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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

President Bush Visits Europe; North Korean Nuclear Test?; Skmin Cancer Risk Grows with Longer Periods of Daylight

Aired May 06, 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.

WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Happening now, trip tension. President Bush visit the Baltics and touts democracy.
President -- Russia's President Vladimir Putin is making some controversial remarks about communism. Are these leaders heading toward a face to face confrontation.

Standby for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Blast or bluff -- satellite photos seem to show suspicious digging. Is North Korea about to prove it has nuclear weapons?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think everybody today should be calling Pyongyang trying to persuade Kim Jong-Il not to go ahead with such a test.

BLITZER: Fighting back -- they're training to take on the insurgents. We'll take you inside Iraq's Elite Commando School.

Project ALS -- it took Lou Gehrig, and it took their sister. Now they've declared war on a killer disease.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know they'll figure it out. Just hopefully it will be in time for me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Friday, May 6, 2005.

BLITZER: Thanks for joining us. The North Korean nuclear standoff has just escalated. There are reports the communist regime may be preparing an underground nuclear test explosion. The fallout from that could be enormous.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): U.S. Intelligence officials have long suspected that North Korea already has enough nuclear material to build as many as six nuclear bombs. And last February, the regime publicly declared it was already a nuclear power. In recent days, the head of the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency has publicly suggested that Kim Jong-Il's regime may have already mastered the ability to place those bombs on the warheads of its missiles. Some of the missiles are believed capable of reaching Alaska and perhaps even the west coast of the United States. But so far, U.S. officials say, North Korea has never actually tested a nuclear bomb.

Now, there's fear that could happen, and perhaps soon. The "New York Times" says recent U.S. Government satellite photos show ominous movement on the part of the North Koreans. Movement consistent with the construction of underground tunnels where such a test could occur.

MOHAMED ELBARADEI, IAEA DIRECTOR GENERAL: It would have disastrous political repercussions.

BLITZER: Mohamed ElBaradei is the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

ELBARADEI: I'm afraid this would throw back the whole North Korean file into -- into again, yet another, a worse situation than what we had in the last few years. It's getting from bad to worse, Wolf. And that -- the earlier we intervene to engage the North Koreans, the earlier we try to find a comprehensive solution, the better for everybody.

BLITZER: One immediate fear would be possible radiation leakage from an underground nuclear test. So, experts worry that could spark economic collapse of markets and massive evacuations in neighboring countries.

DAVID IGNATIUS, "WASHINGTON POST": That could set off a real panic in northeast Asia, certainly in Seoul, businesses will worry. In Tokyo, where radioactive fallout from a nuclear test could drift. There will be deep concerns.

ELBARADEI: I'm not sure how much environmental impact it could have in terms of radiological fallout, so I do hope that the North Korean would absolutely reconsider such reckless step.

BLITZER: Some analysts suggest Kim Jong-Il is bluffs, trying to raise the takes in order to win more economic and political concessions from the U.S. and its friends in the region, especially South Korea and Japan.

DAVID ALBRIGHT, FORMER WEAPONS INSPECTOR: Just because they move material back in or move material in, you really don't know what's going on. I mean, North Koreans tunnel everywhere, and they build lots of things inside those tunnel complexes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The stakes, though, are enormous. And we'll have much more on the nuclear threat posed by North Korea later this hour. I'll speak live with the former Deputy CIA Director John McLaughlin. Also, you can see my complete interview with the director general of the IAEA, Mohamed ElBaradei, on "LATE EDITION" this Sunday at noon eastern.

President Bush has just begun a four-nation visit to Europe, but there's already controversy over his itinerary. Sixty years ago this weekend, World War II ended in Europe. But for some countries, that did not mean the beginning of freedom.

John King is joining us from the Latvia capital of Riga -- John.

JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): And Wolf, so upset are the Russians at Mr. Bush's itinerary that the Russian foreign minister took the extraordinary step of sending a letter protesting to the U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who in turn sent a letter back saying Mr. Bush has the right to go wherever he pleases, thank you.

Now, as you noted, the president is here in Riga, Latvia, an independent democracy, now a thriving nation. A member of the NATO Alliance and European Union. Mr. Bush here to celebrate its freedom and it's democracy in his close relationship with its president. It's stop one of a four-stop, five-day trip here in Europe. The last stop is Georgia, another Soviet Republic, another country held under Soviet occupation after World War II. And that is what the Russians are upset about, because the main event of this trip is you'll have the president of the United States with some 50 other world leaders in Red Square in Moscow on Sunday celebrating the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe.

Now, Mr. Bush says on the one hand, he very much wants to pay respect to the extraordinary sacrifices Russia made in World War II, while on the other hand, he doesn't want to be seen as taking part in any nostalgia about Stalinism and what happened in Eastern Europe, especially, and here in the Baltics after World War II. So, Mr. Bush begins in Latvia. The Russians were already were upset about this e itinerary. And then Mr. Bush sent this letter to the Latvian president in which he says in part, in western Europe, the end of World War II meant liberation. In central and eastern Europe, the war also marked the Soviet occupation and an annexation of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the imposition of communism.

Now Russia objects to the term occupation. The Soviets for years have said, they were invited into the Baltics. Of course, the local governments here dispute that fiercely. The president of Latvia will go on to Moscow. The leaders of Estonia and Lithuania will not go because of continuing tensions with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In an interview with Latvian television, Mr. Bush said he understood that that celebration in Moscow is quite controversial.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The celebration in Russia is a day of liberation. Frankly, it's the beginning of a difficult period. And I can understand why some leaders of countries aren't going and some others are. That's a decision each leader must make and I respect the decision of each leader. But I'm going to continue to speak forcefully on freedom and liberty and the Baltics are great example of free countries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: So, it's a remarkable diplomatic challenge for the president here in Latvia later in Georgia. He'll will focus on his major second term initiative, promoting freedom and democracy around the world. That is only adding to the already considerable tensions in his close personal relationship, but strained professional policy relationship at the moment with the Russian President Vladimir Putin. A big test, Wolf, of whether their personal bond can overcome these policy differences. Mr. Bush, of course, wants the Russians leader's help when it comes to Iran and the nuclear standoff you just mentioned, North Korea -- Wolf.

BLITZER: John King will be covering this visit every step of the way. John, thanks very much for that preview.

In Iraq today, insurgents stepped up their relentless campaign of violence. A suicide bomber struck a crowded market in Suwayrah (ph), south of Baghdad. Police say at least 60 were killed, 40 wounded. To the north in Tikrit, a suicide bomber car rammed into a bus carrying police officers to work, killing seven of them.

In the capital, the bodies of 14 men were found in shallow graves in an industrial area, all were dressed in traditional Iraqi clothing, all shot execution-style.

Kidnappers of an Australian engineer have reportedly said, they'll kill him if his country doesn't withdraw troops from Iraq within 72 hours. That word comes from the Arabic language TV network Al Jazeera, which showed new pictures of the hostage, Douglas Wood. Wood's head is shaved, but he appears to be in considerable distress.

Since Iraq's new government was announced last week, insurgents have killed more than 250 people, many of them Iraqi soldiers and police or new recruits. Now, Iraq is training special forces to strike back at the insurgents.

CNN's Ryan Chilcote got a look behind the scenes. He reports from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's Iraq's Elite Commando School, a make or break course for select recruits from Iraq's 75,000 man army who wants to join it's 500-plus strong special forces. (INAUDIBLE) the U.S. military's ranger school, soldiers spend three weeks on four hours of sleep a day, honing their combat and survival skills. Keeping their heads high up on the ropes and low in the mud. Wiping your face off here doesn't help much. In addition to sometimes losing face, the recruits lose their names when they sign up. Instead, they're known by numbers, to mask religious or ethnic divisions.

"We want a free country," this recruit says "that we own. Not one owned by insurgents, terrorists or Syrians that come from outside our borders."

Some recruits hang in for the duration, others don't. Some lucky ones who fail are allowed to do it all over again. In a state of the art U.S.-built shoot house, Iraq's counter terrorist force, the other wing of the elite troop, demonstrates what it looks like when the initial training is over. They've already broken down doors with American troops in Fallujah, Salman Pak and Najaf -- more than 700 operations, getting more than 500 suspected insurgents.

Their Iraqi and American instructors say they're highly motivated and some of the best shots in the world. Successfully training more Iraqi troops like them, they say, is the American's best shot of getting home.

Ryan Chilcote, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: It's back to square one in the case of Army Private Lynndie England. She's the reservist whose picture became synonymous with abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib Prison. She pleaded guilty in a court martial this week, but the judge threw out her plea and declared a mistrial after her former lover and army supervisor testified she didn't know what she was doing, testified that was wrong. Now the Army is restarting the court martial process with an investigation. Back to square one there.

