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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports
Inquest Into Diana's Death Begins; Surprising Offer From North Korea; Jury Selection Begins in Martha Stewart's Trial
Aired January 06, 2004 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Death of a princess. Tragic accident or something else?
MOHAMED AL FAYED, FATHER OF DODI FAYED: It was absolute, black and white, horrendous murder.
BLITZER: Now, a royal inquest.
Nuclear standoff, a surprising offer from North Korea.
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: It was an interesting statement, it was a positive statement.
BLITZER: But there's a hook.
Picking the jury. They'll be judging Martha Stewart, and it's not a bake-off.
Mega millions -- two people claim the jackpot.
REBECCA JENISON, LOTTO WINNER: They are my numbers.
BLITZER: But only one has the winning ticket.
ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Tuesday January 6, 2004.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Hello from Los Angeles. War and terrorism. Tonight, the news often involving bloody setbacks.
But we begin with what's being called some signs of progress on three critical fronts. A top U.S. commander in Iraq reports a sharp downturn in attacks on American troops in recent weeks. Recent drug busts in the Persian Gulf suggest that a cash starved al Qaeda is struggling to find new sources of funding. And North Korea offers to freeze its nuclear weapons program in return for a lot of U.S. help.
We begin with word of a significant falloff in the attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq. Let's go live it our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie. JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, no one in the U.S. military is talking about the light at the end of the tunnel, but some U.S. commanders are sounding more upbeat. Among them Major General Charles Swannack, the commander of the 82nd Airborne Division in Iraq who briefed reporters this morning in Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJ. GEN. CHARLES SWANNACK, COMMANDER, 82ND AIRBORNE DIVISION: We are on a glide path towards success. Attacks against task force on American forces have decreased almost 60 percent over the past month. I believe there are a number of reasons for this decline in the attacks. Our strategy has not changed and it remains very simple.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCINTYRE: That strategy in a nutshell hunting down regime remnants, rounding up weapons, giving jobs to military-aged Iraqis.
As recently as last week, other U.S. commanders said while the number of attacks were down, they were often more deadly. But General Swannack insists in his part of Iraq, his enemies seem to be losing their effectiveness.
Here at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld cautioned not to read too much into what single commander is seeing, saying it's way too early to spot a trend.
And remember, the U.S. claimed its troops were fired on by enemy forces masquerading as news reporters? Now it turns out the suspects, the U.S. military detained, actually were press. Iraqis working for Reuters and NBC. The U.S., though, is not admitting any mistakes saying the incident is still under investigation -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre, thank you very much, at the Pentagon.
In Iraq today, there was a violent protest involving former soldiers of the old Saddam Hussein regime, and trying to build a new national civilian contractor system. That's already been -- having paid a heavy price. CNN's Satinder Bindra reports from Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SATINDER BINDRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There was trouble today in Basra, which is Iraq's second largest city in the south. Some 6,000 members of the former Saddam Hussein army demonstrated. They were angry and upset they hadn't received stipends and pensions.
Now these former soldiers formed into a bank. That's when the Iraqi police opened fire on them. One demonstrator was shot in the leg, two others were injured. Shortly after this incident, British troops moved into the area, and they helped secure the peace.
Now here in Baghdad, just west of here in a place called Fallujah, two French contractors were killed. Another French contractor working for an American company was injured. We have some details of what happened. These French contractors were traveling in two SUVs, one of their cars broke down.
The French contractors then stepped off, they stepped off on the road and tried to fix their car. That's when another car sped by. It fired some bullets at them. Two French contractors were killed almost immediately.
Satinder Bindra, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Recent drug busts carried out by the U.S. military in the Persian Gulf seem to indicate a new direction for al Qaeda. Let's turn now to our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr for that story -- Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the question now is the al Qaeda getting so desperate for cash that they are now in the drug business? Indeed, as you say, three recent drug busts in the Persian gulf by the U.S. Navy seem to indicate that's exactly what's going on.
Look at these pictures from December 20. The U.S. Navy came aboard this ship in the Persian Gulf. You can see the crew members tossing bags over the side just as a Navy boarding party is coming up the other side to try and seize it. They determined that about 200 bags thrown over the side believed to contain heroin valued at $86,000 a pound.
This was just one of three recent drug busts. There have been -- they've now totaled about $20 million, it's believed, in hashish, heroin, and other drugs being carried on board these ships, smuggling this illegal contraband. Further evidence, the Navy says, they believe the al Qaeda's involved.
Of the 33 crew members from the three ships they took into custody, ten of them are at now at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan undergoing further investigation for their al Qaeda ties.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard Meyers, spoke about it earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. RICHARD MEYERS, CHMN., JOINT CHIEF OF STAFF: Some of the folks we detained were probably running the ship and not of much interest and were repatriated. And there were some that were being interrogated to find out their connections to other terrorist groups. And we're going to have to let that play out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: The Navy released another picture today, this is one of the dhow's being blown up. It is said to have contained 2,800 pounds of hashish valued at #11 million -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thank you very much. North Korea is offering a deal which could put a halt to its nuclear program, but it wants a lot in return. Still, at least one top U.S. official is intrigued. We get the story from our national security correspondent David Ensor.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Calling it a bold concession, North Korea's news agency said Pyongyang is ready to refrain from testing and producing nuclear weapons and to stop operating nuclear power facilities as a gesture to get six party talks moving.
Secretary of State Colin Powell is encouraged.
POWELL: This is an interesting step on their part, positive step, and we hope that it will allow us to move more rapidly towards six party framework talks.
ENSOR: But the view that it is positive may not be universal, even within the Bush administration. The White House spokesman declined repeated opportunities to match Secretary Powell's comment.
A first round of sixth parties talks held in August in Beijing was inconclusive. The six parties are the U.S., South Korea, Japan, China, Russia and North Korea.
In return for its offer to freeze its nuclear programs, Pyongyang said it wants to be taken off the U.S. list of states sponsoring terrorism, the lifting of political, economic and military sanctions, and it wants supplies of heavy oil, power and energy resources.
In Beijing Tuesday, an unofficial American delegation left for North Korea, invited by Pyongyang, part of an apparent charm offensive.
VICTOR CHA, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: And it looked like a bold concession. But the fact that these statements are made prior to what people hope to be the start of another round of talks really tries to shift the playing advantage, if you will, to the North Koreans. That they appear to be the ones more interested to the United States.
And I think the administration is wary of that bargaining ploy because they've seen the North Koreans do it many times before.
ENSOR (on camera): Still, the offer and the unofficial invitation suggests the North Koreans are preparing to talk again about their nuclear programs, and may be prepared to give them up -- for a price.
David Ensor, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: They fought three wars and came close to a fourth just a couple of years ago. But nuclear neighbors India and Pakistan have now agreed to begin peace talks next month. The breakthrough arose from a meeting between the Indian prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and the Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf at a South Asian summit. The deal was sealed in a follow-up phone call today, after which President Musharraf said, and I'm quoting now, "History has been made."
Princess Diana's death. An accident or murder? The inquest opens. But stealing the headlines, a shocking report that names the royal family member whom Diana allegedly feared.
Judging Martha Stewart. The men and women who could be deciding her fate appear in a federal court.
And this...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELECIA BATTLE, CLAIMS SHE LOST WINNING LOTTERY TICKET: The ticket, I lost, it it's mine, it's my property, and no one can cash it in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Not so fast. Another woman comes forward to claim a mega millions jackpot. The prize plot twists ahead on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Winner selected. One design has been chosen for a memorial at the World Trade Center site in New York. Which one will it be? We'll tell you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Now to a developing story, a special panel in New York has decided on a design for the World Trade Center memorial. CNN's Jason Carroll is standing by with details.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the winning design was chosen from eight finalists. We have the name of the winning design, it is "Reflecting Absence." It comes from an architect by the name of Michael Arad. Let's get right to it, show you some of the animation that we have of this winning memorial design. Well, I'll describe some of the details.
The design proposes to have two pools submerged some 30 feet below street level where the tower footprints once stood. The curtain of water would cascade over the victim's names.
Also, surrounding that area down below that you see there, some of the victims' names will actually be engraved on walls, and also a short wall that sort of surrounds those pools that we talked about.
Arad had said that he wanted to have an area down below where people could come and reflect on exactly what had happened. The names will be arranged in a way that is random order to sort of symbolize the haphazard manner in which the people were killed.
Just a little bit about Arad if I could, very quickly. He is in his thirties. He's originally from Israel, lives here in New York, right in the East Village. It's going to be very interesting, Wolf, to see the public's reaction to this winning design.
