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CNN CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT
CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT
Aired March 4, 2003 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CONNIE CHUNG, HOST: Good evening. I'm Connie Chung. Tonight, chilling video images of the World Trade Center. Was this preparation for 9/11?
ANNOUNCER: Home movies of a trip to the Big Apple? Or an al Qaeda reconnaissance mission? Were these tapes shot by a terrorist planning team, in preparation for the September 11 attacks?
More than 300,000 U.S. troops, ready to fight Iraq. High tension after an air confrontation with North Korea. What's next?
Shattered dreams. Police say a phony photographer may have lured a young Hollywood hopeful to her death.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We believe that we can, and we will, bring the persons responsible to justice.
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Tonight, why other young women may still be at risk.
A controversial way to fight wrinkles. It's not approved by the FDA, but that's not stopping 200,000 people from using it.
And, our persons of the day, separated at birth.
This is CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT. From the CNN broadcast center in New York, Connie Chung.
CHUNG: Good evening. Tonight, a chilling glimpse into the past, and a telling look at what may be al Qaeda's message. Officials in Spain, where the tape was found, say it's believed to be a targeting tape, essentially a videotaped reconnaissance mission conducted by suspected members of al Qaeda, at the World Trade Center. CNN's Jamie Colby tells us more about the tapes and what they tell us.
Jamie, it's been described as quite an eerie tape. You've seen it, what does it show?
JAMIE COLBY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: CNN obtained the tapes just several hours ago, Connie, and I had a chance to watch the entire thing.
It starts out innocently enough, looks like a nice family on vacation in lush tropical gardens. But about seven minutes into the tape, Connie, haunting video of every landmark you think of when you think of New York. The World Trade Center at night, and you can hear the folks on the tape talking about it.
But who goes on vacation, you might ask, and shoots the tower, the TV towers, the Empire State building, the entrances to each of these buildings, some elements of their construction, and several bridges are also seen on the tape. There's also bustling Times Square, and can you see from the push into some of these sites in the pans over, there's nobody in the video in these particular shots. If you were on vacation, I guess you would ask, would you put yourself in the video?
CHUNG: Jamie, what does this video tell us about how these suspected al Qaeda members might indeed have planned this World Trade Center tragedy?
COLBY: Well, Connie, we don't know if it is, in fact, a preplanning video. But it would not be out of the ordinary for an al Qaeda operative to make a tape like this. We know from the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombing in Kenya, surveillance photographs were taken as early as 1993, five years before.
So it is possible that if this tape has these haunting shots of all of these landmarks, pans up, pans down, inside, even an obsession almost with the elevator banks of the World Trade Center, it certainly is possible. It's something that a court in Spain will decide when the terrorist operative, the potential terrorist operative is tried. There is no trial date for his trial at the moment.
CHUNG: Jamie, can you tell us more about this suspected operative?
COLBY: Sure, Connie. Ghasoub al-Abrash Ghalyoun was arrested in Spain in April. He was taken into custody at the same time that 15 videotapes from his home in Spain were seized. He was released, but when authorities there had a chance to look at the videotape, they rearrested him in November. They charged him with potentially being a member of a terrorist organization, charges that he continues to deny.
The attorney that represents some of the families that have sued in the United States and who obtained this video, they are trying to bust the finances of global terrorist network. They got the tape during an agreement that was made between the Spain court and the U.S. court and gave it to CNN. They think the impact of the tape helps to decide that the funding occurred and actually the planning happened with respect to the tapes. Take a look at what the attorney had to say earlier today.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From looking at the tapes and from the translations that have occurred, and from the findings of the Spanish court, we can determine that this was no mere tourist trip. Also combined with the fact that there were surveillance tapes, the Sears Tower in Chicago, the Disneyland, the Golden Gate Bridge. For instance, in the Golden Gate Bridge tape, they point out one particular structural column, and indicate that that's a particularly important column.
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COLBY: And, Connie, I should tell you, in addition to obtaining this tape, the attorneys for the families got 35,000 pages of documents that were also seized. We don't know what's in them, and it's going to take, I'm told by the attorneys, some time to go through those. But they do feel it will help their case.
CHUNG: And were there other videotapes?
COLBY: There were 15 tapes total we're told by Spanish authorities. The gentleman who was arrested had them in his home.
