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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Bush Calls on Allies to Help Rebuild Iraq; Iraqi Police Killed by Friendly Fire
Aired September 12, 2003 - 19:00 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.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, ANCHOR: President Bush talks tough on terror. New violence in Iraq.
Yasser Arafat. Are his days numbered?
Eyeball-to-eyeball on the DMZ, live.
Saying good-bye to John Ritter and Johnny Cash.
This weekend's top Hollywood tickets.
And meet the disabled mountaineer who climbed Japan's highest peak.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Thanks for joining us here on 360. I'm Anderson Cooper.
Tonight a prison release delayed. The man convicted of manslaughter after dogs in his home mauled a woman to death. He was supposed to get out today; he didn't. We'll find out why.
Also, 9-month-old conjoined twins attached from stomach to hip. They are surgically separated tonight. We'll meet their surgeon and hear their status.
But first, top story. President Bush calling on U.S. allies to join in rebuilding Iraq. The place, Fort Stewart, Georgia, the president welcoming home troops of the 3rd Infantry Division from Iraq.
It's a fight between civilization and chaos. That's how the president described it. A fight where no free nation can be neutral.
Senior White House correspondent John King is with the president.
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Anderson, those tough words from the president came at Fort Stewart and came as Secretary of State Powell prepares this weekend to engage in the diplomacy, trying to get that new U.N. resolution, trying to get more U.S. troops on the ground with the Americans in Iraq.
The president banking and welcoming home the troops who led the first sweep into Baghdad on the day that statue of Saddam Hussein fell, the 3rd Infantry Division, 16,500 deployed to war. That unit has the highest casualties of all of the Americans, some 40 killed.
As he did so, Mr. Bush thanked those troops. A very different assessment of the post-war climate, remember, of four months ago. He stood on an aircraft carrier and said "mission accomplished." Tonight, a much more sober assessment from the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This undertaking is difficult, and it is costly. Yet it is worthy of our country and it is critical to our security.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: The president told those troops their efforts in the war had been critical to the global war on terrorism, critical to stabilizing the Middle East.
But, Anderson, as he prepared to leave the base, one final meeting underscored that even if the president gets the more international troops that he wants, it will be more than 100,000 U.S. troops in Iraq or probably at least a year to come. The president spending some time and shedding some tears with family members of 11 members of that 3rd Infantry Division who did not return home -- Anderson.
COOPER: All right. John King with the president. Thank you, John.
In Iraq, the fight continues. Today bullets fired, blood spilled. Apparent friendly fire in Fallujah in Baghdad, trouble as well.
CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Writhing in pain, an Iraqi policeman injured in an overnight shooting involving U.S. and Jordanian forces and the Iraqi police, receives treatment in a Fallujah hospital.
One of nine injured survivors in an apparent friendly fire incident that killed nine Iraqi police and one Jordanian officer.
Outside the nearby Jordanian military hospital where the firefight took place, distraught family members.
"These shells are for a light weapon," he says. "The Iraqis don't have such ammunition, only the Americans."
According to the U.S. forces, the shooting was defensive after they were attacked with a rocket-propelled grenade, resulting in one U.S. casualty and the injury of five, of what the U.S. describes as neutral individuals. (on camera) Much about this incident remains unclear. All that's left here, a few spent shell casings. But in this area where tensions between U.S. troops and Iraqi people have been running high for some time, this latest attack will likely antagonize an already delicate situation.
(voice-over) Meanwhile, on the other side of Fallujah, another attack on U.S. troops. In the ensuing gun battle a young child shot in the head, adding to the tension and anger here.
Not far away in the town of Ramadi (ph), the aftermath of an overnight U.S. raid that apparently went wrong. Two U.S. soldiers killed and seven injured.
A bloody 24 hours, even for this section of west central Iraq, where security experts warn U.S. forces are at the most risk of attack.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Fallujah, Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, in New York today the U.N. Security Council called for Israel's threat to remove Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, well, they called it unhelpful. The U.N. says Israel should back down.
A U.S. official says the White House is trying to make Israel look for a different solution. All this while Arafat waits in his compound.
Matthew Chance is in Ramallah.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Yasser Arafat emerged from his battered compound to shouts of Palestinian support. Amid the deep concern of what Israel might do to their leader, there's talk about around a public vigil in his offices to deter any possible military strike. And warnings of unprecedented chaos if President Arafat, symbol of Palestinian independence to so many, is even touched.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe it will be an execution (ph) for the peace process, an execution (ph) of the road map, an execution order for the attempts (UNINTELLIGLIBLE). I think we will witness (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the totalist action of the peace camp and moderation of the rise of (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
CHANCE: There have been protest elsewhere, too. After prayers at the al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, Palestinian demonstrators clashed with Israeli police.
But Israel says it has set no time to carry out its threats. Even the prospect of action is provoking large-scale unrest. SHAUL MOFAZ, ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): The Israeli security cabinet has decided to expel Arafat at the time they see fit, since Israel has realized that Arafat is the main obstacle to the peace process and the road map.
CHANCE: Israel may not like it, but among his own people, Yasser Arafat remains defiant and popular. Efforts continue to form a new Palestinian government with a new prime minister to lead it, but this Israeli threat seems to have thrust Yasser Arafat to the center of a tension once again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Matthew joins us live now.
Matthew, the international community has strongly reacted to the threat of removing Arafat. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan called the move unwise. How is Israel responding to this criticism?
CHANCE: Well, Israel has received a formal response to this criticism by saying that it has set no timeframe for this threats of Yasser Arafat to be carried out. But there has been wide scorn from the Arab world at large.
From the Bush administration, which, remember, itself said Yasser Arafat is tarnished by terrorism, a U.S. -- a Palestinian official saying that the State Department has told them that they believe that the time is not right, for Israel to move against the Palestinian leader.
COOPER: All right. Matthew Chance, live in Ramalla. Thanks, Matthew.
Flashback now. Ten years ago tomorrow, tomorrow, September 13, 1993, what seem liked a high point in Israeli-Palestinian relations, the Oslo Accord signed, on the White House lawn by then Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat.
The Oslo Accord called for Israeli forces to withdraw from Gaza and West Bank, called for the creation of the Palestinian authority, and negotiations for permanent status for Palestinian self-rule.
If it was seen as the high point then, it seems even more so today.
Let's check out cross-country now to check some stories making news across the U.S.
Los Angeles, California, voters split on recalling Governor Gray Davis, split almost evenly says an "L.A. Times" poll. Among replacement candidates, Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante's support slipped to 30 percent of likely voters. Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger was second and State Senator Tom McClintock, third.
Homesdale (ph), Pennsylvania, sexual abuse allegations against high school football players. Police are investigating. Varsity players allegedly had inappropriate sexual contact with members of the junior varsity as part of a hazing incident, while the team from Bellmore, New York, was attending a summer camp in Pennsylvania.
Hayton (ph), Idaho. A notorious white supremacist is running for mayor. Richard Butler, credited with creating the so-called Aryan Nations movement is 85 now and said to be in poor health. Local residents say they are not taking his candidacy seriously.
Denver, Colorado, a drifter jailed after a weekend shooting, police investigating. Two bodies were found behind a house where 30- year-old Richard White once lived. Police want to know if White may have been involved in other deaths, as well.
Well, now doubt you know by now. Sad news in the world of entertainment today.
Country music legend Johnny Cash passed away in Nashville at 71. Actor John Ritter died suddenly in Burbank, California. He was 54. Two reports on that tonight. We begin with John Ritter.
Here's CNN's Frank Buckley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He was a familiar face on television, an approachable family man off camera.
JOHN RITTER, ACTOR/COMEDIAN: You know what? I think I'm going to do some rope tricks and maybe juggle.
BUCKLEY: He did it all on the show that made him a household name, "Three's Company."
Jennilee Harrison was one of his co-stars on the show.
JENNILEE HARRISON, CO-STARRED WITH RITTER: I think John Ritter is the modern day Jerry Lewis and that he was the best physical comedian that most of us have ever known.
BUCKLEY: Ritter had range as an actor. This was "Sling Blade."
RITTER: Why are you here now?
BILLY BOB THORNTON, AS KARL CHILDERS: They turned me loose from the state hospital.
RITTER: Is that right?
BUCKLEY: But it was comedy for what Ritter was best known: "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter," a show he was taping when he fell ill.
RITTER: Bridgie (ph), Care Bear, you forgot your lunches. You're welcome!
BUCKLEY: Actor and comedian George Lopez says Ritter was a genuine talent and a genuine person.
GEORGE LOPEZ, ACTOR/COMEDIAN: I loved John. I loved his work, but I loved him more once I got to know him.
BUCKLEY: John Ritter was 54 years old. His birthday would have been next week.
Frank Buckley, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: By any recording industry standard, Johnny Cash was a giant: 1,500 singles, 500 albums, 14 number one hits and 11 Grammys.
Born to a poor Arkansas family in the middle of the depression, part-time resident throughout his music.
JOHNNY CASH, MUSICIAN: I wouldn't let anybody influence me into thinking I was doing the wrong thing about singing about death, hell and drugs.
(singing) You are someone else. I am still right here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Though appearing frail and in poor health in recent years, Cash never stopped working. This video won an MTV music award. But longtime fans still love the old stuff.
CASH (singing): I'm stuck in Folsom Prison. The time creeps dragging on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cash's death comes just months after the death of his wife and longtime co-performer, June Carter Cash. To cope with the loss, he threw himself into his work, leaving behind, according to friends, uncounted recordings.