This design was actually rated third in a poll that was taken on popularity poll. So it's going to be interesting to see how people respond to this winning design -- Wolf.
BLITZER: And one footnote, Jason, Michael Arad, someone I've known for many years, he's the son of the former Israeli ambassador to the United States, Moshe Arad. Congratulations to Michael Arad on that winning design. Thanks to Jason Carroll for that report.
The first official British inquiries into the death of Princess Diana are underway, but the probes were overshadowed today by a tabloid report that could add a scandalous new dimension to the drama. CNN senior international correspondent Sheila MacVicar has details from london.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it's taken six years for the British coroner to open these inquests in large part because of the ongoing judicial processes in France and in many ways, those judicial processes have been continuing, the appeals, the cases, because Mr. Al Fayed, Dodi Fayed's father has refused to accept that his son and Princess Diana died together in the car crash in Paris, died as a result of the accident.
Mr. Al Fayed has said that he believes that their deaths were murder, and he has suggested there has been an elaborate plot on the parts of various intelligence services to murder the pair. The French judicial investigation, all 6,000 pages of it, will form the back bone of the British coroner's inquiry.
Now that judicial investigation clearly showed that the car crash was the result of fast driving by a drunk driver, the chauffeur Henri Paul who died with them in the car crash.
The conspiracy theorists got another bonanza today here in Britain when a British tabloid published the name that Diana had written in a letter ten months before her death. She said in that letter to her then-butler Paul Burrell, that she believed her then ex- husband Prince Charles would seek to kill her in a car accident so he could marry his longtime lover, a suggestion that has been dismissed as preposterous and one which Paul Burrell has deeply angered by.
PAUL BURRELL, FORMER PRINCESS DIANA BUTLER: I'm not happy about it. I only learned about it late last night. It was always my intention never to publish that name. I never, ever wanted it to be known.
MACVICAR: The coroner will reconvene in twelve months or so after he's had time to digest all that weight of the French investigation, and decide what course he wants to follow including which witnesses, if any, he decides he wants to call. He can't compel witnesses outside Britain to come here and give testimony, but some may be willing to do so.
At the end it's hoped that with certainty, he'll be able to draw a line under these deaths and say what really happened in that tunnel that night in Paris. Back to you, Wolf.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Sheila MacVicar, thanks very much for that report.
This note. Diana's former sister-in-law Sarah Ferguson talked to CNN's Paula Zahn about the inquiries. She expressed concerned about its impact on the princess' sons William and Harry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH FERGUSON, DUCHESS OF YORK: I think it's a very painful time for them and, you know, they've been through so much, and they're such great young men. They really are, and she would be so proud.
And so, you know, they can rake up anything tomorrow, they can look into everything, the papers will go mad, but at the end of the day, those boys walk with their heads held high in her memory.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Ferguson also says she has no opinion on conspiracy theories surrounding Diana's death.
Martha Stewart trial. Potential jury members have their pens out today, and they're not writing recipes.
Jitters in the sky. Why a passenger with a jacket spooked security.
Feeling the chill, and now the chaos. An unusual sight in Seattle. All that coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: The first in a series upcoming celebrity trials got underway today with the start of jury selection in the Martha Stewart case. CNN's Allan Chernoff is on the story for us in New York live -- Allan.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, many lawyers say this is actually the most important part of trying a case, this selection of a jury. It certainly can make the difference between conviction and acquittal, and it all got started this morning with the presentation of a questionnaire to the jury pool.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF (voice-over): New Yorkers summoned for jury duty Tuesday. From this random group may come the dozen who will sit in judgment over Martha Stewart. They filled out questionnaires to determine any biases for or against Ms. Stewart, possible grounds for disqualification. Lawyers say it won't be easy picking a jury for such a public figure.
SETH TAUBE, FORMER SEC PROSECUTOR: Everyone can say I read something about it, I know something about Martha. The issue is can you put that aside.
CHERNOFF: The Stewart team has hired jury consultant Julie Blackman who will help lawyers try to pick jurors most likely to sympathize with the defendant.
MARC MOGIL, JURY SELECTION CONSULTING: She would want someone who is Upper East Side, affluent, a professional career person, someone who dabbles in the stock market every day, perhaps someone who's been audited.
CHERNOFF: In other words, someone who might feel the government is beating up on Martha Stewart. Prosecutors charge Stewart tried to obstruct justice by lying to investigators about her sale of Imclone System stock two years ago. She sold the day before the Food and Drug Administration refused to review Imclone's application for its cancer drug. Stewart maintains she had no inside information and did nothing wrong.
MARTHA STEWART: This is a very, very, very, very shocking thing.
CHERNOFF: But prosecutors intend to bring evidence that Stewart and her stockbroker Peter Bucanovich invented a story to mislead the government.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF: Lawyers for both sides will now look at those questionnaires, take a very close analysis of them, and decide who exactly will be invited back to be interviewed to sit on the jury. A process that will begin on January 20 -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Allan Chernoff covering this trial for us. Thanks, Allan, very much.
Our justice report begins with an update on a story from last summer here in California. 87-year-old George Russell Weller pleaded not guilty today to ten counts of vehicular manslaughter. Despite a plea by prosecutors that bail be set at $50,000, he was released from custody on his own recognizance. Weller was the driver of a car that went out of control at a farmer's market in Santa Monica killing ten people and injuring 63 others.
Two months after a controversial drug sweep in a South Carolina high school, the principal has resigned. George McCrackin had asked police to come to Stratford High School to look for drugs.
Police conducted the search with their guns drawn ordering students to lie on the floor and handcuffing some of them. No drugs were found. McCrackin says his resignation was in the best interest of the school.
A controversial execution scheduled in Arkansas tonight. 44- year-old George Singleton (sic) murdered a woman during a 1979 grocery store robbery. He's scheduled to die by injection, even though it's agreed he's mentally ill. Courts have ruled it's legal to execute the mentally ill if anti-psychotic medications render them competent at the time of death. Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is expected to rule shortly on a clemency request.
It's your turn to weigh in on this story. Our web question of the day is this. "Should states execute mentally ill inmates who have been convicted of murder?" You can vote right now at CNN.com/wolf. We'll have the results later in this broadcast.
And while you're there, I'd love to hear directly from you, our viewers. Send me your comments any time. I'll try to read some of them on the air each day at the end of this program. That's also where you can read my daily online column. CNN.com/wolf.
The Democrats debate, and the trail heats up, with esteemed endorsements and fresh poll numbers. We'll have all the latest action on the campaign trail.
Security in the skies -- is it tight enough to fend off a possible al Qaeda attack? I'll speak live with Asa Hutchinson of the Homeland Security Department.
Revealing the red planet in ways never imagined. NASA shows us photos of Mars. You don't want to miss them. We'll show them to you. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back to CNN. On the trail and debating again. The Democratic candidates heat up the airwaves in Iowa. We'll get to all of that.
First though, a quick check of the latest headlines.
DNA testing now confirms the cow diagnosed with the first case of mad cow disease in the United States came from Canada. Officials say the animal was born in Alberta. The test results will allow investigators to step up their search for the source of the infection in Canada.
For several hours today, police were checking all cars entering Baltimore/Washington International Airport as part of the Department of Homeland Security's heightened threat level. An airport spokesman says the security checks are not related to any specific threat.
An audit of how catholic churches in the United States are responding to clergy's sex abuse shows solid progress. That word today from church officials. The audit found 90 percent of the nation's diocese are completely complying with a charter that was put together last summer to fight the problem. But officials with some victims' groups say they're skeptical about what they say is a positive spin in the report.
Three months after his election, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is getting set to lay out his priorities for the year ahead. He delivers his state of the state address a short time from now. In his speech to the California legislature, Schwarzenegger is expected to call for major budget cuts in most government services including education.
Two days after facing the television cameras in Iowa, the Democratic presidential candidates faced off again, this time, though, on radio. National Public Radio sponsored a debate in Des Moines just a short time ago. It included a discussion of key issues, such as Iraq and the economy, and this exchange between front-runner Howard Dean and Senator Joe Lieberman.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D-CT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm afraid Howard Dean has said a number of things that are polarizing. He has represented anger. Anger has fueled his campaign. I love the enthusiasm of his supporters. He's done an incredible service to our party and our political system by bringing a lot of them in. But we've got to go beyond that.
HOWARD DEAN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would submit, Joe, that's just what I'm doing. As you know, today, Bill Bradley endorsed me. A month ago, Al Gore endorsed me, two people who fought bitterly for the nomination four years ago, as you are well aware.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BLITZER: Across Iowa, the focus is on undecided voters, as the Democratic candidates count down the days until the state's leadoff caucuses.