In Pakistan, 18 suspected terrorists are under arrest, all are believed to be members of the terror network of Abu Faraj al-Libi. Authorities say he's the No. 3 man in al Qaeda, was captured Monday in Pakistan. Officials say some of the men arrested were planning to assassinate the Pakistani president, Pervez Musharraf. Mr. Musharraf has been the target of several assassination attempts.

Let's take a quick look at some other news making headlines around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): A victorious but humble Tony Blair with his family at his side greeted reporters outside 10 Downing Street after being elected to an historic third term as Britain's prime minister. He acknowledged the Iraq war was a deeply divisive issue that hurt his Labour Party, which side's majority in parliament sharply reduced. Analysts say that could force Mr. Blair to step down before his five- year term ends.

In the Middle East, preliminary results indicate the Fatah political movement of Palestinian Leader Mahmoud Abbas is the winner in municipal elections. Fatah won about 55 percent of the seats. The militant Islamic group Hamas captured about a third of the seats, including the biggest races in the West Bank and Gaza.

Both sides are disputing the results, which are expected to be finalized Sunday.

At the Vatican, 31 new members of the Swiss Guard, whose job it is to protect the pope, were sworn in. Only males are recruited. They must be Swiss citizens and Catholic.

And that's our look around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And when we come back, gang members trying to make good and getting a boost from the first lady, Laura Bush. A story you will see only here on CNN.

Housing bubble? How a boom or bust could impact politics in your area. Our Carlos Watson has the inside edge.

Also ahead...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People don't maybe realize how lucky they are that they're able to comb their own hair or brush their own teeth or tie a shoe or pick up your baby.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Battling Lou Gehrig's disease, two sisters on a crusade to find a cure.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Now a story you'll find only here on CNN. First lady Laura Bush received a lot of laughs recently while poking some fun at her husband, the president, at the annual White House Correspondents Dinner here in Washington. But she's also deeply involved in a very serious matter, trying to help some young people break the often deadly grip of gangs. Our White House correspondent Dana Bash reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ricky Guillory wants a fresh start.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Woo, that hurts.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How did we do?

You did great.

RICKY GUILLORY, FORMER GANG MEMBER: It shows that you're tough, you've been to prison, and basically, a badge of honor is what it is. And I'm not into that honor anymore.

BASH: Tattoo removal is part of Homeboy Industries assistance for gang members struggling to escape the street.

GUILLORY: Every day is a struggle.

BASH: It also creates jobs for guys like Archie Dominquez, in a gang by 13, jailed by 18, sent back three times. He used to deal cocaine. Now he makes t-shirts.

ARCHIE DOMINQUEZ, HOMEBOY INDUSTRIES: I don't look forward to months down the line or years down the line. I mean, it's a day-to- day thing, I guess.

BASH (on camera): Gang members here in Los Angeles trying to make good are about to get a visit from a new champion for their plight: the first lady of the United States.

(voice-over): The teacher from Midland, Texas, is in the 'hood. Hard to believe.

DOMINQUEZ: You wouldn't think that the name homeboy would ever go through the White House.

BASH: This is Mrs. Bush's first encounter with people like Archie. She knows this seems odd, but calls it a logical extension of her focus on education.

LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY: A lot of those kids who drop out are the ones who get in trouble.

BASH: To encourage her new initiative to fight gangs, the president proposed $150 million over three years. That's just a drop in the bucket says Homeboys founder. Still, he's pleasantly surprised she's spotlighting rehabilitation.

REV. GREG BOYLE, FOUNDER, HOMEBOY INDUSTRIES: I've voted Democrat all my life. But maybe this is a moment of sort of Nixon in China, where you going to -- maybe from the least likely imaginable source...

L. BUSH: A lot of them didn't have skills, but when they had the chance at Homeboy Industries to learn a skill, when they had an opportunity to be employed by someone like Homeboy Industries, they really could change their life.

BASH: Local police like the program, but say working the streets must remain a priority.

CAPT. JOE FIERRO, LOS ANGELES POLICE: With over 10,000 gang members, 35 gangs in this little 12.2 mile division, we need law enforcement sorely.

BASH: Archie knows the friends he left behind don't pay much attention to the first lady, but he welcomes her help.

DOMINQUEZ: You know, there's a person dying maybe once a week, once every two weeks. You know what I mean? It just -- I don't think nobody would want to live like that.

BASH: Dana Bash, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: A victory for Tony Blair, what does it mean, though, for President Bush? Our Carlos Watson has the "Inside Edge." He is standing by to join us live next.

Anniversary of the Allied victory: We'll hear from an American veteran who accidentally stumbled upon one of the most notorious Nazi concentration camps 60 years ago.

And troop poetry: Young military men and women coping with war through words.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back.

More now on our top story. Reports that North Korea may soon be testing a nuclear weapon. Joining us now to talk about that and other key issues, our CNN political analyst Carlos Watson with "The Inside Edge."

Carlos, let's talk a little bit about the impact, dare I use the word fallout, from all the nuclear -- nuclear issues involving Iran, North Korea. The impact potentially on what's happening here in Washington.

CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, some pretty big statements from both countries this week, Wolf, along with a major conference, a nuclear proliferation conference. And I think, you take a way a couple things from that. One in that, indeed, is one of the people involved, Brent Scowcroft, former national security advisor said, "We may be at a tipping point in terms of nuclear proliferation regime breaking down and we not being able control the spread of the." Two, that means it will be a significant diplomatic test for Condi Rice, particularly, as it relates to getting help from Russia and China. And so, that's something to watch.

But three, and very significantly, Congress has been embroiled in everything from steroid hearings to the Schiavo case to the discussion of the nuclear option, but the realty is this summer we may have a have a real nuclear conversation if North Korea decides to goes forward with a test or if Iran -- if negotiations there don't go forward. Lastly on this issue, look for conversation not just about nuclear terror, but about bioterror.

BLITZER: When you talk about the nuclear option in Congress, that refers to ending filibusters for judicial nominations. But nuclear option could have a whole new meaning, depending upon what North Korea does -- if it goes forward with a nuclear test.

Let's talk a little bit about the fallout from Tony Blair's victory. He's going to be serving a third term.

WATSON: Very interesting victory. You know, came on his 52nd birthday or at least today is his 52nd birthday. Third win in a row, which is historic far for a Labour prime minister. But a smaller margin of victory, 3 percent, and a smaller majority in the Parliament down to some 66, 67 seats as opposed to 167. But it's significant for President Bush in a couple ways.

Number one, in addition to prime minister John Howard of Australia, now Bush, Howard and Blair, three major supporters of the invasion in Iraq have been reelected. And that sends a major international signal. But two, what is so important for President Bush is how Tony Blair won this election. Instead of distancing himself from President Bush in the way to Gerhardt Schroeder did in order to win reelection in Germany, and others are, including in Italy right now, Tony Blair kept mum and seemed to tow the line.

I think, in return, whether it's on global climate issues or whether it's on more international aid or whether on the use of the United Nations, I wouldn't be surprised to see President Bush maybe bend a little bit more than we might otherwise have expected in order to help his friend, Tony Blair.

BLITZER: And finally, Carlos, the job numbers that came out earlier today were pretty good?

WATSON: Pretty good. What was significant, Wolf, is that 47,000 of the 274,000 jobs came from construction. It speaks to what some people call the housing bubble. That housing bubble, which has been a record over the last 10 years, has been good news in terms of more consumer spending, more money for local budgets, even more jobs. But it could be bad news if, indeed, it pop as some people suspect. And we may be talking about a very different set of issues, Wolf, very soon, including a recession, including issues potentially around the next FED chairman and how he or she might handle interest rates. And also, by the way, a very different issue that you don't expect to hear, how appraisers, housing appraisers have been managing their jobs. Have they been very careful? Did they over inflate those numbers? That could be an Enron like or Arthur Andersen-like scandal you may hear more about in 2006.

BLITZER: Lets hope we don't. Carlos Watson, he joins us every Friday here on this program. Thanks, Carlos, very much.

WATSON: My pleasure.

BLITZER: And when we come back, more on the nuclear threat from North Korea and Iran. What should the U.S. be doing?

We'll get the inside story, the former Deputy CIA Director John McLaughlin standing by live.

Also, a labor of love for grieving sisters. We'll take you inside Project ALS.

And warmer weather, higher risk. I'll talk to "Law & Order's" Mariska Hagirtay about why she's promoting skin cancer awareness.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back.

More now on our top story, our security watch. Reports that North Korea may be on the verge of testing a nuclear weapon.

Joining us now to talk about the serious ramifications of that, our CNN National Security adviser, John McLaughlin. He's a former deputy director of the CIA, served as acting director for a time as well. John, thanks very much for joining us.

