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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports
Independent Counsel Named for Leak Investigation; Security Ramped Up for New Year's; USDA Strengthens Beef Restrictions
Aired December 30, 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.
MILES O'BRIEN, GUEST HOST: Happening now. Securing Time's Square. Why sniper teams, bomb squads and magnetometers are in the works for New York's New Year's celebration.
Also happening now, meat restrictions. What the U.S. is now banning to protect the nation against Mad Cow Disease.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN (voice-over): CIA leak. Top levels of the Bush administration under scrutiny. Why is the attorney general bowing out of the investigation?
Cities on alert. Unprecedented security for New Year's Eve.
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK CITY: I'm going to be there. I'm going to be safe, and so are you.
O'BRIEN: Iraq attacks. Saddam calling the shots?
BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: We're putting that puzzle together.
O'BRIEN: I'll speak with former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger.
Ban planned.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The top to stop using these products is now.
O'BRIEN: A first ever federal crackdown on a popular and dangerous supplement.
ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Tuesday, December 30, 2003.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Hello. I'm Miles O'Brien at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Wolf off today.
We begin with a dramatic but puzzling announcement in Washington, where Attorney General John Ashcroft, the nation's top law enforcement official, has removed himself from the investigation into the outing of a CIA operative.
The probe of that controversial news leaks has reached the upper levels of the Bush administration.
We turn now to our justice correspondent, Kelli Arena, for more on the story.
Hello, Kelli.
KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Miles.
The decision follows months of the criticism alleging that the attorney general's ties to the White House were just too close for him to conduct a fair investigation.
Critics today, though, praised his decision to hand over the reigns to someone else.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA (voice-over): Attorney General John Ashcroft won't be overseeing the politically sensitive investigation into who leaked the name of Valerie Plame, a former undercover CIA operative.
JAMES COMEY, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: It's just that we've reached a point in the investigation where the attorney general and I thought it was appropriate to make the judgment that's been made.
ARENA: Instead, out of a, quote, "abundance of caution," justice officials say the investigation will be led by a special prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald, the U.S. attorney out of Chicago.
COMEY: We thought it prudent to have the matter handled by someone who is not in regular contact with the agencies and entities affected by this investigation.
ARENA: Plame is married to former Ambassador Joe Wilson. He and several Democrats have charged the attorney general was too chummy with the White House to conduct an impartial probe.
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: It gives me some faith that we will get to the bottom of this dastardly act and prosecute the people who did it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA: For some background Joe Wilson had been very vocal in saying the administration exaggerated Iraq's nuclear capabilities just before the war. He charged the administration leaked his wife's name to retaliate against him.
When told about today's decision, he called it a good thing.
Now, as for the investigation itself, sources say that a fourth prosecutor was recently added to the investigation team, and that a grand jury may soon be impaneled to take testimony -- Miles. O'BRIEN: CNN's Kelli Arena in Washington. Thank you very much.
On alert. New threats and renewed resolve. The sky over the city will be closed except to air patrols, but New York will in fact be open for New Year's Eve.
And police are using everything from metal detectors to radiation detectors to back up the mayor's vow that revelers will be safe.
CNN has learned that Britain recently received intelligence on general threats to its airliners. U.S. officials say some British carriers began putting armed marshals on their fights when they were informed of those threats.
German security forces sealed off the area around a military hospital in Hamburg today following tips that Islamic extremists planned a car bomb attack on the facility. Police call the threat very serious.
With America on high alert, America's cities are taking extraordinary precaution.
Let's go straight now to New York City and CNN's Jason Carroll, who is watching it from there.
Hello, Jason.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And hello to you, Mile.
Look for major security measures to be put into place all over the country, ranging from radiation detectors here in New York City to checking the I.D.s of emergency workers in New Jersey.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (voice-over): A favorable weather forecast and an increase in the number of tourists in New York City could mean record turnout for the annual Time's Square celebration.
BLOOMBERG: I'm going to be there. I'm going to be safe, and so are you.
CARROLL: Police will use magnetometers to search bags and backpacks of everyone entering the area. Anti-terrorism helicopters will be patrolling the skies.
On the ground, police will deploy radiation detectors will be in sensitive areas. Officers will monitor landmarks and transportation sites.
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge says look for increased security measures nationwide.
TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Right now we think the level of threat is appropriately at orange. And we have ramped up in an unprecedented way levels of security around the country. And I think you're going to see it remain there for the balance of the week.
CARROLL: In Los Angeles, the Pasadena Police Department stepped up its efforts in preparation for the Rose Bowl.
While in Boston, the focus is on another celebration. Authorities will be removing or welding shut trash cans for First Night.
During the holiday much is suspect. Law enforcement officials tell CNN in New Jersey police were directed to randomly check I.D.'s of EMS workers. While there are no specific threats, New Jersey officials want to make sure emergency vehicles are accounted for and not used to carry out a terrorist attack.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: And Tom Ridge saying that his office is working closely with law enforcement officials all over the country. He also says he just wants to make sure that everyone is doing everything they can to make sure that people have a safe as well as a happy new year -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Jason Carroll in midtown Manhattan.
Let's continue our discussion about security, specifically in New York City. Joining me now from the city is Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.
Commissioner Kelly, good to have you with us.
COMMISSIONER RAY KELLY, NEW YORK CITY: Good to be with you, Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right. When you start planning to do security for something as large as the New Year's Eve celebration in New York, it's, I suppose, rather overwhelming. You sort of have to think like a terrorist, don't you?
KELLY: Well, you do. But we have a lot of experience in dealing with major events. And our executive staff has put a lot of planning, a lot of effort into our preparation for tomorrow night. And we feel very comfortable with what we've done.
O'BRIEN: We've been talking about how extensive it is. What keeps you up at night? What are the concerns that you still have?
KELLY: Well, New York is at the top of the terror list. And you know, people in the intelligence community will tell you that.
So we can sit here and think of lots of different scenarios that would cause us concern. But as I say, I think we've done everything that we reasonably can do to safeguard the city, particularly for tomorrow evening.
O'BRIEN: How do you decide how much to tell the public about what is being done or not being done? KELLY: Well, it is a judgment call. We have a lot of officers, obviously, in uniform that the public will see. But there are some things that we're doing. Certainly, officers not in uniform will be mingling with the crowds.
And there will be other locations in the city that we'll be focusing on, as well. There are major events, there are fireworks and a run in Central Park. There are fireworks in Prospect Park in Brooklyn. There are fireworks in the harbor. So we just can't concentrate only on the city.
We don't necessarily advertise everything that we're going to do. That simply wouldn't be prudent in this day and age.
O'BRIEN: The mayor said that he felt that you guys were the professionals, you should do the worrying. How worried are you?
KELLY: Well, that's my job, to be concerned about the issues that confront us in our post-9/11 world. Again, I think we've done everything we reasonably can do. But you never stop worrying in this job, because that's what I'm paid for.
And we sit around; we do a lot of brainstorming; we do a lot of thinking. We have our intelligence division and our counter-terrorism bureau. They have contacts throughout the world.
And again, as I say, I think we've done everything that's appropriate for the condition that we face.
O'BRIEN: Do you sometimes worry, though, that you have prepared to defend against previous attacks and haven't really anticipated what may lie ahead?
KELLY: Sure. That's always a concern. You have to worry about fighting yesterday's war.
But we have to do things that act as a deterrent to some of the obvious threats, and then we have to think about things that may be somewhat unconventional.
And that's what we do. And that's what we're using some of our plain-clothes officers to help us do.
O'BRIEN: Do you have any specific threats that you are dealing with now? Or is this all the general notion, sort of the obvious notion that we all would have that New York would be a target on this night?
KELLY: I can't hear you, Miles.
O'BRIEN: Can you hear me now? Can you hear me now?
KELLY: I'm sorry. I can't hear you.
O'BRIEN: All right. Commissioner Ray Kelly, we'll end it there. Thank you very much. We're sorry about the communications snafu there. But we appreciate his time.
Keeping America's food supply safe. A new ban for America's beef business.
Plus teamwork in Baghdad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They've definitely come to grips with the fact that they are the big boys on the block.
O'BRIEN: Iraqi forces working with American soldiers to root out insurgents in Baghdad. We'll take a look inside their joint mission.
New images of a whale watching trip that turned tragic. A toddler is dead. But is the whale to blame?
And the government weighs in on a popular product. Don't plan on using ephedra to shed pounds in 2004.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: There's new fallout from the first case of Mad Cow Disease in the U.S.
The Agriculture Department now says so-called downer cows, those animals so sick or injured they're unable to walk, can no longer be used in the food chain.
CNN's Chris Huntington is in New York. He joins us now with details in this.
We're learning an awful lot about livestock, aren't we, Chris?
CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, sometimes more than we really wanted to know.
Well, the USDA really did not have any new information about its search for the source of Mad Cow Disease. But there was a surprise announcement about some new rules.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTINGTON (voice-over): In the face of growing criticism that federal agencies could not guarantee the safety of U.S. beef, the Bush administration today tightened the standards for slaughtering cattle.
ANN VENEMAN, SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE: Effective immediately, USDA will ban all downer cattle from the human food chain.
HUNTINGTON: So-called downer cattle are those too weak or too sick to walk and are regarded as high risk for disease. The cow in Washington State that had Mad Cow Disease was tested because she was a downer.
The USDA will also require that all carcasses required tested for Mad Cow Disease be held from the food chain until that test is confirmed to be a negative.
And the list of cattle tissue banned from human consumption will now include cattle skulls and small intestines, as well as the tissue from the central nervous system.
Approximately 35 million cattle are slaughtered in the United States each year. Close to 120,000 are downer cattle. But in the coming year, the USDA says it plans to test just 38,000 for diseases such as Mad Cow.
There is no currently test no Mad Cow Test for live cattle and no comprehensive system for tracking U.S. cattle from the stable to the table. That's why the USDA is having trouble finding 81 cattle believed to have come from the same herd in Alberta, Canada, as the infected cow discovered in Washington State.