They're crisscrossing the state today, looking for support.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): Nearly all of the Democratic candidates are in the Hawkeye State today shaking every hand possible, meeting every voter available. Expect this to be the norm through January 19. Oddly enough, though, Iowa wasn't where the big news was made today. That happened in New Hampshire, when former presidential candidate Bill Bradley endorsed Howard Dean.
BILL BRADLEY, FORMER DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The Dean campaign is one of the best things that's happened to American democracy in decades.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
BLITZER: Yet another feather in Dean's ever-growing establishment cap. Bradley later traveled to Iowa to campaign with the front-runner.
DEAN: The power to change this country is in your hands, not mine. And it's on January 19.
REP. RICHARD GEPHARDT (D-MO), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thanks so much.
BLITZER: Brushing off the endorsement, Richard Gephardt continues to going to win his neighboring state, where he says voters make up their own minds. But even so, still up for grabs is Iowa Senator Harkin's coveted endorsement. CNN's John Mercurio reports, it could come this week. And it's said to be between Gephardt and Dean.
Hope is alive for John Kerry. His campaign says he's now going for the top spot in Iowa, not just second or third. Counting on a last-minute surge of support from veterans, firefighters and undecided voters, Kerry is hitting the Hawkeye turf hard.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My friends, we don't have a broken budget in the United States of America. We have got a broken set of values at the head of our government.
BLITZER: And don't forget about John Edwards. Though polls indicate many voters have, the North Carolina senator is on a nonstop Iowa campaign blitz, vying for a close second or third place there.
And that's our look at the 2004 presidential candidates.
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BLITZER: That's our look at the campaign right now.
President Bush, by the way, who's also a candidate, doesn't have to worry about a Republican opponent in his bid to return to the Oval Office, but he does have to worry about the Democratic candidates and some key issues facing the country.
Some new poll numbers focus on issues such as the economy and Iraq and how the president is handling his job.
In Washington, our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, is standing by. He's, of course, keeping traffic all these late numbers -- Bill.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, Wolf, everybody is talking about the Democratic race.
But when a president runs for reelection, the vote becomes a referendum on the president. Let's see where that race stands.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): It's election year. Do you know where your president is? We do, 60 percent. That's President Bush's job rating right now.
How good is that? Let's look at where previous presidents facing reelection have been at this point. Bush's father was at 46 percent in January 1992. He lost. But so did Jimmy Carter, who started out his 1980 re-election campaign on a high of 56 percent because of the Iran hostage crisis. Ronald Reagan was at 52 percent going into his re-election in 1984. He made it. But so did Bill Clinton, even though he started 1996 at 42 percent.
If you're a Republican, you look at these figures and say, look at that, Bush is doing better than all of them, woo-hoo, to which a Democrat might respond, oh, it's just a temporary bounce Bush is getting from the capture of Saddam Hussein. In fact, President Bush gets his highest marks on Iraq, 61 percent approval. The president's overall rating on world affairs is the highest it's been since the major fighting in Iraq last spring.
And the president's ratings on domestic issues are not far behind. Fifty-four percent approve Bush's handling of the economy, the highest in more than a year.
Is the President vulnerable on anything? Yes. Only 43 percent give the President good marks on health care.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm pleased that all of you are here to witness the greatest advance in health care coverage for America's seniors since the founding of Medicare.
SCHNEIDER: But seniors are not all that thrilled with the Medicare Reform Bill, or the prescription drug plan. And the front- runner for the Democratic nomination is a physician. Speaking of Howard Dean, let's see how he's doing.
Dean is still the front-runner, but not by much. General Wesley Clark is catching up with him. Clark is the only Democratic candidate to show momentum in the past month. The attacks on Dean from his fellow Democrats could be taking a toll on the front-runner.
Here's where the presidential race stands right now: a blowout. President Bush leads Howard Dean by more than 20 points.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHNEIDER: Ever hear the Latin phrase vox populi vox dei? Well, Wolf, I'm sure you have. You're a classical scholar. It means, the voice of the people is the voice of God. Well, this poll backs up what Pat Robertson said the lord told him would happen in the election. Reverend Robertson has his sources and we have ours -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, one quick question, Bill. This new poll shows a very wide gap between the president and Howard Dean in a hypothetical contest.
But over the weekend, there was a CNN/"TIME" magazine poll which showed, what, a 5 percent gap?
SCHNEIDER: Well, we compared those two poles, because we were curious. What happened? Here's what happened. Republicans have closed ranks behind President Bush. In that earlier poll, over 10 percent of Republicans -- I think it was 12 percent -- were supporting Howard Dean in a race between Dean and Bush.
Now Dean's support has vanished among Republicans. It's negligible. So what seems to have happened is, all those terrible things Howard Dean has been saying about President Bush have finally cost him any possible support he ever would have had from Republicans. And maybe, too, that earlier poll was taken over the New Year's holiday. So that holiday spirit may have worn off.
BLITZER: Bill Schneider, always assessing all the poll numbers for us. Bill, thank you very much for that informative report.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
BLITZER: Panicked about planes? With orange alerts and terror warnings, jitters about flying are now just the sign of the times. But are stricter security measures enough to stop the scare?
And the red planet in living color, amazing pictures of Mars, never seen before.
Snowy Seattle. Sure, the city's not known for being the sunniest, but today's weather has residents there stunned and very cold. We'll take you there live -- all of that coming up.
First, though, a quick look at some other news make headlines around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): Afghan explosion. Two days after Afghanistan adopted a post-Taliban Constitution, Taliban remnants are blamed for a deadly explosion in Kandahar. A bomb attached to a bicycle killed at least a dozen victims, most of them children.
Red Sea search. Search crews think they may have located one of the flight recorders from the jet that crashed in the Red Sea over the weekend, but it may be too far under water to recover quickly; 148 people died, including four with dual U.S.-Egyptian citizenship. The flight recorders could make it easier to tell whether the crash was caused by mechanical problems, as most officials believe, or by an act of terrorism.
Tennis, anyone? Wimbledon rain-outs may become less frequent. The All England Club has announced plans for a roof over center court, the site of the Wimbledon tournament's biggest matches.
Four times 20. Four Australian brothers celebrated their 20th birthdays today, Ben, Brett, Sam and Chris Muir were the first quadruplets conceived through in-vitro fertilization to survive. Among the biggest challenge of being a quadruplet, Sam says there was a fight for the bathroom every morning.
And that's our look around the world. (END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: The Bush administration today moved to address the threat posed to airliners by shoulder-fired missiles. The government says it's picked three companies to develop plans for anti-missile systems to defend commercial planes. The three will study whether current military technology can be used to the counter this threat and will then develop prototypes for consideration by the government. Military jets and Air Force One already utilize anti-missile defenses.
Fear about airline security remains very high, as demonstrated once again today. But not everyone can agree what to do.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): In the skies, on the ground, and in diplomatic channels, concerns over the next possible terrorist attack are fraying nerves.
Two more overseas airlines, South African Airways and German- owned Thomas Cook Airlines flat-out refused the demand from U.S. security officials to station air marshals on some international flights. And British pilots, accepting armed marshals for now, are pressing for an agreement between all airlines on the marshals' deployment. Security experts say armed marshals aren't enough.
CHARLES SLEPIAN, AVIATION SECURITY ANALYST: Because we still are not talking about improving the screening on the ground, outside of the United States. And this is really the issue here.
BLITZER: But, in Paris, screening works today.
French authorities detain a woman trying to board a Delta Air Lines flight to Cincinnati. They detect wires protruding from her jacket. U.S. law enforcement sources later tell CNN, the wires are for her electrically heated jacket and the woman is cleared.
Still, a sign of the times, airline and U.S. government sources say fighter jets escort that Delta jet for part of its flight. The plane arrives safely and is parked away from the terminal, where security officials could be seen boarding the aircraft. Passengers were expected to be rescreened before being allowed to leave the airport.
At London Heathrow Airport, one troubled flight to Washington- Dulles is delayed again by additional security checks. U.S. and British officials say there's very specific intelligence information that British Air Flight 223 could be a terrorist target. That flight's now been canceled twice and delayed four times.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Security in the skies definitely a key focus of the current orange alert. Are all the new precautions paying off? Joining us now from Washington is Asa Hutchinson. He's the undersecretary for border and transportation security in the Department of Homeland Security.
Mr. Secretary, thanks very much for joining us.
