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CNN Live Sunday

Syria Gives Up Saddam Hussein's Half Brother; A Look Ahead At The Oscars;

Aired February 27, 2005 - 18:00   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.


CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: A community in shock. Two days after police arrest the suspected BTK Killer, a community comes to grips with the charges facing their long-time neighbor. Also, within the past hour, a victim's son speaks out on the man police believe killed his mother.
It is February 27. And you're watching CNN LIVE SUNDAY.

Good evening from CNN's global headquarters in Atlanta. I'm Carol Lin. And here's what's happening right now in the news.

The Associated Press reports Syria captured Saddam Hussein's half brother and handed him over to Iraq in an apparent goodwill gesture. Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hassan was number 36 on the U.S. military's 55 Most Wanted Iraqis List. We are going to have a live report in 10 minutes.

And protesters in Lebanon appear to be on a collision course with government troops. Critics of Syria's military presence in Lebanon have promised a huge demonstration tomorrow in Beirut. Hundreds have already gathered. The government forces that forces will use all military means to insure protests will not be held.

Against the wishes of the U.S., Russia has signed a nuclear energy deal with Iran. Russia will transfer fuel to a power plant in Iran. Iran will send spent fuel back to Russia. Russia insists Iran does not intend to produce nuclear weapons.

Pope John Paul II remains in a Rome hospital where he made a surprise appearance from his window today during the traditional Angeles blessing. It was the first time the blessing took place at St. Peter's Square without him. The pope is recovering from a tracheotomy.

In the meantime, there is shock and outrage and relief today in Wichita following the arrest in the infamous BTK Killing spree. Police say 59-year-old Dennis Rader was responsible for 10 murders over 17 years. He was arrested Friday, 14 years after the last murder and a year after the killer resurfaced with a series of messages to Wichita media.

For some of the victims' families, the arrest has opened old wounds.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF DAVID, VICTIM'S SON: It was interesting that what had been in the past been just a mindless, faceless image all of a sudden, this devil mascarading as a human being had a face. And, it made me sick to my stomach to look at him and still does. He makes me sick.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Jeff Davis' 62-year-old mother was murdered by the BTK Killer. You can see my entire interview with Jeff Davis at 11:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

In the meantime, a crisis intervention team was on hand today at Wichita's Christ Lutheran Church. That is where Dennis Rader had been an usher and a church council president. And many say they are shocked by the arrest of the man who worshipped right beside them for 30 years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BISHOP GERALD MANSHOLT, CENTRAL STATES SYNOD: Sharing in those acts that are at the center of our life together, prayer and the sharing of holy communion, when that person turns out to be the one accused of such terrible crimes, it is a soul shattering experience.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: The bishop says he is praying for all the entire family of the accused.

In the meantime, I want to turn now to someone who has been following the BTK case literally since the very beginning. Larry Hatteburg is an anchor with CNN affiliate KAKE and joins me now live from Wichita.

Larry, you have been so much a part of the story in a sense. You were a young photographer on the very first murder scene. And then you have recently in the past months been actually trying to communicate with the BTK serial killer.

Here's a man, married, churchgoer, virtually a pillar of the community. Was this the face that you imagined behind the serial killings?

LARRY HATTEBERG, KAKE-TV ANCHOR: Well, Carol, in many ways it was the face that we imagined. I remember that the former Wichita Police Chief Richard Lemonian said that BTK was probably living amongst us. That he was going to the mall with us. That he was going shopping with us. Going to the movie theater with us and he was living next door to us. And those words proved to be so true.

And I know the investigators who have been working on this case believe that he did have a criminal justice background. And sure enough, Dennis Rader did graduate from Wichita State University with a degree from criminal justice.

So, many things are starting to fit. They believed he had a military background, and sure enough Dennis Rader did have a military background. And I have to tell you, Carol, that we are going to breaking information ton 5:30 newscast here in Wichita. Sources are currently telling us that Dennis Rader is talking, and apparently talking a lot, to the police and the FBI. And now, the Wichita Police Department is a bit concerned that he may be responsible for even more murders.

