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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports
U.S. Government: Al Qaeda May Soon Attack U.S. Targets; Michael Jackson Ready to Fight Charges
Aired November 21, 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.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, a new and ominous warning from the United States government. Al Qaeda may soon again attack U.S. targets around the world.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): Baghdad barrage, high profile targets, low tech delivery system. Terror on the move is Europe next?
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This man will not be intimidated and neither will I.
BLITZER: King of Pop ready to fight as his supporters speak out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's at lest get the evidence out there, give that man his day.
BLITZER: We'll look at the man who will do battle, Attorney Mark Geragos.
And, a witness to one of America's darkest hours...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A severe gunshot wound, I repeat a shooting in the motorcade.
BLITZER: JFK, 40 years later.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Friday, November 21, 2003.
BLITZER: Bold new terror attacks and new warnings of more to come. Rockets slammed into heavily guarded hotels and a government ministry right in the heart of Baghdad today among the targets a hotel housing journalists and civilian contractors. Almost more astonishing the ingenuity of the insurgents who used simple donkey carts to transport their rocket launchers and fire off their salvos.
And, as Turkey began burying its dead from yesterday's bombings a British target in Istanbul, the U.S. government warning that al Qaeda may soon strike at American interests as well. We begin in Baghdad and that bold barrage delivered by donkey carts. It was a close call for our CNN Senior International Correspondent Walter Rodgers who was in the Palestine Hotel when the rockets struck.
Walter is joining us now live from the Iraqi capital. Walter, donkey carts?
WALTER RODGERS, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf.
U.S. officials downplayed what were some rather spectacular attacks by the insurgents in the Iraqi capital. Still, these same U.S. generals credited the Iraqis insurgents for showing considerable imagination.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RODGERS (voice-over): It could have been much worse as these rockets that failed to fire a test. The blast of the first rockets disconnected the battery wires which could have triggered a much larger volley with 4-foot-long missiles.
This is the car carrying the rockets spilled over Still standing a badly traumatized and singed donkey which the Iraqi insurgents used to haul their missile launcher.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right copy impact on the 14, 15 and 16th floor, only one casualty thus far, over.
RODGERS: The critically injured man is an American civilian contract employee. These U.S. soldiers still disinclined to allow pictures showing that the war does continue.
One of three targets in the rocket attacks, the Palestine and Sheraton Hotel complex housing some soldiers and many journalists. Seven rockets hit the Palestine a little after 7:00 a.m. This man's room is just down the hall from mine. Later he said to me this was our lucky day.
This 107mm rocket exploded one floor above mine getting me out of bed in a hurry. The hardest hit room at the other end of the hall was fortunately unoccupied.
Across the street at the former Sheraton Hotel, a bellboy was injured when more rockets hit there. The Iraqi Oil Ministry was also struck by between seven and ten more rockets starting fires.
No casualties here and U.S. soldiers managed to fire shots at the fleeing insurgents. This U.S. Army colonel said the attacks were well executed and linked to the Muslim holiday Ramadan.
COL. BRAD MAY, U.S. ARMY: As you look at Ramadan and as we move closer to the end of the Ramadan period naturally there's, you know, more concern and our intelligence collection effort is heightened.
RODGERS: Near the Italian Embassy another donkey cart missile strike was foiled by Iraqi police. The cart disguised as a kerosene peddler's wagon was suspicious because it had no spigot to dispense fuel. The Arabic graffiti on the rocket launcher reads "Enjoy."
Hundreds of donkey carts ply Baghdad making them an ingenious cover according to an American general. All four donkeys used in these attacks survived and are now in coalition care.
Shelling came after U.S. officials had been boasting Iraq is now 90 percent safe and attacks are down by 70 percent. The Army says these most recent rocket attacks were only designed to grab headlines and have no tactical military value. Perhaps but they were audacious.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RODGERS: These rocket attacks were remarkable in yet another respect. That was minimal casualties, only two wounded and no fatalities -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Walter Rodgers for us with the latest in Baghdad, Walter thanks very much. Thankfully you and our colleagues are OK. Please be careful in Baghdad.
There's been another American combat death in Iraq. The 4th Infantry Division today said one of its soldiers was killed during a patrol last night when his vehicle hit an explosive device just west of Baqubah. That area has been a hotbed of guerrilla activity.
In Istanbul, Turkey, the grim aftermath of yesterday's bombings of the British Consulate and a British bank. As recovery efforts continue the death toll now stands at 30. The first funerals were held today.
A number of people have been arrested but there have also been new claims of responsibility and there are new warnings that a new terror front may be opened in Europe and that al Qaeda may once again have its eye on American interests.
We have two reports. Our National Security Correspondent David Ensor is standing by here in Washington but we begin in Istanbul with our National Correspondent Mike Boettcher.
Mike, first of all, what's the latest information on the investigation? Who's responsible for these two attacks against British interests in Istanbul?
MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the foreign minister of Turkey announced today that arrests had been made and it is believed more arrests will be made but there is a new theory out there that a third organization, sort of a middle group between the Turkish group and al Qaeda leadership, may be involved in these attacks.
Now this is not confirmed. It arose from the Israeli investigation of the synagogue bombings and involves perhaps a group organized by Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi who is also believed to be the middle man in launching attacks in Iraq as well. But that still requires further investigation and this is a very complex chain to follow and they are definitely trying to follow it here but it's difficult. It's like trying to put together a puzzle right now -- Wolf.
BLITZER: There were several similarities in the attack last Saturday, the twin attack against the two synagogues and the twin attack on Thursday against the British interests in Istanbul. Is the working assumption that the same people overall were in charge of all four of these suicide bombings?
BOETTCHER: Definitely, Wolf. According to security sources here and in the region that is the working assumption that all four of these blasts are connected and they are analyzing the explosives used. That will give the key because there are many al Qaeda manuals out there that show how to construct various explosive devices.
Now, it's been estimated that the devices used there weighed up to 1,500 pounds in explosives at these various sites. Once they're able to determine what kind of chemicals were used in that explosive compare that with al Qaeda manuals and past al Qaeda plans they'll have a better idea which al Qaeda group may be responsible for this in backing the Turks in this attack.
BLITZER: CNN's Mike Boettcher in Istanbul, Mike thank you very much and the same warning to you suggesting please be careful in Istanbul. All of our reporters have to be careful covering these stories around the world.
And while authorities haven't yet assigned blame for the Istanbul bombings, the U.S. government is already warning that al Qaeda may have its eye on American targets.
Let's turn now to our National Security Correspondent David Ensor, David what are you hearing?
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, U.S. officials are saying that they fear that the al Qaeda group may strike again soon against American interests most likely overseas.
This warning comes after U.S. intelligence circulated an advisory to federal agencies last night which said that first there was a lot of increased chatter amongst those who might be would-be terrorists.
And secondly, of course, they cited these attacks in Turkey and earlier in Saudi Arabia. This has been a very bloody Ramadan and so there's a good deal of concern. Ramadan is not over. There's a few more days left and we should remember that last year at this time or shortly after this there was that attack on Israeli tourists in Mombassa, Kenya.
BLITZER: When you say that there may be, they're plotting some sort of attack against American interests overseas to coincide with the end of Ramadan does that mean that the U.S. government has not gone on a higher state of alert around the world? ENSOR: This advisory has been sent out to U.S. embassies, consulates, military bases obviously, yes, and they will have been taking certain measures to improve their security.
But the advisory is also intended to tell companies that have offices overseas and other American interests or targets potentially around the world that they ought to be especially careful at this time.
I should tell you that there is a plan by the Department of Homeland Security later today to put out a warning to state and local agencies here in this country because they're not ruling out an attack here. That has not yet been done.
We're also told that there isn't any plan to raise the color code as it now is from code yellow, you know, sort of a heightened level but not the top. It's going to stay on yellow we're told.
BLITZER: Not going up to orange or red at least that's what we're told.
ENSOR: Not yet.
BLITZER: Thanks very much, David Ensor, for that.
The case against an entertainment giant, a well known attorney speaking out against Michael Jackson and there's other news coming out of Jackson's hideaway this afternoon. We'll have details.
Ending on a high note, Bush and Blair wrap up a presidential visit. We'll look at what they accomplished these past few days.