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Good to be here, Wolf.

BLITZER: A lot of our viewers probably are saying, you know what, the U.S. assessment is North Korea already probably has six nuclear bombs. What's the big deal if they go forward with an actual test?

MCLAUGHLIN: This would be the next step in what's been an escalating series of pressures from them. They haven't done a nuclear test before. And this would take their pressure on the United States and our allies to a new level.

BLITZER: When we talk about a nuclear test, they're supposedly building an underground tunnel and they would have an underground test. The fear is, what, that there would be radiation that would emerge from there for some reason and blow over South Korea or Japan?

MCLAUGHLIN: Well, that's always an issue when there's a nuclear test. And the degree to which it's a real danger depends on how they stem the tunnel and how they construct the test and just how much fallout there would be.

There would be enormous political fallout from something like this as well. Certainly the Japanese would be enormously disturbed by this. People throughout Asia would be worried about it.

In one sense, as bad as it would be, it could be worse. There's a brighter red line they could cross here, because conducting a nuclear test, while alarming, does not in and of itself demonstrate the capacity to deliver a nuclear weapon.

BLITZER: We did hear from Lowell Jacoby, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency the other day testifying before the Armed Services Committee saying the assessment now is that they can miniaturize a nuclear bomb and put it on the warhead of a ballistic missile.

MCLAUGHLIN: I think it's reasonable to assume that given the decades that they've been working on nuclear technology. The larger worry here for the United States is that they've had for a long time a program for developing intercontinental ballistic missiles with that kind of a range.

Now, they haven't tested these except once in 1998. They tested something called the Taeop Dong One. It's first two stages worked, went out in the Pacific, the third stage did not.

And they've worked on longer range missiles, that theoretically, if you do computer modeling, could hit the United States. But they haven't tested these. In part, I think, they haven't tested them because they're worried about an embarrassing failure. They've had trouble getting them literally, off the ground, though they've demonstrated some sophisticated technology. If they were to do that in conjunction with a nuclear test, it would take this whole thing to a different level.

BLITZER: If you read, as I did this morning, the "New York Times'" lead piece on the fears of the nuclear test involving North Korea, one of the things they point to in that article, the imagery supposedly showing a reviewing stand that's being built in the Northeastern part of North Korea, where presumably this test would occur.

Is that realistic to assume that Kim Jong-il would invite dignitaries from friendly countries, if North Korea has any friendly countries, to watch a nuclear test.

MCLAUGHLIN: Well, I assume this would be very remote from the site. And whatever they would see would probably be on television or something like that. But it might be something he would consider just to underline politically what he's doing here.

After all, the main reason they're doing this is to emphasize two or three points. First, that any attempt to change the regime in North Korea would come at a high price. That's the first thing they're trying to emphasize.

Second, they're trying to raise the stakes here in the bargaining, in six party talks or bilaterally with the United States, if they ever got that, for economic benefits.

And finally, they're trying to tell the world that they have serious capability. I mean, without these kinds of weapons, North Korea would have globally the weight of Chad or some small country.

BLITZER: If that.

You know that the North Koreans know the U.S. is watching everything they're doing with the satellite imagery. Is it possible they simply may be bluffing to raise the takes stakes, to get more concessions and economic political assistance from the U.S., South Korea, Japan?

MCLAUGHLIN: Yes, it's entirely possible. This is a country that's a master of what, in the intelligence business is called, denial and deception. So, they could be staging coming here. We have no way of knowing that for sure.

And they would get the benefits of that, just as they would get the benefits if from their calculus of a nuclear test, because it would tell everyone or suggest they have the capability and leave just enough ambiguity that they get the benefits diplomatically.

BLITZER: Kim Jong-il, everybody seems to think he's a crazy, wild guy, but he seemed shrewd to me.

MCLAUGHLIN: I would say he's very calculating -- very calculating.

BLITZER: You've spend a lot of time studying that man.

MCLAUGHLIN: Yes, indeed.

BLITZER: We'll talk about him on another occasion. John McLaughlin, thanks very much for spending some time with us.

MCLAUGHLIN: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: And please stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

American troops who stumbled upon the Nazi horror 60 years ago after the nightmare ended in Europe. We'll hear from one of the liberators of Buchenwald.

And their sister lost her battle with Lou Gehrig's Disease. Now they've declared war.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: As we mentioned, President Bush is in Europe to mark the 60th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany on Sunday. That defeat was also the liberation of those lucky enough to survive Hitler's death camps. For more on this, let's go to CNN's Brian Todd. He's over at the World War II memorial here in Washington -- Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, this memorial was dedicate just about a year ago. And since that time, National Park Service Officials say this has been the most visited of any of their sites nationwide. Now part of the reason for that is that we have been in a season of important anniversaries: the 60th anniversary of D-Day, the battle of the Bulge. And now, as we approach the anniversary of V.E. Day, we again have occasion to visit a member of a generation that is fading from the landscape.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, guys.

TODD (voice-over): Despite a recent foot injury, Howard Cwick is a spry, cheerful 81-year-old. He's exceedingly friendly, even when asked about the dark day 60 years ago, when this self-described momma's boy from Brooklyn suddenly grew up.

Spring 1945, U.S. Army Corporal Howard Cwick is a demolition expert with a company that has just fought its way into Central Germany. One day, he hops a ride on a Jeep he thinks is taking him to headquarters. It's the wrong Jeep. The driver says he's seen something he needs to investigate.

They come upon a huge complex of buildings and barbed wire, with an unlocked gate. Soon joined by a few other soldiers, they go inside.

HOWARD CWICK, WORLD WAR II VETERAN: As far as the eye can see, like from one end of the world to the other, there were dead bodies.

TODD: Cwick is among the first Americans to stumble on to Buchenwald, one of the largest, most notorious Nazi concentration camps.

CWICK: Bodies and bodies and bodies. Every so often, you would find a live one, but it was hard to tell if he was alive. He barely moved.

TODD: Cwick moves through the camp, encountering shell-shocked survivors. When he tells them he's an American soldier and a Jew, he's mobbed.

CWICK: They began feeling my jacket and my coat, my rifle. Two men grabbed my hands and started to kiss them. I couldn't move. The guy was hanging on to my leg like his life depending on it.

TODD: Cwick later comes upon a fellow American G.I., poking at what Cwick calls a pile of white stuff, bones and ashes.

CWICK: I looked at the pile and I wondered, a pile four feet high, how many fathers, how many brothers, how many sons were in that pile. I broke. I still cry. I still cry.

TODD: As the war winds down, Cwick and his company move through Germany, coming upon countless enemy soldiers and civilians. Ordered to take prisoners, but so shaken by his experience at Buchenwald, he never again commands someone to put their hands up.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: These days, Howard Cwick speaks to community groups and students about his experiences. He says he's still amazed at how many young people who know so little of the Holocaust are endlessly curious about his powerful story -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Brian, you've got another story you're working that you're going to share with us Monday. Tell us what you're doing.

TODD: Right, on Monday, we're going to bring you an incredible story from war's end. A veteran recalls how as a young commander of an all black unit, he took in a concentration camp survivor against orders and sheltered him for more than a year.

All right, Brian Todd reporting for us from the World War II Memorial here in Washington. Brian, good work. Thanks very much.

Poetry may not be the first thing that jumps to mind when you think of war, but there's a long tradition of warfare inspiring poetic works.

Homer's the "Iliad" and Tennyson's "Charge of the Light Brigade" are two memorable examples. Now a new documentary "Voices in Wartime" explores the power of poetry in describing the grim realities and diverse emotions of war.

Here's our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JAMIE MCINTYRE, SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Sergeant Jose Diaz, a army reservist whose military unit served at the notorious Abu Ghraib Prison, is back from Iraq and part of a project that attempts to understand war through words.

SGT. JOSE DIAZ, U.S. ARMY RESERVE: My dear Mr. President, my commander-in-chief, it relieves me to know, sir, that the acrid smell of gun powder in the midday sun has never haunted the crevices of your golf game.

MCINTYRE: Sergeant Diaz is proof of poetry's power to give voice to intense and conflicting emotions.

DIAZ: We dealt with issues of violence, death, friends getting hurt. And in the time that I was there, I often resorted to poetry as a way of processing that information through my brain and trying to come to terms with it and deal with it.

MCINTYRE: A network of poetry advocates hopes to encourage anyone with a war experience to give verse a try. And it's released a feature length documentary called "Voices in Wartime," which tries to capture the historic ties between warfare and wordsmiths.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For infantryman, for those in combat, it's very hard for them sometimes to articulate what they experienced. They go through a whole series of emotions, joy, elation -- horror, fear. That's why I think poetry is so important.

