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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

A Scientific look at Sleep Apnea and it's Causes

Aired December 14, 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.


WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR, WOLF BLITZER REPORTS: Happening now, surprising new information, why your city and state may not be prepared to handle a new terror attack. Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.
Regime on trial. Saddam Hussein's henchmen are about to face justice as insurgents keep up the pressure on the new government.

More wounded. Back from the battlefield.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw the flash and it hit right by me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Did they have the proper armor?

Bioterrorism. Is your state in a state of readiness? A new report has some disturbing details.

Sleep apnea, it's enough to take your breath away dozens of times an hour. We'll get a look inside the sleep lab.

Outside, Iraq's insurgents once again were targeting Baghdad's center of power, but inside the green zone, Iraq's new government dropped a bombshell of its own, revealing that trials will soon begin for members of the old regime. CNN's Karl Penhaul from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The announcement was not expected. Prime Minister Ayad Allawi told the national assembly the trial of top aides of Saddam Hussein will begin next week.

AYAD ALLAWI, IRAQ INTERIM PRIME MINISTER (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Now we can say with confidence that we will begin trying these people next week in a consecutive and continuous manner until the people's justice is served to those that committed crimes against Iraq.

PENHAUL: He mentioned no names, but 12 top detainees are being held in a wing of Abu Ghraib prison and slated for trial by special war crimes tribunal. They include former Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, the notorious general known as chemical Ali and, of course, Saddam himself. Saddam and others appeared in court on July 1st. The interim government initially said full procedures may begin in November or December, but experts suggested it would be impossible to prepare credible indictments and plan a trial to stand up to international scrutiny before 2005.

The announcement came the day before Allawi is due to announce his candidacy and running mates for January 30th elections. Many ordinary Iraqis say they're disenchanted with the growing insurgency and electricity and gas shortages. Some political analysts believe war crimes trials could be high=profile bid by Allawi to show his government has made progress. Underlying the insurgent threat, a car bomb exploded Tuesday in the same place as another bomb Monday, at the gates of the green zone, headquarters of the U.S. and Iraqi authorities.

Hospital sources said at least two people died and 13 others were wounded. Across the city, at a sprawling U.S. military camp, top U.S. Commander General Richard Myers flew in to help boost troop morale.

GEN. RICHARD MYERS, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: We're here to show them that America cares.

PENHAUL: He posed with soldiers and even a lose toy. His men were clearly pleased to see him and even more thrilled to see comedian Robin Williams and top model Bea Ann Tweden (ph). Karl Penhaul, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: A new insurgent videotape from Iraq has surfaced. It shows an attack on a U.S. Humvee and the aftermath. Some viewers may find the images very disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER voice-over): A U.S. Humvee is seen traveling along a road when an explosion occurs. The blast sends a plume of thick smoke billowing into the sky. The camera continues to roll even after the blast. A medivac arrives. Narration on the video suggests it was shot from a nearby house while those responsible for the attack calmly watched and commented on the aftermath as victims were evacuated. Several times, they exclaim God is great.

At one point, a baby is heard crying in the background. It's not clear from the video when the attack took place. The U.S. military says a total of seven U.S. Marines were killed Sunday in two separate incidents in Anbar province. CNN cannot confirm whether these pictures show one of those attacks.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: For reaction to this latest insurgent video, let's go to our CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr. Barbara, what is the Pentagon doing if anything new about these so-called improvised explosive devices?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, we spent several days in this controversy about armored vehicles and whether the shortage of armored vehicles were really the solution to these IEDs. What Pentagon officials are saying, of course, is that's just one of the initiatives, getting those armored vehicles into Iraq.

What this video shows is the types of attacks that are occurring that have very tragically killed or wounded so many U.S. forces. Many of these are blasts, essentially, from the side of the road and those are causing a good deal of damage. So, what are the other solutions? Every attack is now analyzed for what can be learned from it and they are looking at some high-tech solutions.

There are new types of armored vehicles that are being tested to go into Iraq to see if those offer better protection. There are jammers that are being put on vehicle. Essentially, they move signals through the air and they keep these remotely detonated bombs, if you will, from being exploded. There are tactics and procedures that are being used. Routes are varied. Convoys are under surveillance. Convoy routes are under surveillance to make sure that insurgents are not laying bombs or roadside devices. But it's very tough business, as we can see because these types of explosives can be laid very quickly. Insurgents then run away, detonate them from houses or areas at the side of the road and they're certainly still causing a lot of damage.

There is one other initiative. Last month, the Air Force stepped up the number of cargo flights into Iraq. They are looking now at moving much more in by air, trying to keep trucks and drivers and military personnel off these very dangerous roads. Wolf?

BLITZER: Lots of activity going on. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Barbara, thanks very much.

In our CNN security watch, if terrorists try to strike with nuclear, biological or chemical weapons, is your state prepared? The non-partisan Trust for Americans Health has rated all the states on a scale of one to 10, but few of those states passed with flying colors. Florida and North Carolina actually scored highest in bio-terror readiness with top marks of nine. Four others were a notch behind. Alaska and Massachusetts are the worst prepared, according to the study. Each received a three.

The report says only half a dozen states are now ready to administer and distribute vaccines and antidotes in case of an emergency. To our viewers, here is your chance to weigh in on this story. Our web question of the day is this. Do you think your state is prepared to handle a bio-terror attack? You can vote right now. Go to cnn.com/wolf. We'll have the results coming up later in this program.

While terrorists may be eying targets across America, the government may be leaving some places more vulnerable instead of helping them get ready. A city that literally attracts tens of millions of visitors each year is one surprising example. Our homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve is here with details. Jeanne? JEANNE MESERVE, HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, brain dead. That's the phrase that Congressman Rick Keller was using to describe the funding formula for the Department of Homeland Security's urban area security initiative grants. Keller is upset because Orlando, Florida, in his district, got no money this year while cities like Omaha, Nebraska, did.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RICK KELLER (R) FLORIDA: Orlando should get the money because we protect 43 million tourists every year and so when we go to an orange level, our sheriff doesn't say, hey, we're only going to protect our residents. We have to protect everybody and we need significant resources to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: The Department of Homeland Security has it's awarded the money on the basis of a formula that factors in threat information, critical infrastructure and population.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH FILLER, DEPT. OF HOMELAND SECURITY: It's a snapshot in time of overall risk and all the factors together give us that comprehensive picture. Population and population density is the most heavily weighted factor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: The government defined population as the number of people living within city limits. Omaha for instance, has 397,000 residents, more than double what Orlando has, but metro Orlando is twice as large as metro Omaha. And Orlando has those 43 million tourists a year visiting theme parks that have been mentioned as possible terrorist targets. Orlando area officials are asking DHS to change its mind and change a funding formula which they say relies too much on mathematics and not enough on common sense. Wolf.

BLITZER: I spoke with the mayor of Orlando earlier today here on CNN. Buddy Dyer (ph) is very upset about this and I suspect we haven't heard the last word on the subject.

MESERVE: You have not. I can guarantee it.

BLITZER: Jeanne Meserve, thanks very much for that and please stay with CNN for updated information on your security. "NEWS NIGHT" with Aaron Brown will have new details. That comes up 10:00 p.m. Eastern tonight.

More fallout from the Kerik controversy. What impact will it have on the future of this rising Republican star?

Also, a look inside San Quentin, the death row there for the next - that's the next stop for Scott Peterson. Plus this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't realize how close I come to dying and knowing that if it wasn't for having the presence of God there, giving me the strengthen to do what I need to do to survive, I wouldn't have been able to come back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The politics to the practical. What armor really means for U.S. troops in Iraq.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: President Bush has given the highest civilian honor to three men who played roles in the war in Iraq. The former CIA Director George Tenet, retired U.S. Army General Tommy Franks and former Iraq administrator Paul Bremer. Each received the medal of freedom. Some Democrats took issue with the president's decision to honoring Tenet, saying the CIA provided faulty information leading up to the invasion.

The damage has been done to the former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik who withdrew his own nomination for homeland security secretary amid concerns over a possibly illegal nanny. The question now is what impact will this controversy have on one of the Republican Party's rising stars who personally vouched for Kerik? CNN's Mary Snow joining us live from New York with that story. Mary?

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, Rudy Giuliani's political forecast is being watched. He's considered America's mayor because of the way he handled the aftermath of the September 11th attacks and now observers watching to see how the shakeout of the Bernard Kerik's flap will affect Giuliani's political aspirations.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW (voice-over): Bernard Kerik's star fell swiftly within just one week. But the question is, will Kerik's past tarnish Rudy Giuliani's political future and a potential run for president?