And, 40 years ago, this street set the scene for one of the most infamous crimes in American history. What do we know for sure about exactly what happened in 1963? We'll get to that.
First, though, today's News Quiz.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER (voice-over): What did John F. Kennedy do during World War II, fly a fighter plane, command a PT boat, parachute into Germany, invade Italy," the answer coming up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Michael Jackson is back in the Las Vegas area one day after being arrested and booked on child molestation charges in California.
CNN's Miguel Marquez is outside the hotel where Jackson is believed to be staying. What do we know on this day after Miguel?
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know that he is here in Las Vegas. The question that we've been tossing around, at least one of them is, is he staying here at the Green Valley Ranch Hotel?
Every indication we have is that he is and quite recently we were in there and it seems that security is much tighter now and there's a palpable sort of interest going on there so it does seem that Mr. Jackson may be in the hotel here.
The other question we're kind of tossing around is why Las Vegas? He was apparently done with his music video here or his CBS special but he has lots of family here.
His sisters have a home here. His father has a home here and that may be the reason enough. His family certainly they're gathering today, gathered today to do a network interview which for air at some later point.
Another piece of information we're getting on this story coming out of Los Angeles is a lawyer no stranger to controversy, Gloria Allred, she has filed a complaint with Children's Welfare and Protective Services of Santa Barbara County. She says that if the alleged molestation took place at Neverland Ranch she has concerns for Jackson's children and believes there should be an investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GLORIA ALLRED, ATTORNEY: Combined with his behavior in November of 2002 of dangling his baby over a fourth floor balcony gives rise in my legal judgment to a substantial risk that his children may suffer serious physical harm as the result of Mr. Jackson's failure to adequately supervise or protect the children.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: Now, Mr. Jackson arrived here in Las Vegas last night after being booked and then released after paying his bond in Santa Barbara. He left the airport here. It wasn't entirely clear where he was going because he took about two or three hours to get there.
He drove around the streets of Las Vegas essentially making an enormous loop through the streets of Las Vegas before arriving here at the Green Valley Ranch Hotel in Henderson, which is right outside of Las Vegas. Just what Mr. Jackson is up to for the rest of his stay here isn't entirely clear but it seems that there is no shortage of press to watch for him -- Wolf.
BLITZER: CNN's Miguel Marquez with the latest on Michael Jackson. Thanks Miguel very much.
Later, we'll take a closer look at Mark Geragos, the attorney representing Michael Jackson.
In the meantime strong alliance, the highs and lows of a president trip and the million pound lunch that President Bush and Prime Minister Blair Shared.
Ingredients for a health disaster we have new details on that hepatitis outbreak traced to a Chi-Chi's Restaurant in Pennsylvania. And later, a cold war, terror attacks and taking on a dictator, how would JFK handle America's toughest challenges?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: President Bush is on his way home from a state visit to Great Britain. He spent his last day in the northern England hometown of his friend and ally the Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The two leaders made it clear they'll stand together against critics and against terror, our Senior White House Correspondent John King reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A day to remember in sleepy Sedgefield, a pub lunch for the visiting president and the local boy who rose to become prime minister.
It was both social visit and another show of solidarity, Mr. Blair rejecting the notion he gets little or nothing for his staunch support of Mr. Bush in the war in Iraq.
TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: People sometimes talk about this alliance between Britain and the United States of America as if it was some score card. It isn't. The reason why we are standing side-by-side with America is not because we feel forced to. It is because we want to because we believe that is the right place to be.
KING: The president is well aware his friend pays a political price for standing so close and urged the critics to think again.
BUSH: This leader and this country are willing to take on hard tasks in the name of freedom and peace.
KING: Signing autographs for school children came near the end of what Mr. Bush called the fantastic four days in Great Britain. The one sad note, he said, was Thursday's terrorist bombing in Istanbul and he recounted a morning call to Turkey's prime minister to offer all possible help.
BUSH: The best way to defeat al Qaeda type killers is to share intelligence and then work with local authorities to hunt these killers down.
KING: The prime minister's invitation was designed to reciprocate for hospitality shown to him at Camp David and the Bush ranch in Texas and the guests took a playful moment to pose with the neighbors.
Most of the crowds here were supportive though even in the prime minister's political base some turned out to suggest Mr. Bush and all that comes with him was not welcome.
(on camera): For the record the choice for both the Bush's and the Blair's at the (unintelligible) Inn, fish and chips, the meal dubbed the million pound lunch by the locals because of the extraordinary security cost, some $1.7 million U.S. dollars for just a four hour visit.
John King CNN Darlington, England.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: The daunting task of defending a pop superstar why is Mark Geragos putting another iron in the fire?
Threatening fall what prompted this woman to take a plunge out of this second story window?
And remembering the deadly day in Dallas, we mark this somber anniversary from the city where the tragedy took place with a reporter who was there 40 years ago.
And here's your turn to weigh in on our web question of the day. "Does the official record reflect what happened to President Kennedy"? You can vote right now, cnn.com/wolf. We'll have the results later in this program.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because he had the gasoline in there and he was pouring it on me and everything and he had the matches.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: What happened next is something this young woman will never forget when she had to take a frightening fall or face a dangerous situation. We'll explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back to CNN.
The case against Michael Jackson: A look at what legal challenges he and his high profile defense attorney will have to face.
First though let's have a quick check of the latest headlines.
The United States and its allies have announced they'll suspend all work on a nuclear power project in North Korea for a year. The plant, which is strongly opposed by the Bush administration will be maintained so that it could potentially be restarted. The suspension will begin December 1st.
The Bush administration's energy bill is in trouble in the United States Senate. A vote today to end debate on the legislation failed and the measure faces stiff opposition from Democrats and moderate Republicans.
The energy bill offered almost $24 billion in tax breaks and subsidies to the oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy industries.
Pennsylvania health officials say they think it was the green onions that led to the nation's worst hepatitis outbreak ever. Three people were killed and almost 600 were sickened. The outbreak was traced to a Chi-Chi's Restaurant near Pittsburgh and most of those who got sick had eaten the mild salsa which was made on site.
More now on the arrest of Michael Jackson and the man who's been hired to keep the pop star from going to prison. His name is Mark Geragos and he's no stranger to big names facing big trouble.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): From stars to superstars to politicians to politician's friends and relatives, celebrities in trouble have turned to Mark Geragos.
MARK GERAGOS, MICHAEL JACKSON'S ATTORNEY: I assure you Michael would be the first to be outraged but I'm here to tell you today that Michael has given me the authority to say on his behalf these charges are categorically untrue.
BLITZER: The news that Geragos is defending Michael Jackson on child molestation charges couldn't have come as much surprise to legal observers even as he fronts Scott Peterson's defense in his murder trial.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I think one thing that may come to Mark Geragos' rescue in this situation is that the California legal system works so slowly that both cases will grind on at a pace that will probably allow him to handle both of them.
BLITZER: Geragos handles them and lesser known clients as well, including gang members charged with murder. But running a small law firm which includes his father and brother, Geragos has carved a career on the high profile.
He won acquittals for President Clinton's friend and business partner Susan McDougal on embezzlement and contempt charges and got alcohol-related charges against former first brother Roger Clinton reduced.
He got actress Winona Ryder acquitted on some felony commercial burglary charges but she was convicted on misdemeanor shoplifting.
Geragos' success and wit made him a hot commodity on TV talk shows including a consistent gig last winter on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE" commenting on the man he'd later represent, Scott Peterson.
GERAGOS: The most damning piece of circumstantial evidence comes out of his own mouth and his own hands when he hands the police that receipt from the very location where two miles away she's found. I mean that is just a devastating thing.
BLITZER: That led some to believe Geragos could not mount an adequate defense for Peterson. That remains to be seen. But experts say the Michael Jackson case will be a different challenge.
TOOBIN: The central issue in this trial will be the credibility of this child. And the defense will have to do everything it can to undermine the credibility of this child while not seeming overaggressive while not seeming additionally abusive to this kid. And that is something that is really difficult to do.
BLITZER: A fine line to walk in the spotlight.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Let's get some insight into the challenges Geragos will be facing while representing Michael Jackson. Joining us, Debra Opri is an attorney. She is a legal analyst with her own firm in Beverly Hills. She's joining us from our L.A. bureau. Debra, thank you very much for joining us.