MCINTYRE: The movie features warrior poets like Vietnam veteran David Connelly (ph).

DAVID CONNELLY, VIETNAM VETERAN: And he starts thrashing and bleeding and screaming and trying to get the top of his head to stay on. But we have to keep shooting.

You see, these two have been taking turns dying on me again and again and again for all these long years. And still, people tell me, forget 'Nam.

MCINTYRE: The movie is now in theaters and the Voices in Wartime Network has a Web site, where it hopes to encourage more people touched by war to use poetry to deal with its aftermath.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A country burns. The death dealers deserve to die you see. Death is easy to pronounce. It's the smell of burning children that's hard.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And lets hope, that veterans organizations and poetry groups will join forces and support a program and an environment for returning Iraqi War veterans so they can express themselves in writing as a means of talking about their experiences.

Thanks, Jamie McIntyre, for that.

Coming up at the top of the hour, "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT". Lou standing by with a preview -- Lou.

LOU DOBBS, HOST, LOU DOBBS TONIGHT: Wolf, thank you very much.

At the top of the hour here on CNN, we'll be reporting on signs that North Korea is now preparing for its first test of a nuclear weapon. We'll have the very latest for you and what U.S. spy satellites have now detected and what that could mean for our foreign policy, and the foreign policy of our allies.

Also, President Bush traveling to Europe and Russia to push democracy around the world. Will the president's visit to two former Soviet states exacerbate his already tense relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin? We'll have the special report.

And the homeland security chief, visits are porous border with Mexico. How Director Michael Chertoff says he plans to secure our border. All of that and a great deal more, coming up next here on CNN. Join us at the top of the hour.

Now, back to Wolf Blitzer -- Wolf.

BLITZER: We will be joining you. Thanks very much, Lou Dobbs, for that.

When we come back, trying to find a cure for a deadly disease. Two sisters on a crusade to help people from Lou -- do something about their Lou Gehrig's Disease.

Plus, young people at a greater risk for skin cancer. I'll speak with a star of the hit series "Law & Order," who is an off-screen supporter for a mission to raise awareness.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Projects come and go in Hollywood, but Project ALS appears to be here to stay. It's the mission and the passion of two women who lost a sister to ALS, also loan as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

CNN's Mary Snow joins us now live from New York. She had their story -- Mary.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the Estess sisters are taking the mission from here into New York to Los Angeles in what's become an annual event. They've raised cash from stars and hand it over to scientists.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW (voice-over): Meredith and Valerie Estess always have a knack for seeking talent. But instead of producing movies, like they planned, they're looking to produce a medicine that will cure the disease that killed their sister, Jennifer.

MEREDITH ESTESS, PROJECT ALS: Valerie, Jennifer and I were just about to start a production company before she got her diagnosis and was told to max out her credit cards and go eat, you know, McDonald's for the rest of her days.

SNOW: Jennifer, seen here in this HBO documentary, was just 35- years-old when she was told she had ALS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. She was told it was it was fatal and treatment was extremely limited. She didn't accept her diagnosis without a fight.

JENNIFER ESTESS, PROJECT ALS: That neural stem cell replacement...

SNOW: She pushed for research, lobbied Congress...

ESTESS: Nobody leaves tonight until cash is coughed up and I mean it.

SNOW: Called on her Hollywood friends to help raise cash and set out to find a cure. Together, the Estess sisers formed Project ALS.

ESTESS: We intended to create a Manhattan Project for ALS, which would gather the best minds, the best thinkers and doers, to focus their talents and energies on ALS.

SNOW: It takes both money and moxie.

ESTESS: No is absolutely unacceptable to us. We're going to raise some important research dollars, we're going to go to them and we're going to convince them that they should think about ALS.

SNOW: Raising almost $23 million to date, they've targeted researchers like Tom Jessell of Columbia, who says getting the outside funds cuts red tape and speeds the research process. They follow up with researchers face to face.

THOMAS JESSELL, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: One of the biggest problems, I think, is that scientists tend to lock themselves away in ivory towers and try and ignore the outside world.

SNOW: That outside world includes people like Rebecca Barbi.

REBECCA BARBI, ALS SUFFERER: Want to go for a ride?

SNOW: At 37, she delivered her second baby early after a November diagnosis of ALS. Since then, the neuro degenerative disease that causes muscles to atrophy, has spread to her legs and left arm. Her husband says Rebecca is a real fighter.

JIM BARBI, HUSBAND OF ALS PATIENT: People don't maybe realize how lucky they are that they're able to comb their own hair or brush their own teeth or tie a shoe or pick up your baby.

SNOW: And while Rebecca is taking the only FDA approved treatment for ALS, it's not good enough.

R. BARBI: There is one treatment in particular, a gene therapy treatment, that is being tested and we're kind of hoping that that comes about soon. SNOW: The Barbis say they feel help is around the corner.

R. BARBI: I know they'll figure it out. Just hopefully it will be in time for me.

SNOW: And the Estess sisters are determined to to get the job done.

MEREDITH ESTESS, PROJECT ALS: When I can say to someone who calls on the phone that, yes, we've been able to fund an effective treatment for this disease, then I'll feel comfortable, you know, passing the baton.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: The ALS Association estimates that at any given time there are about 30,000 Americans with ALS, with a general life expectancy between two and five years. One of the doctors we interviewed for this story says he expects a treatment within the next decade -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Mary Snow, thanks very much for bringing all of this to our attention. Very important material. Mary Snow, reporting from New York.

When we come back, it's the No. 1 cancer killer for young people with new cases popping up each day. "Law & Order SVU" star Mariska Hargitay shares a personal story about skin cancer.

Also, we have some tips on how you can protect yourself. That's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Mariska, thanks very much for joining us. Skin cancer, it's a problem that a lot of young people think is way way out of there, very, very remote, but you've got a personal experience that disproves that.

MARISKA HARGITAY, ACTRESS: Yes. Well, the first thing is is that skin cancer is the most common form of cancer. I don't think people realize. They say that at least 1.3 people this year alone will be diagnosed with it. And the statistics are a little scary, because it's the No. 1 cancer killer for young people, for young women in their 20s. And it's the No. 2 cancer killer for women in their 30s, second only to breast cancer.

So I think that people don't realize that. They think that, you know, skin cancer is for somebody -- you know, it's for Irish people who have never been in the sun. And the truth is, it's affecting everybody. And is targeting younger and younger people, which is really scary.

So, we're just trying to spread the word out to people to use their sunscreen, to go to the dermatologist, get checked and be careful. You know, learn your body. If there's a mole and something changes, if the color or the shape changes, if there's anything irregular, definitely go to the dermatologist and have it checked out.

BLITZER: Mariska, there are different kinds of skin cancer. The most serious, the most deadly is melanoma. Now, you had a friend who was diagnosed with melanoma. Walk us through what happened.

HARGITAY: Yes. Well, she -- actually, what's scary about it, it was the doctor said it was from her being in the sun so long as a kid and being unprotected. That's why I want to tell parents you know, lather up your kids with sunscreen.

She actually is just out of the hospital, but she had a mole and really didn't think anything of it and it got a little bigger and it was an irregular shape and it was darker, so she went and checked it out and she was actually in the hospital and it bled. And that's when it becomes dangerous, when it bleeds and then it gets into your bloodstream and then you have problems.

BLITZER: How is she doing right now?

HARGITAY: She's good. She actually just got released from the hospital yesterday, but it was the scariest thing. And it came out of nowhere.

So I really want to urge everyone to, you know, wear sunscreen every day. Just throw it on. It should be like brushing your teeth. Just put on sunscreen, because the rays that, the UVA and UVB, the dangerous rays are out, even when it's cloudy or raining or even in the winter. People think, only wear sunscreen in the summertime or when it's really sunny, but the key is, you want to sort of get into the habit of protecting yourself every day.

BLITZER: All parts of your body that are exposed to the sun. Now, I just want to be up front with our viewers, you're a paid spokeswoman for Olay.

HARGITAY: Yes.

BLITZER: They have you out there speaking about about their products, I assume?

HARGITAY: Yes. Yes. And if you, they're actually, it's a great thing that the American Society of Dermatologic surgeons and Olay, they've teamed up together. And so right now, for the month of May, because it's skin cancer awareness month, they're offering a two for one skin cancer screening so you can bring a friend, go to the dermatologist and two people can get screened for the price of one.

And if you want, you can log on to www.olaycomplete.com and find a dermatologist near you that will do it. It's great. Bring a buddy and get checked out and feel safe. And that's priceless.

BLITZER: I get checked out every year. And I'm sure you do as well.

Mariska, thanks very much for sharing some thoughts, especially during this skin cancer awareness month. HARGITAY: Great. Thank you. God bless.