FRED DICKER, NEW YORK POST: Well, I think it's a blow to him. It's certainly not fatal, although we don't fully know yet what's going to come out of this.

SNOW: Giuliani said he was proud when Kerik was nominated to be homeland security director.

RUDY GIULIANI, FMR. NEW YORK MAYOR: I know personally the qualities that he has and what a good choice this is for the United States.

SNOW: But a week later.

GIULIANI: It's an embarrassment to me and to Bernie.

SNOW: Giuliani met privately with the president over the weekend and says he remains very close with him. Giuliani's relationship with him is closely watched since he is seen as a rising Republican star. Some say the Kerik flap is particularly damage because it was about the homeland security director and Giuliani catapulted on to the national arena because of his leadership on September 11th and the days after.

WAYNE BARRETT, THE VILLAGE VOICE: But this is the strong suit and so when it's your strong suit and you've nominated somebody who blew up so immediately with so many problems, I think it really damages his credentials in terms of the -- he's kind of perceived nationally as sort of the front lines of our anti-terrorism defenses.

SNOW: But some New York columnists don't think the Kerik sting will deal a heavy punch. Observers say though the Kerik flap adds a new dimension.

DICKER: From now on as we're doing right now, when people talk about Giuliani as a candidate, a potential candidate for president, and make no mistake about it, people around Giuliani are talking about him this way, people are going to be talking about Bernie Kerik and the problems here, the screw-up by Giuliani.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: While the Kerik nomination is history, the relationship between Kerik and Giuliani is not, because Kerik currently works for Giuliani at Giuliani's private firm. When asked yesterday whether he would keep his job, Giuliani said that he expressed confidence in Bernard Kerik. Wolf?

BLITZER: One thing about Rudy Giuliani. He is a man of great loyalty. There's absolutely no indication is there, Mary, that that loyalty has been shattered to Bernie Kerik?

SNOW: There hasn't been Wolf and I spoke to a spokesperson for Giuliani today, asking her about Kerik's future at the company and she told me that he is staying at Giuliani's firm. So he has been very loyal in his questions, the questions asked to him about Bernard Kerik in the past couple of days.

BLITZER: Mary Snow reporting for us in New York, Mary, thanks very much.

Hundreds of lawsuits, billions of dollars at stake. What the Vioxx recall could end up costing one of the country's largest pharmaceutical companies.

Plus, the armor shortage in Iraq. We'll talk about it with the former Defense Secretary William Cohen.

And the quest for a good night's sleep. We all want a good night's sleep, but why so many Americans find decent slumber so allusive. We'll show you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: Pharmaceutical giant Merck, has a mess on its hands. It released new details today of the damage done by the recall of its popular arthritis drug Vioxx, which was found to significantly increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. CNN's Chris Huntington is joining us now with more details. Chris.

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you. I'm outside of Merck headquarters in White House Station, New Jersey, where all day Merck has been holding closed-door briefings with Wall Street analysts. Merck has been trying to keep the focus on its business, on new drugs in the pipeline, but the big issue overshadowing everything that Merck does and the meeting today is just how much liability Merck potentially faces as a result of Vioxx.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTINGTON (voice-over): Merck CEO Ray Gilmartin did not want to answer the big question on just how much Vioxx litigation could cost his company.

RAY GILMARTIN, MERCK CEO: Basically anything would be just speculation. It's too early to speculate on that.

HUNTINGTON: But Merck did reveal it now knows of 475 Vioxx- related personal injury lawsuits filed on behalf of several thousand plaintiffs as well as 2 1/2 dozen additional suits from shareholders, pension funds and employees. Analyst Richard Evans estimates Merck's Vioxx liability could run as high as $38 billion or more than six times Merck's expected profit for this year. Evans says Merck will also pay dearly for lost credibility in the marketplace.

RICHARD EVANS, ANALYST: When a Merck sales rep sits in front of a physician right now, you can just picture that. You've got to imagine that the dominant theme in that conversation is Vioxx and that in terms of selling, is a waste of time.

HUNTINGTON: Merck's promotion of Vioxx, widely regarded as the most aggressive drug promotion of all time, relied on an unprecedented distribution of free Vioxx samples. A former Vioxx sales rep tells CNN he'd never seen that much money thrown behind a new drug. He conservatively estimated that each month in the U.S. market, Merck distributed more than 10 million free Vioxx pills at a wholesale cost to the company of more than $20 million. Dr. Bob Goodman, who has long warned med students to be wary of drug industry promotions, says the Vioxx recall offers fresh evidence of the potential pitfalls of free drug samples.

DR. BOB GOODMAN, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: The pharmacy then spends about half its promotional dollars on the free samples and there are plenty of examples, Vioxx being the only, the most recent of drugs that were recalled within a few years after being heavily sampled.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTINGTON: Now, Merck says it has no plans to curtail its sampling program. In fact here at the meeting Wolf, they told analysts that while there are big plans to revamp its marketing program, as CEO Ray Gilmartin put it, the promotions and the free samples will remain a part of the marketing effort, but, Wolf, plaintiffs' lawyers tell us that the Vioxx sample distribution is emerging as a major issue in many of the cases that they plan to bring against Merck. Wolf.

BLITZER: What a mess, indeed. Chris Huntington, thanks for that report.

Protecting the troops. U.S. military members who barely escaped death while serving in Iraq share their thoughts on the armor controversy.

Inside San Quentin's death row. We'll have a rare look at the tough prison Scott Peterson will shortly call home.

Penguins in danger. Why these favorite birds are being threatened by starvation in the Antarctic. We'll show you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back, more wounded. We'll hear from some injured members of the U.S. military recovering right now at Bethesda Naval Hospital just outside Washington in Maryland. Our Brian Todd has been spending time there. We'll get to that. First, though, a quick check of some other stories now in the news.

In its continuing battle to hold inflation in check, the Federal Reserve has boosted interest rates again. This time, it raised the Federal funds rate a quarter of a point to 2.25 percent. This was the fifth increase since June.

Continental Airlines denies having any responsibility for the crash four years ago of an Air France Concord. The super sonic jet crashed after taking off from a Paris airport, killing 113 people. A new French report places part of the blame on a metal strip that fell on the runway from a Continental jet.

An update now on a story we reported last week. That story, Brian Todd brought it to you. French authorities have ordered a controversial satellite television station off the air. They accuse the al-Manar network of broadcasting hateful content and posing a risk to public order. Critics say al-Manar was a propaganda tool for the militant Shiite group, Hezbollah, a charge the network denies.

Do the troop have enough protection? Do they have all the protection they need? As the argument over armor rages on, CNN's Brian Todd paid a visit to the war wounded, back from the battlefield and now in the Navy's care in Bethesda, Maryland.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From their hospital beds at the National Naval Medical Center, two badly wounded servicemen lend new perspective in the political battles over body armor and vehicle protection. Marine Corporal Ryan Groves, 24 years old, his left leg amputated above the knee, just about every bone in his right leg broken.

CPL. RYAN GROVES, U.S. MARINE CORPS: In the blink of an eye, I saw the flash and it hit right by me.

TODD: October 17th at a Marine camp outside Fallujah, Corporal Groves, a squad leader, is getting ready to greet some newly arrived Marines. A rocket explodes right next to him. Recalling the attack, he keeps his emotions level until he relates how close he came to dying.

GROVES: Five or 10 seconds, you know later, I would have dropped gear and put it in my seat and turned around and walk right towards where the rocket came from.

TODD: You came pretty close, you think?

GROVES: Very close.

TODD: A lot of guys like Corporal Groves were treated by Navy corpsman Joseph Worley. For seven and a half months, his job was to patch up and evacuate wounded Marines from the battlefield, until one chaotic day in September. On a bridge outside Fallujah, Worley is running towards a exploded Humvee. In the span of less than a minute, a roadside bomb explodes next to him, a rocket propelled grenade tears through his left leg, but doesn't explode. He hits the ground and immediately takes five gun shots to both legs. Then he takes over.

CORPSMAN JOSEPH WORLEY, U.S. NAVY: I rolled over and I put a tourniquet on my leg because I was bleeding so bad and I shot myself up with morphine.

TODD: As he shows us a left leg amputated above the knee this 23-year-old also shows an incomprehensible spirit.

