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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Airbus Unveils New Jumbo Jet; President Bush Gives Speech on Energy; DNA Being Used to Solve Cold Case

Aired April 27, 2005 - 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.


JUDY WOODRUFF, GUEST HOST: Happening now: first flight. It is the world's biggest airliner. But, with room for up to 800 passengers, is it too big? Stand by for hard news on "WOLF BLITZER REPORTS."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF (voice-over): Energy ideas: the president offers a bunch of them.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hydrogen fuel cells, bio-diesel from leftover fats and vegetable oils.

WOODRUFF: But will any of them ease your pain at the pump?

Cold case file: is a DNA sample from three decades ago the key to more than two dozen rapes?

Anchors away: they're either leaving or ailing. What does it mean for the future of television news? I'll ask veteran journalist Jim Lehrer of "The News Hour."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Wednesday, April 27, 2005.

WOODRUFF: Thank you for joining us. I'm Judy Woodruff. Wolf is off today.

We begin with escalating energy costs, draining America's pocket books. Today, President Bush offered some creative and controversial solutions. While they may end up saving you money, will relief come quick enough? CNN's Andrea Koppel joins us from the White House.

Hi, Andrea.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Judy.

The president unveiled his new energy proposals earlier this afternoon in a speech before the Small Business Association, and, while short on details, the White House is hoping it will address critics head-on.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KOPPEL (voice-over): For the second time in a week, President Bush was talking energy, and this is why.

BUSH: I fully understand that many folks around this country are concerned about the high price of gasoline.

KOPPEL: With prices at the pump hitting an all-time high earlier this month, and sure to rise even higher this summer, Mr. Bush said, Americans need a national strategy.

BUSH: The first essential step toward greater energy independence is to apply technology to increase domestic production from existing energy resources.

KOPPELL: Among the president's energy proposals, to expand tax credits to include clean diesel technology in automobiles; to grant the federal government final say over the location of liquefied natural gas import terminals in order to increase the supply of natural gas; to build oil refineries on closed military bases; and to offer risk insurance for nuclear power plants to protect the nuclear industry against regulatory delays.

The president's decision to add new initiatives to his energy plan took Republicans and Democrats by surprise. Coming just days after he failed to reach agreement with the Saudi crown prince to lower gas prices, and less than a week after the House passed a Republican-backed energy bill, Democrats said the president looked desperate.

REP. ED MARKEY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: The president is not proposing anything today that will deal with gasoline prices in America for years to come, and that is inadequate. The American public deserve better. They deserve a plan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOPPEL (on camera): But the White House says the nation's energy woes didn't happen overnight, and they're not going to be fixed overnight, either. But clearly, Judy, for the president, it is a growing political problem in the short term. When asked earlier, he said -- he was asked by a soldier when the president is going to lower gas prices at the pump, and, Judy, he told him, if I could, I would -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: All right. Andrea Koppel, he is talking about this issue more and more. Thanks, Andrea.

Well, more now on the president's energy proposal, specifically his plan to build new oil refineries on closed military bases. Our Mary Snow is looking into that and she joins us from New York. Hi, Mary.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Judy.

There hasn't been an oil refinery built in the U.S. in about 30 years, so the question is, does this plan make sense for businesses and will consumers support it?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): For a New York man, who says he pays about $70 to fill the tank of his Hummer, it's all about money.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, if it's going to lower the price of gas -- I'm for anything that's going to lower the price of gas, you know?

SNOW: In San Francisco, some say it's the environment that's the deciding factor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For short-term gain of refining more fuel, doesn't quite seem to be worth the tradeoff.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Depends on where they're located, you know? Whatever's cool environmentally is OK with me.

SNOW: The last refinery built in the U.S. was in Louisiana, in 1976, owned by Marathon Oil. An industry trade group says, at that time, there were 291 refineries. Now there are 149, and the National Petro Chemical and Refiners Association says, it is, quote, "interested in and supportive of the president's suggestion that surplus military property may be suitable for refinery construction."

One oil analyst says it's not going to happen any time soon because refineries haven't been profitable for companies.

JOHN KILDUFF, FIMAT USA: I think you're going to see reluctance on the part of major oil producers to race out to any military base and build a brand new refinery from scratch.

SNOW: The Pentagon works with communities to provide plans to reuse land when a base is closed, but a senior Pentagon official tells CNN that the Pentagon will not have a role to play in any plans to build refineries at closed bases.

JOHN KINGSTON, PLATTS: This is something that, I think, sort of came right out of the blue. It sounds to me like it was dreamed up at a meeting of some federal officials and -- it's actually sort of an intriguing proposal because it takes care of a lot of the land use issues, but it's not something that the industry has been clamoring for.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW (on camera): Now, analysts say, besides low profit margins, stricter environmental rules have also been a big factor in closing of refineries. We called a number of major oil companies today who said they still want to see more details before commenting -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: All right. Mary Snow, thanks very much.

A vote, separately, is expected today reversing some controversial rules the House Ethics Committee adopted this year. That could be bad news for Tom DeLay, the embattled House Republican leader. Senate -- or rather, CNN congressional correspondent Ed Henry is on Capitol Hill.

Hi, Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Judy.

That's right, House Speaker Dennis Hastert retreated today and decided to change those ethics rules back to the way they were last year. In fact, the House is expected to debate these rules changes in about the next hour or so, on the House floor. Major news because, as you mentioned, this now clearly opens the door to a full investigation of Tom DeLay and whether or not lobbyists improperly funded some of his overseas travel.

Back in January, Speaker Hastert had changed the rules to make it harder for such investigations to take place. Democrats charged that he was shielding DeLay. Republicans have repeatedly said that's not true and they've stood behind DeLay and said they would not change rules. That's why it was such a dramatic development today when Speaker Hastert came to the cameras to say he changed his mind.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DENNIS HASTERT (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: I think we need to move forward in the ethics process. I think that there are issues out there that need to be discussed. I think that there's a member, especially on our side, that needs to have the process move forward so he can clear his name.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Democrats say the speaker also was feeling a little bit of heat -- political heat -- and, in fact, Mr. DeLay is feeling some heat as well. We saw him yesterday in Texas with President Bush. He was all smiles, but it was a little bit different today when Mr. DeLay faced reporters. He lost his cool a little bit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TOM DELAY (R), MAJORITY LEADER: Been great.

QUESTION: How was that conference?

QUESTION: Will this open the door to a lot of Democratic investigations?

DELAY: You guys better get out of my way. Where is our security?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: So Democrats feel that they've scored a major victory here. They say they have Tom DeLay on the run, on the defensive, the Republicans changing the rules and now an investigation of DeLay. But Republicans say, be careful what you wish for. They say Democrats are also going to face some investigations, now that the House Ethics Committee is up and running again. Judy? WOODRUFF: All right. Ed Henry, on top of that story at the Capitol. Thank you.

A break in a serial case: police say they have arrested a man who has confessed to at least 33 fires in and around the nation's capital.

CNN national correspondent Bob Franken is here with that.

Hello, Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Judy.

And, there is a court hearing scheduled for this hour for a 50- year-old man whose arrest, investigators say, solves a matter that has baffled them for a long time.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Police officials were swarming over the fast food restaurant in Washington where Thomas Sweatt had worked, until he was arrested and charged with being the man who had terrorized the three- state D.C. metropolitan area with intentionally-set fires. There had been more than 30 over a two-year period that had gone unsolved, even after a special federal local arson task force was created. But officials say the investigation's outcome was inevitable.

MAYOR ANTHONY WILLIAMS, WASHINGTON, DC: If you threaten, if you terrorize, if you turn lives upside-down in our communities, we're going to hunt you down, we're going to find you, and we're going to bring you to justice and put you behind bars.

FRANKEN: They were able to collect DNA samples. In December, a pair of U.S. Marine trousers were recovered at the scene of one blaze in suburban Virginia. DNA from those pants and at other locations finally led them to the suspect.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nothing was overlooked at any of the scenes, ever.

FRANKEN: About a week ago they interviewed Sweatt, who voluntarily provided a DNA sample. Then, they decided they had their man. He was charged with intentionally setting fires that began in March of 2003; in June of that year, an elderly woman was killed. While Sweatt will face several arson-related charges, they do not include murder -- yet.