LIN: Seriously. How many?

HATTEBERG: We don't know. They're simply looking into the possibility that that might be the case.

And we do know that he has confessed to some of the murders. What we don't know is if he is confessed to the murders that we know about or murders that we don't yet know about.

And, also, what we're going to break on our 5:30 newscast is sources are telling us that the floppy disk that was included in BTK's last communication to the media, it was a simple 39 cent floppy disk, that that floppy disk led authorities to the Lutheran Church where he was president of the church council and that led to a major break in the case.

So, we have this new information now coming out this evening. And as you know, reporters here are working this story like crazy.

LIN: I can imagine.

HATTEBERG: And it seems like every half nour hour, new information is coming out. And we're learning more and more about this man.

LIN: What are you hearing about the connection between the break in the case and his daughter's DNA?

HATTEBERG: Right. We do know that they did obtain DNA from the daughter. What is unclear is how that DNA was exactly obtained, whether it was done in cooperation with her or whether it wasn't.

There was an earlier story out that she had gone to the police and given up DNA, because she suspected her dad. That is not true. That did not happen that way.

We do know that they did have her DNA. And the family portion of the DNA was a hit when they did the test. And that also helped lead them to a break in the case.

LIN: All right. And then clearly the evidence from the various crime scenes so well preserved that they were able to match that DNA.

Larry, given that this is a man who did literally live among you, what do you make of the secrecy that police conducted this investigation? Do you think that more information -- that police should have given more information to the community? And if they had during this investigation that maybe this killer would have been caught sooner? HATTEBERG: Well, I think the police department did an excellent job on a very, very difficult case. Those of us in the media, we want more information. Of course, we wanted more information all the time they were in this case. And we were pushing the police department all the time at every second, every step of the way to please release more information.

Because I will tell you, there is an absolute hunger in this community for every detail about this case. And the reason is obvious, this guy terrorized this community for 30 years.

But we walk a fine line here. The police department want to preserve the evidence to go through the judicial system. And yet those of us serving the public through the media like you, we want to get all the information that we possibly can out.

We do believe that it was through the last 11 communications now that he made a mistake. So it was important for him and for us to keep those communications going and if the media helped in that, great.

The bottom line was to get the guy caught. And apparently he is behind bars.

LIN: All right. And apparently talking according to your reporting.

All right. Larry, you're going to be breaking that news on your station in about 20 minutes. Thank you very much for giving us...

HATTEBERG: Just about 20 minutes. That is correct.

LIN: All right. Thank you very much. Larry Hatteberg, KAKE.

HATTEBERG: Sure.

LIN: We are working to verify as much information as possible. But Larry hearing that the suspect is talking and perhaps maybe even confessing to more crimes. We are going to find out more tonight.

In the meantime, there is much more on the BTK case straight ahead, because at the bottom of the hour, I'm talking to a criminal profiler, Pat Brown, on how this man lived this double life for so long. What goes through the mind of a serial killer? And when and how does he decide to start killing?

Tomorrow, also at 10:00 Eastern, CNN's Aaron Brown will have a special edition of "NEWSNIGHT" "Catching BTK." So, stay tuned for that on Monday night.

Also a case of dashed hopes in the search for 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford of Florida. A potential lead today failed to pan out. So, we want to take you to CNN's Sara Dorsey. She joins me now live from Homasassa Springs, Florida with the very latest on that.

Sarah, so much hope that this picture, this photo, might actually be of the missing girl at a convenience store.

SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Carol. At one point in the day, we thought we might have had a break in the case. The Citrus County Sheriff's Office brought out a surveillance videotape taht was taken at a convenience store nearby that showed a little girl that resembled Jessica Lunsford. She was with a man in that video. Now, that was put out to the media. And since then, the man has been identified and the little girl is not Jessica.

So, it seems now that this investigation is back to square one where it stood before which is basically no leads. Despite that, though, people in the community are coming together. Nearly 400 searchers showed up today. In fact, more than 400 as the day progressed came out. They were fighting weather, and pretty harsh conditions throughout the day. It was raining.