ROGER VIADERO, ERNST & YOUNG: Right now, the USDA cannot put a bright line around the situation.
HUNTINGTON: Roger Viadero used to be the USDA inspector general. Now he's developing a computerized system for tracking beef from the farm to the dinner plate that he says would cost only pennies per pound.
New York State Senator Chuck Schumer today reiterated his call for such a system.
But Viadero says there are other, more significant gaps in the nation's beef safety system.
VIADERO: The USDA and its requisite parts went out and sampled 34 meat plants for removal of the CNS, the central nervous system tissue. OK? Thirty of the 34 plants they reviewed did not do that procedure properly.
Therefore, you still are going to end up with nervous system ganglia in the meat. So the potential is still there.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTINGTON: Now, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman today reiterated that there is no problem with the U.S. beef supply and no public health risk. But until those cattle up in Alberta are found, maintaining the public confidence could be a tricky task -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Chris Huntington in New York, thank you very much.
They caught the ace of spades. But the deadly game continues in Iraq, of course. We'll examine what impact, if any, the capture of Saddam Hussein has on those insurgent forces.
Also, trouble for two Americans. Authorities suspect they have links to al Qaeda.
And a library like no other. You won't believe what was found between the pages of these books. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: There's a new development on the war on terror. Two American brothers under arrest in the Philippines are to be deported for suspected links to al Qaeda groups in the country there.
CNN'S Judith Torres has more on the case from Manila.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JUDITH TORRES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Philippine Bureau of Immigration is deporting two Americans arrested December 13 on suspicion of being al Qaeda operatives.
The two suspects identified as James Stubbs Jr., also known as Jamil Daoud Mujahid, and his brother, Michael Ray Stubbs, had, according to the Philippine government, been seen meeting with known leaders of terrorist cells in the country with links to al Qaeda.
JAMIL DAOUL MUJAHID, ARRESTED IN THE PHILIPPINES: Yes, I am American.
TORRES: Jamil Mujahid says he is a Muslim convert and a former policeman in California and had been living in the Philippines since February of this year.
Philippine officials say he is married to a Filipina. Intelligence reports allege that in May 2003, Mujahid started meeting with leaders of non-government organizations founded by Osama bin Laden's brother-in-law, Mohammed Jamal Khalifa.
Philippine immigration officials say those organizations are being used to channel funds from bin Laden sympathizers to al Qaeda terror cells in the Philippines.
Mujahid, who was initially identified as a Jordanian, denies any ties to terrorism.
MUJAHID: I'm not Jordanian. And I am an American.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nobody is saying that they are Jordanian. They are saying they are American citizens, and they are in violation of immigration laws of the Philippines.
TORRES: Mujahid's brother, Michael Ray Stubbs, on the other hand, is a recently retired technician of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a company tapped by homeland security for research regarding countering biological and chemical terrorism.
The U.S. embassy made no statement regarding the two detainees. It's not clear when they will be put on a plane back to the U.S. or whether the U.S. government believes the charges are credible.
Judith Torres, CNN, Manila.
(END VIDEOTAPE) O'BRIEN: And a programming note for you. The daughter of one of the Americans arrested in the Philippines will be the guest tonight on "PAULA ZAHN NOW," starting at 8 Eastern only here on CNN.
In Europe, bombs sent through the mail have targeted officials or agencies of the European Union.
The first device blew up this weekend in Bologna, Italy, home of the European Commission president.
Yesterday, a letter bomb reached the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, and an explosive package arrived at the Dutch headquarters of the European Police Agency in The Hague.
Today, another device arrived at The Hague, at an agency which fights organized crime.
Investigators are looking at possible links to Italian anarchist groups.
Stopping Saddam's insurgents. Has his capture halted their abilities to attack U.S. troops, or has it only ignited more anger?
Civilians in charge. This time it's the Iraqis leading the raids. How the U.S. troops have given them control.
A snow-covered dessert? Certainly not the norm. But what is, these days, with the weather out west? We'll show you the pictures a little later this hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back to CNN.
In a moment, attacks in Iraq. Has the level of resistance changed after Saddam Hussein's capture?
But first, a check of the headlines for you.
Twenty-eight thousand. That is the latest estimate of the number of people killed in last week's 6.6 earthquake in southeastern Iraq.
Medical teams from 21 countries, including 84 Americans, now focused on caring for the tens of thousands of injured and homeless. Aftershocks continue to shake the region on an almost hourly basis.
The Food and Drug Administration says the popular diet supplement ephedra presents an unreasonable risk to consumers, so it is being banned in the U.S. As many at 17 million Americans use products containing the herb. Officials say it is linked to dozens of deaths.
The Nation of Islam says it is not involved in Michael Jackson's affairs. The Associated Press is reporting that the organization is handling security at Jackson's Neverland Ranch and is involved in some of his business affairs. The group denies that, as does Jackson's attorney. And a panel is in place to review possible military tribunals for detainees at Guantanamo Naval Base. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld named four civilians to serve two-year terms on the panel.
They include former attorney general Griffin Bell, former Congressman Edward Beastar (ph), former Transportation Secretary William Coleman and Rhode Island Supreme -- Chief Justice Frank Williams.
Despite the capture of Saddam Hussein more than two weeks ago, Iraqi insurgents continue to carry out deadly attacks. The latest example: a roadside bomb today missed its apparent target, an American military convoy, but killed an Iraqi civilian.
For more on the effort to stamp out the rebels, here is CNN's Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr.
Hello, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Miles.
Well, this is the question. Since the capture of Saddam Hussein, is the violence up or down in Iraq? The military said today it wasn't really sure.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR (voice-over): More roadside bomb attacks in Iraq. The question, since the capture of Saddam Hussein, has the violence declined?
Officials now say since the capture, the number of attacks have actually held steady.
KIMMITT: Unfortunately, some of those engagements have been more deadly, as we saw down in Karbala.
STARR: On Saturday, a car bomb explosion in Karbala killed not only Iraqis, but troops from Bulgaria, Poland and Thailand.
And on Christmas day alone, 18 engagements with enemy forces in two hours.
Military officials say the capture of Saddam Hussein has provided valuable intelligence, but it is still too soon to draw conclusions.
KIMMITT: We don't think, as some have speculated, that he was the central figure managing the entire anti-coalition operation, nor do we believe that he was simply sitting in a hole waiting for somebody to come and capture him.
STARR: A member of the Iraq Governing Council says there is solid evidence that Saddam Hussein stole billions from the Iraqi treasury.
IYAD ALLAWI, IRAQ GOVERNING COUNCIL: That is an estimate which revolves around the figure of $40 billion that Saddam had looted.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: The governing council now hopes Saddam will lead them to that $40 billion, Miles, but the U.S. military isn't waiting. The raids continue in hopes of drying up the weapons and cash that has been fueling the insurgency -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Tough trail to follow. CNN's Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thank you very much.
The going is slow. But Iraqis are starting to take the fights to the insurgents. A new civil defense core, kind of a cross between an army and a police department, recently took part in a major raid in Baghdad.
CNN's Karl Penhaul went along with them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The coming year is going to be all about turning back control of Iraq to the Iraqis.
The U.S. military is helping train an Iraqi civil defense core, and their role will be partly national guard, partly army, partly police.
Our team spent a night in Baghdad in one of the roughest neighborhoods with the Civil Defense Corps to see what targets they get up to.
(voice-over) Hatching the final plan. A big night ahead for the ICDC, Iraq's new Civil Defense Corps. Their biggest raid yet, the first that U.S. trainers from this Florida National Guard unit had allowed them to lead.
The order comes through. The target?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Father -- father-in-law of Saddam Hussein. OK?
PENHAUL: He and another man are suspected of bank rolling anti- coalition guerrillas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're ready. They're pumped. They're pumped. They're ready to go.
PENHAUL: Some of the Iraqi troopers masked up, afraid of former regime diehards taking reprisals for the crackdown.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do that because just for security.
PENHAUL: This company was recruited from the district it's now patrolling, trained for four months. Some former Iraqi soldiers, others butchers and bakers answering a coalition ad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am the general of...
PENHAUL: A frosty reception as they go into the home of a local council leader. But this Iraqi soldier breaks the ice. None of the cultural language barriers that daunt coalition troops.
The unit, still a little raw. U.S. trainers need to hone the Iraqi's infantry techniques and leadership skills.
A few Saddam Hussein loyalists may also be lurking in the new corps's ranks. But the corps is growing. By spring it could control a large swathe of Baghdad.
Thought some residents are not pleased at the military presence, whatever nationality.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are just peaceful people. And we are unarmed people. Why they check our houses?
PENHAUL: The troops raid half a dozen houses, turn up a few weapons residents say were for personal protection. No insurgent leaders are captured, but the mission has been a huge confidence boost.
CAPT. RODNEY SANCHEZ, NATIONAL GUARD RESERVE: They've definitely come to grips with the fact that they are the big boys on the block.
COL. PETE MANSOUR, U.S. ARMY: Iraq equation: the more and more we can turn security in Iraq over to Iraqis, the fewer coalition forces we need to do that.
PENHAUL (on camera): U.S. commanders say the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps should be ready to take control of the streets by spring. That should allow coalition forces to pull back to the outskirts of Baghdad and put them one step closer to going home.
Karl Penhaul, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Well, as Karl Penhaul just pointed out and Barbara Starr before him, it's a difficult situation.
Former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger joins us live now to talk a little bit about -- I guess you could call it Iraqification, getting the forces in Iraqi hands, that civilian force enforcing the rule of law there.
Secretary Eagleburger, do you think it's working?
LAWRENCE EAGLEBURGER, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: I think things are working quite well in many respects.
In fact, I think what you were talking about today in terms of advances, I think what we're seeing is a real change in atmosphere.
But I worry a bit about leaving too soon, and in that sense, turning over sovereignty to the Iraqis in June or so, and then, as your own commentator said, beginning to move our troops back. That worries me a bit.
