55,000 hummer? The luxury gift raises serious questions about exploitation and sports.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOLF BLITZER, HOST: That's our "Web Question of The Day." Meanwhile, welcome back to CNN. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. Coming up, Coretta Scott King on the future of the civil rights movement.

And what's in a name? According to a new study, quite a bit that can help or hurt you when you're looking for a job. Researchers at the University of Chicago and M.I.T. sent 5,000 resumes out in response to want ads. Some with white sounding names like Neil, Brett or Greg and others with black sounded names like Rasheed, Kareem or Tyrone. Joining me to discuss what was found, Marianne Bertrand from the University of Chicago Business School.

Marianne, thanks so much for joining us. What did you find out? Tell our viewers.

MARIANNE BERTRAND, UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SCHOOL OF BUSINESS: So basically, we found out, we -- you know, we responded to these -- about 1,300 employment ads and sent all type of resumes. And we kind of randomly assigned to the resumes either very white sounding names or very black sounding names. And what we found was basically huge differences in callback rates for interviews across these different names.

So the best way to describe the results is that, you know, for applicants with a white-sounding name, we found that we need to send about 10 resumes to expect one callback. With African-American sounding names, we needed to send about 15 resumes to expect one callback. So it's about a 50 percent difference in callback rate.

BLITZER: So the impact, the point being that there still appears to be widespread racism in the job market. Is that what your study suggested?

BERTRAND: I'm not sure whether you want to talk about racism. I mean I think this is definitely evidence on discrimination. So this might be a sign of prejudice that some employers have prejudice against African-Americans. But you could also say that, you know, employers have some preconceived views about, you know, African- Americans and whites. So, for example, you know, employers may believe that even for the same credentials an African -- that is African-American may perform worse on the job, and may just, you know, employers may just react to these preconceived views and these views might be right or might be wrong.

BLITZER: So in the response basically, as you just said, and I'll put it up on the screen to show the viewers, white sounding names generated one response for 10 resumes whereas black sounding names one response per 15 resumes.

BERTRAND: That's exactly right.

BLITZER: And the whole notion -- did you have a chance by the way to take a look at Asian-sounded names or...

BERTRAND: No, we...

BLITZER: ... Hispanic sounding names?

BERTRAND: No that would be extremely interesting. To try to achieve, you know, a specifically relevant study, you going to have to, you know -- once you look at different ethnic groups, besides just white and African-American, you would have to increase the size of the study much, much more. So I think it would be interesting follow-up, but something that we've not done so far.

BLITZER: All right, Marianne Bertrand of the University of Chicago, thanks for joining us.

As we mentioned at the top of this program, trouble discount, retail giant Kmart says it will close hundreds of stores and shed tens of thousands of jobs as parts of the efforts to emerge from bankruptcy. CNN's Mary Snow is joining us now live from New York with some detail.

You got a big Kmart sign right behind you. Is that one of the stores on the hit list potentially, Mary?

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is, Wolf. We're in Brooklyn, New York and this Kmart is one of 326 stores slated to be closed. Also, a distribution center in Texas also slated to close down and up to 37,000 people will lose their jobs. As you mentioned Kmart is saying this is all part of a plan for it to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy by April of 2003.

And you know this is the second big cut in less than a year. Back in march, Kmart at that point closed more than 280 stores, laying off about 22,000 employees at that time. And it was just last January that the big retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Hardest hit in this round of cuts is the state of Texas, which is slated to have 54 stores closed in the state. Alaska, at this point, will no longer have any Kmarts.

And what's really happened here is that the chain came out saying that it was shutting down stores that were unprofitable. Also, they had to get out of some of their leases. And as many analysts and experts will tell you, Kmart has been so hard hit by competition from Wal-Mart and Target -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Mary, have you had a chance to speak to people behind you, some of the people going in and out of the stores, employees, as well?

SNOW: No employees just yet, Wolf, but some of the people who were -- I did speak with here in the parking lot were not all that surprised to hear about this closing because they knew the store was in trouble when it filed for Chapter 11 and they thought that it was possible that it would shut down eventually.

BLITZER: Mary Snow outside a Kmart in Brooklyn. Thanks, Mary, for that report.

And this just in to CNN, another attorney has asked to be let go from Robert Blake's defense team. The lawyer said to be uncomfortable with the actor's continuing desire to talk to the news media. Blake is charged with the murder and the shooting death of the wife in May 2001. His original attorney also quit after Blake gave a jailhouse interview. Blake is scheduled to give a deposition tomorrow in a civil case filed by his late wife's children.

A 17-year-old basketball star driving a luxury SUV sparks an investigation. An innocent gift or an athletic payoff? A closer look when we come back. Plus, the battle of the bulge, why all fat is not -- repeat -- not equal.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Earlier we asked -- who was the first basketball player to turn pro straight out of high school? The answer, Moses Malone. He skipped college to play for Utah in the now defunct American Basketball Association. That was in 1974. Bill Willoughby was the first high school student to hit the NBA. He did it the following year, 1975.