They also had to get through a lot of very wooded areas. And they worked together side by side searching for any sign of this little girl which, in fact, they did not find anything so far today.

Now, those people that couldn't search, because it was a hard terrain to get through, as we mentioned. Most of them went to church today, there were vigils for Jessica, they were praying for her to come back. And in fact, her grandparents talked to the preacher about trying to get her back by today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was visiting with Arty (ph) and Ruthy yesterday. They said, pastor, wouldn't it be great if tomorrow morning Ruthie and I could walk in the door with little Jessica? Sit in church. I said, let's just pray to that end. Well, didn't happen for this morning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DORSEY: Many of the volunteers we spoke with today said they do plan to come back out as needed. The sheriff's office says they will continue to search for the little girl until they have answers. But right now, they have nearly nothing.

They're getting some tips in, but a lot of those are false sightings and things that just don't seem to be panning out. So once again, the sheriff's office stressing if anyone knows anything, even if it seems insignificant, to call them. They need to check up on all of these leads, because the focus in this community is getting this little 9-year-old girl back home safely.

LIN: All right. Sara, are they even working on any kind of presumption? I mean, this girl didn't disappear, I mean, she was last seen in the bed at 10:00 at night. Are they working on the presumption that somebody walked into that house and kidnapped her. Or do they also equal that to the possibility that she got up and walked out on her own?

DORSEY: Frankly, they don't know. They say that it's hard to believe from talking to family and friends that the little girl walked out on her own. She didn't seem to be having any problems or having any issues with her family. But there's also no sign of forced entry.

Like you said, the little girl went to bed at 10:00. She was in the nightgown. No one heard anything. So really, the police say they don't know where to look. They have questioned the family. They have questioned the little girl's friends and they really are stuck at this point right now. So we'll have to wait to see if anything pops up in the next few days.

LIN: Right. Well, they were aggressive about pursuing this photograph even though the parents insisted it wasn't Jessica. So clearly going for any lead they can get. Thanks very much, Sara Dorsey reporting live from Homasassa Spring, Florida.

All right. We want to move now to Iraq and the latest on the capture of Saddam Hussein's half brother. According to the Associated Press, Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hassan al-Tikriti was picked up by Syrian authorities and handed over to Iraq.

Our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson explains why there was a million dollar reward for ah-Hassan's capture.

(BEGIN VIDOETAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): On the run, for almost two years, Saddam Hussein's half brother, Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hassan al-Tikriti, number 36 on the list of 55 most wanted, now captured.

When these pictures were taken in 1999, he was an adviser to Saddam. Today's interim government accuses him of supervising, planning and carrying out insurgent operations as well as killing and torturing Iraqis.

During the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, he was head of Iraqi intelligence. Becoming director of Iraqi security during the '90s. Then, he fell out of favor. And was placed under house arrest before being rehabilitated to presidential adviser several years later.

Most on the top 55 list, including Saddam's other brothers Balzan (ph) and Watban seen here at the same metal ceremony for presidential advisers have already been arrested.

Balzan (ph), likely one of the first of Saddam's favored hard men to face the Iraqi special tribunal. Sabawi who had a million dollar bounty on his head seems likely to face a similar fate.

(on camera): According to an Iraqi intelligence sources, Sabawi has spent much of the last two years outside Iraq. Notably, they say, settling in Syria for a while. They also say he's been in regular contact with Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, Saddam's most trusted lieutenant outside his immediate family. A man U.S. military officials say is a key figure behind the insurgents.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Bagdad. (END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: And the hunt for the most wanted man in Iraq now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wouldn't surprise me if that was the safe place for Zarqawi or any of his lieutenants to operate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: We are going to take you to the front lines with the marines taking part in Operation River Blitz.

Plus, a high school student's quest to wear a tuxedo in her yearbook photo. Well, it comes to and. And we're going to tell you what the big deal is and whether she succeed, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: In about 2 hours, members of the movie industry are going to star thinning out that table full of precious Oscar statuettes on the stage of Hollywood's Kodak Theatre. Tonight's the night for the 77th Annual Academy Awards. And CNN entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas is live from the red carpet right now with a little red of her own.