He is, I should tell you, a businessman there, he's in construction, he's married. He's a father of five, and he denies that these tapes had anything to do with terrorist activities, particularly with 9/11. In fact, we have a statement from his attorney, one of his defense attorneys that CNN spoke with earlier today. He says, "We strongly and categorically deny these tapes had anything to do with the attacks. Even the police have not been able to show this. They were recordings of a family on a trip."
CHUNG: Jamie, do you know of other potential targets in the United States?
COLBY: Well, this tape deals with New York, and as I said, it's comprehensive, Connie. There's at least 30 minutes of every beloved landmark in New York.
But we are told by the attorney for the families that there were videotapes of other landmarks, like the Sears Tower, like Disneyland and Universal Studios in Los Angeles. And in particular, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, where there was a focus in the video, he's told us, of structural columns, pillars of the bridge. And in fact, he told me that on the day that he discovered it and the authorities knew about it, there was extra security at Golden Gate Bridge. This is something we hadn't known.
CHUNG: All right. Jamie Colby, thank you.
COLBY: You're welcome.
CHUNG: U.S. investigators are still poring over materials seized during the capture of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed in Pakistan. As the link between al Qaeda's leadership and hundreds of agents around the world, Mohammed and his records may be a gold mine of anti-al Qaeda intelligence. I spoke with CNN national security correspondent David Ensor about this, and other developments in the war on terror.
David, I understand you have more details of what was seized what when Mohammed was arrested?
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right. It really seems to have been quite a treasure trove they collected. And that is what one U.S. official describes it as. They got his laptop, they got his cell phones, and they got his notebooks.
And sources are now saying that in those materials are lots and lots of names of what they believe will turn out to have been al Qaeda operatives. Some of them, they believe, may be in U.S. cities, perhaps even including Washington, D.C. So it's really a gold mine of intelligence, which they are urgently trying to get through, because obviously they want to try and stop any attacks that might be imminent.
CHUNG: There was another big fish who was arrested at the same time. Who is he, and what kind of information do they have on him?
ENSOR: He's not as big a fish. He is of interest. They say he's not insignificant. This is the man who sent the money to Mohammed Atta and the hijackers in the United States.
His name is Mustapha Ahmed al-Hawsawi, and he sent the money from banks in the United Arab Emirates to Mohammed Atta and the others in the United States, and then just before 9/11, Atta sent what was left of the money back to him. He's believed to be a Saudi citizen, and officials say while he won't know nearly what Khalid Shaikh Mohammed knows, he may know some interesting things.
CHUNG: All right. David Ensor, thank you.
The U.S. seemed to move closer to war against Iraq today. Pentagon officials told CNN the U.S. is considering whether to issue an 11th hour ultimatum to Iraq. Not only to serve as final notice to disarm, but also to give non-Iraqis a chance to flee before invasion. And U.S. officials also say, they expect to see a U.N. Security Council vote early next week, but have not ruled out dropping the proposed resolution entirely.
The diplomatic maneuvering came as new military deployments were announced. 60,000 in the last few days. When completed, the U.S. and Britain will have more than a quarter million troops in the gulf region. Joining us now from Mount Desert, Maine is former Reagan Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger.
Thank you so much, Mr. Secretary. It's been a long time. It's good to see you again.
CASPAR WEINBERGER, FORMER UNITED STATES DEFENSE SECRETARY: Well, thank you, thank you for asking me.
CHUNG: How close is the U.S. to war?
WEINBERGER: I think we're very close. I think that when you have, as you said, 250,000 troops of two or three countries, sort of coiled like a spring, it's almost certain that they will be used in a military action that's designed ultimately to disarm and remove Saddam Hussein. The only way to get any peace in the area, I don't think there's any option left.
CHUNG: Well, Turkey will not allow the U.S. to use its bases as a staging area. Can the U.S. invade Iraq successfully without having an entryway from the northern border?
WEINBERGER: Well, it would help to have that. I wouldn't rule it out completely.
The vote in the parliament -- first of all, the Turkish government is all for it. The vote in the parliament was very close, there were a lot of abstentions, and I think they will be -- that ultimately we will get that provision. But, yes, we could certainly use other options and various plans for getting troops in. But it would be far easier if they could go directly in from Turkey.
The more we discuss it, the more we are enabling Saddam Hussein to position his troops to be more effective. And that's very unfortunate, because it will have an adverse effect on the safety of our troops.