A lot of people assume that, after Christmas, New Year's, the code orange threat is over with. Things went relatively smoothly. It's time go back to yellow. Is that fair?
ASA HUTCHINSON, UNDERSECRETARY FOR HOMELAND SECURITY: Well, we did sigh a breath of relief whenever the holidays were over, in the sense that you had many large gatherings that we were concerned about.
But we continue to have intelligence that justifies a continued raising of the alert level. So, we remain at orange. We remain closely watching some of the flights, but also, broadly here in the United States, trying to take extra security precautions against any potential attack that we might see in the coming days, although we certainly hope that would not be the case.
BLITZER: Any idea when that threat level might go back to yellow?
HUTCHINSON: Well, it's something that we look at day by day.
But I could not give you a specific time reference. We want to make sure that the intelligence justifies any change. We rely upon the experts in the intelligence community. So we continue to evaluate that day by day.
BLITZER: All the concern involving that British Airways Flight 223 from London Heathrow to Washington-Dulles, how specific, if can you share with us, was the fear, the intelligence information that prompted all that concern?
HUTCHINSON: Well, that flight -- you know, if a flight is canceled, it's going to be because of very specific, credible information that's received.
We have a whole host of security measures that are in place and that we feel confident in, in the normal circumstances. But, if you have specific information that elevates the concern -- and the British authorities make the final decision, in conjunction with our evaluation, on those particular flights. But, as you noted, those flights have resumed. We are continuing to monitor them.
But, obviously, safety is the utmost concern. Passengers feel safe, but we're continuing to monitor those flights.
BLITZER: What happens if some other foreign airliners refuse to put armed marshals aboard those specific flights that you want to see armed air marshal aboard. What happens then?
HUTCHINSON: Well, we look at a whole host of security measures that could be implemented. And then we also make a judgment as to whether they're sufficient based upon any particular threat that we have.
And one of those security measures would be the presence of armed, trained marshals on that flight. If the host government does not wish to do, we would make ours available. If they refuse to have those on there, that would be one consideration that would be made as to whether that flight should enter U.S. airspace, because, again, the utmost concern that we would have would be the safety of those passengers.
We're going work on a case-by-case basis with the host governments and the foreign airlines on those flights. It's not an overall mandate. It's simply a notice to the international carriers that, if there is a specific threat, that may be a specific response that we'd require.
BLITZER: Mr. Secretary, as all of us know, those big, fat commercial airliners are very vulnerable to surface-to-air shoulder- fired missiles. You're now looking at a study to try to improve the air defense systems on those commercial airliners, perhaps using the same technology that's aboard Air Force One.
How close are you to getting to that level of security that you would feel comfortable with?
HUTCHINSON: Well, we are. We announced today the contracts, working with private industry to develop that new technology that could be applied on commercial aircraft.
But, in addition, we are working tactically, in terms of reducing the vulnerabilities of areas around the airports that could be used to launch a surface-to-air missile. We're also trying to reduce the international community availability of those type of MANPADS.
And then finally, as you noted, we are working with private industry. They have the technology in the defense arena. We want to see if it has a commercial application. It will take some time working with the private sector to test these systems in the commercial market to make it cost-effective and to have the protective devices that are needed in a passenger aircraft. So we want to continue to pursue that.
BLITZER: One final question, if you know the answer. Why were those cars driving to BWI, Baltimore-Washington International Airport, simply stopped on the way to the airport today? What was going on?
HUTCHINSON: I don't know the answer to that. I'm sure it's one of those security measures that we have in place.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: It's a fair enough answer, but I'm sure you will know the answer pretty soon.
Asa Hutchinson, thanks very much for joining us. This footnote: I flew out to Los Angeles. Asa Hutchinson was on my flight Sunday night. I felt very secure on that flight.
Thanks very much for joining us, Mr. Secretary.
HUTCHINSON: Thank you, Wolf.
BLITZER: We just learned that the well-known fashion photographer Francesco Scavullo has died. His publicist tells CNN Scavullo collapsed at his home and died at a Manhattan hospital. Francesco Scavullo's famous subjects included Diana Ross, Brad Pitt, Muhammad Ali, Sting, Janis Joplin, Arnold Schwarzenegger and so many others. His works include six books and "Cosmopolitan" magazine cover spanning 30 years. He was 74 years old.
Mega millionaire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REBECCA JEMISON, LOTTERY WINNER: They are my numbers. How did I pick them? Randomly, just some numbers I held on to for two years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: This woman picks up a $162 million lottery check. But another woman says, the loot belongs to her.
And this:
KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When you think of Seattle, you don't think about snow. But check it out. It is everywhere.
I'm Kimberly Osias, live downtown. There are inches of it. Coming up, I'll tell you all about it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: NASA has just released a new photo that's so sharp, scientists are referring to it as a postcard. The photo, actually a mosaic of 12 pictures taken by the panorama camera picture aboard the Spirit rover, shows a rust-colored landscape strewn with rocks. NASA says the image is three to four times sharper than any previous picture ever taken of the surface of Mars.
Back here on this planet, a powerful winter storm is bringing record cold temperatures to the Pacific Northwest and snow to areas that aren't used to seeing it.
CNN's Kimberly Osias is in Seattle, where there's several inches of snow -- Kimberly.
OSIAS: That's exactly right. Hello, Wolf.
Forecasters with the National Weather Service say this is one of the 10 worst snowstorms in Seattle City's history. Highway 99, which is right next to us here, this is a main thoroughfare that goes north- south, and typically gearing up for rush hour about this time, usually bustling with activity, quite a different story. Over 100 accidents have been reported so far. And there are concerns that, later tonight, things will get worse.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OSIAS (voice-over): It started before dawn, a light dusting. Within hours, it was a blanket on downtown Seattle, over six inches in some areas. Zero visibility through much of the Northwest made for treacherous road conditions. Snowplows worked the thoroughfares for the few that made the morning commute.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I went to work at 4:30. It started snowing right about the time we unload the aircraft. And it's just been slow going.
OSIAS: From Canada to Portland, the Arctic blast hit the Pacific Northwest, closing area universities, schools and some offices for the first time in three decades.
In Oregon, snow is expected to continue through the night. Blizzard warnings are in place for several counties and the Western Columbia River Gorge. Because in Seattle at Sea-Tac Airport, de-icers were out and air travel backed up. At the Pike Place Market downtown, empty stalls inside, but, outside, most found creative ways to take advantage of the day off.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Got this from my grandmother about four years ago as a Christmas gift. And she probably thought I was going to be sledding down a hill in it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
OSIAS: Some people will make a party out of anything.
Now, the businesses that are open in this area very typical of Seattle, naturally, the coffee shops. Tomorrow, also more typical of Seattle, rain is expected -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Kimberly Osias in Seattle, snowy Seattle -- thanks very much, Kimberly, for that report.
Two women laying claim to one giant jackpot, a whole lotto controversy with a fortune at stake. We'll show you how it played out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Here are the results of our "Web Question of the Day." Remember, this is not, repeat, not a scientific poll.
Now to a fight over a lotto jackpot. Here's CNN's Eric Phillips.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REBECCA JEMISON: Wow! (LAUGHTER)
ERIC PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's still hard for this 34-year-old hospital worker to believe she won the $162 million jackpot. But, for Rebecca Jemison, a cloud of doubt hangs over this windfall. That's because another woman, 40-year-old Elecia Battle, filed a police report after last Tuesday's drawing, claiming she bought the winning ticket, but dropped it.
ELECIA BATTLE, CLAIMS SHE BOUGHT WINNING TICKET: I lost it. It's mine. It's my property.
PHILLIPS: That sparked fortune-seekers to scour the area outside of the Cleveland suburb convenience store where she allegedly purchased it. But Rebecca Jemison says she purchased the ticket from that store and had it the whole time.
JEMISON: They are my numbers. How did I pick them? Randomly, just some numbers I held on to for two years.
PHILLIPS: Lottery officials say, whoever turns in a winning ticket is legally entitled to the prize. Beyond that, they say Jemison provided a receipt from the store, noting the time the ticket was purchased.
DENNIS KENNEDY, OHIO LOTTERY: We looked at enough evidence this morning to convince me that Rebecca is the legitimate ticket holder and the ticket was purchased according to the story she told us.
PHILLIPS: As for why it took her so long to come forward, Jemison says she wanted to consult a lawyer and an accountant first.
JEMISON: I hear people say, luck, luck, luck. Luck had nothing to do with this. This is truly a blessing.