How unusual is it for a high profile criminal defense attorney like Mark Geragos to take on these two huge cases at the same time?
DEBRA OPRI, LEGAL ANALYST: Not unusual at all, but certainly, right now, coming on the heels of the Scott Peterson case, may be strange to the people who are not in the legal profession. I'm a celebrity attorney myself, and I handled James Brown not so recently. But I can say that Mark Geragos is competent, and he is on the ball, and he will do just fine by both clients.
BLITZER: What's the biggest challenge that he faces right now, given that so many people obviously believe these charges are probably true even though there's been no evidence out there and everyone is innocent until they're proven guilty?
OPRI: Wolf, I'm glad you brought that up. I became an attorney because I believe in the American dream, and I'm going to be very blunt when I say this. Every accused is innocent until proven guilty, because that is what our constitution allows us. We are not the other countries of the world where once you're charged you are guilty and you have to prove yourself innocent.
Mr. Jackson -- and I warn all my celebrity clients, and I warn all the other celebrities out there -- watch this very closely, because the media is the modern lynch kangaroo court, and they will go after Michael Jackson, and they will go after you for the story.
I do a lot of media work, and I'm not here to sell anyone out, but I am deeply, deeply concerned for the Michael Jackson family as well as his own celebrity.
BLITZER: Well, let me interrupt you on that point, Debra, because there's now word or Miguel Marquez Reporting his family, and maybe even Michael Jackson for all we know, are sitting down with some network to do some sort of interviews. Is this a wise strategy at this very, very early stage in the process? OPRI: Let me say I support to Jackson family in whatever steps they take. They are basically alone right now, because no one is coming out to speak on their behalf. I want to be the attorney out there at this moment in time to say your son is innocent until proven guilty, and you can rest assured your son does not have a criminal record. He has had no prior problems with the police, no prior arrests, no prior convictions.
BLITZER: Let me interrupt you for a second, Debra. Ten years ago, as you know, he settled accusations for supposedly millions of dollars to get it away.
OPRI: Wolf, I'm aware of that. But he was not charged. He was not arrested. And the players are the same today. The child then ten years ago went to Larry Feldman, and ten years later this child has gone to Larry Feldman, it is my understanding.
What I'm trying to impart to your audience is this, Michael Jackson may be different. My client James Brown was very different, and he was accused of many things. But when he got into a court of law, he was presented as a human being, and he did not have liability.
With Michael Jackson, there's a long road to convicting this gentleman. And before anyone turns on Michael Jackson, let the facts come out. Don't hang this man yet, because there are explanations.
BLITZER: Innocent until proven guilty. Debra Opri, thanks very much. We'll have you back.
OPRI: Thank you.
BLITZER: Michael Jackson's arrest is just the latest in a series of scandals and legal problems that some say are taking a toll on his career and possibly his fortune as well. CNN's Jen Rogers is joining us now live in Los Angeles with more on that -- Jen.
JEN ROGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well hi there, Wolf. That's right, in his hay day, Michael Jackson frequently made "Forbes" list of the richest celebrities, but it's an open question in Hollywood whether he'll be there again.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROGERS (voice-over): At his peak, Michael Jackson was one of the world's richest entertainers, but his valuable image has been tarnished time after time, culminating in this week's criminal charges.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On multiple counts of child molestation.
ROGERS: Along with Jackson's reputation, industry sources say record sales have been in decline for more than a decade.
(MUSIC)
ROGERS: "Thriller," according to the "Guiness Book Of World Records," is still the No. 1 selling album of all time. Jackson has yet to repeat that success. Instead, each new release has sold fewer and fewer copies.
GEOFF MAYFIELD, "BILLBOARD": It's fair to say that musically he's not quite as relevant as he used to be, but at the same time, when you were an artist who's recorded one of the greatest selling albums of all time, you still own some sort of legacy.
ROGERS: Add to this his lavish lifestyle and multiple legal battles, which have also been a drain on his fortune, estimated by "Forbes" to be $300 to $350 million.
BRETT POLLY, "FORBES": How liquid those assets are is unclear, it depends how much he's borrowed against them.
ROGERS: The impact on Jackson's earning power is still unclear, but Wednesday CBS said it would postpone a Michael Jackson special scheduled to air November 26. The company said, "given the gravity of the charges against Mr. Jackson, we believe it would be inappropriate at this time to broadcast an entertainment special."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROGERS: It's too soon to tell if this latest scandal has impacted sales of his new CD out this week, but, Wolf, Hollywood and his fans will be watching.
BLITZER: CNN's Jen Rogers reporting for us from Los Angeles. Jen, thank you very much.
Moving on now, there was a close call for a woman in Norfolk, Virginia, earlier today. Authorities say her boyfriend held her hostage in a second floor apartment while he set an arson fire. When police arrived, he threatened to use gasoline and burn the building down. Debbie Jones was able to escape from a second floor window. 31-year-old Antonio Williams was arrested.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEBBIE JONES, HELD HOSTAGE BY BOYFRIEND: I really wasn't even thinking about -- I figured, if I would have stayed in there, you know, it would have been worse. So I just jumped out the window because I was already in the window. I'm thankful to be alive now. I'm very thankful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: If convicted, Williams could face five years in prison.
Decisions, decisions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's necessarily not something you enjoy, but it's something you have to do, and you try to make it as easy as possible. (END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: It's that time of year for many employees. What healthcare choices are best for you and your family? We'll break down some of the options, very important information you need to know right now.
And images seared in a nation's mind forever, the assassination of president John F. Kennedy. A look back at that tragic day.
And one reporter's memories of the horrific event that took place on this street 40 years ago. We'll get to that. First, though, a quick look at other news making headlines around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): The U.N. is one step closer to a deal with Iran for closer scrutiny of the country's nuclear program. The International Atomic Energy Agency has approved Iran's intention to sign the protocol, which would allow more intrusive and spontaneous nuclear inspections. It still has to be ratified by the Iranian parliament.
Thousands of people poured into the Georgian capital for protests demanding president Eduard Shevardnadze resign. There's widespread anger in the country over this month's paramilitary elections, which critics say was rigged in favor of Mr. Shevardnadze's allies.
In India, hundreds of ailing people are seeking relief at a natural medicine center in the southern part of the country. The center says its mud baths have cured everything from Parkinson's disease to cancer.
And a 63-year-old grandmother of four is trying for a third world record in her helicopter. She plans to circumnavigate the world by way of the north and south poles.
And that's our look around the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: There's a battle in the U.S. House of Representatives today over President Bush's Medicare legislation, and both Democrats and Republicans say the final vote is likely to be a cliffhanger. If the president is pulling out all the stops, he has, in fact, moved his chief of staff is lobbying legislators on Capitol Hill, and his political director, Karl Rove, is phoning members from Air Force One as it brings the president back to the United States from his visit to Great Britain. The vote is expected tonight.
For millions of Americans, this month is a critical time for their health. It's the so-called open enrollment period when you make choices on next year's health insurance coverage. With rates expected to rise 10 percent next year, we asked CNNfn's Darby Mullany to tell us what we should all be looking out for.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DARBY MULLANY, CNNFN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You've received the mailings, seen the flyers, your e-mail is full, all reminders this is open enrollment season, the time to decide what health care coverage you want for the year ahead. For many, this important decision is put off until the last minute, because choosing is so complicated. But if you do your homework, you could save yourself some money and hassle later on.
KAREN IGNAGNI, PRESIDENT & CEO, AAHP-HIAA: I think first, employees ought to sit at their kitchen tables, spread out their offerings, and look particularly at a couple of important things. Where do they -- are they comfortable getting their health care? What type of arrangement? Do they want a PPO? Do they want with more choice? Do they want an HMO? Are they comfortable there?
MULLANY: Executive assistant Tania Ahsan weighed her options and decided choice was the most important consideration. She opted for a plan that is pricier than some, but allows her to use any doctor she wants.
TANIA AHSAN, EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT: I went with a POS plan, which gave me the flexibility to kind of go with my own doctor and, you know, go to the location I wanted to, that was close to work or close to home. So that just made the most sense for me.
MULLANY: Companies also offer health maintenance organizations. These usually cost less, but you must use the doctor and services in the HMO. Experts say the average worker will pay almost $2,600 next year in medical bills, a 156 percent increase from five years ago. Learning your options and weighing them could save you money.