WORLEY: I realize how close I came to dying and knowing if it wasn't for having the presence of God there, giving me the strength to do what I need to do to survive, I wouldn't be able to come back and be with my beautiful wife and my daughter that I'd not even met yet.

TODD: Corpsman Worley and Corporal Groves were both wearing body armor at the time they were wounded and both say they couldn't have survived without it. One of their doctors agrees, but says the wounds these servicemen get in their extremities as a result present their own unique problems.

CMDR. PHILIP PERDUE, U.S. NAVY: Because the wounds are so heavily contaminated usually and have such heavy tissue damage, they have to go to the operating room almost immediately after they arrive and go back every two to three days for dressing changes and for debrisments (ph) until the wound is clean enough to close.

TODD: Both these men say their units had plenty of body armor. When we asked if they had enough vehicle armor, a hospital official interrupted each time and wouldn't let them answer.

When I asked one wounded serviceman on the ward if his unit had enough vehicle armor, he said, quote, "not even close." Meanwhile, just a couple of rooms apart, two young men who can't move, grateful for what armor they did have. Brian Todd, CNN, Bethesda, Maryland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Outside that hospital, the issue of armor is a matter of open and heated debate. Weighing in now are world affairs analyst, former defense secretary, William Cohen. We haven't spoken since this whole issue of armor really erupted on the scale that it has. You were defense secretary for years. What do you make of this lack of armor for basic vehicles that could save lives and prevent loss of limbs?

WILLIAM COHEN, FMR. DEFENSE SECRETARY: I think it goes back to the beginning of the war, the mistakes and miscalculations made, that there was an assumption that the U.S. troops, coalition forces were going to be greeted as liberators and not occupiers and there would not be this kind of insurgency. We've been behind the curb for well over a year in getting the kind of armor that these young men and women need. It's an extraordinary segment you just rolled there, showing the courage they've shown over there, sacrificing their limbs and lives. We need to get them more. The fact that we're putting so much into so many different elements of trying to preserve their lives, one of the most basic is more body armor. You've heard recent stories about manufacturers who have the capacity to vamp up that production. It should have been done some time ago. We're learning a lesson very, very late in the game.

BLITZER: The tragedy or the irony is that armor, whether for vehicles or body armor, is such a small expenditure given the enormous expenditure, they want to spend but $9 billion for some new stealth satellite that may or may not work when all is said and done. This is relatively modest.

COHEN: It is. We also have to keep in mind that you need both. You need the high technology and the good-old basics. The old expression about boots, beans and the basics, the bullets. You need bytes and data bits as well. You had a piece earlier, Barbara Starr talking about the new unmanned aerial vehicles that have to be used to try to detect these bombs before they go off. It's a combination of having high technology and the basics. We're lacking the basics in some significant amounts right now.

I was surprised to hear any hospital administrator or custodian, whoever it was, say you can't answer that question. We should never sensor a soldier whose lives are being put on the line every single day to have anyone tell them they can't respond to a question about whether they have sufficient armor on their body or in their vehicle is unacceptable.

BLITZER: I totally agree. As a former Pentagon correspondent I had never heard of anything like that, where they come in and say you can't answer a question, even a sensitive question like that. What we are hearing now is increasing criticism of the defense secretary for this lack of preparedness, for miscalculating the insurgency. The Republican senator from Arizona, John McCain, saying once again, when asked if he has confidence in Donald Rumsfeld, he said in an Associated Press interview, "I said no. My answer is still no. No confidence." I heard similar words from Chuck Hagel, a Republican from Nebraska last Sunday on "Late Edition," yet he was asked to stay on by the president. What do you make of that?

COHEN: Both those senators are close friends of mine and I respect their service as warriors, but now also as senators, but ultimately only the president of the United States can make that call. He is the one who has to satisfy this issue. Does he have confidence in the secretary of defense? To the extent that he does, that secretary of defense is going to remain. So, Secretary Rumsfeld has obviously satisfied the president. The president wants him to continue and I think he will, notwithstanding any calls by the members of the Senate.

BLITZER: It all boils down to the lack of expectation that this insurgency would develop along the lines that it would. Somebody miscalculated, because there were people saying even before the war started, that will be the easy part. The aftermath will be the hard part.

COHEN: I think there was plan A. There appears to have been no plan B or backup plan in the event it didn't turn out there would be a counter insurgency of this magnitude. I think the defense department and the administration were relying upon a number of individuals, one of whom appeared on your Sunday show who may become the first ambassador from Iraq to the United States who also indicated very candidly that he did not believe there was going to be an insurgency to this magnitude. We're paying the price for it now. Hopefully with more forces going over, and I would hope we have more than the ones that are scheduled to go, the new addition of the 12,000, we need more than that to go over during this election period.

WOODRUFF: How many more do you think we need?

COHEN: If we're going to have a country the size of Iraq to be secure for the election results, you're going to need far more than the 150 we're committing in my judgment.

BLITZER: Thanks so much. Thank you very much for that report. That analysis, I should say.

Now a look at other story ins the headlines around the world.

Israeli troops blew up several evacuated homes in a Palestinian refugee camp in Gaza. They say the area was used as a staging ground by militants, firing rockets at Jewish settlements.

Train wreck, two passenger trains collided head on in northern India, taking dozens of lives. Authorities are trying to determine why both trains were on the same track.

The world's highest bridge opens to traffic Friday, taller than the Eiffel Tower, it carries a road linking Paris and Spain 891 feet above the Torn (ph) River valley in southern France. Ice barrier. Thousands of penguin chicks are in danger of starvation. A huge iceberg is blocking access to Antarctica's McMurdo's Sound (ph) where adult penguins normally catch fish for their offspring. Possible solutions include breaking an 80-mile path through the ice.

And that's our look around the world.

A jury recommends death for Scott Peterson. What will life on death row be like for him? We'll take you inside San Quentin prison.

Do you wake up tired, walk around all day feeling almost like a zombie? We may have the answer to a better night's sleep. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Scott Peterson's fate is all but sealed now. Yesterday the jury recommended he be executed for the murders of his wife and unborn child. He will be formally sentenced February 25 and unless the judge overturns the jury's sentence, considered unlikely, he will be moved immediately to one of the country's most notorious prisons San Quentin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): It sits less than 20 miles north of San Francisco overlooking the bay in affluent Marine County but San Quentin State Prison is a world of its own. Built by prisoners in 1852, it's California's oldest prison and home of the state's death row for men. Peterson will join more than 600 other men condemned to die, but with a state average of 16 years between sentencing and execution he faces many years of mind-numbing monotony, laced by the constant threat of assault from other inmates. San Quentin's culture of violence is well known. As in most prisons child killers are a favorite target. Peterson is likely to be segregated for his own safety, but forced to live the same routine as others, with regulated mealtimes, limited recreation and showers and strictly timed visits, two hours a day, Thursday through Sunday, although attorney visits are allowed any week day. That is the bleak existence Scott Peterson is likely to lead for the rest of his life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: CNN's Ted Rowlands witnessed the 2000 execution of Darryl Rich who was convicted of killing four people. Ted joining us now from our San Francisco bureau. Ted, you've visited San Quentin on many occasions. Take us inside. Paint the picture what Scott Peterson can envisage.

TED ROWLANDS: Death row itself is a segregated portion that is very limited. I have only been in the main area of San Quentin and also in the death chamber, when I witnessed that execution, but the entire grounds has a feel to it that is indescribable. When you're in any prison, you can feel it throughout your body just the indescribable feeling of the life that these prisoners lead. It is no picnic. You can feel that, sense that within an instant of being in any facility. San Quentin is the worst of the worst, if -- as far as I'm concerned of what I have seen in terms of that feeling of just what the prisoners live day in, day out in these small cells and it is just indescribable what all of these inmates live on a daily basis.

BLITZER: Ted, I've heard some experts who have been there say these prisoners on death row are really isolated. They're in lockdown, what, 22, 23 hours a day by themselves in their own cells. Is that right?

ROWLANDS: Yes. On death row, they do not share cells. They eat all of their meals in the cell. There is very limited interaction for Peterson or any notorious prisoner, there's even less interaction in terms of yard time with other prisoners because of their safety. If Scott Peterson's sentence holds up, he will be living most of his life, 90 percent of his life by himself in his cell, eating, doing everything in that one small cell, a five by eight cell and for his own protection, he will not be able to develop a relationship with other prisoners, out in the yard. It will be a very lonely existence for Mr. Peterson for the rest of his life.

