[Zahn:] Here are the headlines you need to know at this hour. A NATO spokesman says two Canadian peacekeepers were killed, three others wounded when one of their vehicles hit a mine today in the Afghan capital of Kabul. Officials are investigating whether the blast was the result of hostile action. Prosecutors have dropped kidnapping charges against the Utah parents who went into hiding rather than allow their 12-year-old son to have chemotherapy. Instead, the couple agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge in a deal will it keep them out of jail and their record will be wiped clear if they stay out of trouble for the next year. And in a small town in Georgia, an army sergeant on leave from South Korea has hit the jackpot. Terrell Moore has claimed the $150 million prize in the Megamillions lottery. He was visiting his family during his 30-day leave when he brought the winning ticket at a convenience store. Rush Limbaugh's week went from bad to worse today. His name has surfaced in a drug investigation in Florida. According to law enforcement sources, he allegedly bought large amounts of prescription painkillers illegally. This after he quit under pressure as host of ESPN's Sunday NFL countdown for his racially charged remarks. "Miami Herald" reporter Glenn Garvin joins us tonight from Miami. Good of you to join us. Welcome, sir.
[Glenn Garvin "miami Herald":] Hi.
[Zahn:] How bad do things look like for Rush Limbaugh tonight as far as this investigation is concerned?
[Garvin:] Well, the allegations by the housekeeper are certainly very serious. Of course, they right now they're just that, allegations, nothing more. This all stems from the drug investigation of a pharmacy in Lakeworth, Florida, in May. Lakeworth is a little bit north of here. The people who own the pharmacy, who are in jail right now on drug charges, are accused of distributing 500,000 painkilling pills, prescription painkilling pills to drug dealers around South Florida, and what the police are looking at what the law enforcement authorities are looking at in Pal Beach County, is whether some of those pills found their way to Rush Limbaugh.
[Zahn:] And investigators found out about Mr. Limbaugh's alleged linkage to this plot through a maid who had worked for him. What what is she alleging?
[Garvin:] She says that she supplied Limbaugh with these painkillers for about four years, from 1998 to 2002. This is in the wake, I guess, of his surgery for his deafness, which was pretty highly publicized at the time. And he suffered pain as a result of that, and she says became addicted to the painkillers. She says she gave him truly massive quantities. In one seven-week period, 4,000 pills, she says.
[Zahn:] Well, how reliable is she as a source, as far as law enforcement is concerned?
[Garvin:] They're certainly looking at it seriously. She has she has given them tape recordings of two of her meetings with Rush Limbaugh where she, they say, covertly wired herself. She's also given them what she says are e-mails between her and Limbaugh discussing these transactions. So I imagine they're trying to determine the authenticity of that evidence as we speak.
[Zahn:] The investigation could go on for some time. Glenn Garvin, thank you for sharing the latest info with us tonight. Appreciate it. Now allegations about Rush Limbaugh and a drug problem were a very hot topic today, both in private and on the air. Joining us from Washington is conservative radio talk show host Armstrong Williams. Armstrong, welcome back.
[Armstrong Williams, Radio Talk Show:] Hi, Paula.
[Zahn:] First of all, do you believe these allegations that Rush Limbaugh is somehow linked to this drug investigation?
[Williams:] Nope. You know, I don't know, it's kind of shocking, the story is developing. You just have to wait for the facts to surface and then make your judgments. Obviously he said he's unaware that he's under investigation and that he will do all in his power to cooperate with authorities.
[Zahn:] And, in fact, why don't I read that part of the statement he made today, so people have a fuller understanding of that. Here is what Mr. Limbaugh said, almost exactly what Armstrong just chronicled for us: "I am unaware of any investigation by any authority involving me. No government representative has contacted me directly or indirectly. If my assistance is required, I will, of course, cooperate fully." It is interesting to note, there is no denial there of drug abuse. Does that strike you at all when you listened to a statement? You know and you and I both have known people who have had excruciating pain in their lives, and to the point where sometimes they feel they would be better off if they were not living. And sometimes, you know, when you're in desperate situations, and you seek desperate measures to ease the pain. And and no, he did not deny it. But that doesn't mean he affirmed it either. He said he would cooperate. No one has contacted him. And I find it astounding that someone who worked for him in his home would make these allegations. Certainly you can't not just dismiss that source if it's someone that he had in his trust who was in his home. So, you know, it's quite bizarre. The issues you know, when you're a public figure and you have no idea who you can trust, and it's very difficult. People think you know, people want to celebrate those that are in the limelight. But, you know, there's a huge price you pay. And you know, we all have been in those storms at one point or another in our careers, and I've got to tell you, it's not pretty. Do you expect Mr. Limbaugh to get much empathy from his followers?
[Williams:] Oh, listen, you know, no matter what people may say about Rush Limbaugh and what they may accuse him you of, the reason why people have such disdain for Limbaugh is, you know, there's a resentment against achievement. Rush Limbaugh is an icon. He's on over 300 radio stations in this country. Over 20 million people listen to him. People have even go far to say he may have tipped the scale in the 2000 presidential race and in the 2002 midterm elections. The man has had a phenomenal influence on radio and talk show hosts in this country, and, you know, as much as you criticize him, you got to give the man credit. The only reason why he's so controversial with his remarks on ESPN because he's a conservative and people want to do all they can to malign conservatives in this country, whether you like it or not. Liberals don't fare very well on the talk show circuit and conservatives do very well. And I don't think it's just an issue of Rush Limbaugh and ESPN, even though I think his remarks were very insensitive. I wish he had not used race make Donovan McNabb's race in his remarks, but I think his point his broader point was well-taken, is that given the history of black sport figures in this country, whether it's quarterbacking in football, whether it's tennis and the Williams sisters or golf and Tiger Woods, because of our history where blacks were shut out for so long in those sports, America goes out of its way to celebrate those that are successful. And they're not successful because they're black, they're successful because they, like the Williams sisters' parents, they put in the hours, they put in the discipline and they made the sacrifice to prepare their children for the world of tennis. And so the problem here with Mr. Limbaugh, is that anything he says where he uses the issue of race and he's being a conservative will be controversial.
[Zahn:] You have about five seconds left, because we have a commercial break we have to get here.
[Williams:] If he had been blessed with the hue of my skin, he would have probably been given a raise for putting a little bit of kick back in ESPN. He certainly would not have had to resign.
[Zahn:] One man's opinion. Thank you for sharing it with us tonight. More on the Rush Limbaugh investigation in just a moment. We'll hear from Al Franken, whose attitude about Limbaugh is a bit more critical. And then tomorrow, my conversation with Senator Edwards, another Democratic candidates for president, and his wife Elizabeth. We'll be right back.