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes, I'm wearing -- apropos, of course, a little red.

But it's absolutely bustling with excitment out here, Carol. I can just tell you that Beyonce made her way down the red carpet and Jay-Z and I'm telling you, the crowd went wild. I can just imagine when Leo and Jamie Foxx make their way down how crazy this place is going to be.

But I'll tell you, they're contenders. And a lot of people are going for the gold tonight. Now, I'm not sure who the big winners are going to be, but with 11 nominations, you can sure bet that "The Aviator" is flying high.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VARGAS (voice-over): The story at the Oscars may come down to this: Does the Aviator fly high or crash and burn?

It's the most nominated film of the year with 11 totals, include one for the lead actor Leonardo DiCaprio and another for supporting actress Kate Blanchett.

KATE BLANCHETT, ACTRESS: I was terrified when I sort of embarked on the journey of it. I'm so thrilled.

VARGAS: The Aviator could bring Martin Scorsese his first directing Oscar in 5 tries.

MARTIN SCORSESE, DIRECTOR: I would like to win. I would like the film to get some awards.

HILARY SWANK, ACRESS: I know if you train me right, I'm going to be a champ.

VARGAS: If the Aviator goes down, it will probably be at the hands, or fists, of Million Dollar Baby. The boxing drama is up for best picture and best director, Clint Eastwood.

He even directed himself to an acting nomination along with co- stars Morgan Freeman and Hilary Swank.

SWANK: He is, you know, such a special, special person. And obviously, such talent. He is amazing.

VARGAS: Swank finds herself competing once again with Annette Bening, star of Being Julia. They squared off 5 years ago with Swank prevailing for Boys Don't Cry over American Beauty's Bening.

The safest bet for an Oscar this year may be Jamie Foxx for his lead role in Ray. He powers into the Oscars having snagged the SAG Award and a Golden Globe.

JAMIE FOX, ACTOR: This is a beautiful time.

VARGAS: Foxx is aso nominated in the supporting category for Collateral. His two nominations in a single year are a first for an African-American actor.

It was good year all the way around for actors of color. For the first time, they're represented in every abouting category. That includes young Latino actress Catalina Sandino Moreno who earned a best actress nomination for Maria Full of Grace.

She wasn't expecting it.

CATALINA SANDINO MORENO, ACTRESS: Never, never, never, ever, ever, ever in my dreams ever.

VARGAS: That's Oscar for you, the stuff dreams are made of.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VARGAS: And you can bet there's going to be a lot of dreams coming through this evening. And if you want more on the Oscars, well we'll be coming to you about half an hour with a little bit more. We will have the celeBrities, the fashion. You name it, everything, predictions, everything, Carol. We'll bring it to you.

LIN: Wow. All right. Looking forward to it. Thanks Sibila.

VARGAS: Thank you.

LIN: In the meantime, we're going to go beyond the blogs: the politics of poverty adn the president's European report. And the only way we know how is with CNN political correspondent Carlos Watson. He's got the scoop. He's got a perspective on the week in politics. Plus, getting inside the mind of a serial killer. I'm going to talk with a criminal profiler about the BTK case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: With his profile visit with American European allies out of the way, President Bush heads to New Jersey and Indiana this week. He's waving the carrot of private Social Security accounts in front of millions of Americans. But will they bite? Our White House correspondent Dana Bash is live with the very latest -- Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.

Well, the president says he is eager to get back on the road, resume his traveling sales pitch to overhaul Social Security. And though some Republicans insist that it is still very early in the process, others are bracing for some tough compromise to get anything passed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASH (voice-over): After a week on the world stage, the president returns to his biggest challenge on the home front: selling a Social Security overhaul. While Mr. Bush was on his self described European listening tour, members of Congress were back hom listening to often skeptical constituents about the Bush plan for creating private accounts in Social Security.

SEN. RICK SANTORUM, (R) PENNSYLVANIA: What do you get in exchange if we do nothing?