BLITZER: What was it like eyewitnessing the execution of Darryl Rich at San Quentin?

ROWLANDS: As you can imagine, very somber, sobering. The death chamber is a horseshoe shaped room. When the curtain is pulled back, the inmate, in this case, Darryl Rich, is already lying down, strapped down and sedated. From the time they put the injection into him, he is already I.V.'d up. They add the lethal injection. In this case, it was seven minutes for Mr. Rich to expire. It is an indescribable feeling to be in that death chamber. In this case, a couple of his attorneys and friends were there. Very upset. And then victim families were there as well. It's not noticeable. You don't realize when someone has expired. You can barely see them breathing, but then there's an announcement from the guard that says Darryl Rich has expired. In this case, they announce the death. They said that the state of California has carried out the sentence of death. And it's something that I'll never forget.

BLITZER: Ted Rowlands has done an excellent job reporting on this story. Thanks so much for that.

Dangerous sleep. Find out why going to sleep tonight could be a risk to your health. We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Everyone needs it, but millions of Americans don't get a good night's sleep, many of them because of a condition called sleep apnea. The writer Andrew Sullivan suddenly found out he had the condition and wrote about the discovery and his treatment in the new issue of "TIME" magazine. He joins us along with our CNN medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. More from you, Sanjay in a moment. But Andrew, talk a little bit about what happened. How did you discover you had this very serious condition? ANDREW SULLIVAN, ANDREWSULLIVAN.COM: I didn't. It took my boyfriend to tell me you're sleeping badly. You sound as if you're drowning when you sleep. Every now and again, you rouse yourself from sleep to gasp in air, but when you're unconscious you don't even know. So, a lot of people have no idea that they have this. I felt constantly tired. In the afternoons, I would have to lie down. I felt groggy. I would have to sleep nine hours a night to even have relative energy levels. And the first night I spent with this I woke up in the morning like...

BLITZER: We'll get to that in a moment. But you were snoring very loudly as well.

SULLIVAN: Snoring loudly and appearing to suffocate while I was sleeping and, apparently, according to the hospital, stopped breathing 38 times an hour.

BLITZER: 38 times an hour, you actually stopped breathing?

SULLIVAN: Stopped breathing.

BLITZER: And you had no knowledge of this?

SULLIVAN: None whatsoever. Apparently, one time in the hospital, I stopped breathing in the hospital for 30 seconds.

BLITZER: Really?

SULLIVAN: Now what that meant was...

BLITZER: Because you went and spent the night hooked up to all sorts of equipment and they discovered you had this problem, sleep apnea?

SULLIVAN: They stuck electrodes all over my face, and my chest and my legs even, monitored my eye movements, looked at me with a remote camera and came to this conclusion.

BLITZER: Show our viewers what you now have to endure in order to get a good night's sleep.

SULLIVAN: It's not actually endure, Wolf. It looks much worse than it is. Basically this little machine here, you don't see the water in it, but that humidifies the air. It simply pumps air with a certain pressure to force the nasal passages in the throat to stay open at all times, so they don't shut down. And basicly this is what you do -- it took me a little while to get use to it as you can imagine. Basicly -- and at this point, I'm going to stop talking.

BLITZER: No. No. Put it on. You put it on like that and you make it tight, so it's really surrounding your mouth and your nose and you're breathing in there. This is hooked up to an electrical out -- electricity and you're getting power and it's pumping, what, oxygen, water? It's pumping something into you. Keep it on. Keep it on. Because I want Dr. Sanjay Gupta, our medical correspondent, to help us understand how serious of a problem this is. If you're have trouble breathing, take it off, Andrew.

Sanjay, this is a serious problem, sleep apnea. Give us a perspective.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's a very serious problem. It can be. And it's often a very underdiagnosed problem as well. Andrew's story is not that uncommon. Typically, it's your sleeping partner that figures out something is not right. And in Andrews case that mask there pumps regular air, Wolf, which is 21 percent oxygen. And it pumps it is with a little bit of force to overcome a little bit of obstruction, which he probably had. Wolf, this is commonly associated with obesity, but as you can see in Andrew's case, he's not obese. It can also be associated with an upper airway obstruction. Adults who have never had their tonsils taken out, for example, never had their ubelia (ph) looked at, they can be candidates for this as well, Wolf.

BLITZER: What happens if you don't treat this problem of sleep apnea. Let's say you're not married, you don't sleep with anyone and you never even know you have this problem, other than the fact you're walking around, tired, all the time.

GUPTA: Right. So, and that's a good point, Wolf, because a lot of people probably do have sleep apnea who are not diagnosed yet. But there are lots of reason not to get a good night's sleep as well. Try and break it down a little bit. One is if that you're also snoring very loudly, if you're someone who has put on a significant amount of weight and subsequently had difficulties with your sleeping. Also, there's other reasons not to sleep well. For example, if you're eating a lot of food or drinking a lot of caffeine just before you go to bed. You want to start eliminating other reason that is might be affecting your sleep first. But if your problems persist, and you could be a candidate because of obstructive problems, you may want to get this checked out. Do what Andrew did, Wolf.

BLITZER: And if you don't check it out and you just leave it alone, what is the worst case scenario if you leave it alone?

GUPTA Well, you know, that's interesting, because people have been followed out now a long time who have had sleep apnea. Not only does it affect your sleepiness, I mean, you're just sleepy during the day, also it can also increase your blood pressure, cause heart problems, can subsequently cause lung problems. So, people sort of joke about the fact that sleep apnea can be a little bit of irritating thing at first, but it can turn into a significant health problem long term. So, getting it checked out early is really crucial, Wolf.

BLITZER: Can you sleep, Andrew, with this contraption on your face?

SULLIVAN: I really thought it would be extremely difficult, but it really isn't. I mean, it's really isn't. It's not that loud. It feels like you're in some sort of rock crevice and your face is where the air is and you actually breathe well for the first time. The consequences to energy in the daytime that I have experienced in quite a short period of time are amazing. I mean... BLITZER: Give us some of the benefits. It's only been a month since you went through this test and you started using this mask. But tell us how you feel as a result of this.

SULLIVAN: Well, the first night was the most amazing one. I woke up in a way that I had never waken up in my living memory, alert, awake, ready to go. I felt, as I said, a 10-year-old after a cup of coffee. Then it sort of tapered off a little bit. And now, I just have much more energy in the late afternoon. I don't have to lie down. I don't feel groggy. I don't get as irritable as I used to. You know, if you haven't had a good night sleep you can be a little cranky. Well, I was getting cranky a lot, as readers of my blog probably noticed. And this has eliminated a lot of that. It's not a plancina (ph), but I can feel it like recharging my batteries, which is incredibly exciting.

BLITZER: And what does your boyfriend say?

SULLIVAN: He's relieved. It was -- it was a condition of continuing our relationship that I at least get it investigated. And he has a much better night's sleep now as well.

BLITZER: Hey, I'm sure he does without -- you stopped snoring too?

SULLIVAN: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: This machine prevents you from snoring?

SULLIVAN: Prevents snoring. Prevents any obstruction. You have a beautiful night's sleep. You can do with less sleep. You're much more refresh. And your sleeping partner, above all, is the one whose most grateful.

BLITZER: So, Sanjay, the best advice you give our viewers right now if she suspect they have this problem, is simply start off by visiting your physician, is that right?

GUPTA: Yes, I mean, talk to you physician about it. Again, if you think you're a candidate for, there are people who are usually middle aged, again obesity is linked to this, some sort of upper obstruction problem. Wolf, that C-pap machine which you've shown there pretty well is an option, but also sometimes getting tonsils removed, which is an operation, but can take care of the problem as well. So, lots of different options out there. Again, it's underdiagnosed, so it needs to be checked out.

BLITZER: Sanjay Gupta, as usual, thanks very much. Andrew Sullivan, glad to see you. And we didn't even talk about politics or world affairs, we spoke something much more important right now, sleep.

SULLIVAN: Absolutely. You bet.

BLITZER: Thanks very, Andrew.

We'll have the results of our "Web Question of the Day," that's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Here is how you're weighing in on our "Web Question of the Day," 11 percent of you say, yes, 89 percent of you say, no. Remember this is not a scientific poll.

In our "Picture of the Day" we take you to Hawaii, where the weather service has issued an advisory, not for snow or cold, but get this, high surf. Waves up to 50 feet. Giant waves can be dangerous and destructive still. If one must worry about the weather, this is the kind of weather most of us would like to worry about.