CHUNG: Well, that's so true. There has been so much talk about what we're going to do and what we will ultimately do. Now what should the U.S. do when it comes to strategy in the United Nations?
WEINBERGER: Well, I think that we've done what we can. We had a resolution which was very clear and unanimously adopted. And the real question is, what is the United Nations going to do about it? Are they going to allow these resolutions to be flouted? I think something like 16 resolutions that he's violated or refused to pay any attention to.
CHUNG: But Mr. Secretary, should the U.S. follow through with the second resolution, even if the U.S. believes it doesn't have the votes in the Security Council?
WEINBERGER: Well, I don't think there's any point, particularly, in doing that. I don't know where we stand with respect to other votes. There are a lot of other countries that are supporting us, some of them with votes in the Security Council. Some without.
But I think we have to make the ultimate decision on the basis of what's best for our troops, what's best for our policy. And our policy is to remove Saddam Hussein and disarm him. And he's not going to do that by himself, so I think it has to be done for him.
CHUNG: Forgive me for interrupting you. Are you suggesting that the United States should proceed even without a second U.N. resolution?
WEINBERGER: Yes. Yes. I don't think -- a second resolution is another basis for delay. It's another basis for arguing what each paragraph means and what each semicolon means, and it's another basis for delay.
President Bush summed it up very well. Time is not on our side. The longer we delay, the more advantage, military and otherwise, we're giving Saddam Hussein. And I think he's had quite enough now. He's had four and a half years without any inspections. And the inspections that are going on now are inspections of places that he wants us to be and not otherwise. So I think that we should make up our own mind as to what is best for our policy, and I think we've done that, and I would suspect we'll go in, anyway.
CHUNG: Mr. Secretary, in the short time we have left, let's turn to North Korea. CNN is reporting that the Pentagon is sending, from U.S. bases to the Korean peninsula, 24 bombers, B-1s and B-52s. What does this mean? Obviously it means that North Korea is a crisis, does it not?
WEINBERGER: No. I think it means that we're going to be better prepared to deal with aberrations such as North Korea seems to be practicing every other day. Including tracking and painting, as they say, one of our observation planes. And they did shoot down one, a few years ago, that killed 31 of our people.
I think it's important that they understand that there would be an immediate and a major response should they try anything like that again. They should not track these planes, these planes are not over Korean waters. They're way out to sea, and they have a perfect right to be there and it's important for them to be there. It's our only eyes in the somewhat unfriendly world.
CHUNG: In the last 15 seconds, can the U.S. handle both at the same time? Iraq and North Korea?
WEINBERGER: Yes, we can. It would have been better had we not cut so much back out of military.
We have always had a policy of being able to fight, and I always used to add in, to win, two major regional conflicts that had to be fought simultaneously. Mr. Clinton thought that was too expensive and too unpopular. So he cut it back and said we're now going to budget for one and one half major region conflicts which you can't really do with any effectiveness.
So we can't do it. We'll have to regain, as President Bush is doing right now, some of the military capabilities we had before. And it is sort of living proof of the point we always made, that it's quite possible, we might have to do two major conflicts simultaneously. I hope we don't, I don't think North Korea will do anything more than a lot of threatening provocative gestures, but we have to be ready.
CHUNG: All right. Secretary Weinberger, thank you so much for being with us.
WEINBERGER: Nice to see you again, thank you.
CHUNG: Right now, more news from the war on terror tops tonight's look at the world in 60.
Attorney General John Ashcroft announced the arrest in January of two Yemeni citizens. They are now charged with providing material support for al Qaeda and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
Patriot anti-missile batteries are being deployed throughout Israel in preparation for possible war against Iraq. During the Gulf War in 1991, Iraq fired scud missiles at Israel. At least 21 people, including an American, were killed when a bomb exploded in an airport in the southern Philippines. No one has claimed responsibility, but a Muslim separatist group has been responsible for other recent attacks.
President Bush outlined his ideas for Medicare reform, in which seniors would be encouraged to use subsidized private insurance. House Democrats say Bush's $400 billion plan would effectively privatize health care.
ANNOUNCER: Next, she was chasing a dream, a promise of stardom. But it ended tragically in the hills of Hollywood. CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT will be right back.