CHIEF CHARLES RAMSEY, WASHINGTON POLICE: This guy posed a huge threat to everyone's safety in our region, setting fires at night. It's very unfortunate that we had the one fatality, but it's also fortunate that we only had one fatality. We could have very easily had multiple fatalities. That's how serious this was.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: All together rewards had accumulated up to $100,000. No word on that. But officials say if they're right about their suspect, Judy, the reward is a safer community -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: I'm sure they're going to be looking into the motive behind all of this. OK. Bob Franken, thank you very much.

A bride-to-be goes missing just days before her wedding.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN MASON, FIANCE MISSING: If it's cold feet, she left her car, her money, her phone, her keys, her diamond ring. Something's happened and I don't know what.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: She went jogging and never returned. Now her fiance and family search for answers.

White House security scare: Why the president and vice president were moved to a protected shelter.

Superjumbo: the world's largest passenger plane makes its maiden voyage. Will it change the way we fly?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: Just three days before she was supposed to get married a suburban Atlanta woman is missing. CNN's Sara Dorsey joins us now from Duluth, Georgia.

Hello, Sara.

SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Judy.

It was supposed to be a happy week for Jennifer Wilbanks and her fiance John Mason. Their wedding is set for Saturday. Instead, though, I stand in front of a command center, the base where law enforcement and volunteers are meeting to search for the missing woman.

At only 32 years old, Jennifer Wilbanks went missing last night. We are told by her family, she's an avid jogger and went to take a jog at about 8:30 in the evening. She told her fiance she would be back in 40 minutes. And when that time came and went he got very concerned.

We are told that John Mason, her fiance, went looking for her around 10:00 and called authorities at 10:30. At that point, authorities got involved and started looking for her.

Today there have been 250 people out here looking for this woman. That's about 100 law enforcement agents and -- or 150 volunteers, rather. There have been search dog in this area and helicopters. But as of now, law enforcement agents tell us they really have no leads in this case, no idea where she is.

When asked if it's possible that his fiance got cold feet and just possibly left for a while because of this wedding, here is what John Mason had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MASON: If it's cold feet, she left her car, her money, her phone, keys, her diamond ring. Something's happened and I don't know what.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DORSEY: Law enforcement officials tell us they do plan on staying out. They possibly may cut this short whenever it gets dark tonight. But they plan on continuing to search until they can find some sort of clue as to where this young woman went. They tell us as of now, there are no suspects because there are simply no clues -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: It's got to be so frustrating for everybody. All right. Thank you, Sara. We appreciate it.

The president seeking shelter: for the first time since 2001, President Bush moves to a protected bunker. What forced the White House to take emergency measures?

Flight feat: it is the heaviest passenger plane to take to the skies. So, how did it get off the ground?

And anchor and author, on the set of "The News Hour," he's concerned with the facts, but off camera he does dabble in fiction. PBS journalist Jim Lehrer joins us to talk about his latest novel.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: In our "Security Watch," a security scare at the White House today. President Bush was rushed to an underground bunker and Vice President Cheney was also whisked away when radars seemed to show an intruder aircraft nearby. Let's go live once again to CNN's Andrea Koppel at the White House.

Hello again, Andrea.

KOPPEL: Hi, Judy.

Well, it all happened earlier this morning here just about right where I'm standing right now on the North Lawn of the White House. All of a sudden out of the blue you saw people you don't usually see, the Uniform Division of the Secret Service, heavily armed as you can see, swarming all over here, basically sending out mixed messages, telling some journalists to leave, telling some visitors they needed to get out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: There was a report, or an indication, that an aircraft had entered restricted airspace around the White House. And so there was precautionary measures that were taken. It was quickly learned that it was a false alarm. And that it was all clear in a very short amount of time. And everything is fine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOPPEL: Basically the whole thing lasted about five minutes, Judy. And before long, the president and vice president were back inside the White House and were able to get back to work -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: All right, Andrea. Thank goodness it was nothing.

And you can stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

A giant takes to the skies...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It has just been breathtaking to finally watch her take off. And it was just so beautiful, so cheers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cheers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: We'll take you to Europe for the maiden flight of the world's largest passenger plane. And we'll talk to the head of its American rival.

Also, sentencing for the man behind the failed millennium bomb plot.

And Michael Jackson's former wife poised to take the stand in his molestation trial.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS from our studios in Washington.

WOODRUFF: Welcome back. The world's largest passenger plane, the double-decker Airbus A380 makes aviation history.

But first, a quick check of other stories now in the news.

The use of steroids in professional sports is back in the spotlight on Capitol Hill. The House Government Reform Committee is focusing today on the National Football League. The NFL is now requiring more off-season tests and banning more substances.

The man convicted of plotting to bomb Los Angeles International Airport on the eve of the new millennium will have to wait three more months for his sentencing. Ahmed Ressam had agreed to cooperate with federal investigator in exchange for a sentence of no less than 27 years. But authorities say he has stopped cooperating, forcing the delay in his sentencing.

It is big. There is enough room on its wing theoretically, of course, to park 70 cars. Inside the new double decker superjumbo is designed to hold as many as 800 passengers. Today only a six-member crew was aboard when the world's largest airliner built by Europe's Airbus made its first flight.

CNN's Richard Quest was there when the big bird took off in Toulouse, France.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ten years and more than $15 billion in development, and the moment of truth. Weighing nearly 421 tons, the A380 flew for the first time. The man at the control, Jacques Rosay, Airbus' senior test pilot wasn't nervous as he lifted the plane into the air.

JACQUES ROSAY, AIRBUS SENIOR TEST PILOT (through translator): I was not nervous. And, of course, everything was as expected. It went very well. And immediately at takeoff I realize that it's going to be an excellent aircraft, because it's exactly -- it is exactly as we want it to be.

QUEST: For nearly four hours the test pilots put the plane through its paces, across southern France and around the Pyrenees. Pretty basic maneuvers, but designed to prove that the plane could be controlled as expected. And there were no surprises.

ROSAY (through translator): The general feeling that I had is that it has a lot of potential. The wing is beautiful. The wing is big. There's very little vibrations. There's very little buffeting. The handling at low speeds was good. During the approach the airplane flew like a little airplane. It really floats.

QUEST: The superjumbo has already broken records. For instance, the maiden flight was the heaviest by a passenger plane. And, even though there's still some way to go before it's a commercial success, for the Airbus CEO, this was a moment to savor.

NOEL FORGEARD, AIRBUS CEO: Emotion, emotion to see the thing so smooth. And emotion and pride in being at the helm of this huge (INAUDIBLE) and thinking, of course, of the next step, (INAUDIBLE) a hell of a lot of work to do before it's into service.

QUEST: That work gets under way immediately. Because there's a tight schedule to meet, with the first commercial flight is to be next year.

(on camera): So, the test runway here at the Toulouse Airport is set to see many more test flights of the A380 in the weeks and months ahead. Because only when the aviation authorities around the world are sure that the plane is safe will passengers be allowed on board.

Richard Quest, CNN, at Airbus in Toulouse.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: So, now we know they have a long runway in Toulouse. With the maiden flight of the a A380 the battle of the big birds is on. It pits the new Airbus against the older and smaller 747, built by a Chicago-based Boeing. The A380 is much wider, taller and a bit longer. It seats 555 passengers with room for many more. It costs about a quarter of a billion dollars each, and it offers better fuel efficiency.

Now, Boeing's 747 was the largest airliner for four decades. It seats a little more than 400 passengers, and sells for about $210 million. But, Boeing is not backing down. Just yesterday it announced a new $6.8 billion order from Air India for 50 planes, including the next generation 787 Dreamliner. A day earlier Air Canada, a key Airbus customer, booked a $6 billion order with Boeing for 32 planes with an option for dozens more. And then earlier this month Korean Air ordered 20 planes for more than $2.5 billion.

Well, Boeing argues that bigger is not better. It is developing a new airliner based on a very different philosophy. A little earlier today, I spoke with the president and CEO James Bell.

He joined me from Chicago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: Mr. Bell, thank you very much for being with us. You're the head of Boeing, clearly. Today one of your biggest competitors, Airbus, rolled out a huge new airliner, the Airbus 380 -- A380 maiden voyage. It's a huge airplane, roomier and bigger seats, even beds.

How worried are you?

JAMES BELL, PRESIDENT & CEO BOEING: Not very, Judy. You know, we're happy for them and they're having their maiden flight today. But you know we're really excited about our 787 offering. We really believe that what the market needs, what customers want, what airline wants is an airplane that can fly point-to-point that provides a much more comfortable traveling experience for the traveler with the higher humidity, the roomier space in the fuselage, and having larger windows so they would have a much more enjoyable experience.