BASH: Republican Senator Rick Sanatorium spent all week in town hall meetings pushing the idea, insists it's still early, but admits the president is short support.

SANTORUM: Right now, they're not there. But like I said, you're asking me whether I win the game and I'm two minutes into the game.

BASH: Several Senate Democrats say they'd back private retirement accounts but only outside Social Security. Some Republicans are starting to signal compromising on personal accounts may be inevitable, but the philosophical divide runs deep.

SEN. JON CORZINE, (D) NEW JERSEY: This proposal of privatization is a radical shift in the covenant that we have laid down with regard to Social Security on generation to the next.

SEN. JOHN SUNUNU, (R) NEW HAMPSHIRE: I don't think a bill will pass that doesn't include personal accounts for younger workers, at least giving them the option.

BASH: Still completely unresolved, how to achieve the president's stated goal: ensuring Social Security's solvency. The White House concedes personal accounts alone won't do it. And Democrats are seizing on that. SEN. JOE BIDEN, (D) DELAWARE: The American people begin to understand there's no correlation between, quote, fixing Social Security and private accounts.

BASH: The president is careful not to take anything except raising payroll taxes off the table. Republican sources say compromise options for keeping Social Security out of the red include cutting benefits deepest for the wealthy while letting low income beneficiaries do better and raising the $90,000 payroll tax cap, though most GOP leaders call that a tax hype and a nonstarter.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: Republicans do see some prospects, some progress for their cause in that some key Democrats are now saying that Social Security does need to be fixed. That it is a problem and that needs some kind of overhaul.

Still, one key Republican senator said that he sees the odds getting anything done in order to do that this year at just better than 50/50 -- Carol.

LIN: Hmm. All right.

Thanks very much, Dana Bash live at the White House.

OK. So the president's diplomatic skills are tested certainly here at home. They certainly were tested on his European tour lately. So let's see how this is going to affect the bigger issues all of us facing in this country.

Political analyst Carlos Watson joins me now. He's been tracking the president's move and a lot of other really interesting news. So Carlos, it doesn't sound like the president got much of a bounce from his European tour as far as domestic issues are concerned, at least not yet.

CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Not yet. But Carol, he did show that he was willing to extend the olive branch and that will ultimately helped him here with moderate Democrats in feeling that he doesn't just a war agenda. But significantly what's going to be important is the president had a big policy victory in the war on terror.

Although it hasn't been talked about a lot, the U.S. and Russia have tentatively agreed to try to destroy more nuclear weapons. Meaning they may be kept out of the hands of rogue terrorists. And so that means Los Angeles and Cleveland aren't necessarily safe, but they could be a little bit safer. and that's actually a big deal.

One other thing to note about the president's trip was that behind that nuclear agreement, and by the way a couple of other things the president did, including meeting with the German chancellor was the handiwork of a guy many people may not know about it, Senator Dick Luger, who in many ways is the most moderate and internationalist key person in the Bush administration foreign policy circle. And it's if you will, kind of the new Colin Powell. So, look to hear more about him as we talk about Iran, North Korea and other places.

LIN: All right. Well, clearly, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee might be making the mark. And lots of people are interested in the war on terror, but frankly Carlos, with 36 million people in this country living beneath the poverty line folks are worried about getting food on the table. So is that going to at least get on the president's agenda?

WATSON: I think it could, Carol. I think that could surprise a lot of people both in Washington and outside of Washington. An anti- poverty discussion was not expected this year. Not a major one. Instead, Social Security, tax reform, maybe even education were thought to be the big issues, but a couple of different things are leading towards that conversation.

John Edwards, as he kicks off his presidential campaign, is focusing the spotlight. Two, there's clearly a lot of worker anxiety still around outsourcing and other issues and three, expect to see literally millions of dollars, if not tens of millions of dollars dollars spent this summer and fall as the Social Security debate starts as some groups like moveon.org and others say should we spend $2 trillion on private accounts or spend that to reconstruct poor societies here in the U.S.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, a legitimate question. But also, Carlos, you know what I love about your coverage is that you always get like the -- you know, inside scoop. You interviewed Arnold Schwarzenegger. Bodybuilder. Maybe might run for president some day. So I guess the bodybuilder maybe running for president, I guess the actors to be in office. Former football players?