PHILLIPS: Eric Phillips, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Congratulations.
"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.
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North Korea; Jury Selection Begins in Martha Stewart's Trial>
Aired January 6, 2004 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Death of a princess. Tragic accident or something else?
MOHAMED AL FAYED, FATHER OF DODI FAYED: It was absolute, black and white, horrendous murder.
BLITZER: Now, a royal inquest.
Nuclear standoff, a surprising offer from North Korea.
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: It was an interesting statement, it was a positive statement.
BLITZER: But there's a hook.
Picking the jury. They'll be judging Martha Stewart, and it's not a bake-off.
Mega millions -- two people claim the jackpot.
REBECCA JENISON, LOTTO WINNER: They are my numbers.
BLITZER: But only one has the winning ticket.
ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Tuesday January 6, 2004.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Hello from Los Angeles. War and terrorism. Tonight, the news often involving bloody setbacks.
But we begin with what's being called some signs of progress on three critical fronts. A top U.S. commander in Iraq reports a sharp downturn in attacks on American troops in recent weeks. Recent drug busts in the Persian Gulf suggest that a cash starved al Qaeda is struggling to find new sources of funding. And North Korea offers to freeze its nuclear weapons program in return for a lot of U.S. help.
We begin with word of a significant falloff in the attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq. Let's go live it our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie. JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, no one in the U.S. military is talking about the light at the end of the tunnel, but some U.S. commanders are sounding more upbeat. Among them Major General Charles Swannack, the commander of the 82nd Airborne Division in Iraq who briefed reporters this morning in Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJ. GEN. CHARLES SWANNACK, COMMANDER, 82ND AIRBORNE DIVISION: We are on a glide path towards success. Attacks against task force on American forces have decreased almost 60 percent over the past month. I believe there are a number of reasons for this decline in the attacks. Our strategy has not changed and it remains very simple.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCINTYRE: That strategy in a nutshell hunting down regime remnants, rounding up weapons, giving jobs to military-aged Iraqis.
As recently as last week, other U.S. commanders said while the number of attacks were down, they were often more deadly. But General Swannack insists in his part of Iraq, his enemies seem to be losing their effectiveness.
Here at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld cautioned not to read too much into what single commander is seeing, saying it's way too early to spot a trend.
And remember, the U.S. claimed its troops were fired on by enemy forces masquerading as news reporters? Now it turns out the suspects, the U.S. military detained, actually were press. Iraqis working for Reuters and NBC. The U.S., though, is not admitting any mistakes saying the incident is still under investigation -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre, thank you very much, at the Pentagon.
In Iraq today, there was a violent protest involving former soldiers of the old Saddam Hussein regime, and trying to build a new national civilian contractor system. That's already been -- having paid a heavy price. CNN's Satinder Bindra reports from Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SATINDER BINDRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There was trouble today in Basra, which is Iraq's second largest city in the south. Some 6,000 members of the former Saddam Hussein army demonstrated. They were angry and upset they hadn't received stipends and pensions.
Now these former soldiers formed into a bank. That's when the Iraqi police opened fire on them. One demonstrator was shot in the leg, two others were injured. Shortly after this incident, British troops moved into the area, and they helped secure the peace.
Now here in Baghdad, just west of here in a place called Fallujah, two French contractors were killed. Another French contractor working for an American company was injured. We have some details of what happened. These French contractors were traveling in two SUVs, one of their cars broke down.
The French contractors then stepped off, they stepped off on the road and tried to fix their car. That's when another car sped by. It fired some bullets at them. Two French contractors were killed almost immediately.
Satinder Bindra, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Recent drug busts carried out by the U.S. military in the Persian Gulf seem to indicate a new direction for al Qaeda. Let's turn now to our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr for that story -- Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the question now is the al Qaeda getting so desperate for cash that they are now in the drug business? Indeed, as you say, three recent drug busts in the Persian gulf by the U.S. Navy seem to indicate that's exactly what's going on.
Look at these pictures from December 20. The U.S. Navy came aboard this ship in the Persian Gulf. You can see the crew members tossing bags over the side just as a Navy boarding party is coming up the other side to try and seize it. They determined that about 200 bags thrown over the side believed to contain heroin valued at $86,000 a pound.
This was just one of three recent drug busts. There have been -- they've now totaled about $20 million, it's believed, in hashish, heroin, and other drugs being carried on board these ships, smuggling this illegal contraband. Further evidence, the Navy says, they believe the al Qaeda's involved.
Of the 33 crew members from the three ships they took into custody, ten of them are at now at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan undergoing further investigation for their al Qaeda ties.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard Meyers, spoke about it earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. RICHARD MEYERS, CHMN., JOINT CHIEF OF STAFF: Some of the folks we detained were probably running the ship and not of much interest and were repatriated. And there were some that were being interrogated to find out their connections to other terrorist groups. And we're going to have to let that play out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: The Navy released another picture today, this is one of the dhow's being blown up. It is said to have contained 2,800 pounds of hashish valued at #11 million -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thank you very much. North Korea is offering a deal which could put a halt to its nuclear program, but it wants a lot in return. Still, at least one top U.S. official is intrigued. We get the story from our national security correspondent David Ensor.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Calling it a bold concession, North Korea's news agency said Pyongyang is ready to refrain from testing and producing nuclear weapons and to stop operating nuclear power facilities as a gesture to get six party talks moving.
Secretary of State Colin Powell is encouraged.
POWELL: This is an interesting step on their part, positive step, and we hope that it will allow us to move more rapidly towards six party framework talks.
ENSOR: But the view that it is positive may not be universal, even within the Bush administration. The White House spokesman declined repeated opportunities to match Secretary Powell's comment.
A first round of sixth parties talks held in August in Beijing was inconclusive. The six parties are the U.S., South Korea, Japan, China, Russia and North Korea.
In return for its offer to freeze its nuclear programs, Pyongyang said it wants to be taken off the U.S. list of states sponsoring terrorism, the lifting of political, economic and military sanctions, and it wants supplies of heavy oil, power and energy resources.
In Beijing Tuesday, an unofficial American delegation left for North Korea, invited by Pyongyang, part of an apparent charm offensive.
VICTOR CHA, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: And it looked like a bold concession. But the fact that these statements are made prior to what people hope to be the start of another round of talks really tries to shift the playing advantage, if you will, to the North Koreans. That they appear to be the ones more interested to the United States.
And I think the administration is wary of that bargaining ploy because they've seen the North Koreans do it many times before.
ENSOR (on camera): Still, the offer and the unofficial invitation suggests the North Koreans are preparing to talk again about their nuclear programs, and may be prepared to give them up -- for a price.
David Ensor, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: They fought three wars and came close to a fourth just a couple of years ago. But nuclear neighbors India and Pakistan have now agreed to begin peace talks next month. The breakthrough arose from a meeting between the Indian prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and the Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf at a South Asian summit. The deal was sealed in a follow-up phone call today, after which President Musharraf said, and I'm quoting now, "History has been made."
Princess Diana's death. An accident or murder? The inquest opens. But stealing the headlines, a shocking report that names the royal family member whom Diana allegedly feared.
Judging Martha Stewart. The men and women who could be deciding her fate appear in a federal court.
And this...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELECIA BATTLE, CLAIMS SHE LOST WINNING LOTTERY TICKET: The ticket, I lost, it it's mine, it's my property, and no one can cash it in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Not so fast. Another woman comes forward to claim a mega millions jackpot. The prize plot twists ahead on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Winner selected. One design has been chosen for a memorial at the World Trade Center site in New York. Which one will it be? We'll tell you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Now to a developing story, a special panel in New York has decided on a design for the World Trade Center memorial. CNN's Jason Carroll is standing by with details.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the winning design was chosen from eight finalists. We have the name of the winning design, it is "Reflecting Absence." It comes from an architect by the name of Michael Arad. Let's get right to it, show you some of the animation that we have of this winning memorial design. Well, I'll describe some of the details.
The design proposes to have two pools submerged some 30 feet below street level where the tower footprints once stood. The curtain of water would cascade over the victim's names.
Also, surrounding that area down below that you see there, some of the victims' names will actually be engraved on walls, and also a short wall that sort of surrounds those pools that we talked about.
Arad had said that he wanted to have an area down below where people could come and reflect on exactly what had happened. The names will be arranged in a way that is random order to sort of symbolize the haphazard manner in which the people were killed.
Just a little bit about Arad if I could, very quickly. He is in his thirties. He's originally from Israel, lives here in New York, right in the East Village. It's going to be very interesting, Wolf, to see the public's reaction to this winning design.