And the airlines themselves are looking for a product that's going to provide them better economics, one where the fuel costs are a lot lower, that's more fuel efficient and where their maintenance cost is a lot less. And so we believe that the 787 is really the game changer here.

WOODRUFF: You mentioned comfort, but we understand the Airbus is going to have everything from double beds and massage parlors to cocktail bars. I mean, that sounds pretty comfortable.

BELL: Well, I think if that's what you want when you travel -- and I'm not certain that most people do. I think what they would really prefer is to just have higher humidity in the cabin and where they don't feel as dried and tired at the end of that long travel experience. And that's what the 787 is going to provide them. Also, we think that the passenger wants frequency of flights, which the 787 will allow them to do. And it will allow them to go direct from whatever city they leave from to whatever city they would like to go to. They won't have to hub in.

WOODRUFF: And you're saying that would be necessary with the big Airbus?

BELL: Oh, there's no question about it. There's only going to be a few airports that can accommodate it and the size of it will obviously cut down on the frequency of choice in terms of flight times. And so we really think that our offering is really where the market is. And we're really pleased where we are.

WOODRUFF: You're saying you've made a conscious decision not to compete with a plane as big as that one which is going to seat up to 800 people?

BELL: We absolutely have. We don't believe that the market there supports even one offering let alone two. We think that, you know, on the top side you're looking at something that a 747 can accommodate today in about the 400 range.

And so -- but clearly from in terms of a new product being offered in the marketplace, we believe the one that we're offering in our 787 is right where the market is saying they need it. And the kind of things that they need is embedded in our new product.

WOODRUFF: Let me ask you something about Boeing, Mr. Bell. You recently became CEO after your predecessor, Harry Stonecipher -- this has been reported publicly -- had a relationship with a female executive at Boeing. How has the transition been?

BELL: Well, you know, as you know, the board had asked me, as the sitting CFO, to act in the interim while they completed their search. And the transition hasn't been difficult at all, because in a lot of respects the CFO is responsible for the same kinds of activities as the CEO, as it relates to driving the performance of the corporation and making sure that we continue to deliver solid financial results. And that's exactly what I'm doing.

Our other executive chairman, Lew Platt, is picking up the outside kinds of activities that Harry used to perform. And between the two of us, I think we're doing a pretty good job of covering the full spectrum. And clearly our leadership team is really focused on executing our business and meeting all our customer commitments and delivering superior financial results. So the transition hasn't been difficult.

WOODRUFF: Very quickly I want to ask you, the 787, when does that go into service?

BELL: That goes into service in 2008.

WOODRUFF: OK. Three years from now.

All right, James Bell. He is the CEO of Boeing. Thank you for being with us.

BELL: Thank you, Judy.

WOODRUFF: James Bell.

And now a quick look at other news making headlines around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF (voice-over): Dozens of people were killed in Sri Lanka in a collision between a bus and a train. Authorities say the bus got stuck on the tracks after the driver went around the barriers at a rail crossing.

Searchers in Japan are finding more bodies in the wreckage of that country's deadliest train crash in more than 40 years. The death toll for Monday's crash near Osaka is near 100.

In the Middle East, a show of defiance over Israel's Gaza withdrawal plan. Thousands of protesters poured into the area today to rally against the plan.

Israel is welcoming the first visit by a Russian leader. President Vladmir Putin is in Israel for a three-day visit, after stopping in Cairo for talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

And that's our look around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: The Michael Jackson trial takes an interesting new turn. Coming up, jurors are hearing from one of the pop star's former wives.

Also, authorities use new technology and a forgotten piece of evidence to shed new light on a series of sexual assaults.

And later, with so many changes at the anchor desks, what does the future hold for network news? We'll hear about that and much more from veteran broadcaster Jim Lehrer of PBS.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: DNA technology and a forgotten piece of evidence are heating up a cold case involving as many as two dozen rapes. CNN's Brian Todd is here with the story -- Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Judy, this case speaks to how important just one piece of evidence can be, even if it's locked away in a cold case file for decades.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): With his travels, his aliases, his savvy, Clarence Williams was able to hide for nearly 30 years, according to authorities. But there was one thing he couldn't control: technology.

ROBERT MORGENTHAU, MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY: What this case shows is the -- number one, the importance of the federal databank. Number two, the importance of keeping rape kits.

TODD: The rape that Manhattan D.A. Robert Morgenthau is talking about dates back to 1973 -- a knife-point sexual assault in Manhattan. Williams went on trial for that, but it ended with no verdict.

Facing retrial, authorities say Williams disappeared in 1978. But a piece of evidence remained in a file, a pair of underwear from the crime.

MORGENTHAU: If it had not been for that, there would have been no ability to get into the database and there would have been nothing -- no forensic evidence, no DNA evidence.

TODD: The DNA evidence came in handy in 2004 when according to authorities, Williams went to buy a gun in Georgia. A background check turned up a warrant for the 1973 New York rape.

And then, a big discovery -- authorities connected DNA from the New York rape to a series of unsolved sexual assaults in Maryland and New Jersey between 1987 and 1993. Law enforcement officials tell CNN they can definitively link nine rapes near Silver Spring, Maryland, to this suspect, possibly seven more in that area. Plus two assault in Morris County, New Jersey, and two in New York.

DOUGLAS GANSLER, MONTGOMERY CO. STATES ATTY.: Well, at the time of these rapes there was a particular modus operandi that was being followed. He was breaking into essentially single women's homes. He was breaking in between midnight and 6:00 a.m. He was -- he had a ski mask on. He would apologize to his victims afterward.

TODD: A detective in Maryland who worked on these cases says he's already contacted six victims about these developments.

LT. PHILIP RAUM, MONTGOMERY COUNTY POLICE: One victim had just said, I just thank you for not forgetting me. Thank you for not forgetting me. And that is very heartwarming to hear that from the victims.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: Maryland authorities now must wait for Williams to face rape charges in New York. Williams' attorney Michael Rubin has been quoted as saying, "His client has always maintained his innocence." Our calls to Mr. Rubin were not returned -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: Technology can be a incredible force for good.

TODD: Thirty two years.

WOODRUFF: Brian, thank you very much.

Well, at the courthouse in Santa Maria, California, all eyes are on Michael Jackson's former wife now testifying in his child molestation trial. Debbie Rowe is the mother of two of Jackson's three children. The judge has indicated he will restrict to -- her testimony to a 2003 interview in which she defended the pop star against molestation allegations.

Coming up at the top of the hour, "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" and Lou is standing by in New York right now with a preview. Hi, there.

LOU DOBBS, HOST, LOU DOBBS TONIGHT: Good to see you, Judy. Thank you.

At 6:00 p.m. Eastern tonight on CNN, we'll be reporting on President Bush's bold new energy plan. More nuclear power plants, new oil refineries. But will his plan do anything to cut rising gasoline prices?

And exporting America, one of our most prized creative industries could lose tens of thousands of jobs to cheap overseas labor markets. We'll have the special report for you.

And majority rule, minority rights, the Senate battling over judicial appointments and the fairness of the filibuster. My guest, a leading Democratic senator will be debating the issue at 6:00 p.m. Eastern on "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT."

Please join us. All of that and more in just a few minutes.

Now back to Judy Woodruff -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: Thanks, Lou. And we'll see you then.

Network news shake-up, what does the future hold for television news? I'll speak with a veteran journalist, Jim Lehrer of PBS about that and his new book, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: In recent months there has been a big shake-up in network news. Only one veteran broadcast news anchor continues to appear on television screens across America every night, Jim Lehrer of PBS. Jim Lehrer also is the author of a new novel, "The Franklin Affair."

And we're going to talk to him about his book before we talk about anything else.

Jim Lehrer, welcome.

JIM LEHRER, PBS NEWS: Thank, you Judy. Delighted to be here.

WOODRUFF: People look at you and they see news anchor, on the air, on PBS, but then you've turned out your 15th novel. How do you do it?

LEHRER: Well, I -- I discovered years ago that I had plenty of time to do all the things I really wanted to do, if I quit doing all the things I didn't want to do. And writing novels is very important. I work a little bit every day. And as I get it done, it's very important. It's -- it's no longer an issue of wake up in the morning, am I going to write today. The issue is what I'm going to write. It's just something I do every day. And it gives me great pleasure.

WOODRUFF: True disclosure. Of course, you and I worked together for 10 years.

LEHRER: Absolutely. And it was a very pleasant experience for me. I hope it was for you.