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CHUNG: An awful discovery has turned the mystery of a young woman's disappearance into the mystery of her murder. She was last seen heading to meet a photographer, someone she thought could help her get into the movies. What remains unclear is what role was played by a man, still unidentified, who was taken into police custody. CNN's David Mattingly reports.
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DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was the day after Valentine's day. And 21-year-old Kristi Johnson, a college student from Santa Monica, California, was chasing a Hollywood dream. She told a roommate she was going to see a photographer she had met at the mall. Someone who had promised her a shot at a movie role. But Kristi never came home.
Anxious family and friends searched surrounding hills and canyons. Police, meanwhile, also searched for a man who witnesses say may have abandoned Kristi's car at a hotel the day after she disappeared. This sketch, based on a description from another young woman, who claimed she, too, had been approached at the same mall with the same story. But weeks passed by with no sign of the blond-haired, blue-eyed Kristi.
JAMES T. BUTTS, JR., CHIEF, SANTA MONICA POLICE DEPARTMENT: Now we have definitive identification, based on a body marking, that lets us know that it is the body of Kristine Johnson.
MATTINGLY: Monday afternoon, four days after her 22nd birthday, two hikers discovered Kristi's body deep in a ravine in Hollywood hills. Partially clothed, wrapped in a sleeping bag, her hands bound.
JAMES WARK, VICTIM'S STEPFATHER: I don't know what I'm feeling. I don't know if this is happening right now. It's surreal.
MATTINGLY: Earlier that day, police revealed a man matching the suspect's description was in custody on an unrelated offense. But at a news conference Tuesday, investigators say they are not yet ready to reveal his identity, or charge him in the crime.
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE SPOKESMAN: We have strong belief that the person in custody is related to the incidents.
MATTINGLY: Police hope that evidence taken from Kristi's car and from other locations will give them the link they need to file charges of murder and kidnapping. And bring justice in the case of a young woman whose dreams of stardom ended in violence.
David Mattingly, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHUNG: Joining us now, from Los Angeles, is Santa Monica Police Chief James Butts, Jr., Thank you, Chief Butts, for joining us, we appreciate it.
BUTTS: Thank you.
CHUNG: Sir, what can you tell us about this man that you have in custody, who you think may be linked to the kidnapping and murder of Kristine?
BUTTS: We describe him as a subject of interest in our investigation. And that interest is developed from two of the more than 500 tips we received on our tip line. And the information between those two independent sources provided us with a path to corroborate information.
This individual, we believe, is the individual depicted in the composite. He was identified by both a witness that was approached by him in January of this year, and offered an audition for a photo shoot, and her boyfriend who came to her aid when he became aggressive with her. We have information that he has been involved, actually he's been convicted of crimes wherein the victim were female, and the M.O. used is the same as in these two cases, where he would offer an audition for a photo shoot. And in one case the specific movie production that he mentioned was the same one he mentioned to Kristine Johnson and our first witness in January.
CHUNG: Tonight, are you any closer, Chief Butts, to naming him a suspect?
BUTTS: We're no closer than we were last night. The main impediment right now for our investigation is the wait for the processing of forensic evidence that was secured from Kristine's car, and of course from her body that was recovered last night.
CHUNG: Chief Butts, I understand that Kristine was found wearing something that indicated to you that, indeed, she was going to something she thought was going to be similar to an audition to get a movie role.
BUTTS: That's correct. He asked both women, Kristine and the woman in January to wear specific items of apparel for this shoot, and she was wearing a specific item that he had specified.
CHUNG: Can you tell us about the cause of death, or are you waiting for forensic evidence on that? BUTTS: The postmortem has not been conducted. Her remains were only recovered last night. And we imagine it will take at least seven days for that postmortem to be conducted.
CHUNG: All right. Chief Butts, I thank you so much for being with us.
BUTTS: Thank you, Connie.
CHUNG: And joining us now, one of the people mourning Kristi Johnson. Edwin Ortiz was her friend, and her boss. He joins us now from Los Angeles.
Mr. Ortiz, thank you so much for being with us. Tell us about Kristine, what was she like?
EDWIN ORTIZ, FRIEND OF VICTIM: Kristine was a wide-eyed, open, 21-year-old girl ,who had dreams like anybody that age.
CHUNG: Did she share her dreams with you of wanting to be in the movies?