(on camera): Another way to possibly cut costs, flexible spending accounts. Now, many over-the-counter drugs are included. But remember, any money left in your account at the end of the year, you lose.
(voice-over): Pouring through health care documents may be a hard pill to swallow, but making the right choice could pay off.
AHSAN: I don't know if it's necessarily something you enjoy, but, you know, it's something you have to do, and you try to make it as easy as possible.
MULLANY: Darby Mullany, CNN Financial News, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Remembering a national tragedy, the day John F. Kennedy was murdered. On this anniversary, I'll speak with a journalist who witnessed the event 40 years ago.
And trying to answer the impossible, what if. A look at how JFK might have handled modern day challenges. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER (voice-over): Earlier we asked, what did John F. Kennedy do during World War II? The answer -- command a PT boat. Lieutenant Kennedy was 26 when he assumed command of the patrol torpedo boat PT- 109. Back then, about the only way a relatively new officer could skipper his own boat was through PT service.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Tomorrow marks 40 years since the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The country has experienced a number of tragedies since then, but the images and emotions of that day still are seared on the nation's soul.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): In the era of breaking news, of huge horrifying stories transmitted almost instantly worldwide, this may have been the first. A young president gunned down in broad daylight, on camera.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's official now. The president is dead.
BLITZER: Forty years later, even after other events of its kind, the image still seems shocking.
TED SORENSON, JFK SPEECHWRITER: It hurts. I mean, no one thought that could happen or would happen. And it was just hard to accept that day, and it's not easy to accept even now.
BLITZER: A feeling shared by millions. The adage is overplayed but so true: If you were alive then and older than about 3, you remember where you were and how you found out that Friday afternoon.
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST: There had been a rip in the fabric, that whatever was going to happen after November 22, 1963, was fundamentally different from what had gone before.
BLITZER: Another familiar pattern of a world-changing event. The story plays out over several hours and days. A new president, sadly but hurriedly, sworn in aboard Air Force One. A widowed first lady at his side, blood on her clothes.
That evening, the confused arrival of the president's body at Andrews Air Force Base. The emergence, then the murder on national television of a suspect, disgruntled, obscure, delusional, and fascinating. Forty years later, Lee Harvey Oswald still is. We never found out enough about him. And new polls show most people still don't believe he did it by himself.
The country didn't have long to absorb that horrible weekend. That Monday, John F. Kennedy became the first president buried on television. Burning images, one after another. Then a sense of what now. A grieving nation still numb, but almost strangely calm and resolved.
ROBERT SEMPLE, EDITOR, "FOUR DAYS IN NOVEMBER": Nobody really lost their sense of balance during the whole thing. And there were plenty of reasons to do so. Young president assassinated, guy coming out of nowhere. And somehow everybody -- everybody kept their cool.
BLITZER: The cool would give way in the years to come.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Hugh Aynesworth was a witness to those tumultuous days at the time. He was a reporter for "The Dallas Morning News." He's currently Southwest bureau chief for "The Washington Times." Hugh Aynesworth is joining us now live from the John F. Kennedy Museum in Dallas. Hugh, thank you so much for joining us.
Do you believe all these years later that the case has been resolved once and for all, that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone?
HUGH AYNESWORTH, WASHINGTON TIMES: I don't think that generally people believe that, no. But I believe it. But I know that it's not comfortable to believe that a couple of loners and never-do-wells like Ruby and Oswald could change the course of history.
BLITZER: What makes you think, based on your eyewitness account, both of the assassination as well as the subsequent killing of Lee Harvey Oswald by Jack Ruby, that these were all just coincidences, if you will, there was no big plot behind it all?
AYNESWORTH: Well, Wolf, I don't say there's no plot behind it. I say there's no evidence of a plot behind it. And I don't care how much you need it or want it or believe it, at some point you have to say, I just don't have it.
BLITZER: When you look back on those days, what was the first thing that went through your mind when you heard that shots had been fired at the motorcade?
AYNESWORTH: Well, of course, I heard the shots fired at the motorcade, and the first one I thought was a motorcycle backfiring. Then two more came shortly after that, definitely rifle shots. But it was chaos, because none of us there knew where to run. I would have liked to run away, very frankly, but we didn't know where the shots were coming from, how many shooters there were, what was going on. So it was just pandemonium.
BLITZER: When you heard about Lee Harvey Oswald, that Sunday morning that followed the Friday assassination, you were at the police station when Jack Ruby was there and he shot Lee Harvey Oswald. You were just there because you were a reporter for "The Dallas Morning News." Was that it?
AYNESWORTH: I was there because I woke up and found they hadn't moved Oswald, and I was very anticipatory. I thought that -- I knew that they had some threats to take him to the police department the night before, and I was just amazed that they didn't move him in secret the night before.
BLITZER: Is it true that you were asked to be a pall bearer at Jack Ruby's funeral?
AYNESWORTH: Yes, that's true. And I knew Ruby, and I didn't like him. So I told the Ruby family that I just couldn't do it. I thought that he should be carried those final yards by someone who at least respected him.
BLITZER: And, finally, Hugh, 40 years later, what goes through your mind today?
AYNESWORTH: Well, you know, when I come down here -- and I don't come down here too often, but when I do come down here, something grabs at you every once in a while. It's still a very emotional situation to understand and feel, refeel what happened.
BLITZER: Hugh Aynesworth of "The Washington Times." He's got a new book that is going to be coming out, "JFK, Breaking the News." Congratulations to you, Hugh, on that -- on that -- on the new book and congratulations on all your excellent reporting over these years. Appreciate it very much.
AYNESWORTH: Thanks so much, Wolf. I appreciate you.
We'll never know what John F. Kennedy's mark on history could have been. We'll take a final look tonight at the legacy JFK could have left, perhaps, had he survived. That and the results of our Web question of the day right after this brief break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Here's how you're weighing in on our Web question of the day. Does the official record reflect what happened to President Kennedy? Look at this, 27 percent of you say yes, 73 percent of you say no. As always, we remind you this is not a scientific poll.
Looking back over 40 years since the assassination, it's clear that much in the world has changed. National politics, international relations, even the wars that are now being waged. All that is different. For perspective, we asked CNN national correspondent Bruce Morton to reflect on the long view and to ask the question, what if?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN F. KENNEDY, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans.
BRUCE MORTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was new, of course. Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower were the old leaders who had won the old war. The new young president had fought in that war and would have to lead in a new one, a new kind of war, one called cold. It had started before he took office and would last almost half a century. The Cold War divided the world into three camps, the third world, which couldn't hurt anybody much, the free world, as we called ours, and the communist world. The lineups didn't change much year to year, and each side knew the other had the power to blow up the planet. Man could for the first time the American Roman Catholic bishops noted one year threaten God's created order.
It never came to that, but it came very close to it, more than once, on John Kennedy's watch. The Berlin Wall went up. The bombs did not go off. Soviet missiles went up in Cuba. A calm young president talked about the need to avoid mutual destruction, though some of his generals badly wanted to loose a nuke or two. And again the planet stayed whole.
And then he died, and we will never know how he might have dealt with a small growing sore called Vietnam.
And we can only wonder what he would have made of George W. Bush's war. No grand alliances capable of destroying the Earth, instead small fanatic bands capable mostly of inflicting random and fairly pointless pain. Would Kennedy, like Bush, have proclaimed a new foreign policy which said the U.S. could invade other countries, strike first if it felt threatened?
The threat today is not to destroy the planet. None of these groups can do that. The threat is to overthrow a government here, blur a border there, and saw fear and mistrust everywhere.
Terror is a tactic centuries old. Bombs go off in Turkey, in Saudi Arabia, in Indonesia, around the globe. What would John Kennedy have made of it all? We can't know. We can only wish for the leaders of this troubled world the toughness, skill, the humor, and the grace he brought to his.
Bruce Morton, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Thanks very much, Bruce.