Johnny Cash, dead at the age of 71.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: And later on in the program, we're going to have a lot more about Johnny Cash, the man, his remarkable music. We'll play some of our favorite Cash tunes with country music television's Katie Cooke. That comes up later on in the program.
360 continues, however, some call it the most dangerous place on the planet, the DMZ. A live report between the two Koreas, coming up. First time live cameras have ever been allowed to this spot. You'll want to see the report.
Also, why is the man whose dog mauled a woman to death getting out of prison early? The case shocked and sickened many in San Francisco and in the nation. The question is was justice served?
And later, conjoined baby girls con attached from hip to stomach, they've been separated. The doctor will tell us what happens now.
As we go to break, a look at tonight's top stories on the network's evening newscasts.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Some new developments on tonight's terror watch.
Washington, D.C. U.S. intelligence officials checking out the videotape believed to be part of an al Qaeda recruiting effort. This shows one of the 9/11 hijackers, Saeed Alghamdi (ph), saying the U.S., quote, "will be turned into pieces by an attack." Alghamdi (ph) was one of the hijackers on United Flight 93, which crashed in Shanksville.
Afghanistan, "The New York Times" reports a Taliban source says the group wants to adopt a quagmire approach towards U.S. forces in Afghanistan. The strategy, hit American groups with small guerilla attacks, force the U.S. to spend billions, eventually wear the U.S. down in the hopes they abandon Afghanistan.
Vienna, Austria. Iran has until the end of October to prove it doesn't have any secret nuclear weapons. That's the word today from the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iranian delegations stormed out of the closed-door meeting, claiming that Iran will make a, quote, "deep review" of its cooperation with the IAEA.
On to another country where a nuclear crisis looms, North Korea, a place where there is a figurative line in sand and where thousands of Americans are on duty, dangerous duty.
Until now, live cameras have never been allowed into certain parts of the DMZ, but our own Martin Savidge joins us live now from there at the Bridge of No Return.
Martin, you are standing, as I understand, right in the middle of one of the most dangerous, volatile areas in the world. How far apart are the North Korean soldiers from the South Koreans from where you are?
Well, probably at this particular point, Anderson -- good evening to you. I should say good morning to you from this part of the world.
We are in the DMZ on the South Korean side, to be exact and are probably separated by a distance of maybe, 100, 150 yards at this particular point. Other places along the DMZ, they are separated by only about 16 inches. We'll get to that a little bit later.
This is checkpoint four, to give you a point of reference here on the DMZ, and if we turn in this particular direction, now you are looking down the Bridge of No Return. Probably one of the most famous landmarks in all of the DMZ, depicted certainly many times in films, most recently in the newest James Bond film. However that was a prop.
This is the real thing and that really is North Korea on the opposite side of the bridge there. In fact, as you take a look down the bridge, you might see a low, squat building. That is a North Korean checkpoint. And yes, the guards are at home.
A short while ago, we heard them charging their weapons, in other words, the distinctive clicking noise when weapons are locked and loaded, just a friendly way of knowing that they are in and on duty here.
As far as the Bridge of No Return, the DMZ, a little lay of the land. The DMZ is 2 1/2 miles wide in between North and South Korea, and it stretches 150 miles all the way across. Technically it's the political border.
Why is it considered the scariest place on Earth? Well -- I shouldn't point -- beyond those guards in that direction are about 1.2 million North Korean soldiers. On this side, there are 675,000 South Korean troops and about 37,000 U.S. forces.
There was never a peace agreement signed between North and South Korea, merely an armistice. That means those troops ready to go to war at a moment's notice. It could come at any time. The motto here: ready to fight tonight.
The Bridge of No Return, how did it get its name? Well, that goes back 50 years, the end of the Korean War. At that time tens of thousands of prisoners brought to this specific point and they were given a choice. They could stay or they could cross over, but if they crossed over they could never come back again. Hence, the name.
And now we stand in between two massive armies that could go to war at any particular time and that's the way it's been for 50 years -- Anderson.
COOPER: Martin, it's amazing access you got. How far toward the North Korean side of the DMZ can you actually safely walk?
SAVIDGE: Well, that's a good question. I guess what we'll technically do is walk out on the bridge and take it as far as we can, at least safety wise.
Before we leave, let me point out this over here, Anderson. This is a sign. Used to be yellow, now you can see it's heavily rusted. That is the military demarcation line, which means we step beyond that point, we essentially are entering into the no-man's-land that divides North and South Korea.
We'll do this carefully here, because we have to bring cables with us, but we also have two ROK soldiers, ROK meaning the Republic of Korea soldiers, and they are going act as our escort as we walk out here on the bridge.
The bridge, it should be pointed out, is obviously quite old. In fact it's in danger of falling down. They don't expect that it's going to last too much longer, despite the fact that you might consider it a significant part of history. You just don't do a lot repair work out in the DMZ because of the tense aspect.
All of the while we keep our eyes, not only on the soldiers here, but of course, on that checkpoint. You can see, maybe, we can, there are faces that are in the windows there. They constantly keep an eye on us, constantly keep an eye on the U.S. and South Korean forces that are arrayed here. And it's quite honest to say that they are not 100 percent at ease with our presence here. There's a lot of equipment. There's a lot of broadcast. Any time that there is a large presence of anybody on this particular bridge, it tends to make them nervous.
So we keep that in mind and I'll take you probably well, let's say to about here. If you can see down here, Anderson, that is the dividing line on the bridge. It would be safe to say it is not safe to go beyond this particular point. That's about as far as we could push it and in fact we're not going to linger here too long, because as I've explained the North Koreans are already a little bit nervous.
But another interesting thing to point out about the DMZ, and it was never intended, is if you look off in this particular direction here, it gives you an idea of the natural landscape that exists. This was an accidental side effect of the creation of the DMZ. You have nearly a thousand kilometers of untouched land, land that has never been affected by human hands.
We should also say that all of this week we'll be bringing you live to next week, the DMZ, showing you things that have never been seen live, in a lot of cases never been seen before, but the access we've embedded with U.S. and South Korean forces.
Anderson, that's a day's work.
COOPER: All right. Martin Savidge, get off that bridge for God's sakes. Thanks very much.
This incredible access to the Korean DMZ continues next week on 360. Martin Savidge, as he said, continues unprecedented coverage with a look at the extraordinary lives that soldiers live on the front lines. That's going to be on Monday night, 360. Watch it.
While we're still overseas, let's check the uplink.
In Germany, hundred of mourners turned out to the funeral of Leni Riefenstahl. She died Monday at the age of 101. Leni Riefenstahl directed propaganda films for Adolph Hitler, "Triumph of the Will" considered her masterpiece.
Seoul, South Korea. The Korean Peninsula is bracing for Typhoon Maemi. The storm swept through southern Japan, killing one person and leaving nearly a hundred others injured. The season's fourteen typhoon knocked out power, downed trees and overturned cars and trucks in Japan.
South Pole, a sick worker has the National Science Foundation looking at several options to reach and treat the worker. So far, the doctor at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole station has been in touch with specialists in the U.S. to coordinate care. No exact word on what the problem is.
China now, finally, what's red, white and blue and falling down. Take a look at this. In this case, the world's largest human domino line. Organizers say 10,000 people in a line three miles long took part in the event in the Hunan Tourism Festival in an attempt to get into the "Guinness Book of Records," of course. Ten thousand people with a lot of time on their hands.
More 360 ahead, the remarkably story of a man reaching the top of a mountain without the use of his legs. You're going to meet him, coming up.
We're also going to have more on the remarkable life and great music of Johnny Cash.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: I'll bet you remember the story. Two years ago the San Francisco woman who was mauled to death by dogs from a neighboring apartment. It was a story that shocked America.
The couple caring for the dogs went to prison. Well, now the husband is about to go free after serving just over half of his term.
Rusty Dornin has the backs story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A judge called Robert Noel and his wife Marjorie Knoller the most despised couple in San Francisco.
They were caring for their adopted son's dogs when the dogs killed their neighbor, lacrosse coach Diane Whipple, as she struggled to get into her apartment in January 2001.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Guilty.
DORNIN: They were each eventually convicted of manslaughter, but Noel initially told reporters it was the victim's own fault she was attacked.
ROBERT NOEL, CONVICTED INDOG MAULING: And all she had to do was close her door. Instead, for whatever reason, she came back out on the hall.
DORNIN: Because of the notoriety, Noel was sent to Oregon, where corrections officials describe him as a model inmate. By working at a prison job he shaved off time from his sentence and was to be released this week.
But the media spotlight was so hot, prison officials delayed his release for security reasons.
His wife is expected to be released next march.
Their legally adopted son, Paul Cornfed (ph) Schneider, remains a prison inmate serving a life sentence for robbery and attempted murder. A court affidavit suggested there was correspondence from the couple to the inmate that described sexual activities involving one of the dogs.
This drawing was part of sealed court documents found in Schneider's cell by investigators and given to the "San Francisco Chronicle" by an author of a book on the dog mauling case.
Meantime, the victim's partner, Sharon Smith is 7 months pregnant and has a wrongful death suit pending against Knoller and Noel.
Rusty Dornin, CNN, San Francisco.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, should point out Robert Noel still is going to be released but officials won't say when.
San Francisco assistant district attorney Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom was a prosecutor in this unbelievable case. She's here to tell us more about it.
But first, I just want to formally welcome you to the 360 family as our legal analyst. We are so glad to have you here.
KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE NEWSOM, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Thank you. It's my pleasure. Happy to be a part of the team.
