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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

The Jackson Family Continues to Stand by Michael Jackson's Side; U.S. Citizens are Being Kidnapped in Mexican Border Towns

Aired January 31, 2005 - 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.


HEIDI COLLINS, HOST: Good evening from New York, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. Anderson is on assignment tonight.
The celebrity trial of the century under way.

360 starts now.

ANNOUNCER: Michael Jackson stands trial for child molestation. Tonight, his plea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL JACKSON: Please keep an open mind, and let me have my day in court.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: And his diehard fans from all over the world to lend support to the one-time king of pop.

Dancing in the streets and, breathing a sigh of relief, terrorists defied by people of hope and freedom. Coming up, a 360 look at the birth of a new Iraq.

A world-renowned heart surgeon who lived to save lives kills himself after battling demons of depression. Tonight, were warning signs missed?

And vacationing Americans vanishing across the Mexican border. Tonight, 360 investigates. Why are Americans being kidnapped? And why isn't the government stepping in to help?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're having an epidemic problem, because there's very little being done to resolve the problem on that side of the border.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is a special edition of ANDERSON COOPER 360 with Anderson Cooper in Baghdad and Heidi Collins in New York.

COLLINS: Good evening once again, everybody. Anderson will join us in just a few moments from Baghdad. But first, the reality show that is the Michael Jackson child molestation trial officially kicked off this morning with a personal appearance by the star himself.

Umbrella overhead and bodyguards at his side, the 46-year-old defendant was on hand for the start of jury selection. His parents say the charges against him are ridiculous and racist. We'll hear from them a little later on 360.

But we begin with CNN's Ted Rowlands in Santa Maria, California.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Michael Jackson, dressed in white, acknowledged his screaming fans as he walked into the courthouse for day one of his criminal trial.

In court, Jackson seemed to be at his best behavior, standing up as prospective jurors walked in.

LINDA DEUTSCH, AP SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: He had a little smile on his face. Some of the jurors appeared quite taken with looking at him. They appeared not to be surprised at who was the defendant in this case. They apparently had been told. But some of them craned their necks to get a better look at him.

ROWLANDS: Jackson is accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy at his Neverland Ranch. After alleged details of the grand jury transcript were leaked, the judge allowed Jackson to make a video statement proclaiming his innocence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACKSON: Please keep an open mind and let me have my day in court. I deserve a fair trial like every other American citizen. I will be acquitted and vindicated when the truth is told.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROWLANDS: Jackson is accused of giving his accuser alcohol and showing him sexually explicit material. Last week, the judge ruled prosecutors can show the material, including magazines and DVDs, in court. But they must not refer to them as pornographic.

Also allowed, the documentary in which both Jackson and his accuser appear. In that program, Jackson said sharing his bed with children is innocent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACKSON: These events have caused a nightmare for my family, my children, and me. I never intend to place myself in so vulnerable a position ever again.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ROWLANDS: Outside the courthouse, hundreds of Jackson's fans spent the day waiting for a glimpse of the pop superstar. In contrast to his arraignment last year, when he danced on the top of his SUV, this time Jackson just waved from the street, and again after he got into his car, which seemed to satisfy the crowd.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS: And Michael Jackson is still in court at this hour. He's expected to be leaving in the next hour or so when this session ends. Although the crowds have thinned, there are still dozens of his adoring fans waiting for a glimpse, and possibly a wave, from the king of pop.

He will, incidentally, Heidi, have to appear every day in court from here on out.

COLLINS: All right. Ted Rowlands, thanks so much for that.

Helping cover all the angles now of the Jackson trial for us is Court TV anchor Lisa Bloom. And from Miami, defense attorney Jayne Weintraub.

LISA BLOOM, COURT TV ANCHOR: Hi, Heidi.

JAYNE WEINTRAUB, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Thank you.

COLLINS: Thanks, ladies, for -- to the both of you for being here tonight.

Lisa, I want to start with you. Now, the lawyers are going to be looking through and talking with some 750 potential jurors.

BLOOM: Yes.

COLLINS: What will the prosecution be looking for, exactly?

BLOOM: Well, I think the prosecution is looking for cynical people, people who are not necessarily going to think that just because Michael Jackson's a celebrity, he must be innocent.

And, I think, people who are devoted to children. I would want young mothers on the jury if I were the prosecutor. I would want people who have had experiences in their lives with child sexual abuse, so that they could believe that it does in fact happen, and even someone like Michael Jackson, a world-famous celebrity, could have done it.

COLLINS: All right. And Jayne, what about you? What a, what would the defense be looking for in this case?

WEINTRAUB: Well, I think the defense is looking for, number one, they're looking for people that remember -- old enough, young enough to remember Michael Jackson's successful era, the moonwalk days, when he was doing songs like "Beat It" or "We Are the World." Those are the types of people that are going to be open-minded to his bizarre look and dress and try and get past that. They'll look at the celebrity issue and go through it.

COLLINS: Yes, looking at one of his famous videos, "Beat It," right there.

Lisa, what about Jackson's statement, though, this weekend? A pretty lengthy one at that. What stuck out, in your mind, about it?

BLOOM: You know, Heidi, I was surprised, not that he was allowed to give a statement and say generically, Give me my day in court. That seems fair. But that he could make comments about the family itself, say he brought them into Neverland to help the boy with cancer, that he could call the allegations disgusting.

That seems directly commenting on the facts of the case. And I'm surprised he was allowed to go that far.

COLLINS: Jayne, were those comments fair?

WEINTRAUB: I think they were fair, and I think it was a total, total move on the judge's part, because of the leak of the grand jury information. Remember, the only person that would have leaked the grand jury transcripts, Heidi, was from law enforcement, either the D.A.'s office or somebody in the police officers' (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

BLOOM: What about court personnel? I mean, there's a number of people who could have...

WEINTRAUB: No, I doubt it.

BLOOM: ... had that information, private attorneys...

WEINTRAUB: Lisa...

BLOOM: could have it. You don't know that.

WEINTRAUB: ... the people that would benefit, people that would benefit from this leak were the prosecutors and law enforcement. And the judge knew it. And that's why the judge broke the gag order and let Michael Jackson give this statement.

And, you know, to me, the statement was pretty acceptable, for two reasons. One, it seemed very genuine Michael Jackson. And number two, if he doesn't testify, here it is.

COLLINS: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

BLOOM: Well, if you think Michael Jackson wrote that statement, Jayne, I mean, come on, it was clearly written by his attorneys.

COLLINS: Well, let's move on...

WEINTRAUB: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

COLLINS: ... ladies, if we can, to something else, another decision made by the judge. And that is this. The accuser and his brother are going to be appearing in open court. So how unusual is that in a case like that?

BLOOM: You know, another surprising ruling. Ordinarily, in a child sexual abuse case, cases that I've handled, if they want some privacy while they're testifying, clear the gallery, the judge will allow that.

I think probably, based on the age of the accuser, he's now 15 years old, he's also in good health these days, the judge weighed everything, and said, We're going to do it in open court. Of course, we don't have cameras in the courtroom, but reporters and members of the public will be able to listen in.

COLLINS: Jayne, this decision (UNINTELLIGIBLE) surprise you at all?

WEINTRAUB: Yes, it did, it surprised me a lot, for the same reasons that Lisa said. At the risk of agreeing with Lisa tonight...

BLOOM: God forbid.

WEINTRAUB: ... but we, you know, we have closed-circuit TVs for children to testify, where the lawyers can be there and nobody else, or the participants and no one else. I agree with Lisa that it's a fair ruling now, because he's 15.

And don't forget, the mother gave permission for this child to be on the Bashir documentary and to be viewed by the country and the world, to begin with.

BLOOM: Yes, but the mother can't give her permission...

WEINTRAUB: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

BLOOM: ... for him to be molested. And any negligence on her part...

WEINTRAUB: Nobody said he was molested, Lisa.

BLOOM: ... is not (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

COLLINS: I was hoping we could get...

WEINTRAUB: The mother, a year later.

COLLINS: ... we could end on that rare note of agreement, but we are not. Needless to say, we appreciate your time, both of you, Lisa Bloom and Jayne Weintraub tonight...

BLOOM: Thank you.

WEINTRAUB: Thank you.

COLLINS: ... thanks, ladies.

In upstate New York today, a health scare for senator and former first lady Hillary Clinton. She fainted during a fund-raising speech. But against her doctor's advice, she insisted the show must go on.

CNN's Deborah Feyerick reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton didn't miss a beat. An hour after she fainted, she was right back on schedule, talking about healthcare and downplaying a doctor's advice to cancel this afternoon's speech at a Catholic college.

SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: It wasn't as dramatic as it sounds. I've had a -- I came up with the 24-hour virus in the last 24 hours, and I will -- I'll be fine.

FEYERICK: Clinton's press secretary blamed it on a stomach bug, saying, "She felt weak, needed to sit down, and then fainted briefly." Mrs. Clinton blacked out at a luncheon given by a women's group in Buffalo, New York. Aides close to her say the room, with 150 people, was warm. Mrs. Clinton warned the crowd she was feeling queasy, even leaving the stage briefly.

LEN LENIHAN, ERIE COUNTY DEMOCRATIC CHAIRMAN: She came, became visibly faint, and, but her staff was right around her. She did not fall. They grabbed her, brought her down very gently on the ground.