ORTIZ: Actually, that's the strange part. That story's been circulating, that she wanted to be in films. But when I interviewed her for the position, she was actually telling me that she was studying to be a makeup artist.
CHUNG: I thought I had understood that to be the case, that she had not expressed to you this burning desire to be in the movies. She was working for you in your office, how did you find out that her body had been found?
ORTIZ: Well, actually a reporter for one of the local stations came and told us that the police had, in fact, found her body. But I didn't take that to heart unless I heard it officially. So we made some calls to make sure it was official, because we did not want to make a comment unless the family was advised of her finding.
CHUNG: Everyone must have been devastated in the office?
ORTIZ: Everybody's in devastated. Everybody's in a state of shock. Sometimes I feel like I'm walking around and it still hasn't totally hit me yet. You never think about something like this happening to you. You read about it in the paper, and then it happens to you.
CHUNG: Edwin Ortiz, thanks for being with us.
ORTIZ: Thank you.
CHUNG: Police believe a missing 14-year-old Michigan girl may be with a 56-year-old murderer whom she met through church. Lindsey Ryan corresponded with convicted killer Terry Drake online. After she disappeared this weekend, her friends revealed the relationship to her family. Today, Lindsey's mother asked her to come home, if she can.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I will do whatever it takes. I will do whatever it takes to get you home. I will not give up on you. I don't care what people are thinking. I don't care how long you're gone. You're my daughter. I've been with you for 14 years, and I know you better than anyone else. And I know that you love us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHUNG: Police are focusing their search in Wyoming, but have also notified officials in several other states.
Still ahead, is looking young worth breaking the law? Stay with us.
ANNOUNCER: Next, the cops who busted Robert Blake take the stand. Will their case make it to court? CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT will be right back.
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CHUNG: A former "Barretta" stuntman, back on the stand today, testified that Robert Blake was counting on his acting skills to help him get away with murder. Raul Hambleton said Blake wanted someone to kill his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, and that Blake rejected any alternatives.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I offered several alternatives.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Alternatives to what?
To having, buying, taking out, snuffed her, as he was, kept emphatically proclaiming it was necessary. And I kept offering other ways of perhaps handling the situation, such as going to her, and offering money. I believe my exact words were, "There's more than one way to skin a cat."
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CHUNG: Blake's attorneys have repeatedly called Hambleton's credibility into question during this preliminary hearing to determine whether Blake stands trial for murder.
CNN's Charles Feldman has been covering the hearing. And he joins us from Los Angeles.
Charlie, I can't believe that the prosecution has put this man back on the stand, because of all his credibility problems.
CHARLES FELDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they have no choice, Connie because, after all, Hambleton is one of their two key witnesses, the two stuntmen who claim that Robert Blake wanted them to kill his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley. And if you believe Ron Hambleton, at least his testimony on the stand today, Connie, Blake was very much a control freak, because, under almost every scenario that allegedly was hatched by Blake to kill his wife, Blake insisted on being there.
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HAMBLETON: He never said anything about he had to be present, but every scenario always included his presence.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you talk about his presence, where would he have to be?
HAMBLETON: Right there on the spot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When the killing actually happened?
HAMBLETON: That is correct.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FELDMAN: Now, if you also believe what Hambleton has to say, he says that Blake said that, if Hambleton wouldn't do it, in the end, he'd handle it himself -- Connie.
CHUNG: Were there several scenarios discussed on how Bonny Lee Bakley would be killed?
FELDMAN: Yes, there were a number.
One included going upstairs, that Hambleton would go upstairs as a burglar and kill her in her sleep. And another, which is very similar to what actually occurred, was that she would be driven a restaurant and then, when Blake left the automobile and left her behind, she would be killed in the automobile.
CHUNG: Charlie, apparently, during the testimony today, it was revealed that Blake was very concerned that Bonny Lee Bakley would get custody of the child. Tell us more about that.
FELDMAN: Yes.
What was driving this man, apparently, according to the testimony -- and by this man, of course, I mean Robert Blake -- is the concern he had about the daughter he had with Bonny Lee Bakley, little Rosie. And there was testimony today about how Blake was really worried that, if something wasn't done and done soon to get rid of what he considered to be a thorn in his side, namely, his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, that there would be dire consequences for little Rosie.
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HAMBLETON: He was very concerned with the possibility that she would get custody of the child.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what would happen to the child if the mother were to get custody?