COOPER: It's going to be an exciting time.
All right. Let's talk about this case. I mean, you're intimately familiar with this case. First of all, you worked really hard to get this guy in jail. How -- just on a personal level, does it upset you that he's getting out early?
NEWSOM: It's heartbreaking, because where's the truth in sentencing? We have a problem in California where people will do about roughly half the amount of time they are supposed to. They get released. They give them time for good credit, work credit. That's what we see in this particular case.
COOPER: Well, he's getting out early because I guess he was a good prisoner, didn't get into too many fights. But he was in isolation for a good amount of the time.
NEWSOM: That's correct. And there's been security issues from the beginning in this case. And in fact, when he was transported after he was convicted, to state prison, there was issues with transporting him because he has been affiliated and connected with the Aryan Brotherhood, a neo-Nazi prison gang. So there's concerns there, because there could be repercussions that he too could be a target from other gangs in the prison environment.
And in fact, I can report to you that, in fact, he will be released on Sunday.
COOPER: On Sunday?
NEWSOM: That's right. COOPER: So he was supposed to get out today...
NEWSOM: Right.
COOPER: ... but I guess there was a lot of publicity, a lot of media kind of camped out there. I guess why is Sunday any safer than Friday?
NEWSOM: Well, it's going to separate him pretty much from the rest of the prison population where there will be ordinary transports on a Friday. They'll do it on kind of a down time on a Sunday, more low profile. Also, they need to make preparations, I think, for his arrival going to Fairfield in Solano County (ph).
COOPER: Right. Details really haven't made it out about what's going to happen to him. But he's on probation. He's not going to be allowed to go to San Francisco, and he's not going to be allowed to, you said, practice law. Is that right?
NEWSOM: That's correct, because of the moral turpitude, being convicted of this crime.
And again, he was also found during the trial, the evidence was demonstrated that he was conflicted, involved with basically, furthering the Aryan Brotherhood through this illegal dog breeding business with the Dog of War Kennels involved with these Presa-Canario dogs.
COOPER: Right, and these are not just -- I mean, these aren't even pit bulls. These are huge, 100-pound Presa-Canarios, bred for fighting.
NEWSOM: They've been used to take down bulls in Spain. So that...
COOPER: Unbelievable. And I mean, there's so many choices in terms of -- we can go into this case. I mean, his adopted son, if you will, Cornfed -- I forgot. I just remember the nickname. He's part of the Aryan Brotherhood. He's in prison still. He's going to be there for life.
NEWSOM: And he's one of the most notorious prisoners in Pelican Bay. He's in maximum security, keep away, in isolation.
COOPER: He's got a second life sentence added on.
NEWSOM: That is correct. For racketeering charges. RICO violations for conspiring to have people killed, et cetera.
COOPER: And Mr. Noel's charming wife, when does she get out?
NEWSOM: She hasn't been as charming in prison, believe it or not and that's why she's getting out later in March. So we'll look to see what happens. I assume she'll want to be paroled where her husband is, if they're still together and they can continue the relationship with their adopted son. COOPER: It is just an unbelievable case. Kimberly Guilfoyle- Newsom. Great to have you as part of the team.
NEWSOM: You as well.
COOPER: The second half of 360 straight ahead. After the break, the debate over a seemingly healthy man should be kept from trying to become a bone marrow donor. Found out, what's behind the issue? We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: All right. Welcome back. About 30 minutes left on the program.
Bone marrow donations. I want to talk about them now, they can save lives, but it's not easy to fine a matching donor, to say the least. The process of finding the right donor is made more difficult than it should be. Made more difficult by a federal rule that excludes gay men from the donor pool. First, a look at patients who need transplants.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): 1-year-old Kiara Dini has leukemia. She desperately needs a bone marrow transplant.
FRED DINI, DAUGHTER NEEDS TRANSPLANT: Sometimes when she cries, we don't know if it's the cry of a baby or if it's -- if she's in pain.
COOPER: An estimated half of those waiting for transplants will fail to find a donor. They will die. Tara Revin knows the odds for her aren't good.
TARA REVIN, NEEDS TRANSPLANT: I think the hardest part for me is putting my son to sleep at night and knowing that there may not be a time that I might be able to do this because of my disease.
COOPER: The chances of finding a match are one in 20,000, but some potential donors say the selection process is too strict. Rich Segal, an attorney, was told he was a perfect genetic match for a person in need of a transplant, but he wasn't allowed to become a donor.
RICH SEGAL, PROHIBITED FROM BEING A DONOR: They asked me if at any time, even once, since 1977 if I had an intimate, physical relationship with a man and I responded honestly that I had.
COOPER: His answer disqualified him from the program. Under current FDA guidelines, homosexuals cannot be bone marrow donors because they're higher risk for HIV, Hepatitis B and C. But critics say the guidelines, instituted in 1985, when testing for HIV was less precise, are out of date.
SEGAL: There are tests that you can take my blood and I will freely give a blood sample to have it tested for the presence of the HIV virus.
COOPER: Dr. Natalie Neil supports the screening, but says the current system may unnecessary exclude life-saving donors.
DR. NATALIE NEIL, COLUMBIA PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL: We have tests now that can pick up HIV and other opportunistic infections within a short period of time. So just in itself, having that risk should not immediately exclude you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, Richard Segal wrote to us after his offer to become a bone marrow donor was turned down. Tonight he joins us from San Diego. Also tonight with us is Dr. Lewis Katz, president of the America's Blood Centers a network of non-profit community blood centers. He is in Davenport, Iowa. I appreciate both of you joining us.
Dr. Katz, I want to start off with you and I do appreciate you being on the program because as you know, we contacted the bone marrow donor organizations, we contacted the FDA, neither of which would come on to talk about the policy.
Does this policy make sense?
DR. LEWIS M. KATZ, PRESIDENT, AMERICA'S BLOOD CTRS.: Well, it certainly makes medical and scientific sense if we recognize that men who have sex with men are very high risk for infection, most particularly with HIV and Hepatitis B. The difficulty occurs when we analyze how good our tests are now, particularly in comparison to when these deferrals came into effect in the early 1980s and asked the question whether -- whether they remain relevant.
COOPER: Because the testing -- my understanding, the testing for HIV and these other things now is far more precise. Someone who wants to donate their bone marrow basically says, look, I'll give a sample of my blood, test it for HIV and if it doesn't show up, use it to save someone's life. What is wrong with that?
KATZ: There is what we call a window prior to any of our tests, even the most sensitive turning positive after infection occurs. So there's a theoretical possibility that an individual could donate blood or bone marrow during that window.
COOPER: But the theoretical window exists, basically -- that theoretical window exists with anyone whose donating blood. I mean, not just gay men.
KATZ: That is correct, but the point that has been repeated frequently in the circles where we discuss this, is that, men who have sex with men are -- that behavior is associated with the highest risk in the population for infection, including the window infections.
COOPER: Got it.
KATZ: And so these deferrals have remained in place after extensive debate.
COOPER: All right. I want to bring in Richard Segal. Richard, does this make sense to you? I know you wanted to donate your bone marrow. How frustrating is this to you?
SEGAL: Well this makes no sense at all to me, because they asked if at any time since 1977, I'd ever had a relationship with another man. The window that they are discussing is not 26 years long. The window they're talking about is a couple of days long. And we're not talking about like a heart transplant where they need to get the heart out of the donor body and into the recipient within a day. We're talking about a several week period when, from the time they identify a bone marrow donor, to when a bone marrow transplant actually takes place.
So there is plenty of time for testing of the individual to actually take place in that time and close the window. And if they are concerned about somebody, you know, having a ciro (ph) conversion within the window, they test them again three days later. So it makes no sense at all.
COOPER: What's interesting in your case, you were basically, I think you were 6 antigen match for someone. There is someone out there desperately in need of your bone marrow. You were willing to give it and basically, I mean, theoretically you could have saved their life and they didn't even know about it.
SEGAL: Right, they're not given the option. When I asked if the person, who is the potential recipient would be told about me, the response was no. So the decision is being made for them. They are actually saying, by this policy, that you'd be better off dead than having the minuscule risk of somebody getting infected during that little window. And then them blowing the test and not getting it right.
COOPER: It's certainly something a lot of people are going to be looking at. Richard Segal, we appreciate you, first for writing the letter to us, informing about your situation. Appreciate you coming and talking.
Dr. Katz as well. Thank you for coming in and trying to explain the policy. Appreciate it.
SEGAL: Thank you, Anderson.
COOPER: Some other medical stories now tonight, twin girls who had been joined at the hip and stomach are in serious, but stable condition at a Los Angeles hospital today. Now the two infants were separated during a 24-hour operation. It ended yesterday morning.
The leader of the surgical team was Dr. James E. Stein. He joins us from Los Angeles this evening.
Doctor, appreciate you being with us.
First of all, how are these girls doing? DR. JAMES E. STEIN, PEDIATRIC GENERAL SURGEON: Anderson, they're doing great. We're thrilled with their progress so far.
After the first 24 hours, after surgery, obviously very critical and to see them actually improving during that time is fantastic for us.
COOPER: The families didn't want the names of these girl mentioned so we're not doing that at all. But can you tell us -- I mean, how were they joined? How difficult was this procedure?
STEIN: You see, I kind of -- I brought an earlier X-ray that I think indicates pretty much where the kids are joined and you can see, unfortunately for the glare, but right from about the upper part of the abdomen right down through the pelvis. And they...
COOPER: And they each were born with one leg and then there was a third leg that wasn't functional?