BLITZER: That's it for me. "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" start right now.

END

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 May 6, 2005 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Happening now, trip tension. President Bush visit the Baltics and touts democracy.
President -- Russia's President Vladimir Putin is making some controversial remarks about communism. Are these leaders heading toward a face to face confrontation.

Standby for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Blast or bluff -- satellite photos seem to show suspicious digging. Is North Korea about to prove it has nuclear weapons?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think everybody today should be calling Pyongyang trying to persuade Kim Jong-Il not to go ahead with such a test.

BLITZER: Fighting back -- they're training to take on the insurgents. We'll take you inside Iraq's Elite Commando School.

Project ALS -- it took Lou Gehrig, and it took their sister. Now they've declared war on a killer disease.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know they'll figure it out. Just hopefully it will be in time for me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Friday, May 6, 2005.

BLITZER: Thanks for joining us. The North Korean nuclear standoff has just escalated. There are reports the communist regime may be preparing an underground nuclear test explosion. The fallout from that could be enormous.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): U.S. Intelligence officials have long suspected that North Korea already has enough nuclear material to build as many as six nuclear bombs. And last February, the regime publicly declared it was already a nuclear power. In recent days, the head of the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency has publicly suggested that Kim Jong-Il's regime may have already mastered the ability to place those bombs on the warheads of its missiles. Some of the missiles are believed capable of reaching Alaska and perhaps even the west coast of the United States. But so far, U.S. officials say, North Korea has never actually tested a nuclear bomb.

Now, there's fear that could happen, and perhaps soon. The "New York Times" says recent U.S. Government satellite photos show ominous movement on the part of the North Koreans. Movement consistent with the construction of underground tunnels where such a test could occur.

MOHAMED ELBARADEI, IAEA DIRECTOR GENERAL: It would have disastrous political repercussions.

BLITZER: Mohamed ElBaradei is the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

ELBARADEI: I'm afraid this would throw back the whole North Korean file into -- into again, yet another, a worse situation than what we had in the last few years. It's getting from bad to worse, Wolf. And that -- the earlier we intervene to engage the North Koreans, the earlier we try to find a comprehensive solution, the better for everybody.

BLITZER: One immediate fear would be possible radiation leakage from an underground nuclear test. So, experts worry that could spark economic collapse of markets and massive evacuations in neighboring countries.

DAVID IGNATIUS, "WASHINGTON POST": That could set off a real panic in northeast Asia, certainly in Seoul, businesses will worry. In Tokyo, where radioactive fallout from a nuclear test could drift. There will be deep concerns.

ELBARADEI: I'm not sure how much environmental impact it could have in terms of radiological fallout, so I do hope that the North Korean would absolutely reconsider such reckless step.

BLITZER: Some analysts suggest Kim Jong-Il is bluffs, trying to raise the takes in order to win more economic and political concessions from the U.S. and its friends in the region, especially South Korea and Japan.

DAVID ALBRIGHT, FORMER WEAPONS INSPECTOR: Just because they move material back in or move material in, you really don't know what's going on. I mean, North Koreans tunnel everywhere, and they build lots of things inside those tunnel complexes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The stakes, though, are enormous. And we'll have much more on the nuclear threat posed by North Korea later this hour. I'll speak live with the former Deputy CIA Director John McLaughlin. Also, you can see my complete interview with the director general of the IAEA, Mohamed ElBaradei, on "LATE EDITION" this Sunday at noon eastern.

President Bush has just begun a four-nation visit to Europe, but there's already controversy over his itinerary. Sixty years ago this weekend, World War II ended in Europe. But for some countries, that did not mean the beginning of freedom.

John King is joining us from the Latvia capital of Riga -- John.

JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): And Wolf, so upset are the Russians at Mr. Bush's itinerary that the Russian foreign minister took the extraordinary step of sending a letter protesting to the U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who in turn sent a letter back saying Mr. Bush has the right to go wherever he pleases, thank you.

Now, as you noted, the president is here in Riga, Latvia, an independent democracy, now a thriving nation. A member of the NATO Alliance and European Union. Mr. Bush here to celebrate its freedom and it's democracy in his close relationship with its president. It's stop one of a four-stop, five-day trip here in Europe. The last stop is Georgia, another Soviet Republic, another country held under Soviet occupation after World War II. And that is what the Russians are upset about, because the main event of this trip is you'll have the president of the United States with some 50 other world leaders in Red Square in Moscow on Sunday celebrating the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe.

Now, Mr. Bush says on the one hand, he very much wants to pay respect to the extraordinary sacrifices Russia made in World War II, while on the other hand, he doesn't want to be seen as taking part in any nostalgia about Stalinism and what happened in Eastern Europe, especially, and here in the Baltics after World War II. So, Mr. Bush begins in Latvia. The Russians were already were upset about this e itinerary. And then Mr. Bush sent this letter to the Latvian president in which he says in part, in western Europe, the end of World War II meant liberation. In central and eastern Europe, the war also marked the Soviet occupation and an annexation of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the imposition of communism.

Now Russia objects to the term occupation. The Soviets for years have said, they were invited into the Baltics. Of course, the local governments here dispute that fiercely. The president of Latvia will go on to Moscow. The leaders of Estonia and Lithuania will not go because of continuing tensions with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In an interview with Latvian television, Mr. Bush said he understood that that celebration in Moscow is quite controversial.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The celebration in Russia is a day of liberation. Frankly, it's the beginning of a difficult period. And I can understand why some leaders of countries aren't going and some others are. That's a decision each leader must make and I respect the decision of each leader. But I'm going to continue to speak forcefully on freedom and liberty and the Baltics are great example of free countries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: So, it's a remarkable diplomatic challenge for the president here in Latvia later in Georgia. He'll will focus on his major second term initiative, promoting freedom and democracy around the world. That is only adding to the already considerable tensions in his close personal relationship, but strained professional policy relationship at the moment with the Russian President Vladimir Putin. A big test, Wolf, of whether their personal bond can overcome these policy differences. Mr. Bush, of course, wants the Russians leader's help when it comes to Iran and the nuclear standoff you just mentioned, North Korea -- Wolf.

BLITZER: John King will be covering this visit every step of the way. John, thanks very much for that preview.

In Iraq today, insurgents stepped up their relentless campaign of violence. A suicide bomber struck a crowded market in Suwayrah (ph), south of Baghdad. Police say at least 60 were killed, 40 wounded. To the north in Tikrit, a suicide bomber car rammed into a bus carrying police officers to work, killing seven of them.

In the capital, the bodies of 14 men were found in shallow graves in an industrial area, all were dressed in traditional Iraqi clothing, all shot execution-style.

Kidnappers of an Australian engineer have reportedly said, they'll kill him if his country doesn't withdraw troops from Iraq within 72 hours. That word comes from the Arabic language TV network Al Jazeera, which showed new pictures of the hostage, Douglas Wood. Wood's head is shaved, but he appears to be in considerable distress.

Since Iraq's new government was announced last week, insurgents have killed more than 250 people, many of them Iraqi soldiers and police or new recruits. Now, Iraq is training special forces to strike back at the insurgents.

CNN's Ryan Chilcote got a look behind the scenes. He reports from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's Iraq's Elite Commando School, a make or break course for select recruits from Iraq's 75,000 man army who wants to join it's 500-plus strong special forces. (INAUDIBLE) the U.S. military's ranger school, soldiers spend three weeks on four hours of sleep a day, honing their combat and survival skills. Keeping their heads high up on the ropes and low in the mud. Wiping your face off here doesn't help much. In addition to sometimes losing face, the recruits lose their names when they sign up. Instead, they're known by numbers, to mask religious or ethnic divisions.

"We want a free country," this recruit says "that we own. Not one owned by insurgents, terrorists or Syrians that come from outside our borders."

Some recruits hang in for the duration, others don't. Some lucky ones who fail are allowed to do it all over again. In a state of the art U.S.-built shoot house, Iraq's counter terrorist force, the other wing of the elite troop, demonstrates what it looks like when the initial training is over. They've already broken down doors with American troops in Fallujah, Salman Pak and Najaf -- more than 700 operations, getting more than 500 suspected insurgents.

Their Iraqi and American instructors say they're highly motivated and some of the best shots in the world. Successfully training more Iraqi troops like them, they say, is the American's best shot of getting home.

Ryan Chilcote, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: It's back to square one in the case of Army Private Lynndie England. She's the reservist whose picture became synonymous with abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib Prison. She pleaded guilty in a court martial this week, but the judge threw out her plea and declared a mistrial after her former lover and army supervisor testified she didn't know what she was doing, testified that was wrong. Now the Army is restarting the court martial process with an investigation. Back to square one there.