I don't think we should be pulling troops out until we are absolutely confident that the Iraqis, for example, can manage their own security. And I think that's going to take some time.
It's what the president has been saying all along. I think we need to be careful about how fast we get out of there.
O'BRIEN: Well, and I suppose the government in general needs to be very careful about the expectations it places before the American people. It's important to level with them and give them a sense of how big the challenge there is.
EAGLEBURGER: I wish, in fact -- wish is the wrong word.
I think, if the president continues to talk the way he has and explains to the American people that, now that we have succeeded in removing Saddam, the critical question is to leave Iraq in a condition where it demonstrates that it was a great success on our part, to turn them into a democracy and a stable government.
And I think that's going to take more time than until next June or July. I think we need to keep about the number of troops we have there now for the better part of a year. But I'm afraid I'm kind of whistling in the dark on that one.
O'BRIEN: Well, you mentioned Saddam Hussein for just a moment. Let's go back and talk about him for a moment, before we talk about the big picture of waving a magic wand and creating democracy.
EAGLEBURGER: Yes. Right.
O'BRIEN: His capture, put it in perspective for us. Do you really think that, in any way, shape, or form, he was orchestrating this terror campaign?
EAGLEBURGER: I think to some degree, probably.
If you take a look at the fact that some documents were captured with him and so forth and the money was with him, I think what that tells us is that he was actively engaged. But I think it is also correct, as your commentator said, that he was, by no means, the only director of this thing. But I think he had something to do with it.
And I must tell you, from a psychological point of view, if nothing else, his capture was absolutely essential.
O'BRIEN: So you feel that a corner was turned there. How significant, hard to say right now.
EAGLEBURGER: Yes.
No, there's no question a corner was turned, in the sense that, as long as he was still out there, there was no way in the world we could ever leave. We had to stay until we got him. I think that made things easier for us. But I still think we have to stay for a bit longer to see how we can get the rest of them out of the way.
O'BRIEN: Well, now, some would say that a year, as you mentioned, is a rather conservative estimate as well. You are talking about a country that was sort of cobbled together with arbitrary boundaries in the wake of World War I by the Brits, has no history of democracy whatsoever.
EAGLEBURGER: You're right.
O'BRIEN: To presume that the U.S. could leave in a year might be wildly optimistic as well.
EAGLEBURGER: Well, I may be. And when I say a year, I frankly was thinking about the politics of this thing myself when I said a year.
I think a year is critical. It may well take longer than that. And I think the fundamental objective must be, we do not leave until we are sure that we are leaving a stable situation behind us. And that, I think, is -- has got to be the judgment. And that can't be made by a bunch of politicians. It's got to be made by an examination on the ground. And when we see that things are in good shape, then we can leave.
O'BRIEN: Well, to a certain extent, though, the decision would be made by the American people as well.
EAGLEBURGER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Are the American people going to have patience for this as it goes on?
EAGLEBURGER: I think, frankly, the American people have more patience for this sort of thing than we ever give them credit for.
As long as the American people can have it explained to them why we're there -- and the president has done that well -- if he continues to explain that, having lost some soldiers to get this accomplishment, now it would be tragic to turn that into some sort of a defeat by leaving too soon and then demonstrating to the rest of the world that our efforts were useless because we didn't stay long enough to make things work right I think would be tragic. And I think the American people understand that.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: Former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger, thanks for your time. Happy new year to you, sir.
EAGLEBURGER: You too, sir.
O'BRIEN: All right.
Weather Wild West style, you could say. What's up with all the snow and rain in places like California?
And Southern exposure, almost half of the Democratic presidential candidates are getting a big dose of it today. We'll tell you who on the campaign trail.
And some might call him an understudy. Hear how he was rescued from his reading material.
But first, a look at news around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Gaza attack. The Israeli military says one of its helicopters fired rockets at a car carrying senior members of the militant Palestinian group Hamas. Palestinian medical sources say one Hamas member and 10 bystanders were wounded in the attack, which occurred in Gaza City. The Israeli military says the Hamas members were involved in planning attacks and firing rockets at Israeli targets.
Sad homecoming. The bodies of two soldiers from Thailand killed in Iraq Saturday returned home to a solemn guard of honor. Dozens of troops formed the guard at Bangkok's air force base, as the flag- draped coffins were taken off a plane.
Pop diva dies. Hong Kong singer Anita Mui, known to her Chinese fans worldwide as the Asian Madonna, has died after a long battle with cervical cancer. She was 40.
A very long painting. A group in Argentina claims to have broken the world's record for the longest painting. The artist decorated a sheet measuring more than 7,500 feet, with messages and pictures dedicated to peace; 2,500 people took part. Plans call for the painting to be cut into numerous pieces and sent to leaders around the world.
And that's our look around the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: While New York's orange alert security precautions have received heavy publicity, steps also are being taken in New Jersey, of course.
Governor James McGreevey joining us live now from Trenton with more on all this.
Governor, good to have you with us.
GOV. JAMES MCGREEVEY (D), NEW JERSEY: Thank you, Miles.
O'BRIEN: First of all, let's talk about big picture here. What kinds of things are being done? Some of this would be in the category of obvious, but it is worth running through it so people know what authorities are doing in New Jersey about the possible threat.
MCGREEVEY: OK, Miles, I think there are three basic areas. One is obviously working with the private sector, which is so critically important; 90 percent of the state's infrastructure is under the control of the private sector.
So we've brought private businesses in. Second is, obviously, working with the state police, the National Guard, bolstering their presence, particularly at the Hudson River, whether it's the Lincoln, won't it's the Holland or the George Washington Bridge, and also working with our hospitals and also emergency networks.
New Jersey was the site of the anthrax episode. And so we're very much concerned that our hospitals are working cooperatively with emergency management and we're able to telegraph what hospitals have, what available bed space, God forbid, in the case of a terrorist attack.
O'BRIEN: Well, you mention the fact that 90 percent is under the control of the private sector. And there has been a lot concern that maybe the obvious targets, bridges and tunnels and tall skyscrapers, might not be the next target. It might be something like a shopping mall. And that poses a particularly difficult challenge for the authorities, doesn't it?
MCGREEVEY: It does.
And, working with the Department of Homeland Security, we've identified, with Secretary Ridge's office, those primary sites. And so, working cooperatively with federal authorities, we have bolstered not only local police, but also state troopers, at those sites, but also working with the private sector. The private sector traditionally has not focused on security concerns. So evaluating everything from chemical risks to exits to evacuation strategy, that's something very new for the private sector and an area of cooperation that traditionally wasn't done between the state and the private sector.
O'BRIEN: Governor, we've been reporting about the possible threat from stolen emergency vehicles, ambulances, for example. Tell us a little bit about that specific threat and if you know of any others along those lines?
MCGREEVEY: Well, there are a number of threats that we've received. And, obviously, we'll respect the confidentiality of that, Miles.
But, in terms of say, for example, whether it is the Lincoln Tunnel, the Holland Tunnel, the George Washington Bridge, we're very much concerned. Right now, in the state of New Jersey, the state police are conducting random searches of all vehicles entering into the Lincoln Tunnel, for example. And we understand, this may be an infringement on civil liberties.
But, most importantly, we have a responsibility to keep our families safe. And then we're also concerned about emergency vehicles. God forbid whether that emergency vehicle itself possesses a dangerous substance or it answers the call, say, for example, of an explosion and that vehicle itself possessed weaponry, weapons of mass destruction, gas, that may produce further damage.
And so we're working with our neighbors, in terms of New York City and New York, but also with hospitals throughout the state of New Jersey to request them to have precertification, so we're able to monitor ambulances, particularly if they're moving across the Hudson River.
O'BRIEN: Such a frightening scenario.
Give us a sense. When you go through a security plan, you try to plug every hole. Obviously, that's not possible. What keeps you and the authorities there up at night?
MCGREEVEY: But, Miles, I think we've made such great strides since after 9/11, not only having the ability to detail emergency management plans, but beginning to work, whether it's the private sector, whether it's hospitals, whether it's our communication networks, looking for gaps in security.
In large measure, we have closed those gaps. And we have also got great working relationships, say, with Governor Pataki, Mayor Bloomberg, Governor Rendell. And those relationships may have been there on other governmental fronts. But in terms of security, that wasn't at the forefront until 9/11. And so we understand that terrorism crosses rivers, crosses borders.
And so I think we're working hand in glove and looking to ways to reduce the vulnerabilities of our critical infrastructure. And that's on a cooperative basis. So we say to Americans, enjoy those basic freedoms. But, A, understand that your civil liberties may legitimately be infringed upon because our primary instinct is to protect the safety of our families.
And, B, if you see something suspicious, report it to your local police departments. The same way as our parents, our grandparents in World War II were involved in civil defense and understood that the nation was at war, very much now, in America, our generation has to share that same mentality and that same concept to putting the security of our neighborhoods and states first.
O'BRIEN: New Jersey Governor James McGreevey, live from Trenton, happy and safe new year to you.
(CROSSTALK)
MCGREEVEY: Likewise.
O'BRIEN: All right.
There are some who say Howard Dean can't win in the South, but that's not stopping him from joining other Democratic presidential candidates campaigning there. Here's what's happening on the campaign trail today. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Seeking Southern exposure, that's what nearly half of the Democratic presidential candidates are doing today, including front-runner Howard Dean, who opened his Florence campaign office early in the day before attending a rally in Georgetown.
HOWARD DEAN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The other guys are so obsessed with our campaign that they're not running a positive campaign. I don't think we can beat George Bush without running a positive campaign. We're going to continue to run a positive campaign.
O'BRIEN: Dean heads back to Vermont this evening.
Just around the corner from Dean, but not enough to throw a punch, Joe Lieberman made his candidacy in South Carolina official today by filing for the primary in Columbia.
SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D-CT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The clearest choice, I must say, is between Howard Dean and me. And I talk honestly about it, because that's what campaigns are about.