STEIN: That's correct. That's correct. They had a third leg. What happens in the formation of the conjoined twins is their two legs come together and back and form one nonfunctional leg.
COOPER: So what happened? I mean, they are now separated. They each have one leg. What happened to the third leg? What procedures do you go through?
STEIN: Sure.
Basically, we go ahead -- we separate them. We separate their liver. We separate and split their intestine. We separated their urinary and reproductive structures. And then went ahead and used that third leg, the tissue from that third leg -- since it couldn't be used for anything else -- to actually close over the large defecting skin that's left after an operation like this.
So, yes, they'll go on. They will go through life with one leg, but the expectation, knowing from other kids who were born with an absent leg or who lose a leg for some reason, can go on and live very functional lives with a prosthesis.
COOPER: And I guess the fact that they are so young, nine months old -- does that work in their favor?
STEIN: It's a very good time, in the sense of their tissue from a surgical standpoint as well as a psychosocial developmental point. They're starting to develop an identity. They are starting to develop separation anxiety. And so to get them separated, kind of before a year of life is key for this type of procedure.
COOPER: Dr. James E. Stein, it's just a fascinating case, and we appreciate you coming on and talking about it.
STEIN: Great. Thank you very much, Anderson.
COOPER: All right. Coming up next on "360", we're going to preview some of the new movies you can catch this weekend, if you ever make it off the couch, that is.
Also tonight, looking back at the man in black. Why Johnny Cash stood alone in the world of music.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: A remarkable story now. Twenty-three-year-old Keegan Reilly is having a lot of firsts lately. Just last week, he became the first paraplegic person to scale Japan's Mt. Fuji, using a cutommade arm bike he's used on previous climbs.
And right now he's joining us from Portland, Oregon for his first American television since coming back down from Mt. Fuji.
Keegan, it's great to see you. Congratulations.
How'd you do this? I mean, you have this special bike that you've made. How does it work?
KEEGAN REILLY, SCALED MT. FUJI: Well, it's basically a four wheeled mountain bike. It's really low to the ground and it has arm cranks on it that my Uncle John (ph) -- pretty much, he helped design it with a guy, Mike Oxberger (ph), and they put it together for me and it's inspired me to get out there and do it.
COOPER: How tough is it cranking that thing? I mean, how fast do you move? I guess you have a lot of different gears.
REILLY: It's got, like, 42 gears on it, actually. It's -- I think you do about four cranks for about every foot on the mountain. So it moves up very slowly going up the mountain.
COOPER: Why mountain climbing? I mean, I've read you weren't really a mountaineer before your injury. Why did you focus that?
REILLY: You know, we just wanted to get back out there and do something kind of extreme and mountain climbing was there. And after we did the first mountain we got up to the top of there, it was, like, wow we can really do this and it was just a great feeling and just someone like me getting up to the top of the mountain with a disability like I have is just like -- it give me a great confidence in myself.
COOPER: Now we're watching some video from -- I think from the Mt. Fuji climb and the ground looks like it's got to be hard to get traction on. I mean, it looks like gravel.
REILLY: Yes, we had a lot of problems with the gravel on that mountain. And actually, the back tires kept on spinning out. So we had to have people on the back end of it pressing down to give it more weight. COOPER: How long did it take you?
REILLY: It took four days to get up the mountain and about an hour to get down,. So we pretty much just the bike downhill and let gravity take control coming down, which was a lot of fun.
COOPER: A lot of fun. It's got to be a little pretty scary. If it took you four days to get up and just, you know, a couple of hours to get down.
REILLY: Yes, it was pretty extreme, but a lot of fun.
COOPER: And I hear you want to -- you want to keep climbing. You want to do other mountains. What' snext?
REILLY: Definitely. We're thinking about doing Mt. Rainier. You know, we just get -- we have a great team and I think I have three brothers and one uncle and three other good friends, that we -- we all want to get some experience, so we're going to try and do Mt. Rainier next and go from there.
COOPER: Well, we'd love to talk to you when you do.
Keegan Reilly, you rock. Thanks very much for being with us.
REILLY: Thank you. Thank you very much.
COOPER: All right.
REILLY: Bye.
COOPER: Still to come this evening, just how does someone get to be a news anchor? Oh, believe me, it's not easy. We'll have a totally made-up look at my training process.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: And Johnny Cash, his video for "Hurt," which we just saw, a reflection upon mortality, among many other things. The video won an MTV Award last month, only one, but Cash could not attend the ceremony because he was ill. He died today, as you probably know. Joining us now to remember Johnny Cash is Katie Cooke, the co-host of Country Music Television's "Most Wanted Live." She joins us from Nashville. We always love to have her. Good to see you.
KATIE COOK, CMT: Good to see you.
Let's talk about not only Johnny Cash, but his wife, June Carter Cash. I mean, those two inseparable, so important to each other.
COOK: Thirty-five years, very successful marriage there, especially in showbiz. They met in '56 backstage at the Grand Ol' Opry, but of course, they were both still married, but it was love at first sight, no doubt. It actually inspired June to write the song "Ring of Fire," which of course went on to be a huge hit for Johnny.
COOPER: And I mean, she kept him on, I mean, he certainly had some personal problems, and drinking and problems with substance abuse, and she said, you have got to stop this stuff.
COOK: Yes, really, she and her family can be credited with getting him sober, helping him find faith. I don't think -- I don't think he would have been alive if he hadn't found June, that's for sure. They're together now.
COOPER: Yeah, they are together now. And I mean, she passed away in May. I guess not a huge surprise that he soon followed.
COOK: No, you know -- I don't know exactly what the statistic is but very often, you know, with long marriages like that, if the wife goes first, sometimes you can almost count the months before the husband follows. It was a shock that she went first.
COOPER: He had such a remarkable career, and he always -- I mean, he was always cool. No matter what the genre, no matter what the decade, Johnny Cash was cool. No doubt about it.
COOK: Yeah, he was timeless, wasn't he? I think, honestly, that had a lot to do with the fact that he didn't follow trends. I mean, so many artists today, they're just changing their look and their sound every five minutes to keep up. He didn't do that, he was the Man in Black from the age of 20 to the age of 70, and that makes him cool in my eyes.
COOPER: My mom always had -- it was actually an eight-track of his, "Jesus Was a Carpenter" was the name of that, and we used to play that a lot. And I mean, just such a range, from religious songs, to even being embraced now by sort of pop music. How do you think he's going to be remembered?
COOK: Well, you know, as a true original. He was just fearless, independent spirit. He's going to influence generations of artists for years to come. In fact, I really want to encourage people to tune in tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. Eastern on CMT, we have a new special called "Johnny Cash Remembered." And it will really help people reflect back at all what this man has accomplished.
COOPER: He wrote in his autobiography that he wanted to speak for voices that he says were ignored. He certainly did that. Katie, it was great to see you, thanks for being with us. Katie Cooke.
COOK: Thank you, Anderson.
COOPER: All right. Every Friday on "360," we're going to bring you our weekend guide to new movies, and other sort of diversions out there.
We start off paraphrasing the saying that used to apply to Michael Caine. Another weekend, another Nicolas Cage movie.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) COOPER (voice-over): Cage stars in "Matchstick Men" with fellow con man Sam Rockwell. The twist? A daughter, obsessive compulsiveness and Ridley Scott. It's his first film since "Black Hawk Down."
"Once Upon a Time in Mexico." Director Robert Rodriguez reunites with Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek. Johnny Depp is in it, too. The film finished the trilogy that started with "El Mariachi." Robert Rodriguez didn't just direct. He wrote it, shot it, cut it. He might even pop your popcorn too.
And speaking of Bill Murray, they're calling "Lost in Translation" his best shot at an Oscar since "Razor's Edge," which had, well, no shot at an Oscar. "Translation" was written and directed by Sophia Coppola.
In books, former police chief Charles Moose tells his side of the Washington sniper story in "Three Weeks in October," while Madonna reveals a maternal side in what she hopes will be a kiddie classic, "The English Roses."
In music, fellow ambiguous rock star, David Bowie, releases his "Reality" CD on Monday.
And Sinead O'Connor has a new one, called "She Who Dwells in the Secret Place of" -- this title is so long I got to finish it live.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Going to finish it now. The full title is "She Who Dwells in the Secret Place Where the Most High Shall Abide Under the Shadow of the Almighty." Free bird!
Coming up next on "360," our first week comes to a close and I'll have a blatantly fake look at behind the scenes at my anchor training. And coming up on Monday, Marty Savidge takes us back to what some call the most dangerous place in the world, no-man's-land between North and South Korea. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: So we're trying some new things here on "360," including giving you some insights into how we, the media, work. Tonight as we close out first week, we wanted to take that concept to the Nth degree and show you all the stuff that I had to learn to prepare for anchoring my very own program. For one thing, you have to memorize a lot of anchor catch phrases.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: That report from Candy Brocklestein (ph), every parent's nightmare.
Some unbelievable video.
I'm sorry, we're having some audio problems. I'm sorry, it looks like we have an apparent technical glitch. I'm told our guest has just caught fire.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: It may seem easy, but if you screw up, it gets very, very ugly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: The young man suffered a non-tragic death. I'm sorry, a tragic death. I got it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: At first there was some talk about giving me a co-anchor to help me out, but they dropped that idea when I totally flanked my screen test for co-anchor happy talk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Trish, I know, my dog does the exact same thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: And then there were the physical demands of the job. You think I'm kidding? The one classic signature anchor move requires not just dexterity but precise hand-eye coordination.