A reminder, you can always catch us here twice a day Monday through Friday, noon and 5:00 Eastern. I'll see you again this Sunday at noon Eastern, for "LATE EDITION," the last word in Sunday talk. Among my guests, the Democratic presidential candidate Joe Lieberman and the Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. Until then, thanks very much for joining us. "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Michael Jackson Ready to Fight Charges>
Aired November 21, 2003 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, a new and ominous warning from the United States government. Al Qaeda may soon again attack U.S. targets around the world.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): Baghdad barrage, high profile targets, low tech delivery system. Terror on the move is Europe next?
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This man will not be intimidated and neither will I.
BLITZER: King of Pop ready to fight as his supporters speak out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's at lest get the evidence out there, give that man his day.
BLITZER: We'll look at the man who will do battle, Attorney Mark Geragos.
And, a witness to one of America's darkest hours...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A severe gunshot wound, I repeat a shooting in the motorcade.
BLITZER: JFK, 40 years later.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Friday, November 21, 2003.
BLITZER: Bold new terror attacks and new warnings of more to come. Rockets slammed into heavily guarded hotels and a government ministry right in the heart of Baghdad today among the targets a hotel housing journalists and civilian contractors. Almost more astonishing the ingenuity of the insurgents who used simple donkey carts to transport their rocket launchers and fire off their salvos.
And, as Turkey began burying its dead from yesterday's bombings a British target in Istanbul, the U.S. government warning that al Qaeda may soon strike at American interests as well. We begin in Baghdad and that bold barrage delivered by donkey carts. It was a close call for our CNN Senior International Correspondent Walter Rodgers who was in the Palestine Hotel when the rockets struck.
Walter is joining us now live from the Iraqi capital. Walter, donkey carts?
WALTER RODGERS, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf.
U.S. officials downplayed what were some rather spectacular attacks by the insurgents in the Iraqi capital. Still, these same U.S. generals credited the Iraqis insurgents for showing considerable imagination.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RODGERS (voice-over): It could have been much worse as these rockets that failed to fire a test. The blast of the first rockets disconnected the battery wires which could have triggered a much larger volley with 4-foot-long missiles.
This is the car carrying the rockets spilled over Still standing a badly traumatized and singed donkey which the Iraqi insurgents used to haul their missile launcher.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right copy impact on the 14, 15 and 16th floor, only one casualty thus far, over.
RODGERS: The critically injured man is an American civilian contract employee. These U.S. soldiers still disinclined to allow pictures showing that the war does continue.
One of three targets in the rocket attacks, the Palestine and Sheraton Hotel complex housing some soldiers and many journalists. Seven rockets hit the Palestine a little after 7:00 a.m. This man's room is just down the hall from mine. Later he said to me this was our lucky day.
This 107mm rocket exploded one floor above mine getting me out of bed in a hurry. The hardest hit room at the other end of the hall was fortunately unoccupied.
Across the street at the former Sheraton Hotel, a bellboy was injured when more rockets hit there. The Iraqi Oil Ministry was also struck by between seven and ten more rockets starting fires.
No casualties here and U.S. soldiers managed to fire shots at the fleeing insurgents. This U.S. Army colonel said the attacks were well executed and linked to the Muslim holiday Ramadan.
COL. BRAD MAY, U.S. ARMY: As you look at Ramadan and as we move closer to the end of the Ramadan period naturally there's, you know, more concern and our intelligence collection effort is heightened.
RODGERS: Near the Italian Embassy another donkey cart missile strike was foiled by Iraqi police. The cart disguised as a kerosene peddler's wagon was suspicious because it had no spigot to dispense fuel. The Arabic graffiti on the rocket launcher reads "Enjoy."
Hundreds of donkey carts ply Baghdad making them an ingenious cover according to an American general. All four donkeys used in these attacks survived and are now in coalition care.
Shelling came after U.S. officials had been boasting Iraq is now 90 percent safe and attacks are down by 70 percent. The Army says these most recent rocket attacks were only designed to grab headlines and have no tactical military value. Perhaps but they were audacious.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RODGERS: These rocket attacks were remarkable in yet another respect. That was minimal casualties, only two wounded and no fatalities -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Walter Rodgers for us with the latest in Baghdad, Walter thanks very much. Thankfully you and our colleagues are OK. Please be careful in Baghdad.
There's been another American combat death in Iraq. The 4th Infantry Division today said one of its soldiers was killed during a patrol last night when his vehicle hit an explosive device just west of Baqubah. That area has been a hotbed of guerrilla activity.
In Istanbul, Turkey, the grim aftermath of yesterday's bombings of the British Consulate and a British bank. As recovery efforts continue the death toll now stands at 30. The first funerals were held today.
A number of people have been arrested but there have also been new claims of responsibility and there are new warnings that a new terror front may be opened in Europe and that al Qaeda may once again have its eye on American interests.
We have two reports. Our National Security Correspondent David Ensor is standing by here in Washington but we begin in Istanbul with our National Correspondent Mike Boettcher.
Mike, first of all, what's the latest information on the investigation? Who's responsible for these two attacks against British interests in Istanbul?
MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the foreign minister of Turkey announced today that arrests had been made and it is believed more arrests will be made but there is a new theory out there that a third organization, sort of a middle group between the Turkish group and al Qaeda leadership, may be involved in these attacks.
Now this is not confirmed. It arose from the Israeli investigation of the synagogue bombings and involves perhaps a group organized by Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi who is also believed to be the middle man in launching attacks in Iraq as well. But that still requires further investigation and this is a very complex chain to follow and they are definitely trying to follow it here but it's difficult. It's like trying to put together a puzzle right now -- Wolf.
BLITZER: There were several similarities in the attack last Saturday, the twin attack against the two synagogues and the twin attack on Thursday against the British interests in Istanbul. Is the working assumption that the same people overall were in charge of all four of these suicide bombings?
BOETTCHER: Definitely, Wolf. According to security sources here and in the region that is the working assumption that all four of these blasts are connected and they are analyzing the explosives used. That will give the key because there are many al Qaeda manuals out there that show how to construct various explosive devices.
Now, it's been estimated that the devices used there weighed up to 1,500 pounds in explosives at these various sites. Once they're able to determine what kind of chemicals were used in that explosive compare that with al Qaeda manuals and past al Qaeda plans they'll have a better idea which al Qaeda group may be responsible for this in backing the Turks in this attack.
BLITZER: CNN's Mike Boettcher in Istanbul, Mike thank you very much and the same warning to you suggesting please be careful in Istanbul. All of our reporters have to be careful covering these stories around the world.
And while authorities haven't yet assigned blame for the Istanbul bombings, the U.S. government is already warning that al Qaeda may have its eye on American targets.
Let's turn now to our National Security Correspondent David Ensor, David what are you hearing?
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, U.S. officials are saying that they fear that the al Qaeda group may strike again soon against American interests most likely overseas.
This warning comes after U.S. intelligence circulated an advisory to federal agencies last night which said that first there was a lot of increased chatter amongst those who might be would-be terrorists.
And secondly, of course, they cited these attacks in Turkey and earlier in Saudi Arabia. This has been a very bloody Ramadan and so there's a good deal of concern. Ramadan is not over. There's a few more days left and we should remember that last year at this time or shortly after this there was that attack on Israeli tourists in Mombassa, Kenya.
BLITZER: When you say that there may be, they're plotting some sort of attack against American interests overseas to coincide with the end of Ramadan does that mean that the U.S. government has not gone on a higher state of alert around the world? ENSOR: This advisory has been sent out to U.S. embassies, consulates, military bases obviously, yes, and they will have been taking certain measures to improve their security.
But the advisory is also intended to tell companies that have offices overseas and other American interests or targets potentially around the world that they ought to be especially careful at this time.
I should tell you that there is a plan by the Department of Homeland Security later today to put out a warning to state and local agencies here in this country because they're not ruling out an attack here. That has not yet been done.
We're also told that there isn't any plan to raise the color code as it now is from code yellow, you know, sort of a heightened level but not the top. It's going to stay on yellow we're told.
BLITZER: Not going up to orange or red at least that's what we're told.
ENSOR: Not yet.
BLITZER: Thanks very much, David Ensor, for that.
The case against an entertainment giant, a well known attorney speaking out against Michael Jackson and there's other news coming out of Jackson's hideaway this afternoon. We'll have details.
Ending on a high note, Bush and Blair wrap up a presidential visit. We'll look at what they accomplished these past few days.