O'BRIEN: Also in Columbia today, attending the opening of her local campaign office, was Carol Moseley Braun.
CAROL MOSELEY BRAUN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're in it to win it. We're in it to win it. We're serious. And I have been received so well in this state.
O'BRIEN: Nothing spells grits like the South. And that's where Wesley Clark kicked off the second day his "True Grits" tour in Tennessee.
WESLEY CLARK (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's not just an election to be won. There's a country to be changed. There's a future to be seized for our grandchildren. Let's go out and fill this country.
O'BRIEN: Clark heads to Georgia later, before ending his day with the rest of the pack in South Carolina.
North of the Mason-Dixon line today, Dick Gephardt meets and greets voters in Manchester, New Hampshire.
REP. RICHARD GEPHARDT (D-MO), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have got to get people out there to vote. People have given up for the reasons you just stated. They think special interests have bought the government.
O'BRIEN: And what would the presidential primaries be without the Hawkeye State? That's where John Edwards spent the day with an exhausting six events scheduled.
And that's our look at the 2004 presidential candidates on the trail. (END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: An accident at sea leaves a child dead on Christmas Day. What went wrong? And who, if anyone, is to blame?
Plus, millions of American take this popular over-the-counter supplement. Find out why it's being banned by the government.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: The government is instituting a ban aimed at protecting public health. After years of controversy, the government is poised to take action against ephedra, the herbal supplement widely used for weight loss. It's been linked to heart problems and nervous conditions and some deaths as well.
CNN's Jennifer Coggiola in Washington joining us with more on all this -- hello, Jennifer.
JENNIFER COGGIOLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Miles.
Well, today, Federal health officials announced plans to ban that herbal remedy and weight loss, as used by as many as 17 million Americans a year. That is, of course, ephedra. They cited adverse health effects. It also marks the first time that U.S. officials have attempted to block the sale of an over-the-counter nutritional supplement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOMMY THOMPSON, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: I am pleased that we're able to take this strong action against ephedra.
COGGIOLA (voice-over): A strong action that the FDA has been working on for years.
MARK MCCLELLAN, COMMISSIONER, FOOD & DRUG ADMINISTRATION: Our conclusion that it presents an unreasonable risk to the public health is the result of a long, hard road.
COGGIOLA: A long road also for families who have lost loved ones, including that of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler, whose heatstroke death last February was attributed to the use of ephedra by medical examiners. Last July, Steve's mother gave emotional testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
PATRICIA BECHLER, MOTHER OF STEVE BECHLER: He was 23 years old. And he was married for two months, had a child on the way, which was born April 22. Now he has a daughter that will never know how great her daddy was.
COGGIOLA: Urging the government to ban ephedra on behalf of her son and others who had died while taking the supplement.
BECHLER: How many Steve Bechler or Sean Riggins have to die to prove that these are not safe? COGGIOLA: Sean's father also testified, after he says his 16- year-old son took ephedra to enhance his athletic abilities.
KEVIN RIGGINS, FATHER OF SEAN RIGGINS: September 3 of last year, Sean had a heart attack and died in our home. The cause of the heart attack, ephedra.
COGGIOLA: According to the FDA, some 155 deaths can possibly be linked to ephedra.
An herbal supplement, the Department of Health and Human Services says it poses several health danger, including heart attacks, strokes, seizures and death. But ephedra marketing companies have claimed the drug is perfectly safe if taken as directed.
RICHARD KREIDER, EPHEDRA EDUCATION COUNCIL: If it was dangerous and the critical studies showed that it was dangerous, it would have already been pulled off the market.
COGGIOLA: Some organizations have already banned the use of ephedra products, including the NCAA, the International Olympic Committee, and the NFL.
Following Steve Bechler's death, the FDA had proposed having warning labels put on the front of ephedra products. Even the American Medical Association and other medical groups called for a ban of the supplement. But it was still legal to buy and sell.
So why today's unprecedented move? Dietary supplements aren't regulated like drugs. They don't have to get prior approval from the FDA.
THOMPSON: The law requires us to go through very much of a scientific finding. And when a pharmaceutical company wants to put a drug on the market, they have to prove its efficacy and safety. But nutrition and food supplement drugs don't have to go through that process.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COGGIOLA: Today's ruling is now in the final administrative process and is expected to be complete in just a few weeks, after which stores would have 60 days to remove any ephedra products from their shelves -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Jennifer Coggiola in Washington, thank you very much.
Our "Web Question of the Day" is this: Do you agree with the government's decision to ban ephedra? You can vote right now at CNN.com/Wolf. We'll haven't results a little later in this broadcast.
Well, it is the calm between the storms in the Western U.S. A new system is bearing down on the region. CNN meteorologist Brad Huffines joining us with details on weather which continues to be wild out West -- hello, Brad.
BRAD HUFFINES, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Indeed, Miles.
This is not going to be the last storm of the week, as the Wild Western weather will continue.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HUFFINES (voice-over): It was a long and frigid ordeal for hundreds of people on Interstate 5, along the California-Oregon border; 150 miles of the main north-south highway for the Western U.S. was closed for almost a full day by intense snowfall, as much as two feet, that blew into drifts seven feet high in some places.
Oregon transportation officials say as many as 500 vehicles were stranded overnight Sunday and well into Monday. Drivers willing to abandon their vehicles were taken to emergency shelters, while volunteers brought food, gas, water to those who insisted on staying, not as bad, but still very slow-going in the Sierra, where almost two feet of snow fell over the main highway passes accompanied by strong, gusting winds.
Chains were still required today. But the reward for skiers and boarders who made it to the Tahoe area resorts was almost three feet of fresh powder, just in time for one of the busiest ski weeks of the year.
Lower elevations in Northern California saw up to five inches of rain. That led to problems like this sinkhole in San Francisco. And to the north in Marin County, this motel overrun by mud. Power officials in California and Oregon say that nearly 200,000 customers lost electricity. Power was expected to be fully restored by late today.
The same storm system made for this unusual sight, snow on the Las Vegas strip. As much as two inches fell on the ground in the desert playground usually associated with fun in the sun. The National Weather Service says it is the first such snowfall in Vegas in about five years.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUFFINES: And, Miles, this is not caused by some headline- stealing storm like El Nino, simply the jet stream that's been dipping south and is now continuing its trek across the nation's midsection.
And as it does, the jet stream is split. The coldest air is staying up to the north, while the warm air is coming up out of the south. And those two areas where the jet stream splits and meet in the middle, that's where the rain and snow mix is. And guess what? Up the coastline in southern Alaska, there is yet another storm. And guess which way this one is headed?
Look at the jet stream winds, pushing it right down toward the West Coast. And that will be later this week and this weekend. Miles, those people in the West are going to wonder what hit once again this weekend.
O'BRIEN: No rest for the soggy. All right, Brad Huffines in the Weather Center, thank you very much.
A boat tour off Hawaii ended tragically when a collision with a whale caused a fatal injury aboard the boat. The accident was recorded on videotape.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN (voice-over): An innocent Christmas Day excursion, whale watching. A humpback is spotted. The sightseeing boat, with more than 50 passengers aboard it, heads towards the whale, an impact which killed 3-year-old Ryker Hamilton. He died of head injuries.
The Coast Guard is still trying to determine what part of the boat he struck. On this home video, we hear confusion after impact and a woman's voice.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please move. Please move. Please move.
O'BRIEN: An attorney for the family who provided the videotape says the woman is Ryker's mother. A pediatric nurse on board tried to revive the boy. A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter arrives at the scene, sends a basket to airlift Ryker out. Coast Guard officials tell CNN a Coast Guardsman was in the basket applying CPR and kept it up all the way to the hospital on Oahu.
It's too late. Ryker Hamilton is pronounced dead at Queens Medical Center in Honolulu on Christmas Day. The Coast Guard is still investigating the incident. The attorney for Ryker's family says this was avoidable.
RICHARD FRIED, HAMILTON FAMILY ATTORNEY: From the time the whale was spotted until the impact, there was absolutely no maneuver by the ship to avoid the whale, nor any decrease in speed.
O'BRIEN: Attorney Richard Fried claims the boat captain had plenty of time and room to maneuver out of the way, at least 300 yards. Fried claims witnesses say, the captain had dropped a microphone, was looking down, not toward the whale, as the boat sped forward, and that the crew did not respond properly after impact.
FRIED: After this happened, a nurse took over the CPR, because the crew provided no help whatsoever, no oxygen. No one seemed to be able to give CPR. They really did nothing. And that is obviously, another major concern that the parents and grandparents had.
O'BRIEN: CNN contacted Mike Watson, president of Dream Cruises Hawaii, which owns the vessel American Dream and runs these excursions. He says the captain, Monroe Wightman, was the correct captain to have on board and everything he did was professional and correct.
Watson says what he is hearing about the incident does not support the claim by the family's attorney that the vessel could have avoided the whale. Coast Guard officials tell CNN, there is a federal guideline that no vessel is allowed to go within 100 yards of a whale. The Coast Guard estimates, this particular humpback may have been about 50 feet long. Ryker Hamilton's family plans to head back home to Virginia Beach, Virginia, for his burial.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Now, thousands of tourists take whale-watching tours in Hawaii safely every year.
The results of the Web question are next. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: So, is it possible to own too many books?
Well, apparently so. A 43-year-old man in New York is in the hospital, in stable condition, after spending two days trap in a pile of his own reading material. Patrice Moore's apartment was stuffed wall to wall and floor to ceiling with books, magazines, papers. And on Saturday, part of that pile collapsed on him. His landlord discovered him two days later and summoned firefighters, who helped to dig him out.
Here's how you're weighing in on our "Web Question of the Day": Do you agree with the U.S. government's decision to ban ephedra? Eighty-three percent of you say yes; 17 percent say no. As we always like to remind you, this is not a scientific poll.
A reminder: You can always watch WOLF BLITZER REPORTS at this time every day.