This design was actually rated third in a poll that was taken on popularity poll. So it's going to be interesting to see how people respond to this winning design -- Wolf.
BLITZER: And one footnote, Jason, Michael Arad, someone I've known for many years, he's the son of the former Israeli ambassador to the United States, Moshe Arad. Congratulations to Michael Arad on that winning design. Thanks to Jason Carroll for that report.
The first official British inquiries into the death of Princess Diana are underway, but the probes were overshadowed today by a tabloid report that could add a scandalous new dimension to the drama. CNN senior international correspondent Sheila MacVicar has details from london.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it's taken six years for the British coroner to open these inquests in large part because of the ongoing judicial processes in France and in many ways, those judicial processes have been continuing, the appeals, the cases, because Mr. Al Fayed, Dodi Fayed's father has refused to accept that his son and Princess Diana died together in the car crash in Paris, died as a result of the accident.
Mr. Al Fayed has said that he believes that their deaths were murder, and he has suggested there has been an elaborate plot on the parts of various intelligence services to murder the pair. The French judicial investigation, all 6,000 pages of it, will form the back bone of the British coroner's inquiry.
Now that judicial investigation clearly showed that the car crash was the result of fast driving by a drunk driver, the chauffeur Henri Paul who died with them in the car crash.
The conspiracy theorists got another bonanza today here in Britain when a British tabloid published the name that Diana had written in a letter ten months before her death. She said in that letter to her then-butler Paul Burrell, that she believed her then ex- husband Prince Charles would seek to kill her in a car accident so he could marry his longtime lover, a suggestion that has been dismissed as preposterous and one which Paul Burrell has deeply angered by.
PAUL BURRELL, FORMER PRINCESS DIANA BUTLER: I'm not happy about it. I only learned about it late last night. It was always my intention never to publish that name. I never, ever wanted it to be known.
MACVICAR: The coroner will reconvene in twelve months or so after he's had time to digest all that weight of the French investigation, and decide what course he wants to follow including which witnesses, if any, he decides he wants to call. He can't compel witnesses outside Britain to come here and give testimony, but some may be willing to do so.
At the end it's hoped that with certainty, he'll be able to draw a line under these deaths and say what really happened in that tunnel that night in Paris. Back to you, Wolf.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Sheila MacVicar, thanks very much for that report.
This note. Diana's former sister-in-law Sarah Ferguson talked to CNN's Paula Zahn about the inquiries. She expressed concerned about its impact on the princess' sons William and Harry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH FERGUSON, DUCHESS OF YORK: I think it's a very painful time for them and, you know, they've been through so much, and they're such great young men. They really are, and she would be so proud.
And so, you know, they can rake up anything tomorrow, they can look into everything, the papers will go mad, but at the end of the day, those boys walk with their heads held high in her memory.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Ferguson also says she has no opinion on conspiracy theories surrounding Diana's death.
Martha Stewart trial. Potential jury members have their pens out today, and they're not writing recipes.
Jitters in the sky. Why a passenger with a jacket spooked security.
Feeling the chill, and now the chaos. An unusual sight in Seattle. All that coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: The first in a series upcoming celebrity trials got underway today with the start of jury selection in the Martha Stewart case. CNN's Allan Chernoff is on the story for us in New York live -- Allan.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, many lawyers say this is actually the most important part of trying a case, this selection of a jury. It certainly can make the difference between conviction and acquittal, and it all got started this morning with the presentation of a questionnaire to the jury pool.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF (voice-over): New Yorkers summoned for jury duty Tuesday. From this random group may come the dozen who will sit in judgment over Martha Stewart. They filled out questionnaires to determine any biases for or against Ms. Stewart, possible grounds for disqualification. Lawyers say it won't be easy picking a jury for such a public figure.
SETH TAUBE, FORMER SEC PROSECUTOR: Everyone can say I read something about it, I know something about Martha. The issue is can you put that aside.
CHERNOFF: The Stewart team has hired jury consultant Julie Blackman who will help lawyers try to pick jurors most likely to sympathize with the defendant.
MARC MOGIL, JURY SELECTION CONSULTING: She would want someone who is Upper East Side, affluent, a professional career person, someone who dabbles in the stock market every day, perhaps someone who's been audited.
CHERNOFF: In other words, someone who might feel the government is beating up on Martha Stewart. Prosecutors charge Stewart tried to obstruct justice by lying to investigators about her sale of Imclone System stock two years ago. She sold the day before the Food and Drug Administration refused to review Imclone's application for its cancer drug. Stewart maintains she had no inside information and did nothing wrong.
MARTHA STEWART: This is a very, very, very, very shocking thing.
CHERNOFF: But prosecutors intend to bring evidence that Stewart and her stockbroker Peter Bucanovich invented a story to mislead the government.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF: Lawyers for both sides will now look at those questionnaires, take a very close analysis of them, and decide who exactly will be invited back to be interviewed to sit on the jury. A process that will begin on January 20 -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Allan Chernoff covering this trial for us. Thanks, Allan, very much.
Our justice report begins with an update on a story from last summer here in California. 87-year-old George Russell Weller pleaded not guilty today to ten counts of vehicular manslaughter. Despite a plea by prosecutors that bail be set at $50,000, he was released from custody on his own recognizance. Weller was the driver of a car that went out of control at a farmer's market in Santa Monica killing ten people and injuring 63 others.
Two months after a controversial drug sweep in a South Carolina high school, the principal has resigned. George McCrackin had asked police to come to Stratford High School to look for drugs.
Police conducted the search with their guns drawn ordering students to lie on the floor and handcuffing some of them. No drugs were found. McCrackin says his resignation was in the best interest of the school.
A controversial execution scheduled in Arkansas tonight. 44- year-old George Singleton (sic) murdered a woman during a 1979 grocery store robbery. He's scheduled to die by injection, even though it's agreed he's mentally ill. Courts have ruled it's legal to execute the mentally ill if anti-psychotic medications render them competent at the time of death. Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is expected to rule shortly on a clemency request.
It's your turn to weigh in on this story. Our web question of the day is this. "Should states execute mentally ill inmates who have been convicted of murder?" You can vote right now at CNN.com/wolf. We'll have the results later in this broadcast.
And while you're there, I'd love to hear directly from you, our viewers. Send me your comments any time. I'll try to read some of them on the air each day at the end of this program. That's also where you can read my daily online column. CNN.com/wolf.
The Democrats debate, and the trail heats up, with esteemed endorsements and fresh poll numbers. We'll have all the latest action on the campaign trail.
Security in the skies -- is it tight enough to fend off a possible al Qaeda attack? I'll speak live with Asa Hutchinson of the Homeland Security Department.
Revealing the red planet in ways never imagined. NASA shows us photos of Mars. You don't want to miss them. We'll show them to you. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back to CNN. On the trail and debating again. The Democratic candidates heat up the airwaves in Iowa. We'll get to all of that.
First though, a quick check of the latest headlines.
DNA testing now confirms the cow diagnosed with the first case of mad cow disease in the United States came from Canada. Officials say the animal was born in Alberta. The test results will allow investigators to step up their search for the source of the infection in Canada.
For several hours today, police were checking all cars entering Baltimore/Washington International Airport as part of the Department of Homeland Security's heightened threat level. An airport spokesman says the security checks are not related to any specific threat.
An audit of how catholic churches in the United States are responding to clergy's sex abuse shows solid progress. That word today from church officials. The audit found 90 percent of the nation's diocese are completely complying with a charter that was put together last summer to fight the problem. But officials with some victims' groups say they're skeptical about what they say is a positive spin in the report.
Three months after his election, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is getting set to lay out his priorities for the year ahead. He delivers his state of the state address a short time from now. In his speech to the California legislature, Schwarzenegger is expected to call for major budget cuts in most government services including education.
Two days after facing the television cameras in Iowa, the Democratic presidential candidates faced off again, this time, though, on radio. National Public Radio sponsored a debate in Des Moines just a short time ago. It included a discussion of key issues, such as Iraq and the economy, and this exchange between front-runner Howard Dean and Senator Joe Lieberman.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D-CT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm afraid Howard Dean has said a number of things that are polarizing. He has represented anger. Anger has fueled his campaign. I love the enthusiasm of his supporters. He's done an incredible service to our party and our political system by bringing a lot of them in. But we've got to go beyond that.
HOWARD DEAN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would submit, Joe, that's just what I'm doing. As you know, today, Bill Bradley endorsed me. A month ago, Al Gore endorsed me, two people who fought bitterly for the nomination four years ago, as you are well aware.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BLITZER: Across Iowa, the focus is on undecided voters, as the Democratic candidates count down the days until the state's leadoff caucuses.