FEYERICK: A local doctor in the audience treated Mrs. Clinton. She did not go to the hospital. She returned to Washington, D.C., after her second and final speech.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: (audio interrupt), but sources tell CNN that New York's junior senator had a retreat over the weekend, and that what happened is that about half the people there, about 30 people actually came down with the exact same stomach bug. No one knows exactly how they caught it, whether it was something from something somebody ate, since everybody ate different things, or whether maybe one staffer may have gotten everyone else sick, Heidi.

COLLINS: Mm, yikes, all right. Well, we appreciate you (UNINTELLIGIBLE), Deb. Thanks so much.

Michael Jackson's parents have much to say about the case. We're going to hear from them a little bit later on 360.

Meanwhile, 360 next, video allegedly showing a British plane shot down in Iraq. Insurgents try to rear their heads after a stunning defeat at the polls. Anderson Cooper is live in Baghdad.

Also tonight, masking depression. A life-saving surgeon takes his own life. Is someone in your life hiding their pain? Part of our special series.

Plus, dozens of Americans kidnapped in a popular tourist town. Find out why the FBI is calling it an epidemic. But first, your picks, the most popular stories on CNN.com right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Tonight, in southern Iraq, one day after the elections, riots broke out at a prison camp, and U.S. forces there opened fire to get control of the situation. There are some fatalities.

Anderson is joining me now from Baghdad with the very latest from there. Anderson, good evening.

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: Hey, good evening, Heidi.

Yes, four Iraqis were killed, six were wounded in a prison riot, essentially. The U.S. guards there were doing a search for contraband material in one compound. Camp Buk (ph) is a sprawling compound. There are about 10 different compounds within it. Some 5,300, 5,400 Iraqi detainees.

Anyway, they were searching for contraband in one compound. Prisoners there started throwing rocks, starting making weapons out of whatever they could grab. It spread to three other compounds, lasted for about 45 minutes before guards tried to use -- they had tried to use verbal warnings, nonlethal force. They finally using lethal force, and killed four Iraqis, as I said.

Things there seem pretty calm, though, tonight, according to the military, who released a statement all about the incident.

Meanwhile, though, a video purported to show rockets hitting -- or a rocket hitting that British Hercules plane, which downed yesterday, killing 10 British troops on board, a video has surfaced on Al Jazeera.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): The video appears to show terrorists shooting down a British plane, which crashed just north of Baghdad yesterday. Ten people are missing and are presumed dead, making it the deadliest incident for British forces since the war began.

Two groups have claimed responsibility, including the one behind this video. But British authorities say they still have not determined what caused the plane to go down. CNN has also not confirmed the attack or the wreckage, but military adviser General Don Shepperd has examined the video.

GEN. DON SHEPPERD (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: As we run the tape, some things look very suspicious to me. The firing device looks suspicious. The missile is not a shoulder-fired, heat-seeking missile. It corkscrews. It looks like a radar-guided missile. But the ability of terrorists to get a radar-guided missile and the radars that go with it and operate it is suspect.

COOPER: Whether or not they were involved in the crash, insurgents managed to kill 29 people yesterday. Three U.S. Marines were killed in action today, proof that Iraq is still a violent place.

But interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said yesterday's election is a sign that things are changing. "Yesterday, Iraqis poured out into the street," Allawi says. "They marched together in their millions as a national army determined to live in freedom. The terrorists were defeated in Iraq."

Today, a day after the dancing and ink-stained fingers, the waiting began. The preliminary vote count is over, and ballot boxes have been sent to Baghdad, where tomorrow morning, election officials will start recounting the votes.

It won't be quick, and it won't be easy. "We have more than 200 employees, 80 computers, working 24 hours a day in order to complete the counting," he says. "I would estimate 10 days."

The Iraqi election commission still won't give an exact estimate of the turnout, but says it was high.

Yesterday's vote may have been a first step, but there's still a long way to go before Iraq can become a peaceful democracy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: It's about 3:15 a.m. here Tuesday morning, so the ballots, they hope, will start to be counted in about four or five hours from now, once all of them arrive from various parts of the country, Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, Anderson, thanks so much from that live from Baghdad tonight.

Meanwhile, a quick news note now. Apparently, with democracy comes unusual baby names. In Baghdad, a new Iraqi mother has named her daughter Elections, because she was inspired by Iraq's first multiparty vote in half a century. The baby's name has been registered, so you can call the Elections legitimate.

Right now, though, we want to go to Santa Maria, California. We're looking at some live pictures coming to us from there now of Michael Jackson walking out of court. We should see him in just a moment. There his attorney precedes him. He should be walking out momentarily.

This is the opening day of his child molestation trial. We have been watching it all day. We know there are about 100 fans or so who were outside of the courthouse there. This is the Santa Barbara County courthouse, once again, trying to offer some support to him.

Also, we know that yesterday he had put out a court-approved message over his Web site, saying that he would be, quote, "acquitted and vindicated" of all charges against him.

And just to remind you -- Tom Mesereau there, his attorney -- he has been accused of multiple counts of child molestation against a cancer-stricken boy who Jackson once befriended. He has, of course, pleaded not guilty in that case.

And the first of what will be hundreds of potential jurors were also interviewed today. Jackson expected back tomorrow, as that jury selection continues. There's the very latest for you. Santa Maria, California, tonight.

360 next now. A life-saving surgeon commits suicide. Find out why many doctors are at high risk for deadly depression, part of our special series.

Also tonight, Michael Jackson's parents speak out. Find out what they say about the child molestation charges, his plastic surgery, and racism.

And a little later, Americans kidnapped and killed in a popular Mexican tourist town. Find out why the FBI is calling it an epidemic. We're covering all the angles.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: It's often true that people who are depressed hide the problem from those closest to them. Tonight, as we continue our special series on conquering depression, Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports on the shocking suicide of a man who saved countless others, but never sent out any warning signals about his own despair.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Around the holidays last year, I sat down with one of the best-known pediatric heart surgeons in the country. Seemingly happy, confident, and successful, he was the guy who saved lives where other doctors turned away.

DR. JONATHON DRUMMOND-WEBB: Tell the parents, I'm going to do the best I can for their child. I've got to find a option. We're backed up against the wall. I mean, it's, you know, it's a cliche, you're between a rock and a hard place. But you've got to find a way out for this kid. You can't throw up your hands and walk away from it.

GUPTA: But Dr. Jonathon Drummond-Webb did throw up his hands and walk away. CNN aired the story on December 23. Three days later, I was horrified to learn that he had written a note to his wife and then took enough pills to stop his own heart forever. He died. It was the day after Christmas.

DR. MARYANNE CHRISANT, FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE: I know that Jonathon struggled with some demons, but I never knew that he was depressed to the extent that he was. He was very upbeat. He was excited about the CNN show. There was a lot of future talk and present talk, and it was just -- it was just a normal, very upbeat conversation. And there wasn't a hint.

GUPTA: Now, there usually aren't any clues, especially with doctors. DR. HERBERT HENDIN, AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION: It's remarkable how physicians can function at work, containing everything, and hiding their depression...

GUPTA: Dr. Herbert Hendin is a psychiatrist at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, a group seeking greater awareness of depression, especially in the medical community.

HENDIN: There's no evidence that they necessarily have more depression than other people, but they certainly don't seek help for it with any significant degree.

GUPTA: Probably because of simple things, like not enough time, or worries that seeking help might affect a license, or insurance coverage. But it may also have to do with the stigma that still chases people with depression, especially people who are responsible for the lives of others.

MICHAEL RUHLMAN, AUTHOR, "WALK ON WATER": A person like that, a person who operates on babies' hearts, has to be in control all the time, has to be in charge.

HENDIN: ... that they don't see themselves the way the outside world would judge them objectively, and they are always focused on what they think are their inadequacies, their failures...

GUPTA: Despite the countless lives Dr. Drummond-Webb had helped, even one failure could counteract all of that.

CHRISANT: When a patient died, that's when I would see him very depressed and very angry at himself. If only he had done X, Y, or Z, or been there to do X, Y, or Z.

GUPTA: We never know for sure why Jonathon Drummond-Webb decided to end his own life, but we can say for certain that many patients will feel the loss.

DRUMMOND-WEBB: I just really try and show compassion, and just try and be as nonjudgmental towards everything that I can, and respect everybody's right to a happy existence and to happiness. So I don't pray for guidance. I mean, I'm just trying to do the best that I possibly can all the time.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Joining me from Washington now to help us understand more about how serious depression can go unnoticed is Kay Redfield Jamison, a professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University. She herself has attempted suicide, and is the author of many books on mental illness, including "Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide."

It's quite an incredible introduction to say good evening to you that way. We appreciate you being here. Such a shock. I have seen other specials on Dr. Drummond-Webb, and he really did feel, like many doctors do, I imagine, a serious responsibility when he lost someone. And now, as we see, just couldn't overcome it.

KAY REDFIELD JAMISON, PROFESSOR OF PSYCHIATRY, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: Well, I think that the main thing is, of course, it's just a terrible tragedy, and for his patients, for his family, for him.

And, you know, I think it's not just the loss of life. I think that doctors do have a tremendous stigma. There still is not enough discussion within the medical community about how common depression is, how common bipolar illness is.

And fortunately, that's changing. I mean, if you talk to young medical students now, they're much more willing to talk about depression, to ask questions about it, to ask questions about suicide.

But there are so many consequences that doctors see in terms of losing hospital privileges, in terms of, you know, stigma.

COLLINS: Stigma, and that's such a strong word, and when talking about mental illness. What about the high-pressure job that he had? How common is it for someone who is suffering from such serious depression to be functioning at such a high-pressure job?