I'm Miles O'Brien.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Ramped Up for New Year's; USDA Strengthens Beef Restrictions>
Aired December 30, 2003 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, GUEST HOST: Happening now. Securing Time's Square. Why sniper teams, bomb squads and magnetometers are in the works for New York's New Year's celebration.
Also happening now, meat restrictions. What the U.S. is now banning to protect the nation against Mad Cow Disease.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN (voice-over): CIA leak. Top levels of the Bush administration under scrutiny. Why is the attorney general bowing out of the investigation?
Cities on alert. Unprecedented security for New Year's Eve.
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK CITY: I'm going to be there. I'm going to be safe, and so are you.
O'BRIEN: Iraq attacks. Saddam calling the shots?
BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: We're putting that puzzle together.
O'BRIEN: I'll speak with former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger.
Ban planned.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The top to stop using these products is now.
O'BRIEN: A first ever federal crackdown on a popular and dangerous supplement.
ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Tuesday, December 30, 2003.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Hello. I'm Miles O'Brien at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Wolf off today.
We begin with a dramatic but puzzling announcement in Washington, where Attorney General John Ashcroft, the nation's top law enforcement official, has removed himself from the investigation into the outing of a CIA operative.
The probe of that controversial news leaks has reached the upper levels of the Bush administration.
We turn now to our justice correspondent, Kelli Arena, for more on the story.
Hello, Kelli.
KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Miles.
The decision follows months of the criticism alleging that the attorney general's ties to the White House were just too close for him to conduct a fair investigation.
Critics today, though, praised his decision to hand over the reigns to someone else.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA (voice-over): Attorney General John Ashcroft won't be overseeing the politically sensitive investigation into who leaked the name of Valerie Plame, a former undercover CIA operative.
JAMES COMEY, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: It's just that we've reached a point in the investigation where the attorney general and I thought it was appropriate to make the judgment that's been made.
ARENA: Instead, out of a, quote, "abundance of caution," justice officials say the investigation will be led by a special prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald, the U.S. attorney out of Chicago.
COMEY: We thought it prudent to have the matter handled by someone who is not in regular contact with the agencies and entities affected by this investigation.
ARENA: Plame is married to former Ambassador Joe Wilson. He and several Democrats have charged the attorney general was too chummy with the White House to conduct an impartial probe.
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: It gives me some faith that we will get to the bottom of this dastardly act and prosecute the people who did it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA: For some background Joe Wilson had been very vocal in saying the administration exaggerated Iraq's nuclear capabilities just before the war. He charged the administration leaked his wife's name to retaliate against him.
When told about today's decision, he called it a good thing.
Now, as for the investigation itself, sources say that a fourth prosecutor was recently added to the investigation team, and that a grand jury may soon be impaneled to take testimony -- Miles. O'BRIEN: CNN's Kelli Arena in Washington. Thank you very much.
On alert. New threats and renewed resolve. The sky over the city will be closed except to air patrols, but New York will in fact be open for New Year's Eve.
And police are using everything from metal detectors to radiation detectors to back up the mayor's vow that revelers will be safe.
CNN has learned that Britain recently received intelligence on general threats to its airliners. U.S. officials say some British carriers began putting armed marshals on their fights when they were informed of those threats.
German security forces sealed off the area around a military hospital in Hamburg today following tips that Islamic extremists planned a car bomb attack on the facility. Police call the threat very serious.
With America on high alert, America's cities are taking extraordinary precaution.
Let's go straight now to New York City and CNN's Jason Carroll, who is watching it from there.
Hello, Jason.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And hello to you, Mile.
Look for major security measures to be put into place all over the country, ranging from radiation detectors here in New York City to checking the I.D.s of emergency workers in New Jersey.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (voice-over): A favorable weather forecast and an increase in the number of tourists in New York City could mean record turnout for the annual Time's Square celebration.
BLOOMBERG: I'm going to be there. I'm going to be safe, and so are you.
CARROLL: Police will use magnetometers to search bags and backpacks of everyone entering the area. Anti-terrorism helicopters will be patrolling the skies.
On the ground, police will deploy radiation detectors will be in sensitive areas. Officers will monitor landmarks and transportation sites.
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge says look for increased security measures nationwide.
TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Right now we think the level of threat is appropriately at orange. And we have ramped up in an unprecedented way levels of security around the country. And I think you're going to see it remain there for the balance of the week.
CARROLL: In Los Angeles, the Pasadena Police Department stepped up its efforts in preparation for the Rose Bowl.
While in Boston, the focus is on another celebration. Authorities will be removing or welding shut trash cans for First Night.
During the holiday much is suspect. Law enforcement officials tell CNN in New Jersey police were directed to randomly check I.D.'s of EMS workers. While there are no specific threats, New Jersey officials want to make sure emergency vehicles are accounted for and not used to carry out a terrorist attack.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: And Tom Ridge saying that his office is working closely with law enforcement officials all over the country. He also says he just wants to make sure that everyone is doing everything they can to make sure that people have a safe as well as a happy new year -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Jason Carroll in midtown Manhattan.
Let's continue our discussion about security, specifically in New York City. Joining me now from the city is Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.
Commissioner Kelly, good to have you with us.
COMMISSIONER RAY KELLY, NEW YORK CITY: Good to be with you, Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right. When you start planning to do security for something as large as the New Year's Eve celebration in New York, it's, I suppose, rather overwhelming. You sort of have to think like a terrorist, don't you?
KELLY: Well, you do. But we have a lot of experience in dealing with major events. And our executive staff has put a lot of planning, a lot of effort into our preparation for tomorrow night. And we feel very comfortable with what we've done.
O'BRIEN: We've been talking about how extensive it is. What keeps you up at night? What are the concerns that you still have?
KELLY: Well, New York is at the top of the terror list. And you know, people in the intelligence community will tell you that.
So we can sit here and think of lots of different scenarios that would cause us concern. But as I say, I think we've done everything that we reasonably can do to safeguard the city, particularly for tomorrow evening.
O'BRIEN: How do you decide how much to tell the public about what is being done or not being done? KELLY: Well, it is a judgment call. We have a lot of officers, obviously, in uniform that the public will see. But there are some things that we're doing. Certainly, officers not in uniform will be mingling with the crowds.
And there will be other locations in the city that we'll be focusing on, as well. There are major events, there are fireworks and a run in Central Park. There are fireworks in Prospect Park in Brooklyn. There are fireworks in the harbor. So we just can't concentrate only on the city.
We don't necessarily advertise everything that we're going to do. That simply wouldn't be prudent in this day and age.
O'BRIEN: The mayor said that he felt that you guys were the professionals, you should do the worrying. How worried are you?
KELLY: Well, that's my job, to be concerned about the issues that confront us in our post-9/11 world. Again, I think we've done everything we reasonably can do. But you never stop worrying in this job, because that's what I'm paid for.
And we sit around; we do a lot of brainstorming; we do a lot of thinking. We have our intelligence division and our counter-terrorism bureau. They have contacts throughout the world.
And again, as I say, I think we've done everything that's appropriate for the condition that we face.
O'BRIEN: Do you sometimes worry, though, that you have prepared to defend against previous attacks and haven't really anticipated what may lie ahead?
KELLY: Sure. That's always a concern. You have to worry about fighting yesterday's war.
But we have to do things that act as a deterrent to some of the obvious threats, and then we have to think about things that may be somewhat unconventional.
And that's what we do. And that's what we're using some of our plain-clothes officers to help us do.
O'BRIEN: Do you have any specific threats that you are dealing with now? Or is this all the general notion, sort of the obvious notion that we all would have that New York would be a target on this night?
KELLY: I can't hear you, Miles.
O'BRIEN: Can you hear me now? Can you hear me now?
KELLY: I'm sorry. I can't hear you.
O'BRIEN: All right. Commissioner Ray Kelly, we'll end it there. Thank you very much. We're sorry about the communications snafu there. But we appreciate his time.
Keeping America's food supply safe. A new ban for America's beef business.
Plus teamwork in Baghdad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They've definitely come to grips with the fact that they are the big boys on the block.
O'BRIEN: Iraqi forces working with American soldiers to root out insurgents in Baghdad. We'll take a look inside their joint mission.
New images of a whale watching trip that turned tragic. A toddler is dead. But is the whale to blame?
And the government weighs in on a popular product. Don't plan on using ephedra to shed pounds in 2004.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: There's new fallout from the first case of Mad Cow Disease in the U.S.
The Agriculture Department now says so-called downer cows, those animals so sick or injured they're unable to walk, can no longer be used in the food chain.
CNN's Chris Huntington is in New York. He joins us now with details in this.
We're learning an awful lot about livestock, aren't we, Chris?
CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, sometimes more than we really wanted to know.
Well, the USDA really did not have any new information about its search for the source of Mad Cow Disease. But there was a surprise announcement about some new rules.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTINGTON (voice-over): In the face of growing criticism that federal agencies could not guarantee the safety of U.S. beef, the Bush administration today tightened the standards for slaughtering cattle.
ANN VENEMAN, SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE: Effective immediately, USDA will ban all downer cattle from the human food chain.
HUNTINGTON: So-called downer cattle are those too weak or too sick to walk and are regarded as high risk for disease. The cow in Washington State that had Mad Cow Disease was tested because she was a downer.
The USDA will also require that all carcasses required tested for Mad Cow Disease be held from the food chain until that test is confirmed to be a negative.
And the list of cattle tissue banned from human consumption will now include cattle skulls and small intestines, as well as the tissue from the central nervous system.
Approximately 35 million cattle are slaughtered in the United States each year. Close to 120,000 are downer cattle. But in the coming year, the USDA says it plans to test just 38,000 for diseases such as Mad Cow.
There is no currently test no Mad Cow Test for live cattle and no comprehensive system for tracking U.S. cattle from the stable to the table. That's why the USDA is having trouble finding 81 cattle believed to have come from the same herd in Alberta, Canada, as the infected cow discovered in Washington State.