WATSON: Former football players. Lynn Swann, four-time super bowl champion, former Pittsburgh Steeler announced he is thinking about running for governor of Pennsylvania. The latest polls still show him behind the sitting Democratic governor, Ed Rendell, but here's why this is a big deal, Carol.

One, as you said, with Arnold Schwarzenegger and others, seeing more celebrities, athletes or politicians, think about running for office. In 2006, if Swann runs, he may not be alone. You could see Al Franken run for the Senate up in Minnesota. You could see Jerry Springer throw his hat in the ring in Ohio.

LIN: But he's run before. Local politics.

WATSON: But out here in California, guess which Democrat polled the highest in a run for governor against Arnold Schwarzenegger?

LIN: Oh no.

WATSON: Rob Reiner.

LIN: Oh no. Are you serious?

WATSON: Day two, could be not just ...

LIN: Meathead?

WATSON: Could become a serious trend. The other interesting thing, though, on the flip side of Lynn Swann running. If Lynn Swann runs and loses, Ed Rendell could see the presidential prospects brighten. There's something for each side of this equation.

LIN: You know what? Tell Ed Rendell to forget law school, just get an agent. That is the key. Get an agent. Carlos Watson, great to see you. Thanks so much.

WATSON: Great to see you as always.

LIN: It's the bottom of the hour, so welcome back and here's a quick look at what's happening right now in the news. The Associated Press reports Syria has captured Saddam Hussein's half brother and handed him over to Iraqi authorities. Sabawi Ibrahim al Hassan was reportedly caught in northeastern Syria. Al Hassan was number 36 on the U.S. military's most wanted list.

High school is about to get more challenging for millions of students. Today, 13 states announced they've formed a coalition that will require high schools to make their courses and diploma requirements much tougher. The aim is to better prepare students for college and a competitive workplace.

A source close to the BTK serial killer investigation says the suspect's daughter did not provide DNA to investigators and was not involved directly in his capture. But CNN affiliate KAKE reports that the daughter's DNA did somehow play a role in the investigation.

Now, to more on the BTK arrest and a look inside if mind of an alleged serial killer. Pat Brown is a criminal profiler and she joins me now from Minneapolis with some fascinating insights into this extraordinary case. Pat, the question that so many people are asking right now about this man is that here he was the most ordinary of men, I mean, a churchgoer, a father, married. With two kids. A dogcatcher.

PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: Right.

LIN: When -- if it is true that he is the BTK serial killer, when does a person like that decide to kill and what triggers that instinct?

BROWN: Well, this guy is probably been a psychopathic personality since he was eight or nine years old. He's gotten a frustrated life even at that young an age but then getting into the teenagehood he decides he doesn't like the game played in society because he is not winning at it and starts to manipulate society, finding what he can get away with, finding how to pull the wool over people's eyes and he gets a real charge out of this.

When gets more older, a little more power control, he says, now what can I get away with? I want this big, big thrill. This huge amount of power. And he decides maybe killing is his thing. What he is going to do is he is going to look around and he is going to analyze things. What can I get away with?

Well, most serial homicides in this country are not solved. The sexual homicide rate is out of this world and most serial killers stay in the community like this guy did for 10, 20, 30 years. Look at the Green River Killer. When did we get him? When he's about to retire. When did we get Ted Bundy? 20 women later. Finally Ted Bundy gets caught. And then what happens to you? You wm an anti-hero, a celebrity, you get books, you get Web sites. Everybody is fascinated by you. So what do you have to lose if you think you can get away with it decade after decade?

LIN: But the amazing thing is, if it's true, 59 years old now and if it is in fact him, the suspect in custody, that he murdered his first victims, a family of four when he was only 25 years old. I mean, how do you pull that off and then go on to lead what seems like an ordinary life? You get married, you have kids, you get a job. You work for the city.