JAMISON: Well, it's a lot more common than you would think. I mean, one of the things that we know about depression is that, in fact, people can function up to a point, and much more horrifyingly and terrible, is that people can really hide depression from their colleagues, and they can appear to function on the outside. But, in fact, their thinking is terrible, and their mood is terrible, their sleep may be awful.

So that people can look much more normal than they actually are.

COLLINS: What about the differences between men and women? I mean, we're learning that there have been many studies that have been done on this, and in various occupations as well. Is there a difference between how common it is for men to commit suicide versus women?

JAMISON: Well, men certainly in this country, and in most Western countries, men are much more likely to commit suicide than women. Medicine is an interesting and example of where that is not true. In fact, women physicians are much more likely than women in the general public to commit suicide than male physicians are.

One ever the problems, of course, not only is their stress and the fact that depression is common, but doctors also have available to them and know how much a lethal dose is, and they have access to highly lethal means.

COLLINS: Well, as we mentioned, you have been suicidal yourself. And I know one of the reasons that you wanted to come here tonight is to go ahead and to put some of those warning signs up on the screen for people so that there can be more awareness about the issue of suicide.

Let's go ahead and look at them now. These warning signs start with irritability, and then move to increased drug or alcohol use, social withdrawal, making excuses for things.

When we look at these, what's the best way to confront someone, to talk to them about their feelings?

JAMISON: Well, I think that the best thing to do is be straightforward, to talk about it in a straightforward, calm manner, to say, You know, I'm really concerned about you. And be very specific for the reasons that you're concerned, and list them quite specifically. And say that, You know, I think what you've got may be depression, and depression is really treatable, and it's important that you get treatment.

I mean, you know, I will help you get to a doctor, help you get to an emergency room. Or do it with a group of colleagues and family.

COLLINS: Kay Redfield Jamison, we certainly appreciate your time here tonight. Thank you so much.

JAMISON: Not at all. I think it's great you're doing the series.

COLLINS: Well, great.

And we also want to let everyone know this. If you or someone you know needs help, you can always call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. That number is on your screen now, 1-800-273- TALK. And operators will connect you to the nearest available mental health provider. You can also check out their Web site. That's at www.suicidepreventionlife -- suicidepreventionlifeline, that is, dot- org. Both of them are funded by the federal government, so some help there.

Our series Conquering Depression concludes tomorrow night with a look at the depressed body. In fact, your body may know you're depressed before you do. Again, that's tomorrow night on 360. Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes a look at the mind-body connection.

ANNOUNCER: Michael Jackson stands trial for child molestation. Tonight, his diehard fans from all over the world to lend support to the one-time king of pop.

And vacationing Americans vanishing across the Mexican border. Tonight, 360 investigates. Why are Americans being kidnapped? And why isn't the government stepping in to help?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're having an epidemic problem, because there is very little being done to resolve the problem on that side of the border. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: 360 continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Even though they weren't with him in court today, the parents of Michael Jackson continue to stand by his side and defend their son. In public, Joe and Katherine Jackson have said very little about the accusations until now. On the eve of the trial they spoke to international journalist Daphne Barak about the charges against Jackson and the toll the case has had on them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHERINE JACKSON, MICHAEL JACKSON'S MOTHER: I can't sleep at night. I do a lot of praying. I can't talk too much about the case. But I know my son, and this is ridiculous.

COLLINS (voice-over): Katherine and Joe Jackson have been ordered by the judge not to discuss the facts of the case. But they are still doing a lot of talking. And what they are saying is that Michael Jackson is innocent.

JOE JACKSON, MICHAEL JACKSON'S FATHER: All I know is he's a good kid and he's done right all his life and he always treats other people right. And he has helped more people than you -- they don't -- you don't even realize how much that he has done for other people.

COLLINS: While they see their son as a victim, they view Tom Sneddon as a victimizer, insisting the Santa Barbara County district attorney is seeking to settle a 12-year vendetta.

K. JACKSON: I think when he raided my son's ranch and he got on television that evening, I think he showed his true colors. They don't call him "Mad Dog" for nothing.

COLLINS: In the end, Joe Jackson believes one factor working against his son is prejudice.

J. JACKSON: I still say it's a racist thing. I have to say it, because I know Michael is not racist and I know how much they're trying to keep him down.

COLLINS: And Jackson's mother has a problem with any suggestion that Michael may be a pedophile.

K. JACKSON: The pedophiles are in jail. And the thing about them, that they come right out of jail and they do the same thing and they have to go right back. And some of them come out of jail and they kill children.

COLLINS: As for the change in Jackson's appearance, his father believes what he did to his face is no different than what many other entertainers do. J. JACKSON: Do you know how many plastic surgeries are done to actors and actress in Hollywood? Michael was not the first one to be dealing with the same plastic surgery. All of Hollywood practically is almost like that.

COLLINS: They also say labels that brand Jackson as crazy, wacko, are hurtful and wrong.

J. JACKSON: Let me tell you something, Daphne. He's not wacko. And those people that are calling him that, they're wacko themselves.

COLLINS: As for Katherine Jackson, she's found at least one way to cope with everything that's happened.

K. JACKSON: And I've become stronger through all of this. Well, if this doesn't make you strong, I don't know what can. You have to learn to keep going. And you have to endure. And I pray that I do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Joining me now is Daphne Barak, the journalist who did that revealing interview with Joe and Katherine Jackson.

Daphne, thanks for being with us tonight. We're going to talk just a little bit more about what we just saw on screen and the people that you spoke with. You got to know them pretty well in that time, I would imagine. This whole ordeal has rattled them. What part about it has upset them the most?

DAPHNE BARAK, INTERNATIONAL JOURNALIST: I think the first time I interviewed them was a year ago. It was right after the indictment. And they were still under -- they were in a state of shock. They didn't know what was coming. Mark Geragos, the attorney, told them that it's not going to trial. They're actually saying in the interview right now. He said the same thing to Michael, I understand.

And they didn't know what was going on. They didn't really think, oh, my God, this time it's going that far. The time we sat this time -- and it was quite recent -- very recent, actually -- it was very extensive. It was a set of interviews. Joe alone and Katherine alone and then together. And it's painful for them. He had a health crisis. He is after two surgeries. He's very, very fragile. She has problems with her heart. She doesn't sleep. She cries. So they're really going through a very, very painful time.

COLLINS: Well, this is their son. In fact, you bring up the issue of Mark Geragos telling them that there's really no way this is going to go to trial. In fact, I want to go ahead and listen for a moment to what Michael's mom said. She said she didn't believe him. Let's listen for a moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

K. JACKSON: Well, I wanted to believe him. I did believe him at first. I tell you, I believed him at first. But when I went down to court the few times and I saw the way the other side was acting and the way the judge was acting, I knew it would go to trial.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: So do you think that she thinks, because her son is a Jackson, that he will be unfairly persecuted, no matter what?

BARAK: I asked her about that in a different part of the interview, because she's a very religious woman. She's a Jehovah Witness follower, she's very spiritual. And I said, well, in that case, you have to believe that justice prevails. And by the way, they really -- both of them are 200 percent behind their son's innocence.

So I said, so what's the problem? And she said, well -- and her body language was very painful. She said, well, justice should prevail, yes it should, but people are wicked and Satan is busy. And she repeated it many times. And you could see both of them. They are under a lot of pain whether this is coming to a happy end.

COLLINS: Well, before we let you go, was there anything that they said in that interview that made you see Michael Jackson in a different light?

BARAK: Many things. But I think when I asked her so many times towards the end of her interview -- and it was really tough, you have to understand these people are secluded, they don't want to talk. And I said, well, try to clarify to me or to yourself where is the border between loving children and being a pedophile?

And, also, you have to realize that people are going to watch this interview worldwide, are going to say, well, if he's a pedophile, what kind of mother is she? She didn't tell him what's right and wrong. And she really thought about it. She's a very smart woman. Both of them. And she answered at the end, I don't understand your question. I guess, she said, look, I did tell him what's right and wrong. I did. But what did he do wrong? But you could see she was thinking about it.

COLLINS: All right. Well, Daphne Barak, we certainly appreciate your sharing your interview with us. Thanks so much for being here.

BARAK: Thank you.

COLLINS: In case you think only the American media have gone ga- ga over the Michael Jackson case, here's a fast fact for you. More than 1,000 applications for media access to the courthouse complex have been submitted, some from as far away as Japan, Australia, Germany and Mexico.

Not only have the media set up shop outside the courthouse. So have Michael Jackson's fans. With that, here is CNN's Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An umbrella, but no rain. The forecast is for Michael Jackson to be showered with affection. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We love you!

MOOS: Several hundred fans showed up...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Give me an I!

CROWD: I!

MOOS: ... spelling things like "innocent." And when Michael's defense attorney appeared, it sounded more like a football game than a molestation trial. A few were selling T-shirts or themselves. An Australian, who calls himself "Future Man" was pushing his own CD.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a good opportunity, world's media (ph).

MOOS: Silver seemed to be big. The author of a book coming out called "Starstruck" spent days with Michael Jackson fans and said there's a core group of well-educated European women who follow him everywhere and think of him as a spiritual humanitarian.

MICHAEL JOSEPH GROSS, AUTHOR, "STARSTRUCK": Michael Jackson fans view their devotion to him as a kind of moral duty. Their interest in him is almost completely non-sexual.

MOOS: Peace signs were popular.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Peace to you.