Thanks very much for joining us. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.

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


Aired December 14, 2004 - 17:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR, WOLF BLITZER REPORTS: Happening now, surprising new information, why your city and state may not be prepared to handle a new terror attack. Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.
Regime on trial. Saddam Hussein's henchmen are about to face justice as insurgents keep up the pressure on the new government.

More wounded. Back from the battlefield.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw the flash and it hit right by me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Did they have the proper armor?

Bioterrorism. Is your state in a state of readiness? A new report has some disturbing details.

Sleep apnea, it's enough to take your breath away dozens of times an hour. We'll get a look inside the sleep lab.

Outside, Iraq's insurgents once again were targeting Baghdad's center of power, but inside the green zone, Iraq's new government dropped a bombshell of its own, revealing that trials will soon begin for members of the old regime. CNN's Karl Penhaul from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The announcement was not expected. Prime Minister Ayad Allawi told the national assembly the trial of top aides of Saddam Hussein will begin next week.

AYAD ALLAWI, IRAQ INTERIM PRIME MINISTER (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Now we can say with confidence that we will begin trying these people next week in a consecutive and continuous manner until the people's justice is served to those that committed crimes against Iraq.

PENHAUL: He mentioned no names, but 12 top detainees are being held in a wing of Abu Ghraib prison and slated for trial by special war crimes tribunal. They include former Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, the notorious general known as chemical Ali and, of course, Saddam himself. Saddam and others appeared in court on July 1st. The interim government initially said full procedures may begin in November or December, but experts suggested it would be impossible to prepare credible indictments and plan a trial to stand up to international scrutiny before 2005.

The announcement came the day before Allawi is due to announce his candidacy and running mates for January 30th elections. Many ordinary Iraqis say they're disenchanted with the growing insurgency and electricity and gas shortages. Some political analysts believe war crimes trials could be high=profile bid by Allawi to show his government has made progress. Underlying the insurgent threat, a car bomb exploded Tuesday in the same place as another bomb Monday, at the gates of the green zone, headquarters of the U.S. and Iraqi authorities.

Hospital sources said at least two people died and 13 others were wounded. Across the city, at a sprawling U.S. military camp, top U.S. Commander General Richard Myers flew in to help boost troop morale.

GEN. RICHARD MYERS, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: We're here to show them that America cares.

PENHAUL: He posed with soldiers and even a lose toy. His men were clearly pleased to see him and even more thrilled to see comedian Robin Williams and top model Bea Ann Tweden (ph). Karl Penhaul, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: A new insurgent videotape from Iraq has surfaced. It shows an attack on a U.S. Humvee and the aftermath. Some viewers may find the images very disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER voice-over): A U.S. Humvee is seen traveling along a road when an explosion occurs. The blast sends a plume of thick smoke billowing into the sky. The camera continues to roll even after the blast. A medivac arrives. Narration on the video suggests it was shot from a nearby house while those responsible for the attack calmly watched and commented on the aftermath as victims were evacuated. Several times, they exclaim God is great.

At one point, a baby is heard crying in the background. It's not clear from the video when the attack took place. The U.S. military says a total of seven U.S. Marines were killed Sunday in two separate incidents in Anbar province. CNN cannot confirm whether these pictures show one of those attacks.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: For reaction to this latest insurgent video, let's go to our CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr. Barbara, what is the Pentagon doing if anything new about these so-called improvised explosive devices?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, we spent several days in this controversy about armored vehicles and whether the shortage of armored vehicles were really the solution to these IEDs. What Pentagon officials are saying, of course, is that's just one of the initiatives, getting those armored vehicles into Iraq.

What this video shows is the types of attacks that are occurring that have very tragically killed or wounded so many U.S. forces. Many of these are blasts, essentially, from the side of the road and those are causing a good deal of damage. So, what are the other solutions? Every attack is now analyzed for what can be learned from it and they are looking at some high-tech solutions.

There are new types of armored vehicles that are being tested to go into Iraq to see if those offer better protection. There are jammers that are being put on vehicle. Essentially, they move signals through the air and they keep these remotely detonated bombs, if you will, from being exploded. There are tactics and procedures that are being used. Routes are varied. Convoys are under surveillance. Convoy routes are under surveillance to make sure that insurgents are not laying bombs or roadside devices. But it's very tough business, as we can see because these types of explosives can be laid very quickly. Insurgents then run away, detonate them from houses or areas at the side of the road and they're certainly still causing a lot of damage.

There is one other initiative. Last month, the Air Force stepped up the number of cargo flights into Iraq. They are looking now at moving much more in by air, trying to keep trucks and drivers and military personnel off these very dangerous roads. Wolf?

BLITZER: Lots of activity going on. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Barbara, thanks very much.

In our CNN security watch, if terrorists try to strike with nuclear, biological or chemical weapons, is your state prepared? The non-partisan Trust for Americans Health has rated all the states on a scale of one to 10, but few of those states passed with flying colors. Florida and North Carolina actually scored highest in bio-terror readiness with top marks of nine. Four others were a notch behind. Alaska and Massachusetts are the worst prepared, according to the study. Each received a three.

The report says only half a dozen states are now ready to administer and distribute vaccines and antidotes in case of an emergency. To our viewers, here is your chance to weigh in on this story. Our web question of the day is this. Do you think your state is prepared to handle a bio-terror attack? You can vote right now. Go to cnn.com/wolf. We'll have the results coming up later in this program.

While terrorists may be eying targets across America, the government may be leaving some places more vulnerable instead of helping them get ready. A city that literally attracts tens of millions of visitors each year is one surprising example. Our homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve is here with details. Jeanne? JEANNE MESERVE, HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, brain dead. That's the phrase that Congressman Rick Keller was using to describe the funding formula for the Department of Homeland Security's urban area security initiative grants. Keller is upset because Orlando, Florida, in his district, got no money this year while cities like Omaha, Nebraska, did.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RICK KELLER (R) FLORIDA: Orlando should get the money because we protect 43 million tourists every year and so when we go to an orange level, our sheriff doesn't say, hey, we're only going to protect our residents. We have to protect everybody and we need significant resources to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: The Department of Homeland Security has it's awarded the money on the basis of a formula that factors in threat information, critical infrastructure and population.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH FILLER, DEPT. OF HOMELAND SECURITY: It's a snapshot in time of overall risk and all the factors together give us that comprehensive picture. Population and population density is the most heavily weighted factor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: The government defined population as the number of people living within city limits. Omaha for instance, has 397,000 residents, more than double what Orlando has, but metro Orlando is twice as large as metro Omaha. And Orlando has those 43 million tourists a year visiting theme parks that have been mentioned as possible terrorist targets. Orlando area officials are asking DHS to change its mind and change a funding formula which they say relies too much on mathematics and not enough on common sense. Wolf.

BLITZER: I spoke with the mayor of Orlando earlier today here on CNN. Buddy Dyer (ph) is very upset about this and I suspect we haven't heard the last word on the subject.

MESERVE: You have not. I can guarantee it.

BLITZER: Jeanne Meserve, thanks very much for that and please stay with CNN for updated information on your security. "NEWS NIGHT" with Aaron Brown will have new details. That comes up 10:00 p.m. Eastern tonight.

More fallout from the Kerik controversy. What impact will it have on the future of this rising Republican star?

Also, a look inside San Quentin, the death row there for the next - that's the next stop for Scott Peterson. Plus this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't realize how close I come to dying and knowing that if it wasn't for having the presence of God there, giving me the strengthen to do what I need to do to survive, I wouldn't have been able to come back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The politics to the practical. What armor really means for U.S. troops in Iraq.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: President Bush has given the highest civilian honor to three men who played roles in the war in Iraq. The former CIA Director George Tenet, retired U.S. Army General Tommy Franks and former Iraq administrator Paul Bremer. Each received the medal of freedom. Some Democrats took issue with the president's decision to honoring Tenet, saying the CIA provided faulty information leading up to the invasion.

The damage has been done to the former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik who withdrew his own nomination for homeland security secretary amid concerns over a possibly illegal nanny. The question now is what impact will this controversy have on one of the Republican Party's rising stars who personally vouched for Kerik? CNN's Mary Snow joining us live from New York with that story. Mary?

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, Rudy Giuliani's political forecast is being watched. He's considered America's mayor because of the way he handled the aftermath of the September 11th attacks and now observers watching to see how the shakeout of the Bernard Kerik's flap will affect Giuliani's political aspirations.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW (voice-over): Bernard Kerik's star fell swiftly within just one week. But the question is, will Kerik's past tarnish Rudy Giuliani's political future and a potential run for president?

