`60 MINUTES' ISSUES APOLOGY FOLLOWING LATEST DRUG REPORT

For the second time in four months, CBS-TV's "60 Minutes" has issued
an on-air apology for an inaccurate report about drug smuggling, this
time for citing a memo that turned out to be bogus.

The apology, delivered Sunday night by correspondent Lesley Stahl, was
part of a settlement reached with a customs official who had filed a
lawsuit against the newsmagazine, spokesman Kevin Tedesco said.

In December, "60 Minutes" founder Don Hewitt apologized for airing a
June 1997 story based on a British documentary about smugglers
swallowing heroin in latex gloves to get past authorities. An
investigative panel later found the documentary producers had faked
locations and paid actors to portray drug couriers.