MOOS: And Michael flashed back. Peace reigned except among sign holders. Amid all the pro-Jackson messages, "we support the survivor" popped up. "Dear God, please give Michael justice" tried to eclipse "we support the survivor," but it was this sign that prompted a scuffle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Children, you can say, those are my private parts!

MOOS: The sign belongs to an anti-pedophile organization. When one of Michael's supporters allegedly tried to take away the private parts, he was arrested. That and a bicycle mishap involving an officer were the only incidents. The favorite fan of photographers was this Michael Jackson look alike.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Representing Michael, to be here today to represent him, I'm very proud to be here.

MOOS: Michael impersonators like this one in Germany could end up out of work if Jackson ends up in handcuffs instead of gloves.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: 360 next, Americans tourists crossing the border into Mexico disappearing at an alarming rate. What's going on? 360 investigates. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Nuevo Laredo, is a Mexican border town where Americans like to go and relax, to party, to shop or maybe buy prescription drugs. But something very scary is happening there. In an increasing number of cases the Americans who go to Nuevo Laredo are not coming home. They're simply vanishing.

CNN's Drew Griffin with the chilling story of those who have disappeared and the families that want them back.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL slathering, STEP-FATHER: No, is that the correct time?

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the past four months, William Slemaker, says he's made this crossing more than 100 times, crossing the international border into the narrow streets of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, searching for a daughter who has not called, not come home, not been seen since September.

B. SLEMAKER: You see, I cruised up and down all these streets looking for Yvette's car.

GRIFFIN: Slemaker's step-daughter is 28-years-old. In the early morning of September 17th, she and her friend, Brenda Cisneros were on their way home from a concert and night on the town in Neuvo laredo. It was Brenda's birthday. At 4:00 a.m., still on the Mexican side but just four blocks from the border they called a friend.

B. SLEMAKER: And the call she got was from this intersection right here.

GRIFFIN: The young women made the call to ask their friend to meet them for breakfast on the American side. Somewhere within these four short blocks, Yvette Martinez, and Brenda Cisneros vanished.

B. SLEMAKER: I can see the American flag. Yes. She was not far at all. It's very unfortunate that she didn't make it from such a close distance.

GRIFFIN (on camera): You must have stood here many a time and thought, what -- what happened?

B. SLEMAKER: What happened.

GRIFFIN: In the five minutes it would take.

B. SLEMAKER: I stood there, parked my car there, stood at that intersection looking and wondering to myself where could she be. Trying and praying, hoping she could contact me and let me know, to get a feel of what to do.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Bill Slemaker and his wife, Maria, no longer know what to do. Days have turned into weeks and now months. (on camera): The last phone call that she made, that you know she made, was so close to the border, it must have be absolutely frustrating to have heard that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. To know that she was so close and didn't make it.

GRIFFIN: She probably could have seen the border. Certainly the lights.

B. SLEMAKER: Oh, yes.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Bill and Maria are not alone. People are being kidnapped, killed or simply disappearing at an alarming rate. In past years, the number of Americans kidnapped in this border town averaged three or four a year. But just since August, 27 Americans have been kidnapped or have gone missing and police are quick to say those are only the reported cases. Nuevo Laredo, just a walk across the bridge from Laredo, Texas, is being described, by U.S. police officials, as lawless.

PATRICK PATTERSON, FBI: I would call it epidemic.

GRIFFIN: Patrick Patterson is the special FBI agent in charge.

PATTERSON: They're kidnapped. They're held for ransoms. We even express kidnappings, what we call express kidnappings, when the individual is grabbed on the other side of the border, held in the trunk of the car for 24 hours while they deplete the bank account with a credit card. This has all the time. Many times goes unreported to local law enforcement, state law enforcement or federal law enforcement.

GRIFFIN: And according to Patterson, the kidnapping is out of control. Yvette Martinez and Brenda Cisneros are just two of the missing caught up in a violent Mexican border town says Patterson where drug cartels are battling for turf. What's worse according to Patterson and others Mexican police seem stand on the sidelines.

PATTERSON: That's why we're having an epidemic problem, because there is very little being done to resolve the problem on that side of the border. And that's what really has to be done.

GRIFFIN: At first the Slemakers say even American police weren't that concerned. But Maria knew her daughter, knew she would have come home. And knew the border police would be able to tell if her daughter's car made the crossing back.

MARIA SLEMAKER, MOTHER: I said, let me go and check the car because we have the system here when you go...

B. SLEMAKER: Into Mexico.

M. SLEMAKER: ... into Mexico, I mean, they captured your license plates.

B. SLEMAKER: Your license plate. They register your plates.

M. SLEMAKER: So then I we went over there and asked if the car returned. And then he said, no, the car never returned into the United States.

GRIFFIN: How did you feel then?

M. SLEMAKER: Wow, I almost collapsed there. I was thinking, you know, the worst.

GRIFFIN: No longer able to sit by and wait for Mexican police, Bill and Maria have joined forces with other families. The Gonzales', searching for two sons missing since December. Pablo Cisneros want to find his daughter, Brenda. The family of Sergio Cabara (ph), already know their son is dead, they want the killers caught. They have focused their frustrations, creating a Web site and are printing posters asking for anyone who knows anything to call.

B. SLEMAKER: God forbid that she's dead, we want her body anyway. We want her body. We want to give her a proper burial. We want to close this. We hope that's not the case. But if she's alive, we want her. We want her in any way. We want her back. This is one of the streets I've traveled looking for her car.

GRIFFIN: The fact is, say U.S. authorities, if these families want their children back, they will most likely have to go into Mexico and find them themselves. Two months ago, Bill Slemaker came as close as he may ever come when this train conductor turned detective found the car he was looking for.

B. SLEMAKER: That's it. That's the car right there. That's Yvette's car. Oh, my God! Oh, my God!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: And there's more to the story. Why Yvette Martinez's stepfather was able to find his daughter's car, the car Mexican police either could not or would not look for. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: We've just heard some of the harrowing stories of Americans who go missing on the Mexican side of the Texas border and the desperate parents who go looking for them. So who goes looking for U.S. citizens when they disappear in Mexico? You might be surprised at the answer. Here again, CNN's Drew Griffin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: The crossing at Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, and Laredo, Texas, is the busiest inland port on the U.S. southern border. Forty percent of all U.S.-Mexico trade passes right through here. But the heavy traffic has attracted something else: drug cartels that are in a heated battle for control of this town and the drugs that flow north.

MICHAEL YODER, U.S. CONSUL: We're always living on the edge of violence here. That's part of the border.

GRIFFIN: Michael Yoder is the U.S. consul in Nuevo Laredo. For the past year he has watched the drug cartels fight it out. Yoder warns anyone traveling to Nuevo Laredo, if you are American, you may be a target. And if you're kidnapped here, don't rely on the U.S. or anyone else to find you.

YODER: We're in Mexico. And solving a crime that occurs in Mexico is up to the Mexican authorities. And we have this problem, that local police and state police are often out equipped, the narco traffickers, the criminals here have better guns, they have more money.

GRIFFIN: And money, the FBI says, has corrupted many police to look the other way.

Daniel Pena is Nuevo Laredo's new mayor. He's in charge of the police. He insists his city is safe.

DANIEL PENA, NUEVO LAREDO MAYOR (through translator): Yes, Nuevo Laredo is safe. And we're taking charge to guarantee that tranquility and peace.

GRIFFIN: But when the camera was turned off, he added that he believes most if not all people kidnapped are likely involved in drugs. The U.S. consul says that may have been true in the past but now insists the innocent civilians are the targets.

To the Slemakers, who know their daughter, knew she was just going to a concert, the Mexican government's lack of action has added to their pain.

MARIA SLEMAKER, MOTHER: Night after night, thinking where is she? where is her friend. It's not only them. Now, where is the other people, too?

BILL SLEMAKER, FATHER: There are so many missing.

M. SLEMAKER: So many missing persons.

GRIFFIN: Without help from the police, Bill Slemaker has spent endless days and nights trying to track down his daughter himself. He spent a month searching for her car. He finally found it in a place that made him very angry: a storage yard used by local police.

Walking through here, you'll find dozens of other cars with U.S. license plates just like Yvette's. Bill says he has asked how Yvette's car got here, who brought it and when. But no one can tell him. It has never been dusted for fingerprints or searched for evidence in any investigation.

B. SLEMAKER, FATHER: I hope she comes home. I hope she comes home.

GRIFFIN: Are you afraid, Bill, I hate to say it, that this is all you'll ever find of your daughter? B. SLEMAKER: I am afraid, yes.

GRIFFIN: And that you'll never know what happened.

B. SLEMAKER: God Almighty, I hope we find her. I hope we find her. Oh, my.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Once again, CNN's Drew Griffin tonight. We want to go ahead and take a moment to find out what's coming up on "PAULA ZAHN NOW." Hi, Paula.

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Heidi. Thanks. We start off with a story that's a huge concern to parents all over the country. The popular antidepressant Zoloft is not approved for children. But many doctors are prescribing it anyway for kids. And in South Carolina, the lawyer for a 15-year-old boy on trial for murder says he will prove that Zoloft turned that little boy into a killer. Tonight we're going to look at that case and at the wider issue of antidepressants for children and why, Heidi, so many doctors are prescribing it in the first place even though it isn't approved for use in children.