FRED DICKER, NEW YORK POST: Well, I think it's a blow to him. It's certainly not fatal, although we don't fully know yet what's going to come out of this.

SNOW: Giuliani said he was proud when Kerik was nominated to be homeland security director.

RUDY GIULIANI, FMR. NEW YORK MAYOR: I know personally the qualities that he has and what a good choice this is for the United States.

SNOW: But a week later.

GIULIANI: It's an embarrassment to me and to Bernie.

SNOW: Giuliani met privately with the president over the weekend and says he remains very close with him. Giuliani's relationship with him is closely watched since he is seen as a rising Republican star. Some say the Kerik flap is particularly damage because it was about the homeland security director and Giuliani catapulted on to the national arena because of his leadership on September 11th and the days after.

WAYNE BARRETT, THE VILLAGE VOICE: But this is the strong suit and so when it's your strong suit and you've nominated somebody who blew up so immediately with so many problems, I think it really damages his credentials in terms of the -- he's kind of perceived nationally as sort of the front lines of our anti-terrorism defenses.

SNOW: But some New York columnists don't think the Kerik sting will deal a heavy punch. Observers say though the Kerik flap adds a new dimension.

DICKER: From now on as we're doing right now, when people talk about Giuliani as a candidate, a potential candidate for president, and make no mistake about it, people around Giuliani are talking about him this way, people are going to be talking about Bernie Kerik and the problems here, the screw-up by Giuliani.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: While the Kerik nomination is history, the relationship between Kerik and Giuliani is not, because Kerik currently works for Giuliani at Giuliani's private firm. When asked yesterday whether he would keep his job, Giuliani said that he expressed confidence in Bernard Kerik. Wolf?

BLITZER: One thing about Rudy Giuliani. He is a man of great loyalty. There's absolutely no indication is there, Mary, that that loyalty has been shattered to Bernie Kerik?

SNOW: There hasn't been Wolf and I spoke to a spokesperson for Giuliani today, asking her about Kerik's future at the company and she told me that he is staying at Giuliani's firm. So he has been very loyal in his questions, the questions asked to him about Bernard Kerik in the past couple of days.

BLITZER: Mary Snow reporting for us in New York, Mary, thanks very much.

Hundreds of lawsuits, billions of dollars at stake. What the Vioxx recall could end up costing one of the country's largest pharmaceutical companies.

Plus, the armor shortage in Iraq. We'll talk about it with the former Defense Secretary William Cohen.

And the quest for a good night's sleep. We all want a good night's sleep, but why so many Americans find decent slumber so allusive. We'll show you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: Pharmaceutical giant Merck, has a mess on its hands. It released new details today of the damage done by the recall of its popular arthritis drug Vioxx, which was found to significantly increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. CNN's Chris Huntington is joining us now with more details. Chris.

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you. I'm outside of Merck headquarters in White House Station, New Jersey, where all day Merck has been holding closed-door briefings with Wall Street analysts. Merck has been trying to keep the focus on its business, on new drugs in the pipeline, but the big issue overshadowing everything that Merck does and the meeting today is just how much liability Merck potentially faces as a result of Vioxx.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTINGTON (voice-over): Merck CEO Ray Gilmartin did not want to answer the big question on just how much Vioxx litigation could cost his company.

RAY GILMARTIN, MERCK CEO: Basically anything would be just speculation. It's too early to speculate on that.

HUNTINGTON: But Merck did reveal it now knows of 475 Vioxx- related personal injury lawsuits filed on behalf of several thousand plaintiffs as well as 2 1/2 dozen additional suits from shareholders, pension funds and employees. Analyst Richard Evans estimates Merck's Vioxx liability could run as high as $38 billion or more than six times Merck's expected profit for this year. Evans says Merck will also pay dearly for lost credibility in the marketplace.

RICHARD EVANS, ANALYST: When a Merck sales rep sits in front of a physician right now, you can just picture that. You've got to imagine that the dominant theme in that conversation is Vioxx and that in terms of selling, is a waste of time.

HUNTINGTON: Merck's promotion of Vioxx, widely regarded as the most aggressive drug promotion of all time, relied on an unprecedented distribution of free Vioxx samples. A former Vioxx sales rep tells CNN he'd never seen that much money thrown behind a new drug. He conservatively estimated that each month in the U.S. market, Merck distributed more than 10 million free Vioxx pills at a wholesale cost to the company of more than $20 million. Dr. Bob Goodman, who has long warned med students to be wary of drug industry promotions, says the Vioxx recall offers fresh evidence of the potential pitfalls of free drug samples.

DR. BOB GOODMAN, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: The pharmacy then spends about half its promotional dollars on the free samples and there are plenty of examples, Vioxx being the only, the most recent of drugs that were recalled within a few years after being heavily sampled.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTINGTON: Now, Merck says it has no plans to curtail its sampling program. In fact here at the meeting Wolf, they told analysts that while there are big plans to revamp its marketing program, as CEO Ray Gilmartin put it, the promotions and the free samples will remain a part of the marketing effort, but, Wolf, plaintiffs' lawyers tell us that the Vioxx sample distribution is emerging as a major issue in many of the cases that they plan to bring against Merck. Wolf.

BLITZER: What a mess, indeed. Chris Huntington, thanks for that report.

Protecting the troops. U.S. military members who barely escaped death while serving in Iraq share their thoughts on the armor controversy.

Inside San Quentin's death row. We'll have a rare look at the tough prison Scott Peterson will shortly call home.

Penguins in danger. Why these favorite birds are being threatened by starvation in the Antarctic. We'll show you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back, more wounded. We'll hear from some injured members of the U.S. military recovering right now at Bethesda Naval Hospital just outside Washington in Maryland. Our Brian Todd has been spending time there. We'll get to that. First, though, a quick check of some other stories now in the news.

In its continuing battle to hold inflation in check, the Federal Reserve has boosted interest rates again. This time, it raised the Federal funds rate a quarter of a point to 2.25 percent. This was the fifth increase since June.

Continental Airlines denies having any responsibility for the crash four years ago of an Air France Concord. The super sonic jet crashed after taking off from a Paris airport, killing 113 people. A new French report places part of the blame on a metal strip that fell on the runway from a Continental jet.

An update now on a story we reported last week. That story, Brian Todd brought it to you. French authorities have ordered a controversial satellite television station off the air. They accuse the al-Manar network of broadcasting hateful content and posing a risk to public order. Critics say al-Manar was a propaganda tool for the militant Shiite group, Hezbollah, a charge the network denies.

Do the troop have enough protection? Do they have all the protection they need? As the argument over armor rages on, CNN's Brian Todd paid a visit to the war wounded, back from the battlefield and now in the Navy's care in Bethesda, Maryland.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From their hospital beds at the National Naval Medical Center, two badly wounded servicemen lend new perspective in the political battles over body armor and vehicle protection. Marine Corporal Ryan Groves, 24 years old, his left leg amputated above the knee, just about every bone in his right leg broken.

CPL. RYAN GROVES, U.S. MARINE CORPS: In the blink of an eye, I saw the flash and it hit right by me.

TODD: October 17th at a Marine camp outside Fallujah, Corporal Groves, a squad leader, is getting ready to greet some newly arrived Marines. A rocket explodes right next to him. Recalling the attack, he keeps his emotions level until he relates how close he came to dying.

GROVES: Five or 10 seconds, you know later, I would have dropped gear and put it in my seat and turned around and walk right towards where the rocket came from.

TODD: You came pretty close, you think?

GROVES: Very close.

TODD: A lot of guys like Corporal Groves were treated by Navy corpsman Joseph Worley. For seven and a half months, his job was to patch up and evacuate wounded Marines from the battlefield, until one chaotic day in September. On a bridge outside Fallujah, Worley is running towards a exploded Humvee. In the span of less than a minute, a roadside bomb explodes next to him, a rocket propelled grenade tears through his left leg, but doesn't explode. He hits the ground and immediately takes five gun shots to both legs. Then he takes over.

CORPSMAN JOSEPH WORLEY, U.S. NAVY: I rolled over and I put a tourniquet on my leg because I was bleeding so bad and I shot myself up with morphine.

TODD: As he shows us a left leg amputated above the knee this 23-year-old also shows an incomprehensible spirit.