HAMBLETON: Well, in his eyes, that she would wind up in the same position as the 8-year-old, the child of Bonny Bakley, that he made reference to, who he said that was involved in child pornography.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FELDMAN: And so what a sad story this is, Connie. It has so many different layers to it and so many different concerns, a bad marriage, concern about a young child, and all of that, of course, coming out now at this preliminary hearing -- Connie.
CHUNG: Charlie, was there any testimony about Blake's alleged accomplice?
FELDMAN: Connie, We did hear testimony today about Earle Caldwell. That was Blake's former bodyguard and now his co-defendant in this case, charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
On the stand was the second lead detective in the case. And he testified that they allegedly found a list inside Caldwell's car, a list of items that prosecutors say were of goods to be used to kill Bonny Lee Bakley.
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BRIAN TYNDALL, LAPD: A small sledge. Below that ON the next line is a crowbar, .25 auto. Get blank gun ready. Old rugs, duct tape, black. Drano. Pool acid, lye, and plant.
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FELDMAN: Sounds like a list of things you might use against terrorism. But prosecutors claim that it was supposed to be to kill Bonny Lee Bakley -- Connie.
CHUNG: Charles Feldman, thank you.
Right now, reports of a somewhat unorthodox alleged murder attempt tops tonight's "Snapshot."
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CHUNG (voice-over): "Vanity Fair" reports the pop star Michael Jackson paid $150,000 to put a deadly voodoo curse on Steven Spielberg, David Geffen and 23 other people. The report also says Jackson wears a prosthetic nose and bleaches his skin because he doesn't like being black.
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia is facing a fourth-quarter loss of 6 percent. They company blames the buzz over the insider trading investigation of Stewart's ImClone stock sale.
Pete Rose may be inching a bit closer to a return to baseball. "The New York Daily News" reports Rose will meet with Major League Baseball's CEO this spring to discuss what it would take to allow him to be reinstated. Rose still denies he bet on baseball.
"The Wall Street Journal" says the Postal Service may start lobbying next month for a rate increase. That would be about two years earlier than expected.
And if you believe in lucky numbers, a proud mom in Philadelphia gave birth to triplets yesterday on the day that was 3/3/03.
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ANNOUNCER: Still ahead: our "Persons of the Day," separated at birth,
CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT continues in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: A new anti-aging treatment seems to have a lot going for it, including thousands of people who want to have it done. There's one wrinkle, though. It's illegal, because it hasn't been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
But as CNN's Whitney Casey reports, that doesn't seem to be stopping a lot of people.
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DR. ED TRUPPMAN, PLASTIC SURGEON: You want to watch through the mirror?
WHITNEY CASEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Diane Phillips (ph) is looking to take years off her face. And her Miami plastic surgeon, Dr. Edward Truppman, says he's got just the injection to pull it off.
TRUPPMAN: On this side, I'm using a little Restylane.
CASEY: The problem, is the FDA says this procedure is illegal. Restylane, the wrinkle filler, is a derivative of fluid found in human joints and is being used by more than 200,000 people in 60 countries. Although it is being tested in the U.S., it is yet to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Doctor Truppman says, before he performs the injections, he tell his patients this and has them sign a waiver.
DR. ED TRUPPMAN, PLASTIC SURGEON: I have a demand for it. And in my investigation and in my professional opinion -- that this is a relatively safe procedure to do.
CASEY: And Dr. Truppman is not alone. When we called listed plastic surgeons to ask if the Restylane injections were available, 30 percent in Los Angeles said yes; 13 percent in New York City; and, in Miami, 7 percent. However, for patients of the this posh New York City plastic surgeon's office, it's a much different story.
MARIA LOWRANCE, RESTYLANE PATIENT: If it was FDA-approved, I'd put it here.
CASEY: Fifty-eight-year-old Maria Lowrance got Restylane injections in France and Canada, but can't get her New York plastic surgeon, Dr. Steven Herman, to continue the treatment.
DR. STEVEN HERMAN, PLASTIC SURGEON: Good morning, Maria.
CASEY: Instead, he preps her for a series of approved temporizing treatments that could run her upwards of $4,500.
HERMAN: Lots of women are interested in having something done so that they can look better and yet not take the downtime that is necessary for surgery.
CASEY (on camera): So this is what you call a lunch lift?