WOODRUFF: It was for me, too. All right. Let's talk about "The Franklin Affair." It is a mystery.

LEHRER: It's a mystery. And Franklin is -- the Franklin of "The Franklin Affair" is Ben Franklin. In a nutshell, it's a story about a modern-day American Revolution historian who specializes in Ben Franklin. He comes across some information that seems to suggest that Ben Franklin was involved in a terrible, terrible crime, 220 years ago.

It's a problem for him, because he's worshipful -- worshipful of Franklin. And that's one part of it, and that's the mystery -- one of the mysteries that is on the table in this book. The other mystery has to do with this man's own situation involving plagiarism, ghost writing and all kinds of modern day things that hit historians. So, the stories are kind of interwoven.

WOODRUFF: And plagiarism -- there's been some attention in recent years to plagiarism. To -- to books written by historians from Stephen Ambrose, Joe Ellis, Doris Goodwin and others. Is that -- was that part of the inspiration for this?

LEHRER: It wasn't directly part of the inspiration, but a lot of that was going on at the time that I began to write the book. And it certainly -- the situation -- the real situation on the ground, as they say, that was going on at the time I was writing the book certainly influenced me. There's no question about it. Although, it's important to understand that everybody who reads this, and I'm sure all your viewers will, eventually, that it is total fiction. It is absolutely 100 percent fiction. There's not one character in there that is drawn from anybody in real life except Ben Franklin.

WOODRUFF: All right. We appreciate that clarification. We're not going to ask you how it out all turns out. The book is "The Franklin Affair."

We also want to ask you, of course, about what is apparently a mega time of extraordinary change in television news. A lot of computer, you know, I was going to say ink and a lot of computer space has been spilled on the subject lately. Where do you think network news, cable news is going, for that matter?

LEHRER: I think I'm in a minority on this. I think the golden age, a new golden age of television news is on the horizon. There's so much out there now, Judy. I mean, people get their news on the iPod, and they get it on Internet, and there's bloggers, and there's cable news and there's radio call-in shows and all of that. There's a great swirl of information out there. And we're beginning to pick up signs on "The News Hour," as our audience is increasing, that there is a huge need for programs like ours.

Now, electronically they may be distributed differently. But where people can go every several hours, every 24 hours and put -- somebody please tell me what all of this -- put it together for me -- straight. Just honest, serious reporting, plus bring in other opinions and kind of lower, lower the octanes -- octane a little bit, and sort through it for me. And I think that the faces are going to change, as you say, the anchors are changing. But I think the function is going to go -- is going to revert back to what it used to be. I think the gatekeeper -- era of the gatekeeper -- is going to return.

WOODRUFF: And I do want to ask you about those faces, the network anchors, because somebody said the other day, he thought it -- thinks it's the end of the anchor era. I want to ask you about that, and what's going on in public broadcasting.

We'll be back with more of our interview with Jim Lehrer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: His video of Communist East Germany, crumbling, hopelessly polluted, restless, helped topple the Berlin Wall. Amateur video journalist Aram Radomski spirited his tapes to Western TV, which beamed them back into Eastern Germany. When the Wall opens November 9, 1989, 27-year-old Radomski was among the first to walk to the West. He photographed "Checkpoint Charlie," a sullen, heavily fortified flash point of the Cold War, suddenly overrun with euphoria.

"Our pictures on TV were a reason people took to the streets," he says, "and they changed this land."

Fifteen years later, unemployment hovers around 20 percent in the east. "Capitalism isn't so easy," he says. "I try to look at it realistically that you have to help yourself to find your place." Radomski found his, designing wallpaper for homes, bars, theaters and film sets. After helping to tear down one wall, he's covering others. His life, now as free as his spirit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: We're back with Jim Lehrer of PBS's "NewsHour." He's out with another book, "The Franklin Affair." We've heard about that book. We want to read it, but we also want to talk to you about television news, a little bit, about public broadcasting.

Sam Donaldson said these changes at the networks, in his words, spell the end of the monster anchors. Would you agree with that?

LEHRER: I find that offensive, the whole thing. I don't know -- I don't know whether the monster anchor is going to disappear, but the function of the anchor is not going to disappear. As I said earlier, I really believe that folks really are craving that kind of believable, trustworthy voice that they can go. It can be a young voice, it doesn't have to be an old monster -- it can be a young monster -- or it can be any kind of -- anybody. But, somebody's got to report the news. And there is a need, I believe, for the news to be reported and these folks are going to do it.

WOODRUFF: Former "60 Minutes" Executive Producer Don Hewitt was out the other day with a column in the "New York Times," saying, "what network news needs," he says, "is a dose of opinion, audacious commentary." Do you think that's what is needed in the news?

LEHRER: I think -- yes, as long as you have -- you offer more than one opinion. We do that on the "NewsHour." We have strong, audacious opinion on the "NewsHour" every night, but we also have one that matches it and another, maybe a third view.

It -- strong opinion is terrific on television. It should be on television, just like it should be on the op-ed page, and the editorial pages in the newspapers, and it is. It's just that it should be a dialogue, not a one-way shout.

WOODRUFF: Public television: there is the Public Broadcasting System and then there is the Corporation for Public Broadcasting which gives money to PBS. The CPB as it's called is evidently taking a closer look at the programming on PBS -- that's what we read -- and, according to some observers -- in a story in the "Washington Post" last weekend -- pushing for PBS to toe a more conservative line. Are you feeling any heat?

LEHRER: Absolutely not. We've been doing our program for 30 years, Judy, and not one time have we even picked up a whiff, much less a concrete attempt, either directly or indirectly, from anybody at CPB, either staff or board, to influence or in any way interfere with anything we've ever done. And I don't expect to it change.

WOODRUFF: What do you think is going on? Is the...

(CROSSTALK)

LEHRER: I have no idea what's going on. I think, that's one part of public broadcasting that I stay out of, and that's the politics of it. All I know is -- and trust me, if I did have anything to say about that I would be more than -- I'd be shouting it from the rooftops -- but I don't know what this is all about. My feeling is that it will all come out in the wash. They want to have an ombudsman, which I'm fully supportive of, if it is, in fact, a professional ombudsman system, like the papers have and whatever -- completely independent, and they have no agenda, other than to react and examine people's complaints about programs, including our own.

I wish we had one on the "NewsHour." We just have never had the resources to have one.

WOODRUFF: Like an ombudsman at the newspapers. I also want to give you a chance to answer a related question. The newly-appointed head of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a gentleman named Ken Ferree, did an interview with the "New York Times," which ran this past Sunday, in which he says your program, the "NewsHour," is good, but then he added -- and I'm quoting -- he said, "I don't watch a lot of broadcast news. The problem for me is I do the Internet news stuff all day long, so by the time I get to the Lehrer thing, it's slow. I don't always want to sit down and read Shakespeare and Lehrer is akin to Shakespeare." He said, "Sometimes I really just want a 'People" magazine." What do you say to Mr. Ferree?

LEHRER: I would first say -- I would say to Mr. Ferree is, I've been called a lot worse things than William Shakespeare, so I can handle that. The other thing, I think -- I think that says more about him than it does about our program. I don't know the context in which he said that. All I know is that I welcome him to public broadcasting and I welcome him to watch our "NewsHour." I hope he can find time to do it.

WOODRUFF: Is the business -- the public television world, has it changed in the 30-some years that you have worked in it?

LEHRER: Oh, it is -- not where I am, it hasn't changed. It probably has changed elsewhere. "The NewsHour," we've changed internally and we're tweaking it all the time. In fact, right now we're going through a major kind of re-examination of what we're doing from credits-to-credits, because, any organization that stands still too long, eventually sinks. So, we're always refreshing what we're doing. But, basically our program, from a conceptual stand-point, from -- our soul is still the same, our purpose is still the same, as it was when we went on the air 30 years ago.

WOODRUFF: Jim Lehrer -- he is the anchor of "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," on public broadcasting, and he's the author of his 15th novel, "The Franklin Affair." We're going to watch it. We're going to watch for it on the bookselling charts, and we're...

LEHRER: Absolutely.

WOODRUFF: ...going to read your book, of course.

LEHRER: Terrific.

WOODRUFF: Jim Lehrer, thank you very much.

LEHRER: Thank you, Judy.

WOODRUFF: Always good to see you.

LEHRER: Hey, always great to see you, my friend.

WOODRUFF: Thank you.

And, remember, you can always catch WOLF BLITZER REPORTS at this time, 5:00 Eastern. Thank you for joining us. I'm Judy Woodruff. "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now, and Lou is standing by in New York.