That's it for us. Have a great night. I'm Anderson Cooper. Bye-bye.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Killed by Friendly Fire>
Aired September 12, 2003 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, ANCHOR: President Bush talks tough on terror. New violence in Iraq.
Yasser Arafat. Are his days numbered?
Eyeball-to-eyeball on the DMZ, live.
Saying good-bye to John Ritter and Johnny Cash.
This weekend's top Hollywood tickets.
And meet the disabled mountaineer who climbed Japan's highest peak.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Thanks for joining us here on 360. I'm Anderson Cooper.
Tonight a prison release delayed. The man convicted of manslaughter after dogs in his home mauled a woman to death. He was supposed to get out today; he didn't. We'll find out why.
Also, 9-month-old conjoined twins attached from stomach to hip. They are surgically separated tonight. We'll meet their surgeon and hear their status.
But first, top story. President Bush calling on U.S. allies to join in rebuilding Iraq. The place, Fort Stewart, Georgia, the president welcoming home troops of the 3rd Infantry Division from Iraq.
It's a fight between civilization and chaos. That's how the president described it. A fight where no free nation can be neutral.
Senior White House correspondent John King is with the president.
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Anderson, those tough words from the president came at Fort Stewart and came as Secretary of State Powell prepares this weekend to engage in the diplomacy, trying to get that new U.N. resolution, trying to get more U.S. troops on the ground with the Americans in Iraq.
The president banking and welcoming home the troops who led the first sweep into Baghdad on the day that statue of Saddam Hussein fell, the 3rd Infantry Division, 16,500 deployed to war. That unit has the highest casualties of all of the Americans, some 40 killed.
As he did so, Mr. Bush thanked those troops. A very different assessment of the post-war climate, remember, of four months ago. He stood on an aircraft carrier and said "mission accomplished." Tonight, a much more sober assessment from the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This undertaking is difficult, and it is costly. Yet it is worthy of our country and it is critical to our security.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: The president told those troops their efforts in the war had been critical to the global war on terrorism, critical to stabilizing the Middle East.
But, Anderson, as he prepared to leave the base, one final meeting underscored that even if the president gets the more international troops that he wants, it will be more than 100,000 U.S. troops in Iraq or probably at least a year to come. The president spending some time and shedding some tears with family members of 11 members of that 3rd Infantry Division who did not return home -- Anderson.
COOPER: All right. John King with the president. Thank you, John.
In Iraq, the fight continues. Today bullets fired, blood spilled. Apparent friendly fire in Fallujah in Baghdad, trouble as well.
CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Writhing in pain, an Iraqi policeman injured in an overnight shooting involving U.S. and Jordanian forces and the Iraqi police, receives treatment in a Fallujah hospital.
One of nine injured survivors in an apparent friendly fire incident that killed nine Iraqi police and one Jordanian officer.
Outside the nearby Jordanian military hospital where the firefight took place, distraught family members.
"These shells are for a light weapon," he says. "The Iraqis don't have such ammunition, only the Americans."
According to the U.S. forces, the shooting was defensive after they were attacked with a rocket-propelled grenade, resulting in one U.S. casualty and the injury of five, of what the U.S. describes as neutral individuals. (on camera) Much about this incident remains unclear. All that's left here, a few spent shell casings. But in this area where tensions between U.S. troops and Iraqi people have been running high for some time, this latest attack will likely antagonize an already delicate situation.
(voice-over) Meanwhile, on the other side of Fallujah, another attack on U.S. troops. In the ensuing gun battle a young child shot in the head, adding to the tension and anger here.
Not far away in the town of Ramadi (ph), the aftermath of an overnight U.S. raid that apparently went wrong. Two U.S. soldiers killed and seven injured.
A bloody 24 hours, even for this section of west central Iraq, where security experts warn U.S. forces are at the most risk of attack.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Fallujah, Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, in New York today the U.N. Security Council called for Israel's threat to remove Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, well, they called it unhelpful. The U.N. says Israel should back down.
A U.S. official says the White House is trying to make Israel look for a different solution. All this while Arafat waits in his compound.
Matthew Chance is in Ramallah.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Yasser Arafat emerged from his battered compound to shouts of Palestinian support. Amid the deep concern of what Israel might do to their leader, there's talk about around a public vigil in his offices to deter any possible military strike. And warnings of unprecedented chaos if President Arafat, symbol of Palestinian independence to so many, is even touched.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe it will be an execution (ph) for the peace process, an execution (ph) of the road map, an execution order for the attempts (UNINTELLIGLIBLE). I think we will witness (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the totalist action of the peace camp and moderation of the rise of (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
CHANCE: There have been protest elsewhere, too. After prayers at the al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, Palestinian demonstrators clashed with Israeli police.
But Israel says it has set no time to carry out its threats. Even the prospect of action is provoking large-scale unrest. SHAUL MOFAZ, ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): The Israeli security cabinet has decided to expel Arafat at the time they see fit, since Israel has realized that Arafat is the main obstacle to the peace process and the road map.
CHANCE: Israel may not like it, but among his own people, Yasser Arafat remains defiant and popular. Efforts continue to form a new Palestinian government with a new prime minister to lead it, but this Israeli threat seems to have thrust Yasser Arafat to the center of a tension once again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Matthew joins us live now.
Matthew, the international community has strongly reacted to the threat of removing Arafat. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan called the move unwise. How is Israel responding to this criticism?
CHANCE: Well, Israel has received a formal response to this criticism by saying that it has set no timeframe for this threats of Yasser Arafat to be carried out. But there has been wide scorn from the Arab world at large.
From the Bush administration, which, remember, itself said Yasser Arafat is tarnished by terrorism, a U.S. -- a Palestinian official saying that the State Department has told them that they believe that the time is not right, for Israel to move against the Palestinian leader.
COOPER: All right. Matthew Chance, live in Ramalla. Thanks, Matthew.
Flashback now. Ten years ago tomorrow, tomorrow, September 13, 1993, what seem liked a high point in Israeli-Palestinian relations, the Oslo Accord signed, on the White House lawn by then Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat.
The Oslo Accord called for Israeli forces to withdraw from Gaza and West Bank, called for the creation of the Palestinian authority, and negotiations for permanent status for Palestinian self-rule.
If it was seen as the high point then, it seems even more so today.
Let's check out cross-country now to check some stories making news across the U.S.
Los Angeles, California, voters split on recalling Governor Gray Davis, split almost evenly says an "L.A. Times" poll. Among replacement candidates, Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante's support slipped to 30 percent of likely voters. Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger was second and State Senator Tom McClintock, third.
Homesdale (ph), Pennsylvania, sexual abuse allegations against high school football players. Police are investigating. Varsity players allegedly had inappropriate sexual contact with members of the junior varsity as part of a hazing incident, while the team from Bellmore, New York, was attending a summer camp in Pennsylvania.
Hayton (ph), Idaho. A notorious white supremacist is running for mayor. Richard Butler, credited with creating the so-called Aryan Nations movement is 85 now and said to be in poor health. Local residents say they are not taking his candidacy seriously.
Denver, Colorado, a drifter jailed after a weekend shooting, police investigating. Two bodies were found behind a house where 30- year-old Richard White once lived. Police want to know if White may have been involved in other deaths, as well.
Well, now doubt you know by now. Sad news in the world of entertainment today.
Country music legend Johnny Cash passed away in Nashville at 71. Actor John Ritter died suddenly in Burbank, California. He was 54. Two reports on that tonight. We begin with John Ritter.
Here's CNN's Frank Buckley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He was a familiar face on television, an approachable family man off camera.
JOHN RITTER, ACTOR/COMEDIAN: You know what? I think I'm going to do some rope tricks and maybe juggle.
BUCKLEY: He did it all on the show that made him a household name, "Three's Company."
Jennilee Harrison was one of his co-stars on the show.
JENNILEE HARRISON, CO-STARRED WITH RITTER: I think John Ritter is the modern day Jerry Lewis and that he was the best physical comedian that most of us have ever known.
BUCKLEY: Ritter had range as an actor. This was "Sling Blade."
RITTER: Why are you here now?
BILLY BOB THORNTON, AS KARL CHILDERS: They turned me loose from the state hospital.
RITTER: Is that right?
BUCKLEY: But it was comedy for what Ritter was best known: "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter," a show he was taping when he fell ill.
RITTER: Bridgie (ph), Care Bear, you forgot your lunches. You're welcome!
BUCKLEY: Actor and comedian George Lopez says Ritter was a genuine talent and a genuine person.
GEORGE LOPEZ, ACTOR/COMEDIAN: I loved John. I loved his work, but I loved him more once I got to know him.
BUCKLEY: John Ritter was 54 years old. His birthday would have been next week.
Frank Buckley, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: By any recording industry standard, Johnny Cash was a giant: 1,500 singles, 500 albums, 14 number one hits and 11 Grammys.
Born to a poor Arkansas family in the middle of the depression, part-time resident throughout his music.
JOHNNY CASH, MUSICIAN: I wouldn't let anybody influence me into thinking I was doing the wrong thing about singing about death, hell and drugs.
(singing) You are someone else. I am still right here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Though appearing frail and in poor health in recent years, Cash never stopped working. This video won an MTV music award. But longtime fans still love the old stuff.
CASH (singing): I'm stuck in Folsom Prison. The time creeps dragging on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cash's death comes just months after the death of his wife and longtime co-performer, June Carter Cash. To cope with the loss, he threw himself into his work, leaving behind, according to friends, uncounted recordings.