They're crisscrossing the state today, looking for support.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): Nearly all of the Democratic candidates are in the Hawkeye State today shaking every hand possible, meeting every voter available. Expect this to be the norm through January 19. Oddly enough, though, Iowa wasn't where the big news was made today. That happened in New Hampshire, when former presidential candidate Bill Bradley endorsed Howard Dean.
BILL BRADLEY, FORMER DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The Dean campaign is one of the best things that's happened to American democracy in decades.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
BLITZER: Yet another feather in Dean's ever-growing establishment cap. Bradley later traveled to Iowa to campaign with the front-runner.
DEAN: The power to change this country is in your hands, not mine. And it's on January 19.
REP. RICHARD GEPHARDT (D-MO), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thanks so much.
BLITZER: Brushing off the endorsement, Richard Gephardt continues to going to win his neighboring state, where he says voters make up their own minds. But even so, still up for grabs is Iowa Senator Harkin's coveted endorsement. CNN's John Mercurio reports, it could come this week. And it's said to be between Gephardt and Dean.
Hope is alive for John Kerry. His campaign says he's now going for the top spot in Iowa, not just second or third. Counting on a last-minute surge of support from veterans, firefighters and undecided voters, Kerry is hitting the Hawkeye turf hard.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My friends, we don't have a broken budget in the United States of America. We have got a broken set of values at the head of our government.
BLITZER: And don't forget about John Edwards. Though polls indicate many voters have, the North Carolina senator is on a nonstop Iowa campaign blitz, vying for a close second or third place there.
And that's our look at the 2004 presidential candidates.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: That's our look at the campaign right now.
President Bush, by the way, who's also a candidate, doesn't have to worry about a Republican opponent in his bid to return to the Oval Office, but he does have to worry about the Democratic candidates and some key issues facing the country.
Some new poll numbers focus on issues such as the economy and Iraq and how the president is handling his job.
In Washington, our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, is standing by. He's, of course, keeping traffic all these late numbers -- Bill.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, Wolf, everybody is talking about the Democratic race.
But when a president runs for reelection, the vote becomes a referendum on the president. Let's see where that race stands.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): It's election year. Do you know where your president is? We do, 60 percent. That's President Bush's job rating right now.
How good is that? Let's look at where previous presidents facing reelection have been at this point. Bush's father was at 46 percent in January 1992. He lost. But so did Jimmy Carter, who started out his 1980 re-election campaign on a high of 56 percent because of the Iran hostage crisis. Ronald Reagan was at 52 percent going into his re-election in 1984. He made it. But so did Bill Clinton, even though he started 1996 at 42 percent.
If you're a Republican, you look at these figures and say, look at that, Bush is doing better than all of them, woo-hoo, to which a Democrat might respond, oh, it's just a temporary bounce Bush is getting from the capture of Saddam Hussein. In fact, President Bush gets his highest marks on Iraq, 61 percent approval. The president's overall rating on world affairs is the highest it's been since the major fighting in Iraq last spring.
And the president's ratings on domestic issues are not far behind. Fifty-four percent approve Bush's handling of the economy, the highest in more than a year.
Is the President vulnerable on anything? Yes. Only 43 percent give the President good marks on health care.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm pleased that all of you are here to witness the greatest advance in health care coverage for America's seniors since the founding of Medicare.
SCHNEIDER: But seniors are not all that thrilled with the Medicare Reform Bill, or the prescription drug plan. And the front- runner for the Democratic nomination is a physician. Speaking of Howard Dean, let's see how he's doing.
Dean is still the front-runner, but not by much. General Wesley Clark is catching up with him. Clark is the only Democratic candidate to show momentum in the past month. The attacks on Dean from his fellow Democrats could be taking a toll on the front-runner.
Here's where the presidential race stands right now: a blowout. President Bush leads Howard Dean by more than 20 points.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHNEIDER: Ever hear the Latin phrase vox populi vox dei? Well, Wolf, I'm sure you have. You're a classical scholar. It means, the voice of the people is the voice of God. Well, this poll backs up what Pat Robertson said the lord told him would happen in the election. Reverend Robertson has his sources and we have ours -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, one quick question, Bill. This new poll shows a very wide gap between the president and Howard Dean in a hypothetical contest.
But over the weekend, there was a CNN/"TIME" magazine poll which showed, what, a 5 percent gap?
SCHNEIDER: Well, we compared those two poles, because we were curious. What happened? Here's what happened. Republicans have closed ranks behind President Bush. In that earlier poll, over 10 percent of Republicans -- I think it was 12 percent -- were supporting Howard Dean in a race between Dean and Bush.
Now Dean's support has vanished among Republicans. It's negligible. So what seems to have happened is, all those terrible things Howard Dean has been saying about President Bush have finally cost him any possible support he ever would have had from Republicans. And maybe, too, that earlier poll was taken over the New Year's holiday. So that holiday spirit may have worn off.
BLITZER: Bill Schneider, always assessing all the poll numbers for us. Bill, thank you very much for that informative report.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
BLITZER: Panicked about planes? With orange alerts and terror warnings, jitters about flying are now just the sign of the times. But are stricter security measures enough to stop the scare?
And the red planet in living color, amazing pictures of Mars, never seen before.
Snowy Seattle. Sure, the city's not known for being the sunniest, but today's weather has residents there stunned and very cold. We'll take you there live -- all of that coming up.
First, though, a quick look at some other news make headlines around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): Afghan explosion. Two days after Afghanistan adopted a post-Taliban Constitution, Taliban remnants are blamed for a deadly explosion in Kandahar. A bomb attached to a bicycle killed at least a dozen victims, most of them children.
Red Sea search. Search crews think they may have located one of the flight recorders from the jet that crashed in the Red Sea over the weekend, but it may be too far under water to recover quickly; 148 people died, including four with dual U.S.-Egyptian citizenship. The flight recorders could make it easier to tell whether the crash was caused by mechanical problems, as most officials believe, or by an act of terrorism.
Tennis, anyone? Wimbledon rain-outs may become less frequent. The All England Club has announced plans for a roof over center court, the site of the Wimbledon tournament's biggest matches.
Four times 20. Four Australian brothers celebrated their 20th birthdays today, Ben, Brett, Sam and Chris Muir were the first quadruplets conceived through in-vitro fertilization to survive. Among the biggest challenge of being a quadruplet, Sam says there was a fight for the bathroom every morning.
And that's our look around the world. (END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: The Bush administration today moved to address the threat posed to airliners by shoulder-fired missiles. The government says it's picked three companies to develop plans for anti-missile systems to defend commercial planes. The three will study whether current military technology can be used to the counter this threat and will then develop prototypes for consideration by the government. Military jets and Air Force One already utilize anti-missile defenses.
Fear about airline security remains very high, as demonstrated once again today. But not everyone can agree what to do.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): In the skies, on the ground, and in diplomatic channels, concerns over the next possible terrorist attack are fraying nerves.
Two more overseas airlines, South African Airways and German- owned Thomas Cook Airlines flat-out refused the demand from U.S. security officials to station air marshals on some international flights. And British pilots, accepting armed marshals for now, are pressing for an agreement between all airlines on the marshals' deployment. Security experts say armed marshals aren't enough.
CHARLES SLEPIAN, AVIATION SECURITY ANALYST: Because we still are not talking about improving the screening on the ground, outside of the United States. And this is really the issue here.
BLITZER: But, in Paris, screening works today.
French authorities detain a woman trying to board a Delta Air Lines flight to Cincinnati. They detect wires protruding from her jacket. U.S. law enforcement sources later tell CNN, the wires are for her electrically heated jacket and the woman is cleared.
Still, a sign of the times, airline and U.S. government sources say fighter jets escort that Delta jet for part of its flight. The plane arrives safely and is parked away from the terminal, where security officials could be seen boarding the aircraft. Passengers were expected to be rescreened before being allowed to leave the airport.
At London Heathrow Airport, one troubled flight to Washington- Dulles is delayed again by additional security checks. U.S. and British officials say there's very specific intelligence information that British Air Flight 223 could be a terrorist target. That flight's now been canceled twice and delayed four times.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Security in the skies definitely a key focus of the current orange alert. Are all the new precautions paying off? Joining us now from Washington is Asa Hutchinson. He's the undersecretary for border and transportation security in the Department of Homeland Security.
Mr. Secretary, thanks very much for joining us.