(voice-over): In her lunch hour, Maria gets Botox injections to stave off a wrinkly forehead, collagen in her laugh lines. And in her upper lip?
HERMAN: This is AlloDerm, which is actually derived from human skin.
CASEY: Inserted with this hook-like needle, the AlloDerm is pulled under the skin, an invasive procedure that some doctors say could be replaced by a few lip injections of Restylane. But Dr. Herman warns:
HERMAN: No. I choose, at this point, to wait until there is actual FDA approval. Everyone has to realize that Restylane is not a magic cure.
CASEY: Dr. Truppman and his newly-injected patients disagree.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I see instant results.
CASEY: And as for Maria Lowrance and her three FDA-approved procedures.
(on camera): So, $4,500. You've got some toxin, some human cells and some collagen. And you feel?
LOWRANCE: Fine. I feel absolutely confident about it.
CASEY (voice-over): But when the swelling goes down in her new upper lip and Restylane is approved by the FDA, Maria assures us that Restylane will not only be on her lips, but also in her lips.
Whitney Casey, CNN, New York.
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CHUNG: So, should doctors be administering Restylane? Maria Lowrance thinks so. She had the procedure twice. You saw her. And we also have with us Arthur Caplan, director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania. Thank you both for being with us.
Maria, it was very hard to watch that.
LOWRANCE: I know.
CHUNG: I have to tell you, you're 58. You do look terrific. You've had two of these treatments, one in Canada, one in Paris.
LOWRANCE: Right.
CHUNG: Why did you feel that you had to have it? Did you feel as if it really helped?
LOWRANCE: I felt it did. I didn't want to do collagen, simply because of the fact that I had to be tested and I had a reaction to it once. And I had heard about the Restylane, or hyaluronic acid, products. And while I was there, I thought, why not try it?
CHUNG: And as far as you're concerned, did it work?
LOWRANCE: Absolutely. I thought it worked considerably better than the collagen or even the AlloDerm, those products. It worked much better for me.
CHUNG: But it's not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Weren't you concerned? Weren't you worried?
LOWRANCE: I researched. I went online and did a little research on it and knew I could get it in Europe and in Canada. So I didn't just go into it blindly. I did a little research, found that the margin for the downside was very, very small -- very, very small.
CHUNG: Now, some people report that the actual site of the injection is painful. Did you have any adverse effects?
LOWRANCE: I felt that it was, yes, a little more painful during the injection than, say, collagen or AlloDerm or those products. But the end result was -- I felt, honestly, that it lasted me probably as long as a year. And I felt -- I wasn't uncomfortable with it. I wasn't afraid to use it at all.
CHUNG: Now, if you could find someone who would do for you here in New York, would you?
LOWRANCE: Absolutely.
CHUNG: Even though it's illegal?
LOWRANCE: I have a little question with the legality part, simply because of the business I'm in. I would prefer doing it when it's legalized, yes.
CHUNG: And you are actually in the...
LOWRANCE: In the clinical skin care business. So I would -- simply because I tell my patients they have to wait. They're on a waiting list. So, I have to kind of -- I would rather be on the safe side legally.
CHUNG: All right. Don't go away. I might get back to you.
Art Caplan, what are your concerns about Restylane?
ARTHUR CAPLAN, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR BIOETHICS, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: Well, I don't have major concerns about safety.
But unapproved drugs, unapproved substances do bother me. Connie, I have to tell you, everything from thalidomide to silicon at different times was used in Europe, no problems seen. When it was used over a longer period of time and subjected to FDA tests, which are independent, not by the manufacturer, problems obviously were found.
So, the issue is, can we have not so much a gold standard, but a floor? And that's what the FDA is. It really does independently look at things and say, yes, the outcomes are good and the safety profile is there.
CHUNG: Well, you say you don't have any concerns about safety, but do you know of any horror stories?
CAPLAN: I don't.
I mean, the experience, as far as I've been able to track it in Europe, has been OK. On the other hand, it hasn't been around that long. And one of the things you watch for is, when you make something from human-derived tissues or cells, is there a longer-term danger? Does something go wrong? Does a reaction get set off?
CHUNG: Well, what about all those 60 countries? I know you mentioned the fact that it is approved elsewhere. So, why would all these countries approve it? And just because the United States doesn't, that doesn't really mean that there's something wrong with it.