WORLEY: I realize how close I came to dying and knowing if it wasn't for having the presence of God there, giving me the strength to do what I need to do to survive, I wouldn't be able to come back and be with my beautiful wife and my daughter that I'd not even met yet.

TODD: Corpsman Worley and Corporal Groves were both wearing body armor at the time they were wounded and both say they couldn't have survived without it. One of their doctors agrees, but says the wounds these servicemen get in their extremities as a result present their own unique problems.

CMDR. PHILIP PERDUE, U.S. NAVY: Because the wounds are so heavily contaminated usually and have such heavy tissue damage, they have to go to the operating room almost immediately after they arrive and go back every two to three days for dressing changes and for debrisments (ph) until the wound is clean enough to close.

TODD: Both these men say their units had plenty of body armor. When we asked if they had enough vehicle armor, a hospital official interrupted each time and wouldn't let them answer.

When I asked one wounded serviceman on the ward if his unit had enough vehicle armor, he said, quote, "not even close." Meanwhile, just a couple of rooms apart, two young men who can't move, grateful for what armor they did have. Brian Todd, CNN, Bethesda, Maryland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Outside that hospital, the issue of armor is a matter of open and heated debate. Weighing in now are world affairs analyst, former defense secretary, William Cohen. We haven't spoken since this whole issue of armor really erupted on the scale that it has. You were defense secretary for years. What do you make of this lack of armor for basic vehicles that could save lives and prevent loss of limbs?

WILLIAM COHEN, FMR. DEFENSE SECRETARY: I think it goes back to the beginning of the war, the mistakes and miscalculations made, that there was an assumption that the U.S. troops, coalition forces were going to be greeted as liberators and not occupiers and there would not be this kind of insurgency. We've been behind the curb for well over a year in getting the kind of armor that these young men and women need. It's an extraordinary segment you just rolled there, showing the courage they've shown over there, sacrificing their limbs and lives. We need to get them more. The fact that we're putting so much into so many different elements of trying to preserve their lives, one of the most basic is more body armor. You've heard recent stories about manufacturers who have the capacity to vamp up that production. It should have been done some time ago. We're learning a lesson very, very late in the game.

BLITZER: The tragedy or the irony is that armor, whether for vehicles or body armor, is such a small expenditure given the enormous expenditure, they want to spend but $9 billion for some new stealth satellite that may or may not work when all is said and done. This is relatively modest.

COHEN: It is. We also have to keep in mind that you need both. You need the high technology and the good-old basics. The old expression about boots, beans and the basics, the bullets. You need bytes and data bits as well. You had a piece earlier, Barbara Starr talking about the new unmanned aerial vehicles that have to be used to try to detect these bombs before they go off. It's a combination of having high technology and the basics. We're lacking the basics in some significant amounts right now.

I was surprised to hear any hospital administrator or custodian, whoever it was, say you can't answer that question. We should never sensor a soldier whose lives are being put on the line every single day to have anyone tell them they can't respond to a question about whether they have sufficient armor on their body or in their vehicle is unacceptable.

BLITZER: I totally agree. As a former Pentagon correspondent I had never heard of anything like that, where they come in and say you can't answer a question, even a sensitive question like that. What we are hearing now is increasing criticism of the defense secretary for this lack of preparedness, for miscalculating the insurgency. The Republican senator from Arizona, John McCain, saying once again, when asked if he has confidence in Donald Rumsfeld, he said in an Associated Press interview, "I said no. My answer is still no. No confidence." I heard similar words from Chuck Hagel, a Republican from Nebraska last Sunday on "Late Edition," yet he was asked to stay on by the president. What do you make of that?

COHEN: Both those senators are close friends of mine and I respect their service as warriors, but now also as senators, but ultimately only the president of the United States can make that call. He is the one who has to satisfy this issue. Does he have confidence in the secretary of defense? To the extent that he does, that secretary of defense is going to remain. So, Secretary Rumsfeld has obviously satisfied the president. The president wants him to continue and I think he will, notwithstanding any calls by the members of the Senate.

BLITZER: It all boils down to the lack of expectation that this insurgency would develop along the lines that it would. Somebody miscalculated, because there were people saying even before the war started, that will be the easy part. The aftermath will be the hard part.

COHEN: I think there was plan A. There appears to have been no plan B or backup plan in the event it didn't turn out there would be a counter insurgency of this magnitude. I think the defense department and the administration were relying upon a number of individuals, one of whom appeared on your Sunday show who may become the first ambassador from Iraq to the United States who also indicated very candidly that he did not believe there was going to be an insurgency to this magnitude. We're paying the price for it now. Hopefully with more forces going over, and I would hope we have more than the ones that are scheduled to go, the new addition of the 12,000, we need more than that to go over during this election period.

WOODRUFF: How many more do you think we need?

COHEN: If we're going to have a country the size of Iraq to be secure for the election results, you're going to need far more than the 150 we're committing in my judgment.

BLITZER: Thanks so much. Thank you very much for that report. That analysis, I should say.

Now a look at other story ins the headlines around the world.

Israeli troops blew up several evacuated homes in a Palestinian refugee camp in Gaza. They say the area was used as a staging ground by militants, firing rockets at Jewish settlements.

Train wreck, two passenger trains collided head on in northern India, taking dozens of lives. Authorities are trying to determine why both trains were on the same track.

The world's highest bridge opens to traffic Friday, taller than the Eiffel Tower, it carries a road linking Paris and Spain 891 feet above the Torn (ph) River valley in southern France. Ice barrier. Thousands of penguin chicks are in danger of starvation. A huge iceberg is blocking access to Antarctica's McMurdo's Sound (ph) where adult penguins normally catch fish for their offspring. Possible solutions include breaking an 80-mile path through the ice.

And that's our look around the world.

A jury recommends death for Scott Peterson. What will life on death row be like for him? We'll take you inside San Quentin prison.

Do you wake up tired, walk around all day feeling almost like a zombie? We may have the answer to a better night's sleep. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Scott Peterson's fate is all but sealed now. Yesterday the jury recommended he be executed for the murders of his wife and unborn child. He will be formally sentenced February 25 and unless the judge overturns the jury's sentence, considered unlikely, he will be moved immediately to one of the country's most notorious prisons San Quentin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): It sits less than 20 miles north of San Francisco overlooking the bay in affluent Marine County but San Quentin State Prison is a world of its own. Built by prisoners in 1852, it's California's oldest prison and home of the state's death row for men. Peterson will join more than 600 other men condemned to die, but with a state average of 16 years between sentencing and execution he faces many years of mind-numbing monotony, laced by the constant threat of assault from other inmates. San Quentin's culture of violence is well known. As in most prisons child killers are a favorite target. Peterson is likely to be segregated for his own safety, but forced to live the same routine as others, with regulated mealtimes, limited recreation and showers and strictly timed visits, two hours a day, Thursday through Sunday, although attorney visits are allowed any week day. That is the bleak existence Scott Peterson is likely to lead for the rest of his life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: CNN's Ted Rowlands witnessed the 2000 execution of Darryl Rich who was convicted of killing four people. Ted joining us now from our San Francisco bureau. Ted, you've visited San Quentin on many occasions. Take us inside. Paint the picture what Scott Peterson can envisage.

TED ROWLANDS: Death row itself is a segregated portion that is very limited. I have only been in the main area of San Quentin and also in the death chamber, when I witnessed that execution, but the entire grounds has a feel to it that is indescribable. When you're in any prison, you can feel it throughout your body just the indescribable feeling of the life that these prisoners lead. It is no picnic. You can feel that, sense that within an instant of being in any facility. San Quentin is the worst of the worst, if -- as far as I'm concerned of what I have seen in terms of that feeling of just what the prisoners live day in, day out in these small cells and it is just indescribable what all of these inmates live on a daily basis.

BLITZER: Ted, I've heard some experts who have been there say these prisoners on death row are really isolated. They're in lockdown, what, 22, 23 hours a day by themselves in their own cells. Is that right?

ROWLANDS: Yes. On death row, they do not share cells. They eat all of their meals in the cell. There is very limited interaction for Peterson or any notorious prisoner, there's even less interaction in terms of yard time with other prisoners because of their safety. If Scott Peterson's sentence holds up, he will be living most of his life, 90 percent of his life by himself in his cell, eating, doing everything in that one small cell, a five by eight cell and for his own protection, he will not be able to develop a relationship with other prisoners, out in the yard. It will be a very lonely existence for Mr. Peterson for the rest of his life.

BLITZER: What was it like eyewitnessing the execution of Darryl Rich at San Quentin?