In Pakistan, 18 suspected terrorists are under arrest, all are believed to be members of the terror network of Abu Faraj al-Libi. Authorities say he's the No. 3 man in al Qaeda, was captured Monday in Pakistan. Officials say some of the men arrested were planning to assassinate the Pakistani president, Pervez Musharraf. Mr. Musharraf has been the target of several assassination attempts.

Let's take a quick look at some other news making headlines around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): A victorious but humble Tony Blair with his family at his side greeted reporters outside 10 Downing Street after being elected to an historic third term as Britain's prime minister. He acknowledged the Iraq war was a deeply divisive issue that hurt his Labour Party, which side's majority in parliament sharply reduced. Analysts say that could force Mr. Blair to step down before his five- year term ends.

In the Middle East, preliminary results indicate the Fatah political movement of Palestinian Leader Mahmoud Abbas is the winner in municipal elections. Fatah won about 55 percent of the seats. The militant Islamic group Hamas captured about a third of the seats, including the biggest races in the West Bank and Gaza.

Both sides are disputing the results, which are expected to be finalized Sunday.

At the Vatican, 31 new members of the Swiss Guard, whose job it is to protect the pope, were sworn in. Only males are recruited. They must be Swiss citizens and Catholic.

And that's our look around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And when we come back, gang members trying to make good and getting a boost from the first lady, Laura Bush. A story you will see only here on CNN.

Housing bubble? How a boom or bust could impact politics in your area. Our Carlos Watson has the inside edge.

Also ahead...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People don't maybe realize how lucky they are that they're able to comb their own hair or brush their own teeth or tie a shoe or pick up your baby.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Battling Lou Gehrig's disease, two sisters on a crusade to find a cure.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Now a story you'll find only here on CNN. First lady Laura Bush received a lot of laughs recently while poking some fun at her husband, the president, at the annual White House Correspondents Dinner here in Washington. But she's also deeply involved in a very serious matter, trying to help some young people break the often deadly grip of gangs. Our White House correspondent Dana Bash reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ricky Guillory wants a fresh start.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Woo, that hurts.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How did we do?

You did great.

RICKY GUILLORY, FORMER GANG MEMBER: It shows that you're tough, you've been to prison, and basically, a badge of honor is what it is. And I'm not into that honor anymore.

BASH: Tattoo removal is part of Homeboy Industries assistance for gang members struggling to escape the street.

GUILLORY: Every day is a struggle.

BASH: It also creates jobs for guys like Archie Dominquez, in a gang by 13, jailed by 18, sent back three times. He used to deal cocaine. Now he makes t-shirts.

ARCHIE DOMINQUEZ, HOMEBOY INDUSTRIES: I don't look forward to months down the line or years down the line. I mean, it's a day-to- day thing, I guess.

BASH (on camera): Gang members here in Los Angeles trying to make good are about to get a visit from a new champion for their plight: the first lady of the United States.

(voice-over): The teacher from Midland, Texas, is in the 'hood. Hard to believe.

DOMINQUEZ: You wouldn't think that the name homeboy would ever go through the White House.

BASH: This is Mrs. Bush's first encounter with people like Archie. She knows this seems odd, but calls it a logical extension of her focus on education.

LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY: A lot of those kids who drop out are the ones who get in trouble.

BASH: To encourage her new initiative to fight gangs, the president proposed $150 million over three years. That's just a drop in the bucket says Homeboys founder. Still, he's pleasantly surprised she's spotlighting rehabilitation.

REV. GREG BOYLE, FOUNDER, HOMEBOY INDUSTRIES: I've voted Democrat all my life. But maybe this is a moment of sort of Nixon in China, where you going to -- maybe from the least likely imaginable source...

L. BUSH: A lot of them didn't have skills, but when they had the chance at Homeboy Industries to learn a skill, when they had an opportunity to be employed by someone like Homeboy Industries, they really could change their life.

BASH: Local police like the program, but say working the streets must remain a priority.

CAPT. JOE FIERRO, LOS ANGELES POLICE: With over 10,000 gang members, 35 gangs in this little 12.2 mile division, we need law enforcement sorely.

BASH: Archie knows the friends he left behind don't pay much attention to the first lady, but he welcomes her help.

DOMINQUEZ: You know, there's a person dying maybe once a week, once every two weeks. You know what I mean? It just -- I don't think nobody would want to live like that.

BASH: Dana Bash, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: A victory for Tony Blair, what does it mean, though, for President Bush? Our Carlos Watson has the "Inside Edge." He is standing by to join us live next.

Anniversary of the Allied victory: We'll hear from an American veteran who accidentally stumbled upon one of the most notorious Nazi concentration camps 60 years ago.

And troop poetry: Young military men and women coping with war through words.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back.

More now on our top story. Reports that North Korea may soon be testing a nuclear weapon. Joining us now to talk about that and other key issues, our CNN political analyst Carlos Watson with "The Inside Edge."

Carlos, let's talk a little bit about the impact, dare I use the word fallout, from all the nuclear -- nuclear issues involving Iran, North Korea. The impact potentially on what's happening here in Washington.

CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, some pretty big statements from both countries this week, Wolf, along with a major conference, a nuclear proliferation conference. And I think, you take a way a couple things from that. One in that, indeed, is one of the people involved, Brent Scowcroft, former national security advisor said, "We may be at a tipping point in terms of nuclear proliferation regime breaking down and we not being able control the spread of the." Two, that means it will be a significant diplomatic test for Condi Rice, particularly, as it relates to getting help from Russia and China. And so, that's something to watch.

But three, and very significantly, Congress has been embroiled in everything from steroid hearings to the Schiavo case to the discussion of the nuclear option, but the realty is this summer we may have a have a real nuclear conversation if North Korea decides to goes forward with a test or if Iran -- if negotiations there don't go forward. Lastly on this issue, look for conversation not just about nuclear terror, but about bioterror.

BLITZER: When you talk about the nuclear option in Congress, that refers to ending filibusters for judicial nominations. But nuclear option could have a whole new meaning, depending upon what North Korea does -- if it goes forward with a nuclear test.

Let's talk a little bit about the fallout from Tony Blair's victory. He's going to be serving a third term.

WATSON: Very interesting victory. You know, came on his 52nd birthday or at least today is his 52nd birthday. Third win in a row, which is historic far for a Labour prime minister. But a smaller margin of victory, 3 percent, and a smaller majority in the Parliament down to some 66, 67 seats as opposed to 167. But it's significant for President Bush in a couple ways.

Number one, in addition to prime minister John Howard of Australia, now Bush, Howard and Blair, three major supporters of the invasion in Iraq have been reelected. And that sends a major international signal. But two, what is so important for President Bush is how Tony Blair won this election. Instead of distancing himself from President Bush in the way to Gerhardt Schroeder did in order to win reelection in Germany, and others are, including in Italy right now, Tony Blair kept mum and seemed to tow the line.

I think, in return, whether it's on global climate issues or whether it's on more international aid or whether on the use of the United Nations, I wouldn't be surprised to see President Bush maybe bend a little bit more than we might otherwise have expected in order to help his friend, Tony Blair.

BLITZER: And finally, Carlos, the job numbers that came out earlier today were pretty good?

WATSON: Pretty good. What was significant, Wolf, is that 47,000 of the 274,000 jobs came from construction. It speaks to what some people call the housing bubble. That housing bubble, which has been a record over the last 10 years, has been good news in terms of more consumer spending, more money for local budgets, even more jobs. But it could be bad news if, indeed, it pop as some people suspect. And we may be talking about a very different set of issues, Wolf, very soon, including a recession, including issues potentially around the next FED chairman and how he or she might handle interest rates. And also, by the way, a very different issue that you don't expect to hear, how appraisers, housing appraisers have been managing their jobs. Have they been very careful? Did they over inflate those numbers? That could be an Enron like or Arthur Andersen-like scandal you may hear more about in 2006.

BLITZER: Lets hope we don't. Carlos Watson, he joins us every Friday here on this program. Thanks, Carlos, very much.

WATSON: My pleasure.

BLITZER: And when we come back, more on the nuclear threat from North Korea and Iran. What should the U.S. be doing?

We'll get the inside story, the former Deputy CIA Director John McLaughlin standing by live.

Also, a labor of love for grieving sisters. We'll take you inside Project ALS.

And warmer weather, higher risk. I'll talk to "Law & Order's" Mariska Hagirtay about why she's promoting skin cancer awareness.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back.

More now on our top story, our security watch. Reports that North Korea may be on the verge of testing a nuclear weapon.

Joining us now to talk about the serious ramifications of that, our CNN National Security adviser, John McLaughlin. He's a former deputy director of the CIA, served as acting director for a time as well. John, thanks very much for joining us.