Johnny Cash, dead at the age of 71.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: And later on in the program, we're going to have a lot more about Johnny Cash, the man, his remarkable music. We'll play some of our favorite Cash tunes with country music television's Katie Cooke. That comes up later on in the program.
360 continues, however, some call it the most dangerous place on the planet, the DMZ. A live report between the two Koreas, coming up. First time live cameras have ever been allowed to this spot. You'll want to see the report.
Also, why is the man whose dog mauled a woman to death getting out of prison early? The case shocked and sickened many in San Francisco and in the nation. The question is was justice served?
And later, conjoined baby girls con attached from hip to stomach, they've been separated. The doctor will tell us what happens now.
As we go to break, a look at tonight's top stories on the network's evening newscasts.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Some new developments on tonight's terror watch.
Washington, D.C. U.S. intelligence officials checking out the videotape believed to be part of an al Qaeda recruiting effort. This shows one of the 9/11 hijackers, Saeed Alghamdi (ph), saying the U.S., quote, "will be turned into pieces by an attack." Alghamdi (ph) was one of the hijackers on United Flight 93, which crashed in Shanksville.
Afghanistan, "The New York Times" reports a Taliban source says the group wants to adopt a quagmire approach towards U.S. forces in Afghanistan. The strategy, hit American groups with small guerilla attacks, force the U.S. to spend billions, eventually wear the U.S. down in the hopes they abandon Afghanistan.
Vienna, Austria. Iran has until the end of October to prove it doesn't have any secret nuclear weapons. That's the word today from the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iranian delegations stormed out of the closed-door meeting, claiming that Iran will make a, quote, "deep review" of its cooperation with the IAEA.
On to another country where a nuclear crisis looms, North Korea, a place where there is a figurative line in sand and where thousands of Americans are on duty, dangerous duty.
Until now, live cameras have never been allowed into certain parts of the DMZ, but our own Martin Savidge joins us live now from there at the Bridge of No Return.
Martin, you are standing, as I understand, right in the middle of one of the most dangerous, volatile areas in the world. How far apart are the North Korean soldiers from the South Koreans from where you are?
Well, probably at this particular point, Anderson -- good evening to you. I should say good morning to you from this part of the world.
We are in the DMZ on the South Korean side, to be exact and are probably separated by a distance of maybe, 100, 150 yards at this particular point. Other places along the DMZ, they are separated by only about 16 inches. We'll get to that a little bit later.
This is checkpoint four, to give you a point of reference here on the DMZ, and if we turn in this particular direction, now you are looking down the Bridge of No Return. Probably one of the most famous landmarks in all of the DMZ, depicted certainly many times in films, most recently in the newest James Bond film. However that was a prop.
This is the real thing and that really is North Korea on the opposite side of the bridge there. In fact, as you take a look down the bridge, you might see a low, squat building. That is a North Korean checkpoint. And yes, the guards are at home.
A short while ago, we heard them charging their weapons, in other words, the distinctive clicking noise when weapons are locked and loaded, just a friendly way of knowing that they are in and on duty here.
As far as the Bridge of No Return, the DMZ, a little lay of the land. The DMZ is 2 1/2 miles wide in between North and South Korea, and it stretches 150 miles all the way across. Technically it's the political border.
Why is it considered the scariest place on Earth? Well -- I shouldn't point -- beyond those guards in that direction are about 1.2 million North Korean soldiers. On this side, there are 675,000 South Korean troops and about 37,000 U.S. forces.
There was never a peace agreement signed between North and South Korea, merely an armistice. That means those troops ready to go to war at a moment's notice. It could come at any time. The motto here: ready to fight tonight.
The Bridge of No Return, how did it get its name? Well, that goes back 50 years, the end of the Korean War. At that time tens of thousands of prisoners brought to this specific point and they were given a choice. They could stay or they could cross over, but if they crossed over they could never come back again. Hence, the name.
And now we stand in between two massive armies that could go to war at any particular time and that's the way it's been for 50 years -- Anderson.
COOPER: Martin, it's amazing access you got. How far toward the North Korean side of the DMZ can you actually safely walk?
SAVIDGE: Well, that's a good question. I guess what we'll technically do is walk out on the bridge and take it as far as we can, at least safety wise.
Before we leave, let me point out this over here, Anderson. This is a sign. Used to be yellow, now you can see it's heavily rusted. That is the military demarcation line, which means we step beyond that point, we essentially are entering into the no-man's-land that divides North and South Korea.
We'll do this carefully here, because we have to bring cables with us, but we also have two ROK soldiers, ROK meaning the Republic of Korea soldiers, and they are going act as our escort as we walk out here on the bridge.
The bridge, it should be pointed out, is obviously quite old. In fact it's in danger of falling down. They don't expect that it's going to last too much longer, despite the fact that you might consider it a significant part of history. You just don't do a lot repair work out in the DMZ because of the tense aspect.
All of the while we keep our eyes, not only on the soldiers here, but of course, on that checkpoint. You can see, maybe, we can, there are faces that are in the windows there. They constantly keep an eye on us, constantly keep an eye on the U.S. and South Korean forces that are arrayed here. And it's quite honest to say that they are not 100 percent at ease with our presence here. There's a lot of equipment. There's a lot of broadcast. Any time that there is a large presence of anybody on this particular bridge, it tends to make them nervous.
So we keep that in mind and I'll take you probably well, let's say to about here. If you can see down here, Anderson, that is the dividing line on the bridge. It would be safe to say it is not safe to go beyond this particular point. That's about as far as we could push it and in fact we're not going to linger here too long, because as I've explained the North Koreans are already a little bit nervous.
But another interesting thing to point out about the DMZ, and it was never intended, is if you look off in this particular direction here, it gives you an idea of the natural landscape that exists. This was an accidental side effect of the creation of the DMZ. You have nearly a thousand kilometers of untouched land, land that has never been affected by human hands.
We should also say that all of this week we'll be bringing you live to next week, the DMZ, showing you things that have never been seen live, in a lot of cases never been seen before, but the access we've embedded with U.S. and South Korean forces.
Anderson, that's a day's work.
COOPER: All right. Martin Savidge, get off that bridge for God's sakes. Thanks very much.
This incredible access to the Korean DMZ continues next week on 360. Martin Savidge, as he said, continues unprecedented coverage with a look at the extraordinary lives that soldiers live on the front lines. That's going to be on Monday night, 360. Watch it.
While we're still overseas, let's check the uplink.
In Germany, hundred of mourners turned out to the funeral of Leni Riefenstahl. She died Monday at the age of 101. Leni Riefenstahl directed propaganda films for Adolph Hitler, "Triumph of the Will" considered her masterpiece.
Seoul, South Korea. The Korean Peninsula is bracing for Typhoon Maemi. The storm swept through southern Japan, killing one person and leaving nearly a hundred others injured. The season's fourteen typhoon knocked out power, downed trees and overturned cars and trucks in Japan.
South Pole, a sick worker has the National Science Foundation looking at several options to reach and treat the worker. So far, the doctor at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole station has been in touch with specialists in the U.S. to coordinate care. No exact word on what the problem is.
China now, finally, what's red, white and blue and falling down. Take a look at this. In this case, the world's largest human domino line. Organizers say 10,000 people in a line three miles long took part in the event in the Hunan Tourism Festival in an attempt to get into the "Guinness Book of Records," of course. Ten thousand people with a lot of time on their hands.
More 360 ahead, the remarkably story of a man reaching the top of a mountain without the use of his legs. You're going to meet him, coming up.
We're also going to have more on the remarkable life and great music of Johnny Cash.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: I'll bet you remember the story. Two years ago the San Francisco woman who was mauled to death by dogs from a neighboring apartment. It was a story that shocked America.
The couple caring for the dogs went to prison. Well, now the husband is about to go free after serving just over half of his term.
Rusty Dornin has the backs story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A judge called Robert Noel and his wife Marjorie Knoller the most despised couple in San Francisco.
They were caring for their adopted son's dogs when the dogs killed their neighbor, lacrosse coach Diane Whipple, as she struggled to get into her apartment in January 2001.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Guilty.
DORNIN: They were each eventually convicted of manslaughter, but Noel initially told reporters it was the victim's own fault she was attacked.
ROBERT NOEL, CONVICTED INDOG MAULING: And all she had to do was close her door. Instead, for whatever reason, she came back out on the hall.
DORNIN: Because of the notoriety, Noel was sent to Oregon, where corrections officials describe him as a model inmate. By working at a prison job he shaved off time from his sentence and was to be released this week.
But the media spotlight was so hot, prison officials delayed his release for security reasons.
His wife is expected to be released next march.
Their legally adopted son, Paul Cornfed (ph) Schneider, remains a prison inmate serving a life sentence for robbery and attempted murder. A court affidavit suggested there was correspondence from the couple to the inmate that described sexual activities involving one of the dogs.
This drawing was part of sealed court documents found in Schneider's cell by investigators and given to the "San Francisco Chronicle" by an author of a book on the dog mauling case.
Meantime, the victim's partner, Sharon Smith is 7 months pregnant and has a wrongful death suit pending against Knoller and Noel.
Rusty Dornin, CNN, San Francisco.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, should point out Robert Noel still is going to be released but officials won't say when.
San Francisco assistant district attorney Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom was a prosecutor in this unbelievable case. She's here to tell us more about it.
But first, I just want to formally welcome you to the 360 family as our legal analyst. We are so glad to have you here.
KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE NEWSOM, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Thank you. It's my pleasure. Happy to be a part of the team.
COOPER: It's going to be an exciting time.