Based on the headlines and the hype it's easy to confuse Lebron James with any other NBA star. He is a star. Fans pack the stands to watch him burn the net. And he drives a $50,000 Hummer SUV. But Lebron James plays on a high school team in Ohio. Just where does the kid who lives in a public housing project get the money for a Hummer? The story now from Joe Mazan of our affiliate, WOIO.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Lebron James isn't living a life of luxury yet but his luxury SUV may turn his life upside down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And no one ever gave me a car, but then I'm not 6-foot-8 with the great moves of the hoop.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Ohio High School Athletic Association is investigating how James received this $55,000 hummer. Gloria James claims she gave the vehicle to the son for the 18th birthday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was just a nice birthday present, you know. That's the way I see it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (on camera): A present you would like to get, too?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I would really like to get one of those.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (voice-over): According to an association bylaw, an athlete forfeits his or her amateur by capitalizing on athletic fame by receiving money or gifts of monetary value.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, oh, oh, of course. They need to investigate about it. They need to because he isn't supposed to be having no Hummer. No, no, no.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If James violated any of the rules, he would have to give up his amateur eligibility. Officials at James' high school, St. Vincent and St. Mary, wouldn't comment about the investigation, but are cooperating with the state's investigation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I had a vehicle like that and I was 17 years old, I'd expect them to investigate me, too.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: You can expect Lebron James to be playing in the NBA next year despite this controversy. That report from Joe Mazan (ph) of our affiliate, WOIO.

The battle of the bulge that could save the lives of women. Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is up next.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: When you're fat, does it matter where your fat is at? Researchers say you bet it does. I'll explain when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: When it comes to cleaning teeth, there's apparently a clear winner among toothbrushes. A study by a nonprofit group gives top honors to the Braun Oral-B Electric Toothbrush. The study says it's clearly more effective than other electric toothbrushes and manual toothbrushes as well.

A new study just released says exercise is critical for older women who want to cut their risk of cancer, heart disease and other chronic illnesses. Our medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, is joining us from the CNN Center to shed some more light on this important story -- Elizabeth.

COHEN: Wolf, what the study found is that when women exercise, they lost weight a lot more effectively than women who didn't exercise. Now, I can hear you all thinking, well, duh, of course. If you exercise, you're going to lose more weight.

But here's the interesting part of the study. What they found is that these women who exercised lost what's called intra-abdominal fat. That's the fat that's deep inside the belly. You can see it right there. That's an example of abdominal fat. And when it's deep inside the belly there, it causes some real problems inside the body and I'll get to that in a minute. When that fat for some reason that's deep inside the body, seems to lead to lead to metabolic and chemical changes that lead to all sorts of diseases. People who have a lot of abdominal fat are more likely to get heart disease or more likely to get stroke, more likely to get breast cancer and more likely to get colon cancer.

Now, people who carry their weight around their hips, well, that's not the best thing either. You certainly don't want to be overweight but carrying the weight along your hips isn't as dangerous. It doesn't seem to lead to those diseases. There you have an example of hip fat. So the bottom line of the story is that when you exercise, you're not only losing weight but you seem to be losing the weight deep inside the belly, the best place to lose weight -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Now, here's a question that affects me and a lot of our other viewers out there. Does this study apply to men, as well?

COHEN: Yes, researchers believe that this theory applies to men as well as women, in fact, maybe even more to men. Men tend to carry their weight in their stomachs, which is the worst place to carry it. Women tend to carry it more in their hips.

BLITZER: All right. The bottom line is let's all exercise. Is that right?

COHEN: Absolutely.

BLITZER: I'm going to go exercise. I try to exercise every day.

COHEN: Good for you.

COHEN: Elizabeth Cohen, thanks very much.

Time is running out for your turn to weigh in on the "Web Question of The Day." Should President Bush give inspectors another year to finish their job or go to war in the coming weeks? Log on to CNN.com/Wolf. That's where you can vote. We'll have the results immediately when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Now our "Picture of The Day" courtesy of last night's American Music Awards and Sheryl Crow who made a statement when accepting her award.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, multiplatinum artist and winner tonight, Sheryl Crow.

SHERYL CROW, MUSICIAN: Hi, everybody. I know this is an awards show but I just want encourage everybody to get involved in some kind of movement for peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: There she is making her statement. By the way, in case you're curious, here's a clip from her song, "Soak Up The Sun," which won the award for her.

(MUSIC CLIP)

BLITZER: And for those of you who are interested, she's 40 years old. She's very talented, as well.

Now, here's how you're weighing in on our "Web Question of The Day." Remember, we've been asking you this -- should President Bush give inspectors another year to finish their job or go to war in the coming weeks? Look at this, 71 percent of you say wait another year. Twenty-nine percent of you say go to war in the coming weeks. You can find the exact vote tally, continue to vote, by the way, on our website. That's CNN.com/Wolf. Remember, this is not necessarily a scientific poll. Repeat this is not a scientific poll.

That's all the time we have today. Please join me again tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. Eastern. Don't forget "SHOWDOWWQ: IRAQ" weekdays noon Eastern. Until then, thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE" is coming up next.

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Counterterrorism Raid; Investigation Into High School Athlete Owning Hummer>