COLLINS: All right, Paula. Thanks so much for that. And tomorrow on 360, the depressed body and its connection with the mind, part of our special series conquering depression.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: I'm Heidi Collins in for Anderson Cooper tonight. Up next, "PAULA ZAHN NOW" -- Paula.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired January 31, 2005 - 19:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, HOST: Good evening from New York, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. Anderson is on assignment tonight.
The celebrity trial of the century under way.

360 starts now.

ANNOUNCER: Michael Jackson stands trial for child molestation. Tonight, his plea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL JACKSON: Please keep an open mind, and let me have my day in court.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: And his diehard fans from all over the world to lend support to the one-time king of pop.

Dancing in the streets and, breathing a sigh of relief, terrorists defied by people of hope and freedom. Coming up, a 360 look at the birth of a new Iraq.

A world-renowned heart surgeon who lived to save lives kills himself after battling demons of depression. Tonight, were warning signs missed?

And vacationing Americans vanishing across the Mexican border. Tonight, 360 investigates. Why are Americans being kidnapped? And why isn't the government stepping in to help?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're having an epidemic problem, because there's very little being done to resolve the problem on that side of the border.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is a special edition of ANDERSON COOPER 360 with Anderson Cooper in Baghdad and Heidi Collins in New York.

COLLINS: Good evening once again, everybody. Anderson will join us in just a few moments from Baghdad. But first, the reality show that is the Michael Jackson child molestation trial officially kicked off this morning with a personal appearance by the star himself.

Umbrella overhead and bodyguards at his side, the 46-year-old defendant was on hand for the start of jury selection. His parents say the charges against him are ridiculous and racist. We'll hear from them a little later on 360.

But we begin with CNN's Ted Rowlands in Santa Maria, California.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Michael Jackson, dressed in white, acknowledged his screaming fans as he walked into the courthouse for day one of his criminal trial.

In court, Jackson seemed to be at his best behavior, standing up as prospective jurors walked in.

LINDA DEUTSCH, AP SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: He had a little smile on his face. Some of the jurors appeared quite taken with looking at him. They appeared not to be surprised at who was the defendant in this case. They apparently had been told. But some of them craned their necks to get a better look at him.

ROWLANDS: Jackson is accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy at his Neverland Ranch. After alleged details of the grand jury transcript were leaked, the judge allowed Jackson to make a video statement proclaiming his innocence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACKSON: Please keep an open mind and let me have my day in court. I deserve a fair trial like every other American citizen. I will be acquitted and vindicated when the truth is told.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROWLANDS: Jackson is accused of giving his accuser alcohol and showing him sexually explicit material. Last week, the judge ruled prosecutors can show the material, including magazines and DVDs, in court. But they must not refer to them as pornographic.

Also allowed, the documentary in which both Jackson and his accuser appear. In that program, Jackson said sharing his bed with children is innocent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACKSON: These events have caused a nightmare for my family, my children, and me. I never intend to place myself in so vulnerable a position ever again.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ROWLANDS: Outside the courthouse, hundreds of Jackson's fans spent the day waiting for a glimpse of the pop superstar. In contrast to his arraignment last year, when he danced on the top of his SUV, this time Jackson just waved from the street, and again after he got into his car, which seemed to satisfy the crowd.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS: And Michael Jackson is still in court at this hour. He's expected to be leaving in the next hour or so when this session ends. Although the crowds have thinned, there are still dozens of his adoring fans waiting for a glimpse, and possibly a wave, from the king of pop.

He will, incidentally, Heidi, have to appear every day in court from here on out.

COLLINS: All right. Ted Rowlands, thanks so much for that.

Helping cover all the angles now of the Jackson trial for us is Court TV anchor Lisa Bloom. And from Miami, defense attorney Jayne Weintraub.

LISA BLOOM, COURT TV ANCHOR: Hi, Heidi.

JAYNE WEINTRAUB, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Thank you.

COLLINS: Thanks, ladies, for -- to the both of you for being here tonight.

Lisa, I want to start with you. Now, the lawyers are going to be looking through and talking with some 750 potential jurors.

BLOOM: Yes.

COLLINS: What will the prosecution be looking for, exactly?

BLOOM: Well, I think the prosecution is looking for cynical people, people who are not necessarily going to think that just because Michael Jackson's a celebrity, he must be innocent.

And, I think, people who are devoted to children. I would want young mothers on the jury if I were the prosecutor. I would want people who have had experiences in their lives with child sexual abuse, so that they could believe that it does in fact happen, and even someone like Michael Jackson, a world-famous celebrity, could have done it.

COLLINS: All right. And Jayne, what about you? What a, what would the defense be looking for in this case?

WEINTRAUB: Well, I think the defense is looking for, number one, they're looking for people that remember -- old enough, young enough to remember Michael Jackson's successful era, the moonwalk days, when he was doing songs like "Beat It" or "We Are the World." Those are the types of people that are going to be open-minded to his bizarre look and dress and try and get past that. They'll look at the celebrity issue and go through it.

COLLINS: Yes, looking at one of his famous videos, "Beat It," right there.

Lisa, what about Jackson's statement, though, this weekend? A pretty lengthy one at that. What stuck out, in your mind, about it?

BLOOM: You know, Heidi, I was surprised, not that he was allowed to give a statement and say generically, Give me my day in court. That seems fair. But that he could make comments about the family itself, say he brought them into Neverland to help the boy with cancer, that he could call the allegations disgusting.

That seems directly commenting on the facts of the case. And I'm surprised he was allowed to go that far.

COLLINS: Jayne, were those comments fair?

WEINTRAUB: I think they were fair, and I think it was a total, total move on the judge's part, because of the leak of the grand jury information. Remember, the only person that would have leaked the grand jury transcripts, Heidi, was from law enforcement, either the D.A.'s office or somebody in the police officers' (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

BLOOM: What about court personnel? I mean, there's a number of people who could have...

WEINTRAUB: No, I doubt it.

BLOOM: ... had that information, private attorneys...

WEINTRAUB: Lisa...

BLOOM: could have it. You don't know that.

WEINTRAUB: ... the people that would benefit, people that would benefit from this leak were the prosecutors and law enforcement. And the judge knew it. And that's why the judge broke the gag order and let Michael Jackson give this statement.

And, you know, to me, the statement was pretty acceptable, for two reasons. One, it seemed very genuine Michael Jackson. And number two, if he doesn't testify, here it is.

COLLINS: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

BLOOM: Well, if you think Michael Jackson wrote that statement, Jayne, I mean, come on, it was clearly written by his attorneys.

COLLINS: Well, let's move on...

WEINTRAUB: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

COLLINS: ... ladies, if we can, to something else, another decision made by the judge. And that is this. The accuser and his brother are going to be appearing in open court. So how unusual is that in a case like that?

BLOOM: You know, another surprising ruling. Ordinarily, in a child sexual abuse case, cases that I've handled, if they want some privacy while they're testifying, clear the gallery, the judge will allow that.

I think probably, based on the age of the accuser, he's now 15 years old, he's also in good health these days, the judge weighed everything, and said, We're going to do it in open court. Of course, we don't have cameras in the courtroom, but reporters and members of the public will be able to listen in.

COLLINS: Jayne, this decision (UNINTELLIGIBLE) surprise you at all?

WEINTRAUB: Yes, it did, it surprised me a lot, for the same reasons that Lisa said. At the risk of agreeing with Lisa tonight...

BLOOM: God forbid.

WEINTRAUB: ... but we, you know, we have closed-circuit TVs for children to testify, where the lawyers can be there and nobody else, or the participants and no one else. I agree with Lisa that it's a fair ruling now, because he's 15.

And don't forget, the mother gave permission for this child to be on the Bashir documentary and to be viewed by the country and the world, to begin with.

BLOOM: Yes, but the mother can't give her permission...

WEINTRAUB: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

BLOOM: ... for him to be molested. And any negligence on her part...

WEINTRAUB: Nobody said he was molested, Lisa.

BLOOM: ... is not (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

COLLINS: I was hoping we could get...

WEINTRAUB: The mother, a year later.

COLLINS: ... we could end on that rare note of agreement, but we are not. Needless to say, we appreciate your time, both of you, Lisa Bloom and Jayne Weintraub tonight...

BLOOM: Thank you.

WEINTRAUB: Thank you.

COLLINS: ... thanks, ladies.

In upstate New York today, a health scare for senator and former first lady Hillary Clinton. She fainted during a fund-raising speech. But against her doctor's advice, she insisted the show must go on.

CNN's Deborah Feyerick reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton didn't miss a beat. An hour after she fainted, she was right back on schedule, talking about healthcare and downplaying a doctor's advice to cancel this afternoon's speech at a Catholic college.

SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: It wasn't as dramatic as it sounds. I've had a -- I came up with the 24-hour virus in the last 24 hours, and I will -- I'll be fine.

FEYERICK: Clinton's press secretary blamed it on a stomach bug, saying, "She felt weak, needed to sit down, and then fainted briefly." Mrs. Clinton blacked out at a luncheon given by a women's group in Buffalo, New York. Aides close to her say the room, with 150 people, was warm. Mrs. Clinton warned the crowd she was feeling queasy, even leaving the stage briefly.

LEN LENIHAN, ERIE COUNTY DEMOCRATIC CHAIRMAN: She came, became visibly faint, and, but her staff was right around her. She did not fall. They grabbed her, brought her down very gently on the ground.