CAPLAN: Well, the real problem is this. The FDA has a tougher standard than every other country in putting things on the market. And, at the end of the day, I'd rather have front and safety testing done by an independent agency than have the company produce data, which is what's going on in most of these countries, saying, "It's good. We make it. We've tested it ourselves. We believe it works," and relying on that.
But the FDA standard has proven over time to be the one that's really the one we ought to be following.
CHUNG: All right, looking at what Mr. Caplan has to say, don't you have reservations? I'd surely think, oh, my gosh, this is a little too dangerous.
LOWRANCE: I don't, because just, what, several months ago, everyone was saying the same thing about Botox. And now it's the big craze. I really don't feel insecure about having it done. And I will have it done when it is FDA approved.
CAPLAN: Connie, can I jump in there?
CHUNG: Sure.
CAPLAN: Just to say this.
I might say, buck the FDA if we were talking about a cancer drug and you were at the end of the line and nothing else was there. But here, we're saying wait a year for the data to come in. And we're talking about something that, while important, aesthetics, is still aesthetics. And that risk-benefit ratio, it seems to me, that's one I wouldn't push.
CHUNG: Well, there you go, Mr. Caplan. This is just the pursuit of beauty. Is it going too far?
CAPLAN: Well, beauty is a good thing to pursue. I'm not against that.
(LAUGHTER)
CAPLAN: But it seems to me, the risk-benefit ratio, you want to be more conservative. You're trying something to save your own life, you have got a terminal disease, the FDA hasn't approved the drug, maybe so. But here, I think the pursuit of beauty has to be buffered, if you will, by saying we're going to go through the safest procedures possible.
CHUNG: All right, Art Caplan, I thank you.
CAPLAN: My pleasure.
CHUNG: And Maria Lowrance, appreciate your being with us as well.
LOWRANCE: Thank you. Thank you.
CHUNG: Still ahead: It's not plastic surgery, so, why do our "Persons of the Day" look exactly alike? They couldn't believe it either.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: All this month, CNN is marking the 80th anniversary of "TIME" magazine, which is owned by CNN's parent company, by looking back at some of the 80 days that changed our world since "TIME" began, the magazine, that is.
Tonight: a look at a day more than 60 years ago that continues to shape headlines today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ADAM ZAGORIN, "TIME": Oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia in March of 1938. And it came after a period of at least 3 1/2 years of exploration. Subsequent exploration after 1938 led to the 1948 discovery of the largest oil field in the world, Al Ghawar, which contained some 60 billion barrels of oil, which is a great deal of oil.
Since then, also more or less in that same region, has been discovered reserves in excess of 220 billion barrels of oil, which is the largest reserve in the world. The discovery of oil in Saudi Arabia changed the world, because it made oil so much more available, so much cheaper. And that in turn fueled the auto industry. And it also extended the range of vital U.S. interests to a part of the world that they had never focused on before.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: Tonight, a reunion 20 years and a lifetime in the making brings us our "Persons of the Day."
Identical twins Tamara Rabi and Adriana Scott were born in Mexico and put up for adoption as babies. Never knowing the other existed, they grew up just 20 mile apart, one in New York City, the other on Long Island. Then, at her 20th birthday party, someone told Tamara she looked just like his friend Adriana. The girls compared notes online and finally met face to nearly-identical face.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADRIANA SCOTT, REUNITED TWIN: Both of us feel like we've already known each other for so long. We have the same mannerisms, personality. We do the same things, but yet we grew up totally different places, which is kind of weird.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHUNG: They're both 5 foot, three-quarter inches tall. They love dancing and even have similar earrings. But this isn't a Hollywood movie with a cutesy ending. Each almost backed out of the first meeting. And Tamara told "The New York Times" it was just hard to adjust.
Despite the difficulties, they forged ahead, making identical twins Tamara Rabi and Adriana Scott our "Persons of the Day."
And tomorrow: an exclusive interview. Her mother was killed and then portrayed as a criminal. What does the daughter of Bonny Lee Bakley have to say about her mother and Robert Blake?
And coming next on "LARRY KING LIVE": You've heard the news about Michael Jackson. Well, now sister LaToya gives her first interview in six years.
And that's our program for tonight. Thank you so much for joining us. And for all of us at CNN, good night and we'll see you tomorrow.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
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