Hi, Lou. END

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Aired April 27, 2005 - 17:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, GUEST HOST: Happening now: first flight. It is the world's biggest airliner. But, with room for up to 800 passengers, is it too big? Stand by for hard news on "WOLF BLITZER REPORTS."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF (voice-over): Energy ideas: the president offers a bunch of them.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hydrogen fuel cells, bio-diesel from leftover fats and vegetable oils.

WOODRUFF: But will any of them ease your pain at the pump?

Cold case file: is a DNA sample from three decades ago the key to more than two dozen rapes?

Anchors away: they're either leaving or ailing. What does it mean for the future of television news? I'll ask veteran journalist Jim Lehrer of "The News Hour."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Wednesday, April 27, 2005.

WOODRUFF: Thank you for joining us. I'm Judy Woodruff. Wolf is off today.

We begin with escalating energy costs, draining America's pocket books. Today, President Bush offered some creative and controversial solutions. While they may end up saving you money, will relief come quick enough? CNN's Andrea Koppel joins us from the White House.

Hi, Andrea.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Judy.

The president unveiled his new energy proposals earlier this afternoon in a speech before the Small Business Association, and, while short on details, the White House is hoping it will address critics head-on.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KOPPEL (voice-over): For the second time in a week, President Bush was talking energy, and this is why.

BUSH: I fully understand that many folks around this country are concerned about the high price of gasoline.

KOPPEL: With prices at the pump hitting an all-time high earlier this month, and sure to rise even higher this summer, Mr. Bush said, Americans need a national strategy.

BUSH: The first essential step toward greater energy independence is to apply technology to increase domestic production from existing energy resources.

KOPPELL: Among the president's energy proposals, to expand tax credits to include clean diesel technology in automobiles; to grant the federal government final say over the location of liquefied natural gas import terminals in order to increase the supply of natural gas; to build oil refineries on closed military bases; and to offer risk insurance for nuclear power plants to protect the nuclear industry against regulatory delays.

The president's decision to add new initiatives to his energy plan took Republicans and Democrats by surprise. Coming just days after he failed to reach agreement with the Saudi crown prince to lower gas prices, and less than a week after the House passed a Republican-backed energy bill, Democrats said the president looked desperate.

REP. ED MARKEY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: The president is not proposing anything today that will deal with gasoline prices in America for years to come, and that is inadequate. The American public deserve better. They deserve a plan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOPPEL (on camera): But the White House says the nation's energy woes didn't happen overnight, and they're not going to be fixed overnight, either. But clearly, Judy, for the president, it is a growing political problem in the short term. When asked earlier, he said -- he was asked by a soldier when the president is going to lower gas prices at the pump, and, Judy, he told him, if I could, I would -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: All right. Andrea Koppel, he is talking about this issue more and more. Thanks, Andrea.

Well, more now on the president's energy proposal, specifically his plan to build new oil refineries on closed military bases. Our Mary Snow is looking into that and she joins us from New York. Hi, Mary.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Judy.

There hasn't been an oil refinery built in the U.S. in about 30 years, so the question is, does this plan make sense for businesses and will consumers support it?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): For a New York man, who says he pays about $70 to fill the tank of his Hummer, it's all about money.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, if it's going to lower the price of gas -- I'm for anything that's going to lower the price of gas, you know?

SNOW: In San Francisco, some say it's the environment that's the deciding factor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For short-term gain of refining more fuel, doesn't quite seem to be worth the tradeoff.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Depends on where they're located, you know? Whatever's cool environmentally is OK with me.

SNOW: The last refinery built in the U.S. was in Louisiana, in 1976, owned by Marathon Oil. An industry trade group says, at that time, there were 291 refineries. Now there are 149, and the National Petro Chemical and Refiners Association says, it is, quote, "interested in and supportive of the president's suggestion that surplus military property may be suitable for refinery construction."

One oil analyst says it's not going to happen any time soon because refineries haven't been profitable for companies.

JOHN KILDUFF, FIMAT USA: I think you're going to see reluctance on the part of major oil producers to race out to any military base and build a brand new refinery from scratch.

SNOW: The Pentagon works with communities to provide plans to reuse land when a base is closed, but a senior Pentagon official tells CNN that the Pentagon will not have a role to play in any plans to build refineries at closed bases.

JOHN KINGSTON, PLATTS: This is something that, I think, sort of came right out of the blue. It sounds to me like it was dreamed up at a meeting of some federal officials and -- it's actually sort of an intriguing proposal because it takes care of a lot of the land use issues, but it's not something that the industry has been clamoring for.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW (on camera): Now, analysts say, besides low profit margins, stricter environmental rules have also been a big factor in closing of refineries. We called a number of major oil companies today who said they still want to see more details before commenting -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: All right. Mary Snow, thanks very much.

A vote, separately, is expected today reversing some controversial rules the House Ethics Committee adopted this year. That could be bad news for Tom DeLay, the embattled House Republican leader. Senate -- or rather, CNN congressional correspondent Ed Henry is on Capitol Hill.

Hi, Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Judy.

That's right, House Speaker Dennis Hastert retreated today and decided to change those ethics rules back to the way they were last year. In fact, the House is expected to debate these rules changes in about the next hour or so, on the House floor. Major news because, as you mentioned, this now clearly opens the door to a full investigation of Tom DeLay and whether or not lobbyists improperly funded some of his overseas travel.

Back in January, Speaker Hastert had changed the rules to make it harder for such investigations to take place. Democrats charged that he was shielding DeLay. Republicans have repeatedly said that's not true and they've stood behind DeLay and said they would not change rules. That's why it was such a dramatic development today when Speaker Hastert came to the cameras to say he changed his mind.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DENNIS HASTERT (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: I think we need to move forward in the ethics process. I think that there are issues out there that need to be discussed. I think that there's a member, especially on our side, that needs to have the process move forward so he can clear his name.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Democrats say the speaker also was feeling a little bit of heat -- political heat -- and, in fact, Mr. DeLay is feeling some heat as well. We saw him yesterday in Texas with President Bush. He was all smiles, but it was a little bit different today when Mr. DeLay faced reporters. He lost his cool a little bit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TOM DELAY (R), MAJORITY LEADER: Been great.

QUESTION: How was that conference?

QUESTION: Will this open the door to a lot of Democratic investigations?

DELAY: You guys better get out of my way. Where is our security?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: So Democrats feel that they've scored a major victory here. They say they have Tom DeLay on the run, on the defensive, the Republicans changing the rules and now an investigation of DeLay. But Republicans say, be careful what you wish for. They say Democrats are also going to face some investigations, now that the House Ethics Committee is up and running again. Judy? WOODRUFF: All right. Ed Henry, on top of that story at the Capitol. Thank you.

A break in a serial case: police say they have arrested a man who has confessed to at least 33 fires in and around the nation's capital.

CNN national correspondent Bob Franken is here with that.

Hello, Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Judy.

And, there is a court hearing scheduled for this hour for a 50- year-old man whose arrest, investigators say, solves a matter that has baffled them for a long time.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Police officials were swarming over the fast food restaurant in Washington where Thomas Sweatt had worked, until he was arrested and charged with being the man who had terrorized the three- state D.C. metropolitan area with intentionally-set fires. There had been more than 30 over a two-year period that had gone unsolved, even after a special federal local arson task force was created. But officials say the investigation's outcome was inevitable.

MAYOR ANTHONY WILLIAMS, WASHINGTON, DC: If you threaten, if you terrorize, if you turn lives upside-down in our communities, we're going to hunt you down, we're going to find you, and we're going to bring you to justice and put you behind bars.

FRANKEN: They were able to collect DNA samples. In December, a pair of U.S. Marine trousers were recovered at the scene of one blaze in suburban Virginia. DNA from those pants and at other locations finally led them to the suspect.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nothing was overlooked at any of the scenes, ever.

FRANKEN: About a week ago they interviewed Sweatt, who voluntarily provided a DNA sample. Then, they decided they had their man. He was charged with intentionally setting fires that began in March of 2003; in June of that year, an elderly woman was killed. While Sweatt will face several arson-related charges, they do not include murder -- yet.

CHIEF CHARLES RAMSEY, WASHINGTON POLICE: This guy posed a huge threat to everyone's safety in our region, setting fires at night. It's very unfortunate that we had the one fatality, but it's also fortunate that we only had one fatality. We could have very easily had multiple fatalities. That's how serious this was.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: All together rewards had accumulated up to $100,000. No word on that. But officials say if they're right about their suspect, Judy, the reward is a safer community -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: I'm sure they're going to be looking into the motive behind all of this. OK. Bob Franken, thank you very much.