ROGER VIADERO, ERNST & YOUNG: Right now, the USDA cannot put a bright line around the situation.
HUNTINGTON: Roger Viadero used to be the USDA inspector general. Now he's developing a computerized system for tracking beef from the farm to the dinner plate that he says would cost only pennies per pound.
New York State Senator Chuck Schumer today reiterated his call for such a system.
But Viadero says there are other, more significant gaps in the nation's beef safety system.
VIADERO: The USDA and its requisite parts went out and sampled 34 meat plants for removal of the CNS, the central nervous system tissue. OK? Thirty of the 34 plants they reviewed did not do that procedure properly.
Therefore, you still are going to end up with nervous system ganglia in the meat. So the potential is still there.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTINGTON: Now, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman today reiterated that there is no problem with the U.S. beef supply and no public health risk. But until those cattle up in Alberta are found, maintaining the public confidence could be a tricky task -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Chris Huntington in New York, thank you very much.
They caught the ace of spades. But the deadly game continues in Iraq, of course. We'll examine what impact, if any, the capture of Saddam Hussein has on those insurgent forces.
Also, trouble for two Americans. Authorities suspect they have links to al Qaeda.
And a library like no other. You won't believe what was found between the pages of these books. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: There's a new development on the war on terror. Two American brothers under arrest in the Philippines are to be deported for suspected links to al Qaeda groups in the country there.
CNN'S Judith Torres has more on the case from Manila.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JUDITH TORRES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Philippine Bureau of Immigration is deporting two Americans arrested December 13 on suspicion of being al Qaeda operatives.
The two suspects identified as James Stubbs Jr., also known as Jamil Daoud Mujahid, and his brother, Michael Ray Stubbs, had, according to the Philippine government, been seen meeting with known leaders of terrorist cells in the country with links to al Qaeda.
JAMIL DAOUL MUJAHID, ARRESTED IN THE PHILIPPINES: Yes, I am American.
TORRES: Jamil Mujahid says he is a Muslim convert and a former policeman in California and had been living in the Philippines since February of this year.
Philippine officials say he is married to a Filipina. Intelligence reports allege that in May 2003, Mujahid started meeting with leaders of non-government organizations founded by Osama bin Laden's brother-in-law, Mohammed Jamal Khalifa.
Philippine immigration officials say those organizations are being used to channel funds from bin Laden sympathizers to al Qaeda terror cells in the Philippines.
Mujahid, who was initially identified as a Jordanian, denies any ties to terrorism.
MUJAHID: I'm not Jordanian. And I am an American.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nobody is saying that they are Jordanian. They are saying they are American citizens, and they are in violation of immigration laws of the Philippines.
TORRES: Mujahid's brother, Michael Ray Stubbs, on the other hand, is a recently retired technician of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a company tapped by homeland security for research regarding countering biological and chemical terrorism.
The U.S. embassy made no statement regarding the two detainees. It's not clear when they will be put on a plane back to the U.S. or whether the U.S. government believes the charges are credible.
Judith Torres, CNN, Manila.
(END VIDEOTAPE) O'BRIEN: And a programming note for you. The daughter of one of the Americans arrested in the Philippines will be the guest tonight on "PAULA ZAHN NOW," starting at 8 Eastern only here on CNN.
In Europe, bombs sent through the mail have targeted officials or agencies of the European Union.
The first device blew up this weekend in Bologna, Italy, home of the European Commission president.
Yesterday, a letter bomb reached the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, and an explosive package arrived at the Dutch headquarters of the European Police Agency in The Hague.
Today, another device arrived at The Hague, at an agency which fights organized crime.
Investigators are looking at possible links to Italian anarchist groups.
Stopping Saddam's insurgents. Has his capture halted their abilities to attack U.S. troops, or has it only ignited more anger?
Civilians in charge. This time it's the Iraqis leading the raids. How the U.S. troops have given them control.
A snow-covered dessert? Certainly not the norm. But what is, these days, with the weather out west? We'll show you the pictures a little later this hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back to CNN.
In a moment, attacks in Iraq. Has the level of resistance changed after Saddam Hussein's capture?
But first, a check of the headlines for you.
Twenty-eight thousand. That is the latest estimate of the number of people killed in last week's 6.6 earthquake in southeastern Iraq.
Medical teams from 21 countries, including 84 Americans, now focused on caring for the tens of thousands of injured and homeless. Aftershocks continue to shake the region on an almost hourly basis.
The Food and Drug Administration says the popular diet supplement ephedra presents an unreasonable risk to consumers, so it is being banned in the U.S. As many at 17 million Americans use products containing the herb. Officials say it is linked to dozens of deaths.
The Nation of Islam says it is not involved in Michael Jackson's affairs. The Associated Press is reporting that the organization is handling security at Jackson's Neverland Ranch and is involved in some of his business affairs. The group denies that, as does Jackson's attorney. And a panel is in place to review possible military tribunals for detainees at Guantanamo Naval Base. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld named four civilians to serve two-year terms on the panel.
They include former attorney general Griffin Bell, former Congressman Edward Beastar (ph), former Transportation Secretary William Coleman and Rhode Island Supreme -- Chief Justice Frank Williams.
Despite the capture of Saddam Hussein more than two weeks ago, Iraqi insurgents continue to carry out deadly attacks. The latest example: a roadside bomb today missed its apparent target, an American military convoy, but killed an Iraqi civilian.
For more on the effort to stamp out the rebels, here is CNN's Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr.
Hello, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Miles.
Well, this is the question. Since the capture of Saddam Hussein, is the violence up or down in Iraq? The military said today it wasn't really sure.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR (voice-over): More roadside bomb attacks in Iraq. The question, since the capture of Saddam Hussein, has the violence declined?
Officials now say since the capture, the number of attacks have actually held steady.
KIMMITT: Unfortunately, some of those engagements have been more deadly, as we saw down in Karbala.
STARR: On Saturday, a car bomb explosion in Karbala killed not only Iraqis, but troops from Bulgaria, Poland and Thailand.
And on Christmas day alone, 18 engagements with enemy forces in two hours.
Military officials say the capture of Saddam Hussein has provided valuable intelligence, but it is still too soon to draw conclusions.
KIMMITT: We don't think, as some have speculated, that he was the central figure managing the entire anti-coalition operation, nor do we believe that he was simply sitting in a hole waiting for somebody to come and capture him.
STARR: A member of the Iraq Governing Council says there is solid evidence that Saddam Hussein stole billions from the Iraqi treasury.
IYAD ALLAWI, IRAQ GOVERNING COUNCIL: That is an estimate which revolves around the figure of $40 billion that Saddam had looted.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: The governing council now hopes Saddam will lead them to that $40 billion, Miles, but the U.S. military isn't waiting. The raids continue in hopes of drying up the weapons and cash that has been fueling the insurgency -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Tough trail to follow. CNN's Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thank you very much.
The going is slow. But Iraqis are starting to take the fights to the insurgents. A new civil defense core, kind of a cross between an army and a police department, recently took part in a major raid in Baghdad.
CNN's Karl Penhaul went along with them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The coming year is going to be all about turning back control of Iraq to the Iraqis.
The U.S. military is helping train an Iraqi civil defense core, and their role will be partly national guard, partly army, partly police.
Our team spent a night in Baghdad in one of the roughest neighborhoods with the Civil Defense Corps to see what targets they get up to.
(voice-over) Hatching the final plan. A big night ahead for the ICDC, Iraq's new Civil Defense Corps. Their biggest raid yet, the first that U.S. trainers from this Florida National Guard unit had allowed them to lead.
The order comes through. The target?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Father -- father-in-law of Saddam Hussein. OK?
PENHAUL: He and another man are suspected of bank rolling anti- coalition guerrillas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're ready. They're pumped. They're pumped. They're ready to go.
PENHAUL: Some of the Iraqi troopers masked up, afraid of former regime diehards taking reprisals for the crackdown.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do that because just for security.
PENHAUL: This company was recruited from the district it's now patrolling, trained for four months. Some former Iraqi soldiers, others butchers and bakers answering a coalition ad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am the general of...
PENHAUL: A frosty reception as they go into the home of a local council leader. But this Iraqi soldier breaks the ice. None of the cultural language barriers that daunt coalition troops.
The unit, still a little raw. U.S. trainers need to hone the Iraqi's infantry techniques and leadership skills.
A few Saddam Hussein loyalists may also be lurking in the new corps's ranks. But the corps is growing. By spring it could control a large swathe of Baghdad.
Thought some residents are not pleased at the military presence, whatever nationality.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are just peaceful people. And we are unarmed people. Why they check our houses?
PENHAUL: The troops raid half a dozen houses, turn up a few weapons residents say were for personal protection. No insurgent leaders are captured, but the mission has been a huge confidence boost.
CAPT. RODNEY SANCHEZ, NATIONAL GUARD RESERVE: They've definitely come to grips with the fact that they are the big boys on the block.
COL. PETE MANSOUR, U.S. ARMY: Iraq equation: the more and more we can turn security in Iraq over to Iraqis, the fewer coalition forces we need to do that.
PENHAUL (on camera): U.S. commanders say the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps should be ready to take control of the streets by spring. That should allow coalition forces to pull back to the outskirts of Baghdad and put them one step closer to going home.
Karl Penhaul, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Well, as Karl Penhaul just pointed out and Barbara Starr before him, it's a difficult situation.
Former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger joins us live now to talk a little bit about -- I guess you could call it Iraqification, getting the forces in Iraqi hands, that civilian force enforcing the rule of law there.
Secretary Eagleburger, do you think it's working?
LAWRENCE EAGLEBURGER, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: I think things are working quite well in many respects.
In fact, I think what you were talking about today in terms of advances, I think what we're seeing is a real change in atmosphere.
But I worry a bit about leaving too soon, and in that sense, turning over sovereignty to the Iraqis in June or so, and then, as your own commentator said, beginning to move our troops back. That worries me a bit.