A lot of people assume that, after Christmas, New Year's, the code orange threat is over with. Things went relatively smoothly. It's time go back to yellow. Is that fair?
ASA HUTCHINSON, UNDERSECRETARY FOR HOMELAND SECURITY: Well, we did sigh a breath of relief whenever the holidays were over, in the sense that you had many large gatherings that we were concerned about.
But we continue to have intelligence that justifies a continued raising of the alert level. So, we remain at orange. We remain closely watching some of the flights, but also, broadly here in the United States, trying to take extra security precautions against any potential attack that we might see in the coming days, although we certainly hope that would not be the case.
BLITZER: Any idea when that threat level might go back to yellow?
HUTCHINSON: Well, it's something that we look at day by day.
But I could not give you a specific time reference. We want to make sure that the intelligence justifies any change. We rely upon the experts in the intelligence community. So we continue to evaluate that day by day.
BLITZER: All the concern involving that British Airways Flight 223 from London Heathrow to Washington-Dulles, how specific, if can you share with us, was the fear, the intelligence information that prompted all that concern?
HUTCHINSON: Well, that flight -- you know, if a flight is canceled, it's going to be because of very specific, credible information that's received.
We have a whole host of security measures that are in place and that we feel confident in, in the normal circumstances. But, if you have specific information that elevates the concern -- and the British authorities make the final decision, in conjunction with our evaluation, on those particular flights. But, as you noted, those flights have resumed. We are continuing to monitor them.
But, obviously, safety is the utmost concern. Passengers feel safe, but we're continuing to monitor those flights.
BLITZER: What happens if some other foreign airliners refuse to put armed marshals aboard those specific flights that you want to see armed air marshal aboard. What happens then?
HUTCHINSON: Well, we look at a whole host of security measures that could be implemented. And then we also make a judgment as to whether they're sufficient based upon any particular threat that we have.
And one of those security measures would be the presence of armed, trained marshals on that flight. If the host government does not wish to do, we would make ours available. If they refuse to have those on there, that would be one consideration that would be made as to whether that flight should enter U.S. airspace, because, again, the utmost concern that we would have would be the safety of those passengers.
We're going work on a case-by-case basis with the host governments and the foreign airlines on those flights. It's not an overall mandate. It's simply a notice to the international carriers that, if there is a specific threat, that may be a specific response that we'd require.
BLITZER: Mr. Secretary, as all of us know, those big, fat commercial airliners are very vulnerable to surface-to-air shoulder- fired missiles. You're now looking at a study to try to improve the air defense systems on those commercial airliners, perhaps using the same technology that's aboard Air Force One.
How close are you to getting to that level of security that you would feel comfortable with?
HUTCHINSON: Well, we are. We announced today the contracts, working with private industry to develop that new technology that could be applied on commercial aircraft.
But, in addition, we are working tactically, in terms of reducing the vulnerabilities of areas around the airports that could be used to launch a surface-to-air missile. We're also trying to reduce the international community availability of those type of MANPADS.
And then finally, as you noted, we are working with private industry. They have the technology in the defense arena. We want to see if it has a commercial application. It will take some time working with the private sector to test these systems in the commercial market to make it cost-effective and to have the protective devices that are needed in a passenger aircraft. So we want to continue to pursue that.
BLITZER: One final question, if you know the answer. Why were those cars driving to BWI, Baltimore-Washington International Airport, simply stopped on the way to the airport today? What was going on?
HUTCHINSON: I don't know the answer to that. I'm sure it's one of those security measures that we have in place.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: It's a fair enough answer, but I'm sure you will know the answer pretty soon.
Asa Hutchinson, thanks very much for joining us. This footnote: I flew out to Los Angeles. Asa Hutchinson was on my flight Sunday night. I felt very secure on that flight.
Thanks very much for joining us, Mr. Secretary.
HUTCHINSON: Thank you, Wolf.
BLITZER: We just learned that the well-known fashion photographer Francesco Scavullo has died. His publicist tells CNN Scavullo collapsed at his home and died at a Manhattan hospital. Francesco Scavullo's famous subjects included Diana Ross, Brad Pitt, Muhammad Ali, Sting, Janis Joplin, Arnold Schwarzenegger and so many others. His works include six books and "Cosmopolitan" magazine cover spanning 30 years. He was 74 years old.
Mega millionaire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REBECCA JEMISON, LOTTERY WINNER: They are my numbers. How did I pick them? Randomly, just some numbers I held on to for two years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: This woman picks up a $162 million lottery check. But another woman says, the loot belongs to her.
And this:
KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When you think of Seattle, you don't think about snow. But check it out. It is everywhere.
I'm Kimberly Osias, live downtown. There are inches of it. Coming up, I'll tell you all about it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: NASA has just released a new photo that's so sharp, scientists are referring to it as a postcard. The photo, actually a mosaic of 12 pictures taken by the panorama camera picture aboard the Spirit rover, shows a rust-colored landscape strewn with rocks. NASA says the image is three to four times sharper than any previous picture ever taken of the surface of Mars.
Back here on this planet, a powerful winter storm is bringing record cold temperatures to the Pacific Northwest and snow to areas that aren't used to seeing it.
CNN's Kimberly Osias is in Seattle, where there's several inches of snow -- Kimberly.
OSIAS: That's exactly right. Hello, Wolf.
Forecasters with the National Weather Service say this is one of the 10 worst snowstorms in Seattle City's history. Highway 99, which is right next to us here, this is a main thoroughfare that goes north- south, and typically gearing up for rush hour about this time, usually bustling with activity, quite a different story. Over 100 accidents have been reported so far. And there are concerns that, later tonight, things will get worse.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OSIAS (voice-over): It started before dawn, a light dusting. Within hours, it was a blanket on downtown Seattle, over six inches in some areas. Zero visibility through much of the Northwest made for treacherous road conditions. Snowplows worked the thoroughfares for the few that made the morning commute.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I went to work at 4:30. It started snowing right about the time we unload the aircraft. And it's just been slow going.
OSIAS: From Canada to Portland, the Arctic blast hit the Pacific Northwest, closing area universities, schools and some offices for the first time in three decades.
In Oregon, snow is expected to continue through the night. Blizzard warnings are in place for several counties and the Western Columbia River Gorge. Because in Seattle at Sea-Tac Airport, de-icers were out and air travel backed up. At the Pike Place Market downtown, empty stalls inside, but, outside, most found creative ways to take advantage of the day off.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Got this from my grandmother about four years ago as a Christmas gift. And she probably thought I was going to be sledding down a hill in it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
OSIAS: Some people will make a party out of anything.
Now, the businesses that are open in this area very typical of Seattle, naturally, the coffee shops. Tomorrow, also more typical of Seattle, rain is expected -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Kimberly Osias in Seattle, snowy Seattle -- thanks very much, Kimberly, for that report.
Two women laying claim to one giant jackpot, a whole lotto controversy with a fortune at stake. We'll show you how it played out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Here are the results of our "Web Question of the Day." Remember, this is not, repeat, not a scientific poll.
Now to a fight over a lotto jackpot. Here's CNN's Eric Phillips.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REBECCA JEMISON: Wow! (LAUGHTER)
ERIC PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's still hard for this 34-year-old hospital worker to believe she won the $162 million jackpot. But, for Rebecca Jemison, a cloud of doubt hangs over this windfall. That's because another woman, 40-year-old Elecia Battle, filed a police report after last Tuesday's drawing, claiming she bought the winning ticket, but dropped it.
ELECIA BATTLE, CLAIMS SHE BOUGHT WINNING TICKET: I lost it. It's mine. It's my property.
PHILLIPS: That sparked fortune-seekers to scour the area outside of the Cleveland suburb convenience store where she allegedly purchased it. But Rebecca Jemison says she purchased the ticket from that store and had it the whole time.
JEMISON: They are my numbers. How did I pick them? Randomly, just some numbers I held on to for two years.
PHILLIPS: Lottery officials say, whoever turns in a winning ticket is legally entitled to the prize. Beyond that, they say Jemison provided a receipt from the store, noting the time the ticket was purchased.
DENNIS KENNEDY, OHIO LOTTERY: We looked at enough evidence this morning to convince me that Rebecca is the legitimate ticket holder and the ticket was purchased according to the story she told us.
PHILLIPS: As for why it took her so long to come forward, Jemison says she wanted to consult a lawyer and an accountant first.
JEMISON: I hear people say, luck, luck, luck. Luck had nothing to do with this. This is truly a blessing.
PHILLIPS: Eric Phillips, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Congratulations.
"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.
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