A bride-to-be goes missing just days before her wedding.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN MASON, FIANCE MISSING: If it's cold feet, she left her car, her money, her phone, her keys, her diamond ring. Something's happened and I don't know what.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: She went jogging and never returned. Now her fiance and family search for answers.

White House security scare: Why the president and vice president were moved to a protected shelter.

Superjumbo: the world's largest passenger plane makes its maiden voyage. Will it change the way we fly?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: Just three days before she was supposed to get married a suburban Atlanta woman is missing. CNN's Sara Dorsey joins us now from Duluth, Georgia.

Hello, Sara.

SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Judy.

It was supposed to be a happy week for Jennifer Wilbanks and her fiance John Mason. Their wedding is set for Saturday. Instead, though, I stand in front of a command center, the base where law enforcement and volunteers are meeting to search for the missing woman.

At only 32 years old, Jennifer Wilbanks went missing last night. We are told by her family, she's an avid jogger and went to take a jog at about 8:30 in the evening. She told her fiance she would be back in 40 minutes. And when that time came and went he got very concerned.

We are told that John Mason, her fiance, went looking for her around 10:00 and called authorities at 10:30. At that point, authorities got involved and started looking for her.

Today there have been 250 people out here looking for this woman. That's about 100 law enforcement agents and -- or 150 volunteers, rather. There have been search dog in this area and helicopters. But as of now, law enforcement agents tell us they really have no leads in this case, no idea where she is.

When asked if it's possible that his fiance got cold feet and just possibly left for a while because of this wedding, here is what John Mason had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MASON: If it's cold feet, she left her car, her money, her phone, keys, her diamond ring. Something's happened and I don't know what.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DORSEY: Law enforcement officials tell us they do plan on staying out. They possibly may cut this short whenever it gets dark tonight. But they plan on continuing to search until they can find some sort of clue as to where this young woman went. They tell us as of now, there are no suspects because there are simply no clues -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: It's got to be so frustrating for everybody. All right. Thank you, Sara. We appreciate it.

The president seeking shelter: for the first time since 2001, President Bush moves to a protected bunker. What forced the White House to take emergency measures?

Flight feat: it is the heaviest passenger plane to take to the skies. So, how did it get off the ground?

And anchor and author, on the set of "The News Hour," he's concerned with the facts, but off camera he does dabble in fiction. PBS journalist Jim Lehrer joins us to talk about his latest novel.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: In our "Security Watch," a security scare at the White House today. President Bush was rushed to an underground bunker and Vice President Cheney was also whisked away when radars seemed to show an intruder aircraft nearby. Let's go live once again to CNN's Andrea Koppel at the White House.

Hello again, Andrea.

KOPPEL: Hi, Judy.

Well, it all happened earlier this morning here just about right where I'm standing right now on the North Lawn of the White House. All of a sudden out of the blue you saw people you don't usually see, the Uniform Division of the Secret Service, heavily armed as you can see, swarming all over here, basically sending out mixed messages, telling some journalists to leave, telling some visitors they needed to get out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: There was a report, or an indication, that an aircraft had entered restricted airspace around the White House. And so there was precautionary measures that were taken. It was quickly learned that it was a false alarm. And that it was all clear in a very short amount of time. And everything is fine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOPPEL: Basically the whole thing lasted about five minutes, Judy. And before long, the president and vice president were back inside the White House and were able to get back to work -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: All right, Andrea. Thank goodness it was nothing.

And you can stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

A giant takes to the skies...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It has just been breathtaking to finally watch her take off. And it was just so beautiful, so cheers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cheers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: We'll take you to Europe for the maiden flight of the world's largest passenger plane. And we'll talk to the head of its American rival.

Also, sentencing for the man behind the failed millennium bomb plot.

And Michael Jackson's former wife poised to take the stand in his molestation trial.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS from our studios in Washington.

WOODRUFF: Welcome back. The world's largest passenger plane, the double-decker Airbus A380 makes aviation history.

But first, a quick check of other stories now in the news.

The use of steroids in professional sports is back in the spotlight on Capitol Hill. The House Government Reform Committee is focusing today on the National Football League. The NFL is now requiring more off-season tests and banning more substances.

The man convicted of plotting to bomb Los Angeles International Airport on the eve of the new millennium will have to wait three more months for his sentencing. Ahmed Ressam had agreed to cooperate with federal investigator in exchange for a sentence of no less than 27 years. But authorities say he has stopped cooperating, forcing the delay in his sentencing.

It is big. There is enough room on its wing theoretically, of course, to park 70 cars. Inside the new double decker superjumbo is designed to hold as many as 800 passengers. Today only a six-member crew was aboard when the world's largest airliner built by Europe's Airbus made its first flight.

CNN's Richard Quest was there when the big bird took off in Toulouse, France.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ten years and more than $15 billion in development, and the moment of truth. Weighing nearly 421 tons, the A380 flew for the first time. The man at the control, Jacques Rosay, Airbus' senior test pilot wasn't nervous as he lifted the plane into the air.

JACQUES ROSAY, AIRBUS SENIOR TEST PILOT (through translator): I was not nervous. And, of course, everything was as expected. It went very well. And immediately at takeoff I realize that it's going to be an excellent aircraft, because it's exactly -- it is exactly as we want it to be.

QUEST: For nearly four hours the test pilots put the plane through its paces, across southern France and around the Pyrenees. Pretty basic maneuvers, but designed to prove that the plane could be controlled as expected. And there were no surprises.

ROSAY (through translator): The general feeling that I had is that it has a lot of potential. The wing is beautiful. The wing is big. There's very little vibrations. There's very little buffeting. The handling at low speeds was good. During the approach the airplane flew like a little airplane. It really floats.

QUEST: The superjumbo has already broken records. For instance, the maiden flight was the heaviest by a passenger plane. And, even though there's still some way to go before it's a commercial success, for the Airbus CEO, this was a moment to savor.

NOEL FORGEARD, AIRBUS CEO: Emotion, emotion to see the thing so smooth. And emotion and pride in being at the helm of this huge (INAUDIBLE) and thinking, of course, of the next step, (INAUDIBLE) a hell of a lot of work to do before it's into service.

QUEST: That work gets under way immediately. Because there's a tight schedule to meet, with the first commercial flight is to be next year.

(on camera): So, the test runway here at the Toulouse Airport is set to see many more test flights of the A380 in the weeks and months ahead. Because only when the aviation authorities around the world are sure that the plane is safe will passengers be allowed on board.

Richard Quest, CNN, at Airbus in Toulouse.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: So, now we know they have a long runway in Toulouse. With the maiden flight of the a A380 the battle of the big birds is on. It pits the new Airbus against the older and smaller 747, built by a Chicago-based Boeing. The A380 is much wider, taller and a bit longer. It seats 555 passengers with room for many more. It costs about a quarter of a billion dollars each, and it offers better fuel efficiency.

Now, Boeing's 747 was the largest airliner for four decades. It seats a little more than 400 passengers, and sells for about $210 million. But, Boeing is not backing down. Just yesterday it announced a new $6.8 billion order from Air India for 50 planes, including the next generation 787 Dreamliner. A day earlier Air Canada, a key Airbus customer, booked a $6 billion order with Boeing for 32 planes with an option for dozens more. And then earlier this month Korean Air ordered 20 planes for more than $2.5 billion.

Well, Boeing argues that bigger is not better. It is developing a new airliner based on a very different philosophy. A little earlier today, I spoke with the president and CEO James Bell.

He joined me from Chicago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: Mr. Bell, thank you very much for being with us. You're the head of Boeing, clearly. Today one of your biggest competitors, Airbus, rolled out a huge new airliner, the Airbus 380 -- A380 maiden voyage. It's a huge airplane, roomier and bigger seats, even beds.

How worried are you?

JAMES BELL, PRESIDENT & CEO BOEING: Not very, Judy. You know, we're happy for them and they're having their maiden flight today. But you know we're really excited about our 787 offering. We really believe that what the market needs, what customers want, what airline wants is an airplane that can fly point-to-point that provides a much more comfortable traveling experience for the traveler with the higher humidity, the roomier space in the fuselage, and having larger windows so they would have a much more enjoyable experience.