And, 40 years ago, this street set the scene for one of the most infamous crimes in American history. What do we know for sure about exactly what happened in 1963? We'll get to that.
First, though, today's News Quiz.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER (voice-over): What did John F. Kennedy do during World War II, fly a fighter plane, command a PT boat, parachute into Germany, invade Italy," the answer coming up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Michael Jackson is back in the Las Vegas area one day after being arrested and booked on child molestation charges in California.
CNN's Miguel Marquez is outside the hotel where Jackson is believed to be staying. What do we know on this day after Miguel?
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know that he is here in Las Vegas. The question that we've been tossing around, at least one of them is, is he staying here at the Green Valley Ranch Hotel?
Every indication we have is that he is and quite recently we were in there and it seems that security is much tighter now and there's a palpable sort of interest going on there so it does seem that Mr. Jackson may be in the hotel here.
The other question we're kind of tossing around is why Las Vegas? He was apparently done with his music video here or his CBS special but he has lots of family here.
His sisters have a home here. His father has a home here and that may be the reason enough. His family certainly they're gathering today, gathered today to do a network interview which for air at some later point.
Another piece of information we're getting on this story coming out of Los Angeles is a lawyer no stranger to controversy, Gloria Allred, she has filed a complaint with Children's Welfare and Protective Services of Santa Barbara County. She says that if the alleged molestation took place at Neverland Ranch she has concerns for Jackson's children and believes there should be an investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GLORIA ALLRED, ATTORNEY: Combined with his behavior in November of 2002 of dangling his baby over a fourth floor balcony gives rise in my legal judgment to a substantial risk that his children may suffer serious physical harm as the result of Mr. Jackson's failure to adequately supervise or protect the children.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: Now, Mr. Jackson arrived here in Las Vegas last night after being booked and then released after paying his bond in Santa Barbara. He left the airport here. It wasn't entirely clear where he was going because he took about two or three hours to get there.
He drove around the streets of Las Vegas essentially making an enormous loop through the streets of Las Vegas before arriving here at the Green Valley Ranch Hotel in Henderson, which is right outside of Las Vegas. Just what Mr. Jackson is up to for the rest of his stay here isn't entirely clear but it seems that there is no shortage of press to watch for him -- Wolf.
BLITZER: CNN's Miguel Marquez with the latest on Michael Jackson. Thanks Miguel very much.
Later, we'll take a closer look at Mark Geragos, the attorney representing Michael Jackson.
In the meantime strong alliance, the highs and lows of a president trip and the million pound lunch that President Bush and Prime Minister Blair Shared.
Ingredients for a health disaster we have new details on that hepatitis outbreak traced to a Chi-Chi's Restaurant in Pennsylvania. And later, a cold war, terror attacks and taking on a dictator, how would JFK handle America's toughest challenges?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: President Bush is on his way home from a state visit to Great Britain. He spent his last day in the northern England hometown of his friend and ally the Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The two leaders made it clear they'll stand together against critics and against terror, our Senior White House Correspondent John King reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A day to remember in sleepy Sedgefield, a pub lunch for the visiting president and the local boy who rose to become prime minister.
It was both social visit and another show of solidarity, Mr. Blair rejecting the notion he gets little or nothing for his staunch support of Mr. Bush in the war in Iraq.
TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: People sometimes talk about this alliance between Britain and the United States of America as if it was some score card. It isn't. The reason why we are standing side-by-side with America is not because we feel forced to. It is because we want to because we believe that is the right place to be.
KING: The president is well aware his friend pays a political price for standing so close and urged the critics to think again.
BUSH: This leader and this country are willing to take on hard tasks in the name of freedom and peace.
KING: Signing autographs for school children came near the end of what Mr. Bush called the fantastic four days in Great Britain. The one sad note, he said, was Thursday's terrorist bombing in Istanbul and he recounted a morning call to Turkey's prime minister to offer all possible help.
BUSH: The best way to defeat al Qaeda type killers is to share intelligence and then work with local authorities to hunt these killers down.
KING: The prime minister's invitation was designed to reciprocate for hospitality shown to him at Camp David and the Bush ranch in Texas and the guests took a playful moment to pose with the neighbors.
Most of the crowds here were supportive though even in the prime minister's political base some turned out to suggest Mr. Bush and all that comes with him was not welcome.
(on camera): For the record the choice for both the Bush's and the Blair's at the (unintelligible) Inn, fish and chips, the meal dubbed the million pound lunch by the locals because of the extraordinary security cost, some $1.7 million U.S. dollars for just a four hour visit.
John King CNN Darlington, England.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: The daunting task of defending a pop superstar why is Mark Geragos putting another iron in the fire?
Threatening fall what prompted this woman to take a plunge out of this second story window?
And remembering the deadly day in Dallas, we mark this somber anniversary from the city where the tragedy took place with a reporter who was there 40 years ago.
And here's your turn to weigh in on our web question of the day. "Does the official record reflect what happened to President Kennedy"? You can vote right now, cnn.com/wolf. We'll have the results later in this program.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because he had the gasoline in there and he was pouring it on me and everything and he had the matches.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: What happened next is something this young woman will never forget when she had to take a frightening fall or face a dangerous situation. We'll explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back to CNN.
The case against Michael Jackson: A look at what legal challenges he and his high profile defense attorney will have to face.
First though let's have a quick check of the latest headlines.
The United States and its allies have announced they'll suspend all work on a nuclear power project in North Korea for a year. The plant, which is strongly opposed by the Bush administration will be maintained so that it could potentially be restarted. The suspension will begin December 1st.
The Bush administration's energy bill is in trouble in the United States Senate. A vote today to end debate on the legislation failed and the measure faces stiff opposition from Democrats and moderate Republicans.
The energy bill offered almost $24 billion in tax breaks and subsidies to the oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy industries.
Pennsylvania health officials say they think it was the green onions that led to the nation's worst hepatitis outbreak ever. Three people were killed and almost 600 were sickened. The outbreak was traced to a Chi-Chi's Restaurant near Pittsburgh and most of those who got sick had eaten the mild salsa which was made on site.
More now on the arrest of Michael Jackson and the man who's been hired to keep the pop star from going to prison. His name is Mark Geragos and he's no stranger to big names facing big trouble.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): From stars to superstars to politicians to politician's friends and relatives, celebrities in trouble have turned to Mark Geragos.
MARK GERAGOS, MICHAEL JACKSON'S ATTORNEY: I assure you Michael would be the first to be outraged but I'm here to tell you today that Michael has given me the authority to say on his behalf these charges are categorically untrue.
BLITZER: The news that Geragos is defending Michael Jackson on child molestation charges couldn't have come as much surprise to legal observers even as he fronts Scott Peterson's defense in his murder trial.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I think one thing that may come to Mark Geragos' rescue in this situation is that the California legal system works so slowly that both cases will grind on at a pace that will probably allow him to handle both of them.
BLITZER: Geragos handles them and lesser known clients as well, including gang members charged with murder. But running a small law firm which includes his father and brother, Geragos has carved a career on the high profile.
He won acquittals for President Clinton's friend and business partner Susan McDougal on embezzlement and contempt charges and got alcohol-related charges against former first brother Roger Clinton reduced.
He got actress Winona Ryder acquitted on some felony commercial burglary charges but she was convicted on misdemeanor shoplifting.
Geragos' success and wit made him a hot commodity on TV talk shows including a consistent gig last winter on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE" commenting on the man he'd later represent, Scott Peterson.
GERAGOS: The most damning piece of circumstantial evidence comes out of his own mouth and his own hands when he hands the police that receipt from the very location where two miles away she's found. I mean that is just a devastating thing.
BLITZER: That led some to believe Geragos could not mount an adequate defense for Peterson. That remains to be seen. But experts say the Michael Jackson case will be a different challenge.
TOOBIN: The central issue in this trial will be the credibility of this child. And the defense will have to do everything it can to undermine the credibility of this child while not seeming overaggressive while not seeming additionally abusive to this kid. And that is something that is really difficult to do.
BLITZER: A fine line to walk in the spotlight.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Let's get some insight into the challenges Geragos will be facing while representing Michael Jackson. Joining us, Debra Opri is an attorney. She is a legal analyst with her own firm in Beverly Hills. She's joining us from our L.A. bureau. Debra, thank you very much for joining us.