All right. Let's talk about this case. I mean, you're intimately familiar with this case. First of all, you worked really hard to get this guy in jail. How -- just on a personal level, does it upset you that he's getting out early?
NEWSOM: It's heartbreaking, because where's the truth in sentencing? We have a problem in California where people will do about roughly half the amount of time they are supposed to. They get released. They give them time for good credit, work credit. That's what we see in this particular case.
COOPER: Well, he's getting out early because I guess he was a good prisoner, didn't get into too many fights. But he was in isolation for a good amount of the time.
NEWSOM: That's correct. And there's been security issues from the beginning in this case. And in fact, when he was transported after he was convicted, to state prison, there was issues with transporting him because he has been affiliated and connected with the Aryan Brotherhood, a neo-Nazi prison gang. So there's concerns there, because there could be repercussions that he too could be a target from other gangs in the prison environment.
And in fact, I can report to you that, in fact, he will be released on Sunday.
COOPER: On Sunday?
NEWSOM: That's right. COOPER: So he was supposed to get out today...
NEWSOM: Right.
COOPER: ... but I guess there was a lot of publicity, a lot of media kind of camped out there. I guess why is Sunday any safer than Friday?
NEWSOM: Well, it's going to separate him pretty much from the rest of the prison population where there will be ordinary transports on a Friday. They'll do it on kind of a down time on a Sunday, more low profile. Also, they need to make preparations, I think, for his arrival going to Fairfield in Solano County (ph).
COOPER: Right. Details really haven't made it out about what's going to happen to him. But he's on probation. He's not going to be allowed to go to San Francisco, and he's not going to be allowed to, you said, practice law. Is that right?
NEWSOM: That's correct, because of the moral turpitude, being convicted of this crime.
And again, he was also found during the trial, the evidence was demonstrated that he was conflicted, involved with basically, furthering the Aryan Brotherhood through this illegal dog breeding business with the Dog of War Kennels involved with these Presa-Canario dogs.
COOPER: Right, and these are not just -- I mean, these aren't even pit bulls. These are huge, 100-pound Presa-Canarios, bred for fighting.
NEWSOM: They've been used to take down bulls in Spain. So that...
COOPER: Unbelievable. And I mean, there's so many choices in terms of -- we can go into this case. I mean, his adopted son, if you will, Cornfed -- I forgot. I just remember the nickname. He's part of the Aryan Brotherhood. He's in prison still. He's going to be there for life.
NEWSOM: And he's one of the most notorious prisoners in Pelican Bay. He's in maximum security, keep away, in isolation.
COOPER: He's got a second life sentence added on.
NEWSOM: That is correct. For racketeering charges. RICO violations for conspiring to have people killed, et cetera.
COOPER: And Mr. Noel's charming wife, when does she get out?
NEWSOM: She hasn't been as charming in prison, believe it or not and that's why she's getting out later in March. So we'll look to see what happens. I assume she'll want to be paroled where her husband is, if they're still together and they can continue the relationship with their adopted son. COOPER: It is just an unbelievable case. Kimberly Guilfoyle- Newsom. Great to have you as part of the team.
NEWSOM: You as well.
COOPER: The second half of 360 straight ahead. After the break, the debate over a seemingly healthy man should be kept from trying to become a bone marrow donor. Found out, what's behind the issue? We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: All right. Welcome back. About 30 minutes left on the program.
Bone marrow donations. I want to talk about them now, they can save lives, but it's not easy to fine a matching donor, to say the least. The process of finding the right donor is made more difficult than it should be. Made more difficult by a federal rule that excludes gay men from the donor pool. First, a look at patients who need transplants.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): 1-year-old Kiara Dini has leukemia. She desperately needs a bone marrow transplant.
FRED DINI, DAUGHTER NEEDS TRANSPLANT: Sometimes when she cries, we don't know if it's the cry of a baby or if it's -- if she's in pain.
COOPER: An estimated half of those waiting for transplants will fail to find a donor. They will die. Tara Revin knows the odds for her aren't good.
TARA REVIN, NEEDS TRANSPLANT: I think the hardest part for me is putting my son to sleep at night and knowing that there may not be a time that I might be able to do this because of my disease.
COOPER: The chances of finding a match are one in 20,000, but some potential donors say the selection process is too strict. Rich Segal, an attorney, was told he was a perfect genetic match for a person in need of a transplant, but he wasn't allowed to become a donor.
RICH SEGAL, PROHIBITED FROM BEING A DONOR: They asked me if at any time, even once, since 1977 if I had an intimate, physical relationship with a man and I responded honestly that I had.
COOPER: His answer disqualified him from the program. Under current FDA guidelines, homosexuals cannot be bone marrow donors because they're higher risk for HIV, Hepatitis B and C. But critics say the guidelines, instituted in 1985, when testing for HIV was less precise, are out of date.
SEGAL: There are tests that you can take my blood and I will freely give a blood sample to have it tested for the presence of the HIV virus.
COOPER: Dr. Natalie Neil supports the screening, but says the current system may unnecessary exclude life-saving donors.
DR. NATALIE NEIL, COLUMBIA PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL: We have tests now that can pick up HIV and other opportunistic infections within a short period of time. So just in itself, having that risk should not immediately exclude you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, Richard Segal wrote to us after his offer to become a bone marrow donor was turned down. Tonight he joins us from San Diego. Also tonight with us is Dr. Lewis Katz, president of the America's Blood Centers a network of non-profit community blood centers. He is in Davenport, Iowa. I appreciate both of you joining us.
Dr. Katz, I want to start off with you and I do appreciate you being on the program because as you know, we contacted the bone marrow donor organizations, we contacted the FDA, neither of which would come on to talk about the policy.
Does this policy make sense?
DR. LEWIS M. KATZ, PRESIDENT, AMERICA'S BLOOD CTRS.: Well, it certainly makes medical and scientific sense if we recognize that men who have sex with men are very high risk for infection, most particularly with HIV and Hepatitis B. The difficulty occurs when we analyze how good our tests are now, particularly in comparison to when these deferrals came into effect in the early 1980s and asked the question whether -- whether they remain relevant.
COOPER: Because the testing -- my understanding, the testing for HIV and these other things now is far more precise. Someone who wants to donate their bone marrow basically says, look, I'll give a sample of my blood, test it for HIV and if it doesn't show up, use it to save someone's life. What is wrong with that?
KATZ: There is what we call a window prior to any of our tests, even the most sensitive turning positive after infection occurs. So there's a theoretical possibility that an individual could donate blood or bone marrow during that window.
COOPER: But the theoretical window exists, basically -- that theoretical window exists with anyone whose donating blood. I mean, not just gay men.
KATZ: That is correct, but the point that has been repeated frequently in the circles where we discuss this, is that, men who have sex with men are -- that behavior is associated with the highest risk in the population for infection, including the window infections.
COOPER: Got it.
KATZ: And so these deferrals have remained in place after extensive debate.
COOPER: All right. I want to bring in Richard Segal. Richard, does this make sense to you? I know you wanted to donate your bone marrow. How frustrating is this to you?
SEGAL: Well this makes no sense at all to me, because they asked if at any time since 1977, I'd ever had a relationship with another man. The window that they are discussing is not 26 years long. The window they're talking about is a couple of days long. And we're not talking about like a heart transplant where they need to get the heart out of the donor body and into the recipient within a day. We're talking about a several week period when, from the time they identify a bone marrow donor, to when a bone marrow transplant actually takes place.
So there is plenty of time for testing of the individual to actually take place in that time and close the window. And if they are concerned about somebody, you know, having a ciro (ph) conversion within the window, they test them again three days later. So it makes no sense at all.
COOPER: What's interesting in your case, you were basically, I think you were 6 antigen match for someone. There is someone out there desperately in need of your bone marrow. You were willing to give it and basically, I mean, theoretically you could have saved their life and they didn't even know about it.
SEGAL: Right, they're not given the option. When I asked if the person, who is the potential recipient would be told about me, the response was no. So the decision is being made for them. They are actually saying, by this policy, that you'd be better off dead than having the minuscule risk of somebody getting infected during that little window. And then them blowing the test and not getting it right.
COOPER: It's certainly something a lot of people are going to be looking at. Richard Segal, we appreciate you, first for writing the letter to us, informing about your situation. Appreciate you coming and talking.
Dr. Katz as well. Thank you for coming in and trying to explain the policy. Appreciate it.
SEGAL: Thank you, Anderson.
COOPER: Some other medical stories now tonight, twin girls who had been joined at the hip and stomach are in serious, but stable condition at a Los Angeles hospital today. Now the two infants were separated during a 24-hour operation. It ended yesterday morning.
The leader of the surgical team was Dr. James E. Stein. He joins us from Los Angeles this evening.
Doctor, appreciate you being with us.
First of all, how are these girls doing? DR. JAMES E. STEIN, PEDIATRIC GENERAL SURGEON: Anderson, they're doing great. We're thrilled with their progress so far.
After the first 24 hours, after surgery, obviously very critical and to see them actually improving during that time is fantastic for us.
COOPER: The families didn't want the names of these girl mentioned so we're not doing that at all. But can you tell us -- I mean, how were they joined? How difficult was this procedure?
STEIN: You see, I kind of -- I brought an earlier X-ray that I think indicates pretty much where the kids are joined and you can see, unfortunately for the glare, but right from about the upper part of the abdomen right down through the pelvis. And they...
COOPER: And they each were born with one leg and then there was a third leg that wasn't functional?
STEIN: That's correct. That's correct. They had a third leg. What happens in the formation of the conjoined twins is their two legs come together and back and form one nonfunctional leg.