And the airlines themselves are looking for a product that's going to provide them better economics, one where the fuel costs are a lot lower, that's more fuel efficient and where their maintenance cost is a lot less. And so we believe that the 787 is really the game changer here.

WOODRUFF: You mentioned comfort, but we understand the Airbus is going to have everything from double beds and massage parlors to cocktail bars. I mean, that sounds pretty comfortable.

BELL: Well, I think if that's what you want when you travel -- and I'm not certain that most people do. I think what they would really prefer is to just have higher humidity in the cabin and where they don't feel as dried and tired at the end of that long travel experience. And that's what the 787 is going to provide them. Also, we think that the passenger wants frequency of flights, which the 787 will allow them to do. And it will allow them to go direct from whatever city they leave from to whatever city they would like to go to. They won't have to hub in.

WOODRUFF: And you're saying that would be necessary with the big Airbus?

BELL: Oh, there's no question about it. There's only going to be a few airports that can accommodate it and the size of it will obviously cut down on the frequency of choice in terms of flight times. And so we really think that our offering is really where the market is. And we're really pleased where we are.

WOODRUFF: You're saying you've made a conscious decision not to compete with a plane as big as that one which is going to seat up to 800 people?

BELL: We absolutely have. We don't believe that the market there supports even one offering let alone two. We think that, you know, on the top side you're looking at something that a 747 can accommodate today in about the 400 range.

And so -- but clearly from in terms of a new product being offered in the marketplace, we believe the one that we're offering in our 787 is right where the market is saying they need it. And the kind of things that they need is embedded in our new product.

WOODRUFF: Let me ask you something about Boeing, Mr. Bell. You recently became CEO after your predecessor, Harry Stonecipher -- this has been reported publicly -- had a relationship with a female executive at Boeing. How has the transition been?

BELL: Well, you know, as you know, the board had asked me, as the sitting CFO, to act in the interim while they completed their search. And the transition hasn't been difficult at all, because in a lot of respects the CFO is responsible for the same kinds of activities as the CEO, as it relates to driving the performance of the corporation and making sure that we continue to deliver solid financial results. And that's exactly what I'm doing.

Our other executive chairman, Lew Platt, is picking up the outside kinds of activities that Harry used to perform. And between the two of us, I think we're doing a pretty good job of covering the full spectrum. And clearly our leadership team is really focused on executing our business and meeting all our customer commitments and delivering superior financial results. So the transition hasn't been difficult.

WOODRUFF: Very quickly I want to ask you, the 787, when does that go into service?

BELL: That goes into service in 2008.

WOODRUFF: OK. Three years from now.

All right, James Bell. He is the CEO of Boeing. Thank you for being with us.

BELL: Thank you, Judy.

WOODRUFF: James Bell.

And now a quick look at other news making headlines around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF (voice-over): Dozens of people were killed in Sri Lanka in a collision between a bus and a train. Authorities say the bus got stuck on the tracks after the driver went around the barriers at a rail crossing.

Searchers in Japan are finding more bodies in the wreckage of that country's deadliest train crash in more than 40 years. The death toll for Monday's crash near Osaka is near 100.

In the Middle East, a show of defiance over Israel's Gaza withdrawal plan. Thousands of protesters poured into the area today to rally against the plan.

Israel is welcoming the first visit by a Russian leader. President Vladmir Putin is in Israel for a three-day visit, after stopping in Cairo for talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

And that's our look around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: The Michael Jackson trial takes an interesting new turn. Coming up, jurors are hearing from one of the pop star's former wives.

Also, authorities use new technology and a forgotten piece of evidence to shed new light on a series of sexual assaults.

And later, with so many changes at the anchor desks, what does the future hold for network news? We'll hear about that and much more from veteran broadcaster Jim Lehrer of PBS.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: DNA technology and a forgotten piece of evidence are heating up a cold case involving as many as two dozen rapes. CNN's Brian Todd is here with the story -- Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Judy, this case speaks to how important just one piece of evidence can be, even if it's locked away in a cold case file for decades.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): With his travels, his aliases, his savvy, Clarence Williams was able to hide for nearly 30 years, according to authorities. But there was one thing he couldn't control: technology.

ROBERT MORGENTHAU, MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY: What this case shows is the -- number one, the importance of the federal databank. Number two, the importance of keeping rape kits.

TODD: The rape that Manhattan D.A. Robert Morgenthau is talking about dates back to 1973 -- a knife-point sexual assault in Manhattan. Williams went on trial for that, but it ended with no verdict.

Facing retrial, authorities say Williams disappeared in 1978. But a piece of evidence remained in a file, a pair of underwear from the crime.

MORGENTHAU: If it had not been for that, there would have been no ability to get into the database and there would have been nothing -- no forensic evidence, no DNA evidence.

TODD: The DNA evidence came in handy in 2004 when according to authorities, Williams went to buy a gun in Georgia. A background check turned up a warrant for the 1973 New York rape.

And then, a big discovery -- authorities connected DNA from the New York rape to a series of unsolved sexual assaults in Maryland and New Jersey between 1987 and 1993. Law enforcement officials tell CNN they can definitively link nine rapes near Silver Spring, Maryland, to this suspect, possibly seven more in that area. Plus two assault in Morris County, New Jersey, and two in New York.

DOUGLAS GANSLER, MONTGOMERY CO. STATES ATTY.: Well, at the time of these rapes there was a particular modus operandi that was being followed. He was breaking into essentially single women's homes. He was breaking in between midnight and 6:00 a.m. He was -- he had a ski mask on. He would apologize to his victims afterward.

TODD: A detective in Maryland who worked on these cases says he's already contacted six victims about these developments.

LT. PHILIP RAUM, MONTGOMERY COUNTY POLICE: One victim had just said, I just thank you for not forgetting me. Thank you for not forgetting me. And that is very heartwarming to hear that from the victims.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: Maryland authorities now must wait for Williams to face rape charges in New York. Williams' attorney Michael Rubin has been quoted as saying, "His client has always maintained his innocence." Our calls to Mr. Rubin were not returned -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: Technology can be a incredible force for good.

TODD: Thirty two years.

WOODRUFF: Brian, thank you very much.

Well, at the courthouse in Santa Maria, California, all eyes are on Michael Jackson's former wife now testifying in his child molestation trial. Debbie Rowe is the mother of two of Jackson's three children. The judge has indicated he will restrict to -- her testimony to a 2003 interview in which she defended the pop star against molestation allegations.

Coming up at the top of the hour, "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" and Lou is standing by in New York right now with a preview. Hi, there.

LOU DOBBS, HOST, LOU DOBBS TONIGHT: Good to see you, Judy. Thank you.

At 6:00 p.m. Eastern tonight on CNN, we'll be reporting on President Bush's bold new energy plan. More nuclear power plants, new oil refineries. But will his plan do anything to cut rising gasoline prices?

And exporting America, one of our most prized creative industries could lose tens of thousands of jobs to cheap overseas labor markets. We'll have the special report for you.

And majority rule, minority rights, the Senate battling over judicial appointments and the fairness of the filibuster. My guest, a leading Democratic senator will be debating the issue at 6:00 p.m. Eastern on "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT."

Please join us. All of that and more in just a few minutes.

Now back to Judy Woodruff -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: Thanks, Lou. And we'll see you then.

Network news shake-up, what does the future hold for television news? I'll speak with a veteran journalist, Jim Lehrer of PBS about that and his new book, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: In recent months there has been a big shake-up in network news. Only one veteran broadcast news anchor continues to appear on television screens across America every night, Jim Lehrer of PBS. Jim Lehrer also is the author of a new novel, "The Franklin Affair."

And we're going to talk to him about his book before we talk about anything else.

Jim Lehrer, welcome.

JIM LEHRER, PBS NEWS: Thank, you Judy. Delighted to be here.

WOODRUFF: People look at you and they see news anchor, on the air, on PBS, but then you've turned out your 15th novel. How do you do it?

LEHRER: Well, I -- I discovered years ago that I had plenty of time to do all the things I really wanted to do, if I quit doing all the things I didn't want to do. And writing novels is very important. I work a little bit every day. And as I get it done, it's very important. It's -- it's no longer an issue of wake up in the morning, am I going to write today. The issue is what I'm going to write. It's just something I do every day. And it gives me great pleasure.

WOODRUFF: True disclosure. Of course, you and I worked together for 10 years.

LEHRER: Absolutely. And it was a very pleasant experience for me. I hope it was for you.

WOODRUFF: It was for me, too. All right. Let's talk about "The Franklin Affair." It is a mystery.