FEYERICK: A local doctor in the audience treated Mrs. Clinton. She did not go to the hospital. She returned to Washington, D.C., after her second and final speech.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: (audio interrupt), but sources tell CNN that New York's junior senator had a retreat over the weekend, and that what happened is that about half the people there, about 30 people actually came down with the exact same stomach bug. No one knows exactly how they caught it, whether it was something from something somebody ate, since everybody ate different things, or whether maybe one staffer may have gotten everyone else sick, Heidi.

COLLINS: Mm, yikes, all right. Well, we appreciate you (UNINTELLIGIBLE), Deb. Thanks so much.

Michael Jackson's parents have much to say about the case. We're going to hear from them a little bit later on 360.

Meanwhile, 360 next, video allegedly showing a British plane shot down in Iraq. Insurgents try to rear their heads after a stunning defeat at the polls. Anderson Cooper is live in Baghdad.

Also tonight, masking depression. A life-saving surgeon takes his own life. Is someone in your life hiding their pain? Part of our special series.

Plus, dozens of Americans kidnapped in a popular tourist town. Find out why the FBI is calling it an epidemic. But first, your picks, the most popular stories on CNN.com right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Tonight, in southern Iraq, one day after the elections, riots broke out at a prison camp, and U.S. forces there opened fire to get control of the situation. There are some fatalities.

Anderson is joining me now from Baghdad with the very latest from there. Anderson, good evening.

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: Hey, good evening, Heidi.

Yes, four Iraqis were killed, six were wounded in a prison riot, essentially. The U.S. guards there were doing a search for contraband material in one compound. Camp Buk (ph) is a sprawling compound. There are about 10 different compounds within it. Some 5,300, 5,400 Iraqi detainees.

Anyway, they were searching for contraband in one compound. Prisoners there started throwing rocks, starting making weapons out of whatever they could grab. It spread to three other compounds, lasted for about 45 minutes before guards tried to use -- they had tried to use verbal warnings, nonlethal force. They finally using lethal force, and killed four Iraqis, as I said.

Things there seem pretty calm, though, tonight, according to the military, who released a statement all about the incident.

Meanwhile, though, a video purported to show rockets hitting -- or a rocket hitting that British Hercules plane, which downed yesterday, killing 10 British troops on board, a video has surfaced on Al Jazeera.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): The video appears to show terrorists shooting down a British plane, which crashed just north of Baghdad yesterday. Ten people are missing and are presumed dead, making it the deadliest incident for British forces since the war began.

Two groups have claimed responsibility, including the one behind this video. But British authorities say they still have not determined what caused the plane to go down. CNN has also not confirmed the attack or the wreckage, but military adviser General Don Shepperd has examined the video.

GEN. DON SHEPPERD (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: As we run the tape, some things look very suspicious to me. The firing device looks suspicious. The missile is not a shoulder-fired, heat-seeking missile. It corkscrews. It looks like a radar-guided missile. But the ability of terrorists to get a radar-guided missile and the radars that go with it and operate it is suspect.

COOPER: Whether or not they were involved in the crash, insurgents managed to kill 29 people yesterday. Three U.S. Marines were killed in action today, proof that Iraq is still a violent place.

But interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said yesterday's election is a sign that things are changing. "Yesterday, Iraqis poured out into the street," Allawi says. "They marched together in their millions as a national army determined to live in freedom. The terrorists were defeated in Iraq."

Today, a day after the dancing and ink-stained fingers, the waiting began. The preliminary vote count is over, and ballot boxes have been sent to Baghdad, where tomorrow morning, election officials will start recounting the votes.

It won't be quick, and it won't be easy. "We have more than 200 employees, 80 computers, working 24 hours a day in order to complete the counting," he says. "I would estimate 10 days."

The Iraqi election commission still won't give an exact estimate of the turnout, but says it was high.

Yesterday's vote may have been a first step, but there's still a long way to go before Iraq can become a peaceful democracy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: It's about 3:15 a.m. here Tuesday morning, so the ballots, they hope, will start to be counted in about four or five hours from now, once all of them arrive from various parts of the country, Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, Anderson, thanks so much from that live from Baghdad tonight.

Meanwhile, a quick news note now. Apparently, with democracy comes unusual baby names. In Baghdad, a new Iraqi mother has named her daughter Elections, because she was inspired by Iraq's first multiparty vote in half a century. The baby's name has been registered, so you can call the Elections legitimate.

Right now, though, we want to go to Santa Maria, California. We're looking at some live pictures coming to us from there now of Michael Jackson walking out of court. We should see him in just a moment. There his attorney precedes him. He should be walking out momentarily.

This is the opening day of his child molestation trial. We have been watching it all day. We know there are about 100 fans or so who were outside of the courthouse there. This is the Santa Barbara County courthouse, once again, trying to offer some support to him.

Also, we know that yesterday he had put out a court-approved message over his Web site, saying that he would be, quote, "acquitted and vindicated" of all charges against him.

And just to remind you -- Tom Mesereau there, his attorney -- he has been accused of multiple counts of child molestation against a cancer-stricken boy who Jackson once befriended. He has, of course, pleaded not guilty in that case.

And the first of what will be hundreds of potential jurors were also interviewed today. Jackson expected back tomorrow, as that jury selection continues. There's the very latest for you. Santa Maria, California, tonight.

360 next now. A life-saving surgeon commits suicide. Find out why many doctors are at high risk for deadly depression, part of our special series.

Also tonight, Michael Jackson's parents speak out. Find out what they say about the child molestation charges, his plastic surgery, and racism.

And a little later, Americans kidnapped and killed in a popular Mexican tourist town. Find out why the FBI is calling it an epidemic. We're covering all the angles.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: It's often true that people who are depressed hide the problem from those closest to them. Tonight, as we continue our special series on conquering depression, Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports on the shocking suicide of a man who saved countless others, but never sent out any warning signals about his own despair.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Around the holidays last year, I sat down with one of the best-known pediatric heart surgeons in the country. Seemingly happy, confident, and successful, he was the guy who saved lives where other doctors turned away.

DR. JONATHON DRUMMOND-WEBB: Tell the parents, I'm going to do the best I can for their child. I've got to find a option. We're backed up against the wall. I mean, it's, you know, it's a cliche, you're between a rock and a hard place. But you've got to find a way out for this kid. You can't throw up your hands and walk away from it.

GUPTA: But Dr. Jonathon Drummond-Webb did throw up his hands and walk away. CNN aired the story on December 23. Three days later, I was horrified to learn that he had written a note to his wife and then took enough pills to stop his own heart forever. He died. It was the day after Christmas.

DR. MARYANNE CHRISANT, FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE: I know that Jonathon struggled with some demons, but I never knew that he was depressed to the extent that he was. He was very upbeat. He was excited about the CNN show. There was a lot of future talk and present talk, and it was just -- it was just a normal, very upbeat conversation. And there wasn't a hint.

GUPTA: Now, there usually aren't any clues, especially with doctors. DR. HERBERT HENDIN, AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION: It's remarkable how physicians can function at work, containing everything, and hiding their depression...

GUPTA: Dr. Herbert Hendin is a psychiatrist at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, a group seeking greater awareness of depression, especially in the medical community.

HENDIN: There's no evidence that they necessarily have more depression than other people, but they certainly don't seek help for it with any significant degree.

GUPTA: Probably because of simple things, like not enough time, or worries that seeking help might affect a license, or insurance coverage. But it may also have to do with the stigma that still chases people with depression, especially people who are responsible for the lives of others.

MICHAEL RUHLMAN, AUTHOR, "WALK ON WATER": A person like that, a person who operates on babies' hearts, has to be in control all the time, has to be in charge.

HENDIN: ... that they don't see themselves the way the outside world would judge them objectively, and they are always focused on what they think are their inadequacies, their failures...

GUPTA: Despite the countless lives Dr. Drummond-Webb had helped, even one failure could counteract all of that.

CHRISANT: When a patient died, that's when I would see him very depressed and very angry at himself. If only he had done X, Y, or Z, or been there to do X, Y, or Z.

GUPTA: We never know for sure why Jonathon Drummond-Webb decided to end his own life, but we can say for certain that many patients will feel the loss.

DRUMMOND-WEBB: I just really try and show compassion, and just try and be as nonjudgmental towards everything that I can, and respect everybody's right to a happy existence and to happiness. So I don't pray for guidance. I mean, I'm just trying to do the best that I possibly can all the time.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Joining me from Washington now to help us understand more about how serious depression can go unnoticed is Kay Redfield Jamison, a professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University. She herself has attempted suicide, and is the author of many books on mental illness, including "Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide."

It's quite an incredible introduction to say good evening to you that way. We appreciate you being here. Such a shock. I have seen other specials on Dr. Drummond-Webb, and he really did feel, like many doctors do, I imagine, a serious responsibility when he lost someone. And now, as we see, just couldn't overcome it.

KAY REDFIELD JAMISON, PROFESSOR OF PSYCHIATRY, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: Well, I think that the main thing is, of course, it's just a terrible tragedy, and for his patients, for his family, for him.

And, you know, I think it's not just the loss of life. I think that doctors do have a tremendous stigma. There still is not enough discussion within the medical community about how common depression is, how common bipolar illness is.

And fortunately, that's changing. I mean, if you talk to young medical students now, they're much more willing to talk about depression, to ask questions about it, to ask questions about suicide.

But there are so many consequences that doctors see in terms of losing hospital privileges, in terms of, you know, stigma.

COLLINS: Stigma, and that's such a strong word, and when talking about mental illness. What about the high-pressure job that he had? How common is it for someone who is suffering from such serious depression to be functioning at such a high-pressure job?