I don't think we should be pulling troops out until we are absolutely confident that the Iraqis, for example, can manage their own security. And I think that's going to take some time.
It's what the president has been saying all along. I think we need to be careful about how fast we get out of there.
O'BRIEN: Well, and I suppose the government in general needs to be very careful about the expectations it places before the American people. It's important to level with them and give them a sense of how big the challenge there is.
EAGLEBURGER: I wish, in fact -- wish is the wrong word.
I think, if the president continues to talk the way he has and explains to the American people that, now that we have succeeded in removing Saddam, the critical question is to leave Iraq in a condition where it demonstrates that it was a great success on our part, to turn them into a democracy and a stable government.
And I think that's going to take more time than until next June or July. I think we need to keep about the number of troops we have there now for the better part of a year. But I'm afraid I'm kind of whistling in the dark on that one.
O'BRIEN: Well, you mentioned Saddam Hussein for just a moment. Let's go back and talk about him for a moment, before we talk about the big picture of waving a magic wand and creating democracy.
EAGLEBURGER: Yes. Right.
O'BRIEN: His capture, put it in perspective for us. Do you really think that, in any way, shape, or form, he was orchestrating this terror campaign?
EAGLEBURGER: I think to some degree, probably.
If you take a look at the fact that some documents were captured with him and so forth and the money was with him, I think what that tells us is that he was actively engaged. But I think it is also correct, as your commentator said, that he was, by no means, the only director of this thing. But I think he had something to do with it.
And I must tell you, from a psychological point of view, if nothing else, his capture was absolutely essential.
O'BRIEN: So you feel that a corner was turned there. How significant, hard to say right now.
EAGLEBURGER: Yes.
No, there's no question a corner was turned, in the sense that, as long as he was still out there, there was no way in the world we could ever leave. We had to stay until we got him. I think that made things easier for us. But I still think we have to stay for a bit longer to see how we can get the rest of them out of the way.
O'BRIEN: Well, now, some would say that a year, as you mentioned, is a rather conservative estimate as well. You are talking about a country that was sort of cobbled together with arbitrary boundaries in the wake of World War I by the Brits, has no history of democracy whatsoever.
EAGLEBURGER: You're right.
O'BRIEN: To presume that the U.S. could leave in a year might be wildly optimistic as well.
EAGLEBURGER: Well, I may be. And when I say a year, I frankly was thinking about the politics of this thing myself when I said a year.
I think a year is critical. It may well take longer than that. And I think the fundamental objective must be, we do not leave until we are sure that we are leaving a stable situation behind us. And that, I think, is -- has got to be the judgment. And that can't be made by a bunch of politicians. It's got to be made by an examination on the ground. And when we see that things are in good shape, then we can leave.
O'BRIEN: Well, to a certain extent, though, the decision would be made by the American people as well.
EAGLEBURGER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Are the American people going to have patience for this as it goes on?
EAGLEBURGER: I think, frankly, the American people have more patience for this sort of thing than we ever give them credit for.
As long as the American people can have it explained to them why we're there -- and the president has done that well -- if he continues to explain that, having lost some soldiers to get this accomplishment, now it would be tragic to turn that into some sort of a defeat by leaving too soon and then demonstrating to the rest of the world that our efforts were useless because we didn't stay long enough to make things work right I think would be tragic. And I think the American people understand that.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: Former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger, thanks for your time. Happy new year to you, sir.
EAGLEBURGER: You too, sir.
O'BRIEN: All right.
Weather Wild West style, you could say. What's up with all the snow and rain in places like California?
And Southern exposure, almost half of the Democratic presidential candidates are getting a big dose of it today. We'll tell you who on the campaign trail.
And some might call him an understudy. Hear how he was rescued from his reading material.
But first, a look at news around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Gaza attack. The Israeli military says one of its helicopters fired rockets at a car carrying senior members of the militant Palestinian group Hamas. Palestinian medical sources say one Hamas member and 10 bystanders were wounded in the attack, which occurred in Gaza City. The Israeli military says the Hamas members were involved in planning attacks and firing rockets at Israeli targets.
Sad homecoming. The bodies of two soldiers from Thailand killed in Iraq Saturday returned home to a solemn guard of honor. Dozens of troops formed the guard at Bangkok's air force base, as the flag- draped coffins were taken off a plane.
Pop diva dies. Hong Kong singer Anita Mui, known to her Chinese fans worldwide as the Asian Madonna, has died after a long battle with cervical cancer. She was 40.
A very long painting. A group in Argentina claims to have broken the world's record for the longest painting. The artist decorated a sheet measuring more than 7,500 feet, with messages and pictures dedicated to peace; 2,500 people took part. Plans call for the painting to be cut into numerous pieces and sent to leaders around the world.
And that's our look around the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: While New York's orange alert security precautions have received heavy publicity, steps also are being taken in New Jersey, of course.
Governor James McGreevey joining us live now from Trenton with more on all this.
Governor, good to have you with us.
GOV. JAMES MCGREEVEY (D), NEW JERSEY: Thank you, Miles.
O'BRIEN: First of all, let's talk about big picture here. What kinds of things are being done? Some of this would be in the category of obvious, but it is worth running through it so people know what authorities are doing in New Jersey about the possible threat.
MCGREEVEY: OK, Miles, I think there are three basic areas. One is obviously working with the private sector, which is so critically important; 90 percent of the state's infrastructure is under the control of the private sector.
So we've brought private businesses in. Second is, obviously, working with the state police, the National Guard, bolstering their presence, particularly at the Hudson River, whether it's the Lincoln, won't it's the Holland or the George Washington Bridge, and also working with our hospitals and also emergency networks.
New Jersey was the site of the anthrax episode. And so we're very much concerned that our hospitals are working cooperatively with emergency management and we're able to telegraph what hospitals have, what available bed space, God forbid, in the case of a terrorist attack.
O'BRIEN: Well, you mention the fact that 90 percent is under the control of the private sector. And there has been a lot concern that maybe the obvious targets, bridges and tunnels and tall skyscrapers, might not be the next target. It might be something like a shopping mall. And that poses a particularly difficult challenge for the authorities, doesn't it?
MCGREEVEY: It does.
And, working with the Department of Homeland Security, we've identified, with Secretary Ridge's office, those primary sites. And so, working cooperatively with federal authorities, we have bolstered not only local police, but also state troopers, at those sites, but also working with the private sector. The private sector traditionally has not focused on security concerns. So evaluating everything from chemical risks to exits to evacuation strategy, that's something very new for the private sector and an area of cooperation that traditionally wasn't done between the state and the private sector.
O'BRIEN: Governor, we've been reporting about the possible threat from stolen emergency vehicles, ambulances, for example. Tell us a little bit about that specific threat and if you know of any others along those lines?
MCGREEVEY: Well, there are a number of threats that we've received. And, obviously, we'll respect the confidentiality of that, Miles.
But, in terms of say, for example, whether it is the Lincoln Tunnel, the Holland Tunnel, the George Washington Bridge, we're very much concerned. Right now, in the state of New Jersey, the state police are conducting random searches of all vehicles entering into the Lincoln Tunnel, for example. And we understand, this may be an infringement on civil liberties.
But, most importantly, we have a responsibility to keep our families safe. And then we're also concerned about emergency vehicles. God forbid whether that emergency vehicle itself possesses a dangerous substance or it answers the call, say, for example, of an explosion and that vehicle itself possessed weaponry, weapons of mass destruction, gas, that may produce further damage.
And so we're working with our neighbors, in terms of New York City and New York, but also with hospitals throughout the state of New Jersey to request them to have precertification, so we're able to monitor ambulances, particularly if they're moving across the Hudson River.
O'BRIEN: Such a frightening scenario.
Give us a sense. When you go through a security plan, you try to plug every hole. Obviously, that's not possible. What keeps you and the authorities there up at night?
MCGREEVEY: But, Miles, I think we've made such great strides since after 9/11, not only having the ability to detail emergency management plans, but beginning to work, whether it's the private sector, whether it's hospitals, whether it's our communication networks, looking for gaps in security.
In large measure, we have closed those gaps. And we have also got great working relationships, say, with Governor Pataki, Mayor Bloomberg, Governor Rendell. And those relationships may have been there on other governmental fronts. But in terms of security, that wasn't at the forefront until 9/11. And so we understand that terrorism crosses rivers, crosses borders.
And so I think we're working hand in glove and looking to ways to reduce the vulnerabilities of our critical infrastructure. And that's on a cooperative basis. So we say to Americans, enjoy those basic freedoms. But, A, understand that your civil liberties may legitimately be infringed upon because our primary instinct is to protect the safety of our families.
And, B, if you see something suspicious, report it to your local police departments. The same way as our parents, our grandparents in World War II were involved in civil defense and understood that the nation was at war, very much now, in America, our generation has to share that same mentality and that same concept to putting the security of our neighborhoods and states first.
O'BRIEN: New Jersey Governor James McGreevey, live from Trenton, happy and safe new year to you.
(CROSSTALK)
MCGREEVEY: Likewise.
O'BRIEN: All right.
There are some who say Howard Dean can't win in the South, but that's not stopping him from joining other Democratic presidential candidates campaigning there. Here's what's happening on the campaign trail today. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Seeking Southern exposure, that's what nearly half of the Democratic presidential candidates are doing today, including front-runner Howard Dean, who opened his Florence campaign office early in the day before attending a rally in Georgetown.
HOWARD DEAN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The other guys are so obsessed with our campaign that they're not running a positive campaign. I don't think we can beat George Bush without running a positive campaign. We're going to continue to run a positive campaign.
O'BRIEN: Dean heads back to Vermont this evening.
Just around the corner from Dean, but not enough to throw a punch, Joe Lieberman made his candidacy in South Carolina official today by filing for the primary in Columbia.
SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D-CT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The clearest choice, I must say, is between Howard Dean and me. And I talk honestly about it, because that's what campaigns are about.
O'BRIEN: Also in Columbia today, attending the opening of her local campaign office, was Carol Moseley Braun.