COOPER: So what happened? I mean, they are now separated. They each have one leg. What happened to the third leg? What procedures do you go through?
STEIN: Sure.
Basically, we go ahead -- we separate them. We separate their liver. We separate and split their intestine. We separated their urinary and reproductive structures. And then went ahead and used that third leg, the tissue from that third leg -- since it couldn't be used for anything else -- to actually close over the large defecting skin that's left after an operation like this.
So, yes, they'll go on. They will go through life with one leg, but the expectation, knowing from other kids who were born with an absent leg or who lose a leg for some reason, can go on and live very functional lives with a prosthesis.
COOPER: And I guess the fact that they are so young, nine months old -- does that work in their favor?
STEIN: It's a very good time, in the sense of their tissue from a surgical standpoint as well as a psychosocial developmental point. They're starting to develop an identity. They are starting to develop separation anxiety. And so to get them separated, kind of before a year of life is key for this type of procedure.
COOPER: Dr. James E. Stein, it's just a fascinating case, and we appreciate you coming on and talking about it.
STEIN: Great. Thank you very much, Anderson.
COOPER: All right. Coming up next on "360", we're going to preview some of the new movies you can catch this weekend, if you ever make it off the couch, that is.
Also tonight, looking back at the man in black. Why Johnny Cash stood alone in the world of music.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: A remarkable story now. Twenty-three-year-old Keegan Reilly is having a lot of firsts lately. Just last week, he became the first paraplegic person to scale Japan's Mt. Fuji, using a cutommade arm bike he's used on previous climbs.
And right now he's joining us from Portland, Oregon for his first American television since coming back down from Mt. Fuji.
Keegan, it's great to see you. Congratulations.
How'd you do this? I mean, you have this special bike that you've made. How does it work?
KEEGAN REILLY, SCALED MT. FUJI: Well, it's basically a four wheeled mountain bike. It's really low to the ground and it has arm cranks on it that my Uncle John (ph) -- pretty much, he helped design it with a guy, Mike Oxberger (ph), and they put it together for me and it's inspired me to get out there and do it.
COOPER: How tough is it cranking that thing? I mean, how fast do you move? I guess you have a lot of different gears.
REILLY: It's got, like, 42 gears on it, actually. It's -- I think you do about four cranks for about every foot on the mountain. So it moves up very slowly going up the mountain.
COOPER: Why mountain climbing? I mean, I've read you weren't really a mountaineer before your injury. Why did you focus that?
REILLY: You know, we just wanted to get back out there and do something kind of extreme and mountain climbing was there. And after we did the first mountain we got up to the top of there, it was, like, wow we can really do this and it was just a great feeling and just someone like me getting up to the top of the mountain with a disability like I have is just like -- it give me a great confidence in myself.
COOPER: Now we're watching some video from -- I think from the Mt. Fuji climb and the ground looks like it's got to be hard to get traction on. I mean, it looks like gravel.
REILLY: Yes, we had a lot of problems with the gravel on that mountain. And actually, the back tires kept on spinning out. So we had to have people on the back end of it pressing down to give it more weight. COOPER: How long did it take you?
REILLY: It took four days to get up the mountain and about an hour to get down,. So we pretty much just the bike downhill and let gravity take control coming down, which was a lot of fun.
COOPER: A lot of fun. It's got to be a little pretty scary. If it took you four days to get up and just, you know, a couple of hours to get down.
REILLY: Yes, it was pretty extreme, but a lot of fun.
COOPER: And I hear you want to -- you want to keep climbing. You want to do other mountains. What' snext?
REILLY: Definitely. We're thinking about doing Mt. Rainier. You know, we just get -- we have a great team and I think I have three brothers and one uncle and three other good friends, that we -- we all want to get some experience, so we're going to try and do Mt. Rainier next and go from there.
COOPER: Well, we'd love to talk to you when you do.
Keegan Reilly, you rock. Thanks very much for being with us.
REILLY: Thank you. Thank you very much.
COOPER: All right.
REILLY: Bye.
COOPER: Still to come this evening, just how does someone get to be a news anchor? Oh, believe me, it's not easy. We'll have a totally made-up look at my training process.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: And Johnny Cash, his video for "Hurt," which we just saw, a reflection upon mortality, among many other things. The video won an MTV Award last month, only one, but Cash could not attend the ceremony because he was ill. He died today, as you probably know. Joining us now to remember Johnny Cash is Katie Cooke, the co-host of Country Music Television's "Most Wanted Live." She joins us from Nashville. We always love to have her. Good to see you.
KATIE COOK, CMT: Good to see you.
Let's talk about not only Johnny Cash, but his wife, June Carter Cash. I mean, those two inseparable, so important to each other.
COOK: Thirty-five years, very successful marriage there, especially in showbiz. They met in '56 backstage at the Grand Ol' Opry, but of course, they were both still married, but it was love at first sight, no doubt. It actually inspired June to write the song "Ring of Fire," which of course went on to be a huge hit for Johnny.
COOPER: And I mean, she kept him on, I mean, he certainly had some personal problems, and drinking and problems with substance abuse, and she said, you have got to stop this stuff.
COOK: Yes, really, she and her family can be credited with getting him sober, helping him find faith. I don't think -- I don't think he would have been alive if he hadn't found June, that's for sure. They're together now.
COOPER: Yeah, they are together now. And I mean, she passed away in May. I guess not a huge surprise that he soon followed.
COOK: No, you know -- I don't know exactly what the statistic is but very often, you know, with long marriages like that, if the wife goes first, sometimes you can almost count the months before the husband follows. It was a shock that she went first.
COOPER: He had such a remarkable career, and he always -- I mean, he was always cool. No matter what the genre, no matter what the decade, Johnny Cash was cool. No doubt about it.
COOK: Yeah, he was timeless, wasn't he? I think, honestly, that had a lot to do with the fact that he didn't follow trends. I mean, so many artists today, they're just changing their look and their sound every five minutes to keep up. He didn't do that, he was the Man in Black from the age of 20 to the age of 70, and that makes him cool in my eyes.
COOPER: My mom always had -- it was actually an eight-track of his, "Jesus Was a Carpenter" was the name of that, and we used to play that a lot. And I mean, just such a range, from religious songs, to even being embraced now by sort of pop music. How do you think he's going to be remembered?
COOK: Well, you know, as a true original. He was just fearless, independent spirit. He's going to influence generations of artists for years to come. In fact, I really want to encourage people to tune in tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. Eastern on CMT, we have a new special called "Johnny Cash Remembered." And it will really help people reflect back at all what this man has accomplished.
COOPER: He wrote in his autobiography that he wanted to speak for voices that he says were ignored. He certainly did that. Katie, it was great to see you, thanks for being with us. Katie Cooke.
COOK: Thank you, Anderson.
COOPER: All right. Every Friday on "360," we're going to bring you our weekend guide to new movies, and other sort of diversions out there.
We start off paraphrasing the saying that used to apply to Michael Caine. Another weekend, another Nicolas Cage movie.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) COOPER (voice-over): Cage stars in "Matchstick Men" with fellow con man Sam Rockwell. The twist? A daughter, obsessive compulsiveness and Ridley Scott. It's his first film since "Black Hawk Down."
"Once Upon a Time in Mexico." Director Robert Rodriguez reunites with Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek. Johnny Depp is in it, too. The film finished the trilogy that started with "El Mariachi." Robert Rodriguez didn't just direct. He wrote it, shot it, cut it. He might even pop your popcorn too.
And speaking of Bill Murray, they're calling "Lost in Translation" his best shot at an Oscar since "Razor's Edge," which had, well, no shot at an Oscar. "Translation" was written and directed by Sophia Coppola.
In books, former police chief Charles Moose tells his side of the Washington sniper story in "Three Weeks in October," while Madonna reveals a maternal side in what she hopes will be a kiddie classic, "The English Roses."
In music, fellow ambiguous rock star, David Bowie, releases his "Reality" CD on Monday.
And Sinead O'Connor has a new one, called "She Who Dwells in the Secret Place of" -- this title is so long I got to finish it live.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Going to finish it now. The full title is "She Who Dwells in the Secret Place Where the Most High Shall Abide Under the Shadow of the Almighty." Free bird!
Coming up next on "360," our first week comes to a close and I'll have a blatantly fake look at behind the scenes at my anchor training. And coming up on Monday, Marty Savidge takes us back to what some call the most dangerous place in the world, no-man's-land between North and South Korea. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: So we're trying some new things here on "360," including giving you some insights into how we, the media, work. Tonight as we close out first week, we wanted to take that concept to the Nth degree and show you all the stuff that I had to learn to prepare for anchoring my very own program. For one thing, you have to memorize a lot of anchor catch phrases.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: That report from Candy Brocklestein (ph), every parent's nightmare.
Some unbelievable video.
I'm sorry, we're having some audio problems. I'm sorry, it looks like we have an apparent technical glitch. I'm told our guest has just caught fire.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: It may seem easy, but if you screw up, it gets very, very ugly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: The young man suffered a non-tragic death. I'm sorry, a tragic death. I got it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: At first there was some talk about giving me a co-anchor to help me out, but they dropped that idea when I totally flanked my screen test for co-anchor happy talk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Trish, I know, my dog does the exact same thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: And then there were the physical demands of the job. You think I'm kidding? The one classic signature anchor move requires not just dexterity but precise hand-eye coordination.
That's it for us. Have a great night. I'm Anderson Cooper. Bye-bye.
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