JAMISON: Well, it's a lot more common than you would think. I mean, one of the things that we know about depression is that, in fact, people can function up to a point, and much more horrifyingly and terrible, is that people can really hide depression from their colleagues, and they can appear to function on the outside. But, in fact, their thinking is terrible, and their mood is terrible, their sleep may be awful.

So that people can look much more normal than they actually are.

COLLINS: What about the differences between men and women? I mean, we're learning that there have been many studies that have been done on this, and in various occupations as well. Is there a difference between how common it is for men to commit suicide versus women?

JAMISON: Well, men certainly in this country, and in most Western countries, men are much more likely to commit suicide than women. Medicine is an interesting and example of where that is not true. In fact, women physicians are much more likely than women in the general public to commit suicide than male physicians are.

One ever the problems, of course, not only is their stress and the fact that depression is common, but doctors also have available to them and know how much a lethal dose is, and they have access to highly lethal means.

COLLINS: Well, as we mentioned, you have been suicidal yourself. And I know one of the reasons that you wanted to come here tonight is to go ahead and to put some of those warning signs up on the screen for people so that there can be more awareness about the issue of suicide.

Let's go ahead and look at them now. These warning signs start with irritability, and then move to increased drug or alcohol use, social withdrawal, making excuses for things.

When we look at these, what's the best way to confront someone, to talk to them about their feelings?

JAMISON: Well, I think that the best thing to do is be straightforward, to talk about it in a straightforward, calm manner, to say, You know, I'm really concerned about you. And be very specific for the reasons that you're concerned, and list them quite specifically. And say that, You know, I think what you've got may be depression, and depression is really treatable, and it's important that you get treatment.

I mean, you know, I will help you get to a doctor, help you get to an emergency room. Or do it with a group of colleagues and family.

COLLINS: Kay Redfield Jamison, we certainly appreciate your time here tonight. Thank you so much.

JAMISON: Not at all. I think it's great you're doing the series.

COLLINS: Well, great.

And we also want to let everyone know this. If you or someone you know needs help, you can always call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. That number is on your screen now, 1-800-273- TALK. And operators will connect you to the nearest available mental health provider. You can also check out their Web site. That's at www.suicidepreventionlife -- suicidepreventionlifeline, that is, dot- org. Both of them are funded by the federal government, so some help there.

Our series Conquering Depression concludes tomorrow night with a look at the depressed body. In fact, your body may know you're depressed before you do. Again, that's tomorrow night on 360. Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes a look at the mind-body connection.

ANNOUNCER: Michael Jackson stands trial for child molestation. Tonight, his diehard fans from all over the world to lend support to the one-time king of pop.

And vacationing Americans vanishing across the Mexican border. Tonight, 360 investigates. Why are Americans being kidnapped? And why isn't the government stepping in to help?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're having an epidemic problem, because there is very little being done to resolve the problem on that side of the border. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: 360 continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Even though they weren't with him in court today, the parents of Michael Jackson continue to stand by his side and defend their son. In public, Joe and Katherine Jackson have said very little about the accusations until now. On the eve of the trial they spoke to international journalist Daphne Barak about the charges against Jackson and the toll the case has had on them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHERINE JACKSON, MICHAEL JACKSON'S MOTHER: I can't sleep at night. I do a lot of praying. I can't talk too much about the case. But I know my son, and this is ridiculous.

COLLINS (voice-over): Katherine and Joe Jackson have been ordered by the judge not to discuss the facts of the case. But they are still doing a lot of talking. And what they are saying is that Michael Jackson is innocent.

JOE JACKSON, MICHAEL JACKSON'S FATHER: All I know is he's a good kid and he's done right all his life and he always treats other people right. And he has helped more people than you -- they don't -- you don't even realize how much that he has done for other people.

COLLINS: While they see their son as a victim, they view Tom Sneddon as a victimizer, insisting the Santa Barbara County district attorney is seeking to settle a 12-year vendetta.

K. JACKSON: I think when he raided my son's ranch and he got on television that evening, I think he showed his true colors. They don't call him "Mad Dog" for nothing.

COLLINS: In the end, Joe Jackson believes one factor working against his son is prejudice.

J. JACKSON: I still say it's a racist thing. I have to say it, because I know Michael is not racist and I know how much they're trying to keep him down.

COLLINS: And Jackson's mother has a problem with any suggestion that Michael may be a pedophile.

K. JACKSON: The pedophiles are in jail. And the thing about them, that they come right out of jail and they do the same thing and they have to go right back. And some of them come out of jail and they kill children.

COLLINS: As for the change in Jackson's appearance, his father believes what he did to his face is no different than what many other entertainers do. J. JACKSON: Do you know how many plastic surgeries are done to actors and actress in Hollywood? Michael was not the first one to be dealing with the same plastic surgery. All of Hollywood practically is almost like that.

COLLINS: They also say labels that brand Jackson as crazy, wacko, are hurtful and wrong.

J. JACKSON: Let me tell you something, Daphne. He's not wacko. And those people that are calling him that, they're wacko themselves.

COLLINS: As for Katherine Jackson, she's found at least one way to cope with everything that's happened.

K. JACKSON: And I've become stronger through all of this. Well, if this doesn't make you strong, I don't know what can. You have to learn to keep going. And you have to endure. And I pray that I do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Joining me now is Daphne Barak, the journalist who did that revealing interview with Joe and Katherine Jackson.

Daphne, thanks for being with us tonight. We're going to talk just a little bit more about what we just saw on screen and the people that you spoke with. You got to know them pretty well in that time, I would imagine. This whole ordeal has rattled them. What part about it has upset them the most?

DAPHNE BARAK, INTERNATIONAL JOURNALIST: I think the first time I interviewed them was a year ago. It was right after the indictment. And they were still under -- they were in a state of shock. They didn't know what was coming. Mark Geragos, the attorney, told them that it's not going to trial. They're actually saying in the interview right now. He said the same thing to Michael, I understand.

And they didn't know what was going on. They didn't really think, oh, my God, this time it's going that far. The time we sat this time -- and it was quite recent -- very recent, actually -- it was very extensive. It was a set of interviews. Joe alone and Katherine alone and then together. And it's painful for them. He had a health crisis. He is after two surgeries. He's very, very fragile. She has problems with her heart. She doesn't sleep. She cries. So they're really going through a very, very painful time.

COLLINS: Well, this is their son. In fact, you bring up the issue of Mark Geragos telling them that there's really no way this is going to go to trial. In fact, I want to go ahead and listen for a moment to what Michael's mom said. She said she didn't believe him. Let's listen for a moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

K. JACKSON: Well, I wanted to believe him. I did believe him at first. I tell you, I believed him at first. But when I went down to court the few times and I saw the way the other side was acting and the way the judge was acting, I knew it would go to trial.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: So do you think that she thinks, because her son is a Jackson, that he will be unfairly persecuted, no matter what?

BARAK: I asked her about that in a different part of the interview, because she's a very religious woman. She's a Jehovah Witness follower, she's very spiritual. And I said, well, in that case, you have to believe that justice prevails. And by the way, they really -- both of them are 200 percent behind their son's innocence.

So I said, so what's the problem? And she said, well -- and her body language was very painful. She said, well, justice should prevail, yes it should, but people are wicked and Satan is busy. And she repeated it many times. And you could see both of them. They are under a lot of pain whether this is coming to a happy end.

COLLINS: Well, before we let you go, was there anything that they said in that interview that made you see Michael Jackson in a different light?

BARAK: Many things. But I think when I asked her so many times towards the end of her interview -- and it was really tough, you have to understand these people are secluded, they don't want to talk. And I said, well, try to clarify to me or to yourself where is the border between loving children and being a pedophile?

And, also, you have to realize that people are going to watch this interview worldwide, are going to say, well, if he's a pedophile, what kind of mother is she? She didn't tell him what's right and wrong. And she really thought about it. She's a very smart woman. Both of them. And she answered at the end, I don't understand your question. I guess, she said, look, I did tell him what's right and wrong. I did. But what did he do wrong? But you could see she was thinking about it.

COLLINS: All right. Well, Daphne Barak, we certainly appreciate your sharing your interview with us. Thanks so much for being here.

BARAK: Thank you.

COLLINS: In case you think only the American media have gone ga- ga over the Michael Jackson case, here's a fast fact for you. More than 1,000 applications for media access to the courthouse complex have been submitted, some from as far away as Japan, Australia, Germany and Mexico.

Not only have the media set up shop outside the courthouse. So have Michael Jackson's fans. With that, here is CNN's Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An umbrella, but no rain. The forecast is for Michael Jackson to be showered with affection. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We love you!

MOOS: Several hundred fans showed up...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Give me an I!

CROWD: I!

MOOS: ... spelling things like "innocent." And when Michael's defense attorney appeared, it sounded more like a football game than a molestation trial. A few were selling T-shirts or themselves. An Australian, who calls himself "Future Man" was pushing his own CD.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a good opportunity, world's media (ph).

MOOS: Silver seemed to be big. The author of a book coming out called "Starstruck" spent days with Michael Jackson fans and said there's a core group of well-educated European women who follow him everywhere and think of him as a spiritual humanitarian.

MICHAEL JOSEPH GROSS, AUTHOR, "STARSTRUCK": Michael Jackson fans view their devotion to him as a kind of moral duty. Their interest in him is almost completely non-sexual.

MOOS: Peace signs were popular.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Peace to you.