ROWLANDS: As you can imagine, very somber, sobering. The death chamber is a horseshoe shaped room. When the curtain is pulled back, the inmate, in this case, Darryl Rich, is already lying down, strapped down and sedated. From the time they put the injection into him, he is already I.V.'d up. They add the lethal injection. In this case, it was seven minutes for Mr. Rich to expire. It is an indescribable feeling to be in that death chamber. In this case, a couple of his attorneys and friends were there. Very upset. And then victim families were there as well. It's not noticeable. You don't realize when someone has expired. You can barely see them breathing, but then there's an announcement from the guard that says Darryl Rich has expired. In this case, they announce the death. They said that the state of California has carried out the sentence of death. And it's something that I'll never forget.

BLITZER: Ted Rowlands has done an excellent job reporting on this story. Thanks so much for that.

Dangerous sleep. Find out why going to sleep tonight could be a risk to your health. We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Everyone needs it, but millions of Americans don't get a good night's sleep, many of them because of a condition called sleep apnea. The writer Andrew Sullivan suddenly found out he had the condition and wrote about the discovery and his treatment in the new issue of "TIME" magazine. He joins us along with our CNN medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. More from you, Sanjay in a moment. But Andrew, talk a little bit about what happened. How did you discover you had this very serious condition? ANDREW SULLIVAN, ANDREWSULLIVAN.COM: I didn't. It took my boyfriend to tell me you're sleeping badly. You sound as if you're drowning when you sleep. Every now and again, you rouse yourself from sleep to gasp in air, but when you're unconscious you don't even know. So, a lot of people have no idea that they have this. I felt constantly tired. In the afternoons, I would have to lie down. I felt groggy. I would have to sleep nine hours a night to even have relative energy levels. And the first night I spent with this I woke up in the morning like...

BLITZER: We'll get to that in a moment. But you were snoring very loudly as well.

SULLIVAN: Snoring loudly and appearing to suffocate while I was sleeping and, apparently, according to the hospital, stopped breathing 38 times an hour.

BLITZER: 38 times an hour, you actually stopped breathing?

SULLIVAN: Stopped breathing.

BLITZER: And you had no knowledge of this?

SULLIVAN: None whatsoever. Apparently, one time in the hospital, I stopped breathing in the hospital for 30 seconds.

BLITZER: Really?

SULLIVAN: Now what that meant was...

BLITZER: Because you went and spent the night hooked up to all sorts of equipment and they discovered you had this problem, sleep apnea?

SULLIVAN: They stuck electrodes all over my face, and my chest and my legs even, monitored my eye movements, looked at me with a remote camera and came to this conclusion.

BLITZER: Show our viewers what you now have to endure in order to get a good night's sleep.

SULLIVAN: It's not actually endure, Wolf. It looks much worse than it is. Basically this little machine here, you don't see the water in it, but that humidifies the air. It simply pumps air with a certain pressure to force the nasal passages in the throat to stay open at all times, so they don't shut down. And basicly this is what you do -- it took me a little while to get use to it as you can imagine. Basicly -- and at this point, I'm going to stop talking.

BLITZER: No. No. Put it on. You put it on like that and you make it tight, so it's really surrounding your mouth and your nose and you're breathing in there. This is hooked up to an electrical out -- electricity and you're getting power and it's pumping, what, oxygen, water? It's pumping something into you. Keep it on. Keep it on. Because I want Dr. Sanjay Gupta, our medical correspondent, to help us understand how serious of a problem this is. If you're have trouble breathing, take it off, Andrew.

Sanjay, this is a serious problem, sleep apnea. Give us a perspective.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's a very serious problem. It can be. And it's often a very underdiagnosed problem as well. Andrew's story is not that uncommon. Typically, it's your sleeping partner that figures out something is not right. And in Andrews case that mask there pumps regular air, Wolf, which is 21 percent oxygen. And it pumps it is with a little bit of force to overcome a little bit of obstruction, which he probably had. Wolf, this is commonly associated with obesity, but as you can see in Andrew's case, he's not obese. It can also be associated with an upper airway obstruction. Adults who have never had their tonsils taken out, for example, never had their ubelia (ph) looked at, they can be candidates for this as well, Wolf.

BLITZER: What happens if you don't treat this problem of sleep apnea. Let's say you're not married, you don't sleep with anyone and you never even know you have this problem, other than the fact you're walking around, tired, all the time.

GUPTA: Right. So, and that's a good point, Wolf, because a lot of people probably do have sleep apnea who are not diagnosed yet. But there are lots of reason not to get a good night's sleep as well. Try and break it down a little bit. One is if that you're also snoring very loudly, if you're someone who has put on a significant amount of weight and subsequently had difficulties with your sleeping. Also, there's other reasons not to sleep well. For example, if you're eating a lot of food or drinking a lot of caffeine just before you go to bed. You want to start eliminating other reason that is might be affecting your sleep first. But if your problems persist, and you could be a candidate because of obstructive problems, you may want to get this checked out. Do what Andrew did, Wolf.

BLITZER: And if you don't check it out and you just leave it alone, what is the worst case scenario if you leave it alone?

GUPTA Well, you know, that's interesting, because people have been followed out now a long time who have had sleep apnea. Not only does it affect your sleepiness, I mean, you're just sleepy during the day, also it can also increase your blood pressure, cause heart problems, can subsequently cause lung problems. So, people sort of joke about the fact that sleep apnea can be a little bit of irritating thing at first, but it can turn into a significant health problem long term. So, getting it checked out early is really crucial, Wolf.

BLITZER: Can you sleep, Andrew, with this contraption on your face?

SULLIVAN: I really thought it would be extremely difficult, but it really isn't. I mean, it's really isn't. It's not that loud. It feels like you're in some sort of rock crevice and your face is where the air is and you actually breathe well for the first time. The consequences to energy in the daytime that I have experienced in quite a short period of time are amazing. I mean... BLITZER: Give us some of the benefits. It's only been a month since you went through this test and you started using this mask. But tell us how you feel as a result of this.

SULLIVAN: Well, the first night was the most amazing one. I woke up in a way that I had never waken up in my living memory, alert, awake, ready to go. I felt, as I said, a 10-year-old after a cup of coffee. Then it sort of tapered off a little bit. And now, I just have much more energy in the late afternoon. I don't have to lie down. I don't feel groggy. I don't get as irritable as I used to. You know, if you haven't had a good night sleep you can be a little cranky. Well, I was getting cranky a lot, as readers of my blog probably noticed. And this has eliminated a lot of that. It's not a plancina (ph), but I can feel it like recharging my batteries, which is incredibly exciting.

BLITZER: And what does your boyfriend say?

SULLIVAN: He's relieved. It was -- it was a condition of continuing our relationship that I at least get it investigated. And he has a much better night's sleep now as well.

BLITZER: Hey, I'm sure he does without -- you stopped snoring too?

SULLIVAN: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: This machine prevents you from snoring?

SULLIVAN: Prevents snoring. Prevents any obstruction. You have a beautiful night's sleep. You can do with less sleep. You're much more refresh. And your sleeping partner, above all, is the one whose most grateful.

BLITZER: So, Sanjay, the best advice you give our viewers right now if she suspect they have this problem, is simply start off by visiting your physician, is that right?

GUPTA: Yes, I mean, talk to you physician about it. Again, if you think you're a candidate for, there are people who are usually middle aged, again obesity is linked to this, some sort of upper obstruction problem. Wolf, that C-pap machine which you've shown there pretty well is an option, but also sometimes getting tonsils removed, which is an operation, but can take care of the problem as well. So, lots of different options out there. Again, it's underdiagnosed, so it needs to be checked out.

BLITZER: Sanjay Gupta, as usual, thanks very much. Andrew Sullivan, glad to see you. And we didn't even talk about politics or world affairs, we spoke something much more important right now, sleep.

SULLIVAN: Absolutely. You bet.

BLITZER: Thanks very, Andrew.

We'll have the results of our "Web Question of the Day," that's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Here is how you're weighing in on our "Web Question of the Day," 11 percent of you say, yes, 89 percent of you say, no. Remember this is not a scientific poll.

In our "Picture of the Day" we take you to Hawaii, where the weather service has issued an advisory, not for snow or cold, but get this, high surf. Waves up to 50 feet. Giant waves can be dangerous and destructive still. If one must worry about the weather, this is the kind of weather most of us would like to worry about.

Thanks very much for joining us. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.

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