How unusual is it for a high profile criminal defense attorney like Mark Geragos to take on these two huge cases at the same time?
DEBRA OPRI, LEGAL ANALYST: Not unusual at all, but certainly, right now, coming on the heels of the Scott Peterson case, may be strange to the people who are not in the legal profession. I'm a celebrity attorney myself, and I handled James Brown not so recently. But I can say that Mark Geragos is competent, and he is on the ball, and he will do just fine by both clients.
BLITZER: What's the biggest challenge that he faces right now, given that so many people obviously believe these charges are probably true even though there's been no evidence out there and everyone is innocent until they're proven guilty?
OPRI: Wolf, I'm glad you brought that up. I became an attorney because I believe in the American dream, and I'm going to be very blunt when I say this. Every accused is innocent until proven guilty, because that is what our constitution allows us. We are not the other countries of the world where once you're charged you are guilty and you have to prove yourself innocent.
Mr. Jackson -- and I warn all my celebrity clients, and I warn all the other celebrities out there -- watch this very closely, because the media is the modern lynch kangaroo court, and they will go after Michael Jackson, and they will go after you for the story.
I do a lot of media work, and I'm not here to sell anyone out, but I am deeply, deeply concerned for the Michael Jackson family as well as his own celebrity.
BLITZER: Well, let me interrupt you on that point, Debra, because there's now word or Miguel Marquez Reporting his family, and maybe even Michael Jackson for all we know, are sitting down with some network to do some sort of interviews. Is this a wise strategy at this very, very early stage in the process? OPRI: Let me say I support to Jackson family in whatever steps they take. They are basically alone right now, because no one is coming out to speak on their behalf. I want to be the attorney out there at this moment in time to say your son is innocent until proven guilty, and you can rest assured your son does not have a criminal record. He has had no prior problems with the police, no prior arrests, no prior convictions.
BLITZER: Let me interrupt you for a second, Debra. Ten years ago, as you know, he settled accusations for supposedly millions of dollars to get it away.
OPRI: Wolf, I'm aware of that. But he was not charged. He was not arrested. And the players are the same today. The child then ten years ago went to Larry Feldman, and ten years later this child has gone to Larry Feldman, it is my understanding.
What I'm trying to impart to your audience is this, Michael Jackson may be different. My client James Brown was very different, and he was accused of many things. But when he got into a court of law, he was presented as a human being, and he did not have liability.
With Michael Jackson, there's a long road to convicting this gentleman. And before anyone turns on Michael Jackson, let the facts come out. Don't hang this man yet, because there are explanations.
BLITZER: Innocent until proven guilty. Debra Opri, thanks very much. We'll have you back.
OPRI: Thank you.
BLITZER: Michael Jackson's arrest is just the latest in a series of scandals and legal problems that some say are taking a toll on his career and possibly his fortune as well. CNN's Jen Rogers is joining us now live in Los Angeles with more on that -- Jen.
JEN ROGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well hi there, Wolf. That's right, in his hay day, Michael Jackson frequently made "Forbes" list of the richest celebrities, but it's an open question in Hollywood whether he'll be there again.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROGERS (voice-over): At his peak, Michael Jackson was one of the world's richest entertainers, but his valuable image has been tarnished time after time, culminating in this week's criminal charges.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On multiple counts of child molestation.
ROGERS: Along with Jackson's reputation, industry sources say record sales have been in decline for more than a decade.
(MUSIC)
ROGERS: "Thriller," according to the "Guiness Book Of World Records," is still the No. 1 selling album of all time. Jackson has yet to repeat that success. Instead, each new release has sold fewer and fewer copies.
GEOFF MAYFIELD, "BILLBOARD": It's fair to say that musically he's not quite as relevant as he used to be, but at the same time, when you were an artist who's recorded one of the greatest selling albums of all time, you still own some sort of legacy.
ROGERS: Add to this his lavish lifestyle and multiple legal battles, which have also been a drain on his fortune, estimated by "Forbes" to be $300 to $350 million.
BRETT POLLY, "FORBES": How liquid those assets are is unclear, it depends how much he's borrowed against them.
ROGERS: The impact on Jackson's earning power is still unclear, but Wednesday CBS said it would postpone a Michael Jackson special scheduled to air November 26. The company said, "given the gravity of the charges against Mr. Jackson, we believe it would be inappropriate at this time to broadcast an entertainment special."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROGERS: It's too soon to tell if this latest scandal has impacted sales of his new CD out this week, but, Wolf, Hollywood and his fans will be watching.
BLITZER: CNN's Jen Rogers reporting for us from Los Angeles. Jen, thank you very much.
Moving on now, there was a close call for a woman in Norfolk, Virginia, earlier today. Authorities say her boyfriend held her hostage in a second floor apartment while he set an arson fire. When police arrived, he threatened to use gasoline and burn the building down. Debbie Jones was able to escape from a second floor window. 31-year-old Antonio Williams was arrested.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEBBIE JONES, HELD HOSTAGE BY BOYFRIEND: I really wasn't even thinking about -- I figured, if I would have stayed in there, you know, it would have been worse. So I just jumped out the window because I was already in the window. I'm thankful to be alive now. I'm very thankful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: If convicted, Williams could face five years in prison.
Decisions, decisions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's necessarily not something you enjoy, but it's something you have to do, and you try to make it as easy as possible. (END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: It's that time of year for many employees. What healthcare choices are best for you and your family? We'll break down some of the options, very important information you need to know right now.
And images seared in a nation's mind forever, the assassination of president John F. Kennedy. A look back at that tragic day.
And one reporter's memories of the horrific event that took place on this street 40 years ago. We'll get to that. First, though, a quick look at other news making headlines around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): The U.N. is one step closer to a deal with Iran for closer scrutiny of the country's nuclear program. The International Atomic Energy Agency has approved Iran's intention to sign the protocol, which would allow more intrusive and spontaneous nuclear inspections. It still has to be ratified by the Iranian parliament.
Thousands of people poured into the Georgian capital for protests demanding president Eduard Shevardnadze resign. There's widespread anger in the country over this month's paramilitary elections, which critics say was rigged in favor of Mr. Shevardnadze's allies.
In India, hundreds of ailing people are seeking relief at a natural medicine center in the southern part of the country. The center says its mud baths have cured everything from Parkinson's disease to cancer.
And a 63-year-old grandmother of four is trying for a third world record in her helicopter. She plans to circumnavigate the world by way of the north and south poles.
And that's our look around the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: There's a battle in the U.S. House of Representatives today over President Bush's Medicare legislation, and both Democrats and Republicans say the final vote is likely to be a cliffhanger. If the president is pulling out all the stops, he has, in fact, moved his chief of staff is lobbying legislators on Capitol Hill, and his political director, Karl Rove, is phoning members from Air Force One as it brings the president back to the United States from his visit to Great Britain. The vote is expected tonight.
For millions of Americans, this month is a critical time for their health. It's the so-called open enrollment period when you make choices on next year's health insurance coverage. With rates expected to rise 10 percent next year, we asked CNNfn's Darby Mullany to tell us what we should all be looking out for.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DARBY MULLANY, CNNFN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You've received the mailings, seen the flyers, your e-mail is full, all reminders this is open enrollment season, the time to decide what health care coverage you want for the year ahead. For many, this important decision is put off until the last minute, because choosing is so complicated. But if you do your homework, you could save yourself some money and hassle later on.
KAREN IGNAGNI, PRESIDENT & CEO, AAHP-HIAA: I think first, employees ought to sit at their kitchen tables, spread out their offerings, and look particularly at a couple of important things. Where do they -- are they comfortable getting their health care? What type of arrangement? Do they want a PPO? Do they want with more choice? Do they want an HMO? Are they comfortable there?
MULLANY: Executive assistant Tania Ahsan weighed her options and decided choice was the most important consideration. She opted for a plan that is pricier than some, but allows her to use any doctor she wants.
TANIA AHSAN, EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT: I went with a POS plan, which gave me the flexibility to kind of go with my own doctor and, you know, go to the location I wanted to, that was close to work or close to home. So that just made the most sense for me.
MULLANY: Companies also offer health maintenance organizations. These usually cost less, but you must use the doctor and services in the HMO. Experts say the average worker will pay almost $2,600 next year in medical bills, a 156 percent increase from five years ago. Learning your options and weighing them could save you money.