MOOS: And Michael flashed back. Peace reigned except among sign holders. Amid all the pro-Jackson messages, "we support the survivor" popped up. "Dear God, please give Michael justice" tried to eclipse "we support the survivor," but it was this sign that prompted a scuffle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Children, you can say, those are my private parts!

MOOS: The sign belongs to an anti-pedophile organization. When one of Michael's supporters allegedly tried to take away the private parts, he was arrested. That and a bicycle mishap involving an officer were the only incidents. The favorite fan of photographers was this Michael Jackson look alike.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Representing Michael, to be here today to represent him, I'm very proud to be here.

MOOS: Michael impersonators like this one in Germany could end up out of work if Jackson ends up in handcuffs instead of gloves.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: 360 next, Americans tourists crossing the border into Mexico disappearing at an alarming rate. What's going on? 360 investigates. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Nuevo Laredo, is a Mexican border town where Americans like to go and relax, to party, to shop or maybe buy prescription drugs. But something very scary is happening there. In an increasing number of cases the Americans who go to Nuevo Laredo are not coming home. They're simply vanishing.

CNN's Drew Griffin with the chilling story of those who have disappeared and the families that want them back.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL slathering, STEP-FATHER: No, is that the correct time?

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the past four months, William Slemaker, says he's made this crossing more than 100 times, crossing the international border into the narrow streets of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, searching for a daughter who has not called, not come home, not been seen since September.

B. SLEMAKER: You see, I cruised up and down all these streets looking for Yvette's car.

GRIFFIN: Slemaker's step-daughter is 28-years-old. In the early morning of September 17th, she and her friend, Brenda Cisneros were on their way home from a concert and night on the town in Neuvo laredo. It was Brenda's birthday. At 4:00 a.m., still on the Mexican side but just four blocks from the border they called a friend.

B. SLEMAKER: And the call she got was from this intersection right here.

GRIFFIN: The young women made the call to ask their friend to meet them for breakfast on the American side. Somewhere within these four short blocks, Yvette Martinez, and Brenda Cisneros vanished.

B. SLEMAKER: I can see the American flag. Yes. She was not far at all. It's very unfortunate that she didn't make it from such a close distance.

GRIFFIN (on camera): You must have stood here many a time and thought, what -- what happened?

B. SLEMAKER: What happened.

GRIFFIN: In the five minutes it would take.

B. SLEMAKER: I stood there, parked my car there, stood at that intersection looking and wondering to myself where could she be. Trying and praying, hoping she could contact me and let me know, to get a feel of what to do.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Bill Slemaker and his wife, Maria, no longer know what to do. Days have turned into weeks and now months. (on camera): The last phone call that she made, that you know she made, was so close to the border, it must have be absolutely frustrating to have heard that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. To know that she was so close and didn't make it.

GRIFFIN: She probably could have seen the border. Certainly the lights.

B. SLEMAKER: Oh, yes.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Bill and Maria are not alone. People are being kidnapped, killed or simply disappearing at an alarming rate. In past years, the number of Americans kidnapped in this border town averaged three or four a year. But just since August, 27 Americans have been kidnapped or have gone missing and police are quick to say those are only the reported cases. Nuevo Laredo, just a walk across the bridge from Laredo, Texas, is being described, by U.S. police officials, as lawless.

PATRICK PATTERSON, FBI: I would call it epidemic.

GRIFFIN: Patrick Patterson is the special FBI agent in charge.

PATTERSON: They're kidnapped. They're held for ransoms. We even express kidnappings, what we call express kidnappings, when the individual is grabbed on the other side of the border, held in the trunk of the car for 24 hours while they deplete the bank account with a credit card. This has all the time. Many times goes unreported to local law enforcement, state law enforcement or federal law enforcement.

GRIFFIN: And according to Patterson, the kidnapping is out of control. Yvette Martinez and Brenda Cisneros are just two of the missing caught up in a violent Mexican border town says Patterson where drug cartels are battling for turf. What's worse according to Patterson and others Mexican police seem stand on the sidelines.

PATTERSON: That's why we're having an epidemic problem, because there is very little being done to resolve the problem on that side of the border. And that's what really has to be done.

GRIFFIN: At first the Slemakers say even American police weren't that concerned. But Maria knew her daughter, knew she would have come home. And knew the border police would be able to tell if her daughter's car made the crossing back.

MARIA SLEMAKER, MOTHER: I said, let me go and check the car because we have the system here when you go...

B. SLEMAKER: Into Mexico.

M. SLEMAKER: ... into Mexico, I mean, they captured your license plates.

B. SLEMAKER: Your license plate. They register your plates.

M. SLEMAKER: So then I we went over there and asked if the car returned. And then he said, no, the car never returned into the United States.

GRIFFIN: How did you feel then?

M. SLEMAKER: Wow, I almost collapsed there. I was thinking, you know, the worst.

GRIFFIN: No longer able to sit by and wait for Mexican police, Bill and Maria have joined forces with other families. The Gonzales', searching for two sons missing since December. Pablo Cisneros want to find his daughter, Brenda. The family of Sergio Cabara (ph), already know their son is dead, they want the killers caught. They have focused their frustrations, creating a Web site and are printing posters asking for anyone who knows anything to call.

B. SLEMAKER: God forbid that she's dead, we want her body anyway. We want her body. We want to give her a proper burial. We want to close this. We hope that's not the case. But if she's alive, we want her. We want her in any way. We want her back. This is one of the streets I've traveled looking for her car.

GRIFFIN: The fact is, say U.S. authorities, if these families want their children back, they will most likely have to go into Mexico and find them themselves. Two months ago, Bill Slemaker came as close as he may ever come when this train conductor turned detective found the car he was looking for.

B. SLEMAKER: That's it. That's the car right there. That's Yvette's car. Oh, my God! Oh, my God!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: And there's more to the story. Why Yvette Martinez's stepfather was able to find his daughter's car, the car Mexican police either could not or would not look for. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: We've just heard some of the harrowing stories of Americans who go missing on the Mexican side of the Texas border and the desperate parents who go looking for them. So who goes looking for U.S. citizens when they disappear in Mexico? You might be surprised at the answer. Here again, CNN's Drew Griffin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: The crossing at Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, and Laredo, Texas, is the busiest inland port on the U.S. southern border. Forty percent of all U.S.-Mexico trade passes right through here. But the heavy traffic has attracted something else: drug cartels that are in a heated battle for control of this town and the drugs that flow north.

MICHAEL YODER, U.S. CONSUL: We're always living on the edge of violence here. That's part of the border.

GRIFFIN: Michael Yoder is the U.S. consul in Nuevo Laredo. For the past year he has watched the drug cartels fight it out. Yoder warns anyone traveling to Nuevo Laredo, if you are American, you may be a target. And if you're kidnapped here, don't rely on the U.S. or anyone else to find you.

YODER: We're in Mexico. And solving a crime that occurs in Mexico is up to the Mexican authorities. And we have this problem, that local police and state police are often out equipped, the narco traffickers, the criminals here have better guns, they have more money.

GRIFFIN: And money, the FBI says, has corrupted many police to look the other way.

Daniel Pena is Nuevo Laredo's new mayor. He's in charge of the police. He insists his city is safe.

DANIEL PENA, NUEVO LAREDO MAYOR (through translator): Yes, Nuevo Laredo is safe. And we're taking charge to guarantee that tranquility and peace.

GRIFFIN: But when the camera was turned off, he added that he believes most if not all people kidnapped are likely involved in drugs. The U.S. consul says that may have been true in the past but now insists the innocent civilians are the targets.

To the Slemakers, who know their daughter, knew she was just going to a concert, the Mexican government's lack of action has added to their pain.

MARIA SLEMAKER, MOTHER: Night after night, thinking where is she? where is her friend. It's not only them. Now, where is the other people, too?

BILL SLEMAKER, FATHER: There are so many missing.

M. SLEMAKER: So many missing persons.

GRIFFIN: Without help from the police, Bill Slemaker has spent endless days and nights trying to track down his daughter himself. He spent a month searching for her car. He finally found it in a place that made him very angry: a storage yard used by local police.

Walking through here, you'll find dozens of other cars with U.S. license plates just like Yvette's. Bill says he has asked how Yvette's car got here, who brought it and when. But no one can tell him. It has never been dusted for fingerprints or searched for evidence in any investigation.

B. SLEMAKER, FATHER: I hope she comes home. I hope she comes home.

GRIFFIN: Are you afraid, Bill, I hate to say it, that this is all you'll ever find of your daughter? B. SLEMAKER: I am afraid, yes.

GRIFFIN: And that you'll never know what happened.

B. SLEMAKER: God Almighty, I hope we find her. I hope we find her. Oh, my.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Once again, CNN's Drew Griffin tonight. We want to go ahead and take a moment to find out what's coming up on "PAULA ZAHN NOW." Hi, Paula.

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Heidi. Thanks. We start off with a story that's a huge concern to parents all over the country. The popular antidepressant Zoloft is not approved for children. But many doctors are prescribing it anyway for kids. And in South Carolina, the lawyer for a 15-year-old boy on trial for murder says he will prove that Zoloft turned that little boy into a killer. Tonight we're going to look at that case and at the wider issue of antidepressants for children and why, Heidi, so many doctors are prescribing it in the first place even though it isn't approved for use in children.

COLLINS: All right, Paula. Thanks so much for that. And tomorrow on 360, the depressed body and its connection with the mind, part of our special series conquering depression.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: I'm Heidi Collins in for Anderson Cooper tonight. Up next, "PAULA ZAHN NOW" -- Paula.

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