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Good to be here, Wolf.

BLITZER: A lot of our viewers probably are saying, you know what, the U.S. assessment is North Korea already probably has six nuclear bombs. What's the big deal if they go forward with an actual test?

MCLAUGHLIN: This would be the next step in what's been an escalating series of pressures from them. They haven't done a nuclear test before. And this would take their pressure on the United States and our allies to a new level.

BLITZER: When we talk about a nuclear test, they're supposedly building an underground tunnel and they would have an underground test. The fear is, what, that there would be radiation that would emerge from there for some reason and blow over South Korea or Japan?

MCLAUGHLIN: Well, that's always an issue when there's a nuclear test. And the degree to which it's a real danger depends on how they stem the tunnel and how they construct the test and just how much fallout there would be.

There would be enormous political fallout from something like this as well. Certainly the Japanese would be enormously disturbed by this. People throughout Asia would be worried about it.

In one sense, as bad as it would be, it could be worse. There's a brighter red line they could cross here, because conducting a nuclear test, while alarming, does not in and of itself demonstrate the capacity to deliver a nuclear weapon.

BLITZER: We did hear from Lowell Jacoby, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency the other day testifying before the Armed Services Committee saying the assessment now is that they can miniaturize a nuclear bomb and put it on the warhead of a ballistic missile.

MCLAUGHLIN: I think it's reasonable to assume that given the decades that they've been working on nuclear technology. The larger worry here for the United States is that they've had for a long time a program for developing intercontinental ballistic missiles with that kind of a range.

Now, they haven't tested these except once in 1998. They tested something called the Taeop Dong One. It's first two stages worked, went out in the Pacific, the third stage did not.

And they've worked on longer range missiles, that theoretically, if you do computer modeling, could hit the United States. But they haven't tested these. In part, I think, they haven't tested them because they're worried about an embarrassing failure. They've had trouble getting them literally, off the ground, though they've demonstrated some sophisticated technology. If they were to do that in conjunction with a nuclear test, it would take this whole thing to a different level.

BLITZER: If you read, as I did this morning, the "New York Times'" lead piece on the fears of the nuclear test involving North Korea, one of the things they point to in that article, the imagery supposedly showing a reviewing stand that's being built in the Northeastern part of North Korea, where presumably this test would occur.

Is that realistic to assume that Kim Jong-il would invite dignitaries from friendly countries, if North Korea has any friendly countries, to watch a nuclear test.

MCLAUGHLIN: Well, I assume this would be very remote from the site. And whatever they would see would probably be on television or something like that. But it might be something he would consider just to underline politically what he's doing here.

After all, the main reason they're doing this is to emphasize two or three points. First, that any attempt to change the regime in North Korea would come at a high price. That's the first thing they're trying to emphasize.

Second, they're trying to raise the stakes here in the bargaining, in six party talks or bilaterally with the United States, if they ever got that, for economic benefits.

And finally, they're trying to tell the world that they have serious capability. I mean, without these kinds of weapons, North Korea would have globally the weight of Chad or some small country.

BLITZER: If that.

You know that the North Koreans know the U.S. is watching everything they're doing with the satellite imagery. Is it possible they simply may be bluffing to raise the takes stakes, to get more concessions and economic political assistance from the U.S., South Korea, Japan?

MCLAUGHLIN: Yes, it's entirely possible. This is a country that's a master of what, in the intelligence business is called, denial and deception. So, they could be staging coming here. We have no way of knowing that for sure.

And they would get the benefits of that, just as they would get the benefits if from their calculus of a nuclear test, because it would tell everyone or suggest they have the capability and leave just enough ambiguity that they get the benefits diplomatically.

BLITZER: Kim Jong-il, everybody seems to think he's a crazy, wild guy, but he seemed shrewd to me.

MCLAUGHLIN: I would say he's very calculating -- very calculating.

BLITZER: You've spend a lot of time studying that man.

MCLAUGHLIN: Yes, indeed.

BLITZER: We'll talk about him on another occasion. John McLaughlin, thanks very much for spending some time with us.

MCLAUGHLIN: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: And please stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

American troops who stumbled upon the Nazi horror 60 years ago after the nightmare ended in Europe. We'll hear from one of the liberators of Buchenwald.

And their sister lost her battle with Lou Gehrig's Disease. Now they've declared war.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: As we mentioned, President Bush is in Europe to mark the 60th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany on Sunday. That defeat was also the liberation of those lucky enough to survive Hitler's death camps. For more on this, let's go to CNN's Brian Todd. He's over at the World War II memorial here in Washington -- Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, this memorial was dedicate just about a year ago. And since that time, National Park Service Officials say this has been the most visited of any of their sites nationwide. Now part of the reason for that is that we have been in a season of important anniversaries: the 60th anniversary of D-Day, the battle of the Bulge. And now, as we approach the anniversary of V.E. Day, we again have occasion to visit a member of a generation that is fading from the landscape.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, guys.

TODD (voice-over): Despite a recent foot injury, Howard Cwick is a spry, cheerful 81-year-old. He's exceedingly friendly, even when asked about the dark day 60 years ago, when this self-described momma's boy from Brooklyn suddenly grew up.

Spring 1945, U.S. Army Corporal Howard Cwick is a demolition expert with a company that has just fought its way into Central Germany. One day, he hops a ride on a Jeep he thinks is taking him to headquarters. It's the wrong Jeep. The driver says he's seen something he needs to investigate.

They come upon a huge complex of buildings and barbed wire, with an unlocked gate. Soon joined by a few other soldiers, they go inside.

HOWARD CWICK, WORLD WAR II VETERAN: As far as the eye can see, like from one end of the world to the other, there were dead bodies.

TODD: Cwick is among the first Americans to stumble on to Buchenwald, one of the largest, most notorious Nazi concentration camps.

CWICK: Bodies and bodies and bodies. Every so often, you would find a live one, but it was hard to tell if he was alive. He barely moved.

TODD: Cwick moves through the camp, encountering shell-shocked survivors. When he tells them he's an American soldier and a Jew, he's mobbed.

CWICK: They began feeling my jacket and my coat, my rifle. Two men grabbed my hands and started to kiss them. I couldn't move. The guy was hanging on to my leg like his life depending on it.

TODD: Cwick later comes upon a fellow American G.I., poking at what Cwick calls a pile of white stuff, bones and ashes.

CWICK: I looked at the pile and I wondered, a pile four feet high, how many fathers, how many brothers, how many sons were in that pile. I broke. I still cry. I still cry.

TODD: As the war winds down, Cwick and his company move through Germany, coming upon countless enemy soldiers and civilians. Ordered to take prisoners, but so shaken by his experience at Buchenwald, he never again commands someone to put their hands up.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: These days, Howard Cwick speaks to community groups and students about his experiences. He says he's still amazed at how many young people who know so little of the Holocaust are endlessly curious about his powerful story -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Brian, you've got another story you're working that you're going to share with us Monday. Tell us what you're doing.

TODD: Right, on Monday, we're going to bring you an incredible story from war's end. A veteran recalls how as a young commander of an all black unit, he took in a concentration camp survivor against orders and sheltered him for more than a year.

All right, Brian Todd reporting for us from the World War II Memorial here in Washington. Brian, good work. Thanks very much.

Poetry may not be the first thing that jumps to mind when you think of war, but there's a long tradition of warfare inspiring poetic works.

Homer's the "Iliad" and Tennyson's "Charge of the Light Brigade" are two memorable examples. Now a new documentary "Voices in Wartime" explores the power of poetry in describing the grim realities and diverse emotions of war.

Here's our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JAMIE MCINTYRE, SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Sergeant Jose Diaz, a army reservist whose military unit served at the notorious Abu Ghraib Prison, is back from Iraq and part of a project that attempts to understand war through words.

SGT. JOSE DIAZ, U.S. ARMY RESERVE: My dear Mr. President, my commander-in-chief, it relieves me to know, sir, that the acrid smell of gun powder in the midday sun has never haunted the crevices of your golf game.

MCINTYRE: Sergeant Diaz is proof of poetry's power to give voice to intense and conflicting emotions.

DIAZ: We dealt with issues of violence, death, friends getting hurt. And in the time that I was there, I often resorted to poetry as a way of processing that information through my brain and trying to come to terms with it and deal with it.

MCINTYRE: A network of poetry advocates hopes to encourage anyone with a war experience to give verse a try. And it's released a feature length documentary called "Voices in Wartime," which tries to capture the historic ties between warfare and wordsmiths.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For infantryman, for those in combat, it's very hard for them sometimes to articulate what they experienced. They go through a whole series of emotions, joy, elation -- horror, fear. That's why I think poetry is so important.

MCINTYRE: The movie features warrior poets like Vietnam veteran David Connelly (ph).