CAROL MOSELEY BRAUN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're in it to win it. We're in it to win it. We're serious. And I have been received so well in this state.
O'BRIEN: Nothing spells grits like the South. And that's where Wesley Clark kicked off the second day his "True Grits" tour in Tennessee.
WESLEY CLARK (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's not just an election to be won. There's a country to be changed. There's a future to be seized for our grandchildren. Let's go out and fill this country.
O'BRIEN: Clark heads to Georgia later, before ending his day with the rest of the pack in South Carolina.
North of the Mason-Dixon line today, Dick Gephardt meets and greets voters in Manchester, New Hampshire.
REP. RICHARD GEPHARDT (D-MO), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have got to get people out there to vote. People have given up for the reasons you just stated. They think special interests have bought the government.
O'BRIEN: And what would the presidential primaries be without the Hawkeye State? That's where John Edwards spent the day with an exhausting six events scheduled.
And that's our look at the 2004 presidential candidates on the trail. (END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: An accident at sea leaves a child dead on Christmas Day. What went wrong? And who, if anyone, is to blame?
Plus, millions of American take this popular over-the-counter supplement. Find out why it's being banned by the government.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: The government is instituting a ban aimed at protecting public health. After years of controversy, the government is poised to take action against ephedra, the herbal supplement widely used for weight loss. It's been linked to heart problems and nervous conditions and some deaths as well.
CNN's Jennifer Coggiola in Washington joining us with more on all this -- hello, Jennifer.
JENNIFER COGGIOLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Miles.
Well, today, Federal health officials announced plans to ban that herbal remedy and weight loss, as used by as many as 17 million Americans a year. That is, of course, ephedra. They cited adverse health effects. It also marks the first time that U.S. officials have attempted to block the sale of an over-the-counter nutritional supplement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOMMY THOMPSON, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: I am pleased that we're able to take this strong action against ephedra.
COGGIOLA (voice-over): A strong action that the FDA has been working on for years.
MARK MCCLELLAN, COMMISSIONER, FOOD & DRUG ADMINISTRATION: Our conclusion that it presents an unreasonable risk to the public health is the result of a long, hard road.
COGGIOLA: A long road also for families who have lost loved ones, including that of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler, whose heatstroke death last February was attributed to the use of ephedra by medical examiners. Last July, Steve's mother gave emotional testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
PATRICIA BECHLER, MOTHER OF STEVE BECHLER: He was 23 years old. And he was married for two months, had a child on the way, which was born April 22. Now he has a daughter that will never know how great her daddy was.
COGGIOLA: Urging the government to ban ephedra on behalf of her son and others who had died while taking the supplement.
BECHLER: How many Steve Bechler or Sean Riggins have to die to prove that these are not safe? COGGIOLA: Sean's father also testified, after he says his 16- year-old son took ephedra to enhance his athletic abilities.
KEVIN RIGGINS, FATHER OF SEAN RIGGINS: September 3 of last year, Sean had a heart attack and died in our home. The cause of the heart attack, ephedra.
COGGIOLA: According to the FDA, some 155 deaths can possibly be linked to ephedra.
An herbal supplement, the Department of Health and Human Services says it poses several health danger, including heart attacks, strokes, seizures and death. But ephedra marketing companies have claimed the drug is perfectly safe if taken as directed.
RICHARD KREIDER, EPHEDRA EDUCATION COUNCIL: If it was dangerous and the critical studies showed that it was dangerous, it would have already been pulled off the market.
COGGIOLA: Some organizations have already banned the use of ephedra products, including the NCAA, the International Olympic Committee, and the NFL.
Following Steve Bechler's death, the FDA had proposed having warning labels put on the front of ephedra products. Even the American Medical Association and other medical groups called for a ban of the supplement. But it was still legal to buy and sell.
So why today's unprecedented move? Dietary supplements aren't regulated like drugs. They don't have to get prior approval from the FDA.
THOMPSON: The law requires us to go through very much of a scientific finding. And when a pharmaceutical company wants to put a drug on the market, they have to prove its efficacy and safety. But nutrition and food supplement drugs don't have to go through that process.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COGGIOLA: Today's ruling is now in the final administrative process and is expected to be complete in just a few weeks, after which stores would have 60 days to remove any ephedra products from their shelves -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Jennifer Coggiola in Washington, thank you very much.
Our "Web Question of the Day" is this: Do you agree with the government's decision to ban ephedra? You can vote right now at CNN.com/Wolf. We'll haven't results a little later in this broadcast.
Well, it is the calm between the storms in the Western U.S. A new system is bearing down on the region. CNN meteorologist Brad Huffines joining us with details on weather which continues to be wild out West -- hello, Brad.
BRAD HUFFINES, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Indeed, Miles.
This is not going to be the last storm of the week, as the Wild Western weather will continue.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HUFFINES (voice-over): It was a long and frigid ordeal for hundreds of people on Interstate 5, along the California-Oregon border; 150 miles of the main north-south highway for the Western U.S. was closed for almost a full day by intense snowfall, as much as two feet, that blew into drifts seven feet high in some places.
Oregon transportation officials say as many as 500 vehicles were stranded overnight Sunday and well into Monday. Drivers willing to abandon their vehicles were taken to emergency shelters, while volunteers brought food, gas, water to those who insisted on staying, not as bad, but still very slow-going in the Sierra, where almost two feet of snow fell over the main highway passes accompanied by strong, gusting winds.
Chains were still required today. But the reward for skiers and boarders who made it to the Tahoe area resorts was almost three feet of fresh powder, just in time for one of the busiest ski weeks of the year.
Lower elevations in Northern California saw up to five inches of rain. That led to problems like this sinkhole in San Francisco. And to the north in Marin County, this motel overrun by mud. Power officials in California and Oregon say that nearly 200,000 customers lost electricity. Power was expected to be fully restored by late today.
The same storm system made for this unusual sight, snow on the Las Vegas strip. As much as two inches fell on the ground in the desert playground usually associated with fun in the sun. The National Weather Service says it is the first such snowfall in Vegas in about five years.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUFFINES: And, Miles, this is not caused by some headline- stealing storm like El Nino, simply the jet stream that's been dipping south and is now continuing its trek across the nation's midsection.
And as it does, the jet stream is split. The coldest air is staying up to the north, while the warm air is coming up out of the south. And those two areas where the jet stream splits and meet in the middle, that's where the rain and snow mix is. And guess what? Up the coastline in southern Alaska, there is yet another storm. And guess which way this one is headed?
Look at the jet stream winds, pushing it right down toward the West Coast. And that will be later this week and this weekend. Miles, those people in the West are going to wonder what hit once again this weekend.
O'BRIEN: No rest for the soggy. All right, Brad Huffines in the Weather Center, thank you very much.
A boat tour off Hawaii ended tragically when a collision with a whale caused a fatal injury aboard the boat. The accident was recorded on videotape.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN (voice-over): An innocent Christmas Day excursion, whale watching. A humpback is spotted. The sightseeing boat, with more than 50 passengers aboard it, heads towards the whale, an impact which killed 3-year-old Ryker Hamilton. He died of head injuries.
The Coast Guard is still trying to determine what part of the boat he struck. On this home video, we hear confusion after impact and a woman's voice.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please move. Please move. Please move.
O'BRIEN: An attorney for the family who provided the videotape says the woman is Ryker's mother. A pediatric nurse on board tried to revive the boy. A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter arrives at the scene, sends a basket to airlift Ryker out. Coast Guard officials tell CNN a Coast Guardsman was in the basket applying CPR and kept it up all the way to the hospital on Oahu.
It's too late. Ryker Hamilton is pronounced dead at Queens Medical Center in Honolulu on Christmas Day. The Coast Guard is still investigating the incident. The attorney for Ryker's family says this was avoidable.
RICHARD FRIED, HAMILTON FAMILY ATTORNEY: From the time the whale was spotted until the impact, there was absolutely no maneuver by the ship to avoid the whale, nor any decrease in speed.
O'BRIEN: Attorney Richard Fried claims the boat captain had plenty of time and room to maneuver out of the way, at least 300 yards. Fried claims witnesses say, the captain had dropped a microphone, was looking down, not toward the whale, as the boat sped forward, and that the crew did not respond properly after impact.
FRIED: After this happened, a nurse took over the CPR, because the crew provided no help whatsoever, no oxygen. No one seemed to be able to give CPR. They really did nothing. And that is obviously, another major concern that the parents and grandparents had.
O'BRIEN: CNN contacted Mike Watson, president of Dream Cruises Hawaii, which owns the vessel American Dream and runs these excursions. He says the captain, Monroe Wightman, was the correct captain to have on board and everything he did was professional and correct.
Watson says what he is hearing about the incident does not support the claim by the family's attorney that the vessel could have avoided the whale. Coast Guard officials tell CNN, there is a federal guideline that no vessel is allowed to go within 100 yards of a whale. The Coast Guard estimates, this particular humpback may have been about 50 feet long. Ryker Hamilton's family plans to head back home to Virginia Beach, Virginia, for his burial.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Now, thousands of tourists take whale-watching tours in Hawaii safely every year.
The results of the Web question are next. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: So, is it possible to own too many books?
Well, apparently so. A 43-year-old man in New York is in the hospital, in stable condition, after spending two days trap in a pile of his own reading material. Patrice Moore's apartment was stuffed wall to wall and floor to ceiling with books, magazines, papers. And on Saturday, part of that pile collapsed on him. His landlord discovered him two days later and summoned firefighters, who helped to dig him out.
Here's how you're weighing in on our "Web Question of the Day": Do you agree with the U.S. government's decision to ban ephedra? Eighty-three percent of you say yes; 17 percent say no. As we always like to remind you, this is not a scientific poll.
A reminder: You can always watch WOLF BLITZER REPORTS at this time every day.
I'm Miles O'Brien.
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Ramped Up for New Year's; USDA Strengthens Beef Restrictions>