LEHRER: It's a mystery. And Franklin is -- the Franklin of "The Franklin Affair" is Ben Franklin. In a nutshell, it's a story about a modern-day American Revolution historian who specializes in Ben Franklin. He comes across some information that seems to suggest that Ben Franklin was involved in a terrible, terrible crime, 220 years ago.

It's a problem for him, because he's worshipful -- worshipful of Franklin. And that's one part of it, and that's the mystery -- one of the mysteries that is on the table in this book. The other mystery has to do with this man's own situation involving plagiarism, ghost writing and all kinds of modern day things that hit historians. So, the stories are kind of interwoven.

WOODRUFF: And plagiarism -- there's been some attention in recent years to plagiarism. To -- to books written by historians from Stephen Ambrose, Joe Ellis, Doris Goodwin and others. Is that -- was that part of the inspiration for this?

LEHRER: It wasn't directly part of the inspiration, but a lot of that was going on at the time that I began to write the book. And it certainly -- the situation -- the real situation on the ground, as they say, that was going on at the time I was writing the book certainly influenced me. There's no question about it. Although, it's important to understand that everybody who reads this, and I'm sure all your viewers will, eventually, that it is total fiction. It is absolutely 100 percent fiction. There's not one character in there that is drawn from anybody in real life except Ben Franklin.

WOODRUFF: All right. We appreciate that clarification. We're not going to ask you how it out all turns out. The book is "The Franklin Affair."

We also want to ask you, of course, about what is apparently a mega time of extraordinary change in television news. A lot of computer, you know, I was going to say ink and a lot of computer space has been spilled on the subject lately. Where do you think network news, cable news is going, for that matter?

LEHRER: I think I'm in a minority on this. I think the golden age, a new golden age of television news is on the horizon. There's so much out there now, Judy. I mean, people get their news on the iPod, and they get it on Internet, and there's bloggers, and there's cable news and there's radio call-in shows and all of that. There's a great swirl of information out there. And we're beginning to pick up signs on "The News Hour," as our audience is increasing, that there is a huge need for programs like ours.

Now, electronically they may be distributed differently. But where people can go every several hours, every 24 hours and put -- somebody please tell me what all of this -- put it together for me -- straight. Just honest, serious reporting, plus bring in other opinions and kind of lower, lower the octanes -- octane a little bit, and sort through it for me. And I think that the faces are going to change, as you say, the anchors are changing. But I think the function is going to go -- is going to revert back to what it used to be. I think the gatekeeper -- era of the gatekeeper -- is going to return.

WOODRUFF: And I do want to ask you about those faces, the network anchors, because somebody said the other day, he thought it -- thinks it's the end of the anchor era. I want to ask you about that, and what's going on in public broadcasting.

We'll be back with more of our interview with Jim Lehrer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: His video of Communist East Germany, crumbling, hopelessly polluted, restless, helped topple the Berlin Wall. Amateur video journalist Aram Radomski spirited his tapes to Western TV, which beamed them back into Eastern Germany. When the Wall opens November 9, 1989, 27-year-old Radomski was among the first to walk to the West. He photographed "Checkpoint Charlie," a sullen, heavily fortified flash point of the Cold War, suddenly overrun with euphoria.

"Our pictures on TV were a reason people took to the streets," he says, "and they changed this land."

Fifteen years later, unemployment hovers around 20 percent in the east. "Capitalism isn't so easy," he says. "I try to look at it realistically that you have to help yourself to find your place." Radomski found his, designing wallpaper for homes, bars, theaters and film sets. After helping to tear down one wall, he's covering others. His life, now as free as his spirit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: We're back with Jim Lehrer of PBS's "NewsHour." He's out with another book, "The Franklin Affair." We've heard about that book. We want to read it, but we also want to talk to you about television news, a little bit, about public broadcasting.

Sam Donaldson said these changes at the networks, in his words, spell the end of the monster anchors. Would you agree with that?

LEHRER: I find that offensive, the whole thing. I don't know -- I don't know whether the monster anchor is going to disappear, but the function of the anchor is not going to disappear. As I said earlier, I really believe that folks really are craving that kind of believable, trustworthy voice that they can go. It can be a young voice, it doesn't have to be an old monster -- it can be a young monster -- or it can be any kind of -- anybody. But, somebody's got to report the news. And there is a need, I believe, for the news to be reported and these folks are going to do it.

WOODRUFF: Former "60 Minutes" Executive Producer Don Hewitt was out the other day with a column in the "New York Times," saying, "what network news needs," he says, "is a dose of opinion, audacious commentary." Do you think that's what is needed in the news?

LEHRER: I think -- yes, as long as you have -- you offer more than one opinion. We do that on the "NewsHour." We have strong, audacious opinion on the "NewsHour" every night, but we also have one that matches it and another, maybe a third view.

It -- strong opinion is terrific on television. It should be on television, just like it should be on the op-ed page, and the editorial pages in the newspapers, and it is. It's just that it should be a dialogue, not a one-way shout.

WOODRUFF: Public television: there is the Public Broadcasting System and then there is the Corporation for Public Broadcasting which gives money to PBS. The CPB as it's called is evidently taking a closer look at the programming on PBS -- that's what we read -- and, according to some observers -- in a story in the "Washington Post" last weekend -- pushing for PBS to toe a more conservative line. Are you feeling any heat?

LEHRER: Absolutely not. We've been doing our program for 30 years, Judy, and not one time have we even picked up a whiff, much less a concrete attempt, either directly or indirectly, from anybody at CPB, either staff or board, to influence or in any way interfere with anything we've ever done. And I don't expect to it change.

WOODRUFF: What do you think is going on? Is the...

(CROSSTALK)

LEHRER: I have no idea what's going on. I think, that's one part of public broadcasting that I stay out of, and that's the politics of it. All I know is -- and trust me, if I did have anything to say about that I would be more than -- I'd be shouting it from the rooftops -- but I don't know what this is all about. My feeling is that it will all come out in the wash. They want to have an ombudsman, which I'm fully supportive of, if it is, in fact, a professional ombudsman system, like the papers have and whatever -- completely independent, and they have no agenda, other than to react and examine people's complaints about programs, including our own.

I wish we had one on the "NewsHour." We just have never had the resources to have one.

WOODRUFF: Like an ombudsman at the newspapers. I also want to give you a chance to answer a related question. The newly-appointed head of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a gentleman named Ken Ferree, did an interview with the "New York Times," which ran this past Sunday, in which he says your program, the "NewsHour," is good, but then he added -- and I'm quoting -- he said, "I don't watch a lot of broadcast news. The problem for me is I do the Internet news stuff all day long, so by the time I get to the Lehrer thing, it's slow. I don't always want to sit down and read Shakespeare and Lehrer is akin to Shakespeare." He said, "Sometimes I really just want a 'People" magazine." What do you say to Mr. Ferree?

LEHRER: I would first say -- I would say to Mr. Ferree is, I've been called a lot worse things than William Shakespeare, so I can handle that. The other thing, I think -- I think that says more about him than it does about our program. I don't know the context in which he said that. All I know is that I welcome him to public broadcasting and I welcome him to watch our "NewsHour." I hope he can find time to do it.

WOODRUFF: Is the business -- the public television world, has it changed in the 30-some years that you have worked in it?

LEHRER: Oh, it is -- not where I am, it hasn't changed. It probably has changed elsewhere. "The NewsHour," we've changed internally and we're tweaking it all the time. In fact, right now we're going through a major kind of re-examination of what we're doing from credits-to-credits, because, any organization that stands still too long, eventually sinks. So, we're always refreshing what we're doing. But, basically our program, from a conceptual stand-point, from -- our soul is still the same, our purpose is still the same, as it was when we went on the air 30 years ago.

WOODRUFF: Jim Lehrer -- he is the anchor of "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," on public broadcasting, and he's the author of his 15th novel, "The Franklin Affair." We're going to watch it. We're going to watch for it on the bookselling charts, and we're...

LEHRER: Absolutely.

WOODRUFF: ...going to read your book, of course.

LEHRER: Terrific.

WOODRUFF: Jim Lehrer, thank you very much.

LEHRER: Thank you, Judy.

WOODRUFF: Always good to see you.

LEHRER: Hey, always great to see you, my friend.

WOODRUFF: Thank you.

And, remember, you can always catch WOLF BLITZER REPORTS at this time, 5:00 Eastern. Thank you for joining us. I'm Judy Woodruff. "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now, and Lou is standing by in New York.

Hi, Lou. END

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