DAVID CONNELLY, VIETNAM VETERAN: And he starts thrashing and bleeding and screaming and trying to get the top of his head to stay on. But we have to keep shooting.

You see, these two have been taking turns dying on me again and again and again for all these long years. And still, people tell me, forget 'Nam.

MCINTYRE: The movie is now in theaters and the Voices in Wartime Network has a Web site, where it hopes to encourage more people touched by war to use poetry to deal with its aftermath.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A country burns. The death dealers deserve to die you see. Death is easy to pronounce. It's the smell of burning children that's hard.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And lets hope, that veterans organizations and poetry groups will join forces and support a program and an environment for returning Iraqi War veterans so they can express themselves in writing as a means of talking about their experiences.

Thanks, Jamie McIntyre, for that.

Coming up at the top of the hour, "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT". Lou standing by with a preview -- Lou.

LOU DOBBS, HOST, LOU DOBBS TONIGHT: Wolf, thank you very much.

At the top of the hour here on CNN, we'll be reporting on signs that North Korea is now preparing for its first test of a nuclear weapon. We'll have the very latest for you and what U.S. spy satellites have now detected and what that could mean for our foreign policy, and the foreign policy of our allies.

Also, President Bush traveling to Europe and Russia to push democracy around the world. Will the president's visit to two former Soviet states exacerbate his already tense relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin? We'll have the special report.

And the homeland security chief, visits are porous border with Mexico. How Director Michael Chertoff says he plans to secure our border. All of that and a great deal more, coming up next here on CNN. Join us at the top of the hour.

Now, back to Wolf Blitzer -- Wolf.

BLITZER: We will be joining you. Thanks very much, Lou Dobbs, for that.

When we come back, trying to find a cure for a deadly disease. Two sisters on a crusade to help people from Lou -- do something about their Lou Gehrig's Disease.

Plus, young people at a greater risk for skin cancer. I'll speak with a star of the hit series "Law & Order," who is an off-screen supporter for a mission to raise awareness.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Projects come and go in Hollywood, but Project ALS appears to be here to stay. It's the mission and the passion of two women who lost a sister to ALS, also loan as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

CNN's Mary Snow joins us now live from New York. She had their story -- Mary.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the Estess sisters are taking the mission from here into New York to Los Angeles in what's become an annual event. They've raised cash from stars and hand it over to scientists.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW (voice-over): Meredith and Valerie Estess always have a knack for seeking talent. But instead of producing movies, like they planned, they're looking to produce a medicine that will cure the disease that killed their sister, Jennifer.

MEREDITH ESTESS, PROJECT ALS: Valerie, Jennifer and I were just about to start a production company before she got her diagnosis and was told to max out her credit cards and go eat, you know, McDonald's for the rest of her days.

SNOW: Jennifer, seen here in this HBO documentary, was just 35- years-old when she was told she had ALS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. She was told it was it was fatal and treatment was extremely limited. She didn't accept her diagnosis without a fight.

JENNIFER ESTESS, PROJECT ALS: That neural stem cell replacement...

SNOW: She pushed for research, lobbied Congress...

ESTESS: Nobody leaves tonight until cash is coughed up and I mean it.

SNOW: Called on her Hollywood friends to help raise cash and set out to find a cure. Together, the Estess sisers formed Project ALS.

ESTESS: We intended to create a Manhattan Project for ALS, which would gather the best minds, the best thinkers and doers, to focus their talents and energies on ALS.

SNOW: It takes both money and moxie.

ESTESS: No is absolutely unacceptable to us. We're going to raise some important research dollars, we're going to go to them and we're going to convince them that they should think about ALS.

SNOW: Raising almost $23 million to date, they've targeted researchers like Tom Jessell of Columbia, who says getting the outside funds cuts red tape and speeds the research process. They follow up with researchers face to face.

THOMAS JESSELL, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: One of the biggest problems, I think, is that scientists tend to lock themselves away in ivory towers and try and ignore the outside world.

SNOW: That outside world includes people like Rebecca Barbi.

REBECCA BARBI, ALS SUFFERER: Want to go for a ride?

SNOW: At 37, she delivered her second baby early after a November diagnosis of ALS. Since then, the neuro degenerative disease that causes muscles to atrophy, has spread to her legs and left arm. Her husband says Rebecca is a real fighter.

JIM BARBI, HUSBAND OF ALS PATIENT: People don't maybe realize how lucky they are that they're able to comb their own hair or brush their own teeth or tie a shoe or pick up your baby.

SNOW: And while Rebecca is taking the only FDA approved treatment for ALS, it's not good enough.

R. BARBI: There is one treatment in particular, a gene therapy treatment, that is being tested and we're kind of hoping that that comes about soon. SNOW: The Barbis say they feel help is around the corner.

R. BARBI: I know they'll figure it out. Just hopefully it will be in time for me.

SNOW: And the Estess sisters are determined to to get the job done.

MEREDITH ESTESS, PROJECT ALS: When I can say to someone who calls on the phone that, yes, we've been able to fund an effective treatment for this disease, then I'll feel comfortable, you know, passing the baton.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: The ALS Association estimates that at any given time there are about 30,000 Americans with ALS, with a general life expectancy between two and five years. One of the doctors we interviewed for this story says he expects a treatment within the next decade -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Mary Snow, thanks very much for bringing all of this to our attention. Very important material. Mary Snow, reporting from New York.

When we come back, it's the No. 1 cancer killer for young people with new cases popping up each day. "Law & Order SVU" star Mariska Hargitay shares a personal story about skin cancer.

Also, we have some tips on how you can protect yourself. That's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Mariska, thanks very much for joining us. Skin cancer, it's a problem that a lot of young people think is way way out of there, very, very remote, but you've got a personal experience that disproves that.

MARISKA HARGITAY, ACTRESS: Yes. Well, the first thing is is that skin cancer is the most common form of cancer. I don't think people realize. They say that at least 1.3 people this year alone will be diagnosed with it. And the statistics are a little scary, because it's the No. 1 cancer killer for young people, for young women in their 20s. And it's the No. 2 cancer killer for women in their 30s, second only to breast cancer.

So I think that people don't realize that. They think that, you know, skin cancer is for somebody -- you know, it's for Irish people who have never been in the sun. And the truth is, it's affecting everybody. And is targeting younger and younger people, which is really scary.

So, we're just trying to spread the word out to people to use their sunscreen, to go to the dermatologist, get checked and be careful. You know, learn your body. If there's a mole and something changes, if the color or the shape changes, if there's anything irregular, definitely go to the dermatologist and have it checked out.

BLITZER: Mariska, there are different kinds of skin cancer. The most serious, the most deadly is melanoma. Now, you had a friend who was diagnosed with melanoma. Walk us through what happened.

HARGITAY: Yes. Well, she -- actually, what's scary about it, it was the doctor said it was from her being in the sun so long as a kid and being unprotected. That's why I want to tell parents you know, lather up your kids with sunscreen.

She actually is just out of the hospital, but she had a mole and really didn't think anything of it and it got a little bigger and it was an irregular shape and it was darker, so she went and checked it out and she was actually in the hospital and it bled. And that's when it becomes dangerous, when it bleeds and then it gets into your bloodstream and then you have problems.

BLITZER: How is she doing right now?

HARGITAY: She's good. She actually just got released from the hospital yesterday, but it was the scariest thing. And it came out of nowhere.

So I really want to urge everyone to, you know, wear sunscreen every day. Just throw it on. It should be like brushing your teeth. Just put on sunscreen, because the rays that, the UVA and UVB, the dangerous rays are out, even when it's cloudy or raining or even in the winter. People think, only wear sunscreen in the summertime or when it's really sunny, but the key is, you want to sort of get into the habit of protecting yourself every day.

BLITZER: All parts of your body that are exposed to the sun. Now, I just want to be up front with our viewers, you're a paid spokeswoman for Olay.

HARGITAY: Yes.

BLITZER: They have you out there speaking about about their products, I assume?

HARGITAY: Yes. Yes. And if you, they're actually, it's a great thing that the American Society of Dermatologic surgeons and Olay, they've teamed up together. And so right now, for the month of May, because it's skin cancer awareness month, they're offering a two for one skin cancer screening so you can bring a friend, go to the dermatologist and two people can get screened for the price of one.

And if you want, you can log on to www.olaycomplete.com and find a dermatologist near you that will do it. It's great. Bring a buddy and get checked out and feel safe. And that's priceless.

BLITZER: I get checked out every year. And I'm sure you do as well.

Mariska, thanks very much for sharing some thoughts, especially during this skin cancer awareness month. HARGITAY: Great. Thank you. God bless.

BLITZER: That's it for me. "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" start right now.

END

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