(on camera): Another way to possibly cut costs, flexible spending accounts. Now, many over-the-counter drugs are included. But remember, any money left in your account at the end of the year, you lose.
(voice-over): Pouring through health care documents may be a hard pill to swallow, but making the right choice could pay off.
AHSAN: I don't know if it's necessarily something you enjoy, but, you know, it's something you have to do, and you try to make it as easy as possible.
MULLANY: Darby Mullany, CNN Financial News, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Remembering a national tragedy, the day John F. Kennedy was murdered. On this anniversary, I'll speak with a journalist who witnessed the event 40 years ago.
And trying to answer the impossible, what if. A look at how JFK might have handled modern day challenges. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER (voice-over): Earlier we asked, what did John F. Kennedy do during World War II? The answer -- command a PT boat. Lieutenant Kennedy was 26 when he assumed command of the patrol torpedo boat PT- 109. Back then, about the only way a relatively new officer could skipper his own boat was through PT service.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Tomorrow marks 40 years since the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The country has experienced a number of tragedies since then, but the images and emotions of that day still are seared on the nation's soul.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): In the era of breaking news, of huge horrifying stories transmitted almost instantly worldwide, this may have been the first. A young president gunned down in broad daylight, on camera.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's official now. The president is dead.
BLITZER: Forty years later, even after other events of its kind, the image still seems shocking.
TED SORENSON, JFK SPEECHWRITER: It hurts. I mean, no one thought that could happen or would happen. And it was just hard to accept that day, and it's not easy to accept even now.
BLITZER: A feeling shared by millions. The adage is overplayed but so true: If you were alive then and older than about 3, you remember where you were and how you found out that Friday afternoon.
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST: There had been a rip in the fabric, that whatever was going to happen after November 22, 1963, was fundamentally different from what had gone before.
BLITZER: Another familiar pattern of a world-changing event. The story plays out over several hours and days. A new president, sadly but hurriedly, sworn in aboard Air Force One. A widowed first lady at his side, blood on her clothes.
That evening, the confused arrival of the president's body at Andrews Air Force Base. The emergence, then the murder on national television of a suspect, disgruntled, obscure, delusional, and fascinating. Forty years later, Lee Harvey Oswald still is. We never found out enough about him. And new polls show most people still don't believe he did it by himself.
The country didn't have long to absorb that horrible weekend. That Monday, John F. Kennedy became the first president buried on television. Burning images, one after another. Then a sense of what now. A grieving nation still numb, but almost strangely calm and resolved.
ROBERT SEMPLE, EDITOR, "FOUR DAYS IN NOVEMBER": Nobody really lost their sense of balance during the whole thing. And there were plenty of reasons to do so. Young president assassinated, guy coming out of nowhere. And somehow everybody -- everybody kept their cool.
BLITZER: The cool would give way in the years to come.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Hugh Aynesworth was a witness to those tumultuous days at the time. He was a reporter for "The Dallas Morning News." He's currently Southwest bureau chief for "The Washington Times." Hugh Aynesworth is joining us now live from the John F. Kennedy Museum in Dallas. Hugh, thank you so much for joining us.
Do you believe all these years later that the case has been resolved once and for all, that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone?
HUGH AYNESWORTH, WASHINGTON TIMES: I don't think that generally people believe that, no. But I believe it. But I know that it's not comfortable to believe that a couple of loners and never-do-wells like Ruby and Oswald could change the course of history.
BLITZER: What makes you think, based on your eyewitness account, both of the assassination as well as the subsequent killing of Lee Harvey Oswald by Jack Ruby, that these were all just coincidences, if you will, there was no big plot behind it all?
AYNESWORTH: Well, Wolf, I don't say there's no plot behind it. I say there's no evidence of a plot behind it. And I don't care how much you need it or want it or believe it, at some point you have to say, I just don't have it.
BLITZER: When you look back on those days, what was the first thing that went through your mind when you heard that shots had been fired at the motorcade?
AYNESWORTH: Well, of course, I heard the shots fired at the motorcade, and the first one I thought was a motorcycle backfiring. Then two more came shortly after that, definitely rifle shots. But it was chaos, because none of us there knew where to run. I would have liked to run away, very frankly, but we didn't know where the shots were coming from, how many shooters there were, what was going on. So it was just pandemonium.
BLITZER: When you heard about Lee Harvey Oswald, that Sunday morning that followed the Friday assassination, you were at the police station when Jack Ruby was there and he shot Lee Harvey Oswald. You were just there because you were a reporter for "The Dallas Morning News." Was that it?
AYNESWORTH: I was there because I woke up and found they hadn't moved Oswald, and I was very anticipatory. I thought that -- I knew that they had some threats to take him to the police department the night before, and I was just amazed that they didn't move him in secret the night before.
BLITZER: Is it true that you were asked to be a pall bearer at Jack Ruby's funeral?
AYNESWORTH: Yes, that's true. And I knew Ruby, and I didn't like him. So I told the Ruby family that I just couldn't do it. I thought that he should be carried those final yards by someone who at least respected him.
BLITZER: And, finally, Hugh, 40 years later, what goes through your mind today?
AYNESWORTH: Well, you know, when I come down here -- and I don't come down here too often, but when I do come down here, something grabs at you every once in a while. It's still a very emotional situation to understand and feel, refeel what happened.
BLITZER: Hugh Aynesworth of "The Washington Times." He's got a new book that is going to be coming out, "JFK, Breaking the News." Congratulations to you, Hugh, on that -- on that -- on the new book and congratulations on all your excellent reporting over these years. Appreciate it very much.
AYNESWORTH: Thanks so much, Wolf. I appreciate you.
We'll never know what John F. Kennedy's mark on history could have been. We'll take a final look tonight at the legacy JFK could have left, perhaps, had he survived. That and the results of our Web question of the day right after this brief break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Here's how you're weighing in on our Web question of the day. Does the official record reflect what happened to President Kennedy? Look at this, 27 percent of you say yes, 73 percent of you say no. As always, we remind you this is not a scientific poll.
Looking back over 40 years since the assassination, it's clear that much in the world has changed. National politics, international relations, even the wars that are now being waged. All that is different. For perspective, we asked CNN national correspondent Bruce Morton to reflect on the long view and to ask the question, what if?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN F. KENNEDY, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans.
BRUCE MORTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was new, of course. Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower were the old leaders who had won the old war. The new young president had fought in that war and would have to lead in a new one, a new kind of war, one called cold. It had started before he took office and would last almost half a century. The Cold War divided the world into three camps, the third world, which couldn't hurt anybody much, the free world, as we called ours, and the communist world. The lineups didn't change much year to year, and each side knew the other had the power to blow up the planet. Man could for the first time the American Roman Catholic bishops noted one year threaten God's created order.
It never came to that, but it came very close to it, more than once, on John Kennedy's watch. The Berlin Wall went up. The bombs did not go off. Soviet missiles went up in Cuba. A calm young president talked about the need to avoid mutual destruction, though some of his generals badly wanted to loose a nuke or two. And again the planet stayed whole.
And then he died, and we will never know how he might have dealt with a small growing sore called Vietnam.
And we can only wonder what he would have made of George W. Bush's war. No grand alliances capable of destroying the Earth, instead small fanatic bands capable mostly of inflicting random and fairly pointless pain. Would Kennedy, like Bush, have proclaimed a new foreign policy which said the U.S. could invade other countries, strike first if it felt threatened?
The threat today is not to destroy the planet. None of these groups can do that. The threat is to overthrow a government here, blur a border there, and saw fear and mistrust everywhere.
Terror is a tactic centuries old. Bombs go off in Turkey, in Saudi Arabia, in Indonesia, around the globe. What would John Kennedy have made of it all? We can't know. We can only wish for the leaders of this troubled world the toughness, skill, the humor, and the grace he brought to his.
Bruce Morton, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Thanks very much, Bruce.
A reminder, you can always catch us here twice a day Monday through Friday, noon and 5:00 Eastern. I'll see you again this Sunday at noon Eastern, for "LATE EDITION," the last word in Sunday talk. Among my guests, the Democratic presidential candidate Joe Lieberman and the Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. Until then, thanks very much for joining us. "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.
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