BROWN: Well, everybody does that in their ordinary life. Even the president has an ordinary life in spite of the fact ...

LIN: But he has a double life, I should say. He led a double life perhaps.

BROWN: Well, he has a hobby, shall we call it. And he's not doing this hobby every day. We are talking about killing somebody and then he's not doing it again for six months or a year, sometimes five or ten years depending on his mood. So he really does have a lot of other time to spend like any normal person and he needs to keep that up. And he's only going to when he has bad moments in his life, decide now I want to do that and rev up for it and plan for it and if he gets away with it he's going to become very arrogant and realize he can get away with it and he's going to do it again and again. And if we don't recognize how they operate and go after them, we leave them in the community to kill decade after decade as we see with the BTK strangler.

LIN: Pat Brown, you know, it's a fascinating face and we're learning more by the hour. Thank you very much.

BROWN: My pleasure.

LIN: A quick reminder. We're going to hear from the son of one of the victims later tonight. Police say Jeff Davis' mother Delores was the last person killed in the BTK spree. Find out what he has to say about the arrest and the secrecy of police in their investigation. He is joining me tonight. You will see him at 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

In the meantime, marking a military milestone. The end of the first Gulf War. We are going to show you how those lost in the line of duty were remembered today.

Plus, on the front lines in the current Iraq War. We are going to take you on patrol with marines in one of that nation's most violent provinces. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Every week we bring you the more personal stories from the front lines. And today, our report is from CNN's Jane Arraf with marines on the hunt for insurgents along the Euphrates River in the town of Haditha.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There was little resistance here. Although the 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. curfew had lifted there was no one was in the streets but marines. Almost everyone was indoors waiting to see what would happen.

(on camera): There's no traffic coming in or out of this city behind me. It's part of a major operation along the river to isolate cities and towns and hunt down insurgents.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably just push through there.

ARRAF (on camera): Marine commanders believe that insurgents migrated here to cities and towns and the vast expanse of western desert from Falluja. They believe foreign fighters moved back and forth across the border from Syria. That they've used safe houses in these isolated towns to launch attacks in Ramadi and Mosul. And at the most wanted man in Iraq, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, might be in the area.

COL. CRAIG TUCKER, USMC: We know there's several networks of structure that facilitate the operation of the safe houses. So it wouldn't surprise me if that was a safe place for Zarqawi or any of his lieutenants to operate.

ARRAF: There is no working police force in the towns. Police here either been killed or intimidated into quitting. In Haditha, a private Iraqi security force trained by the marines is under marine command.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where do bad people go? That is the question.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a good question.

ARRAF: They're called the Freedom Guards. Company commander Maneer Capitan, just 20 years old says they're confident they'll find Zarqawi.

MANEER CAPITAN, IRAQI SECURITY FORCE CMDR: I'm sure that one day we'll show him and my soldiers will capture him in one of the holes just like Saddam Hussein.

ARRAF: Further along this river in the town of Heet (ph), this imam is upset that the marines rolled in.

TUCKER: I think there is a solution for the problem, that is to get the Iraqi -- the head of the police department to come in and provide security and keep the terrorists out. We will not have to come back in here.

ARRAF: The regimental commander promises they just need one more day to check out parts of town. He says they'll withdraw after that. Parts of this city are so normal that small children venture out in the street to play with the marines. But in other areas of this town and others along the river, marines believe, there are insurgents left to fight and safehouses still to be found. Jane Arraf, CNN, in al Anbar province.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

LIN: Also on the front lines, an important anniversary, the 14th anniversary of the ceasefire which ended Operation Desert Storm. And family members of the U.S. soldiers kill evicting the forces out of Kuwait attended a memorial service at Arlington National Cemetery today. CNN producer Jessica Rosegard (ph) and a photojournalist Tony Umrani (ph) bring us that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You gave your loved ones to the cause of peace and freedom in the world. You've come from 18 states, some as far away as California.

BGN JOHN W. NICOur war dead are never statistics they're husbands and wives. Sons and daughters. Brothers and sisters. And cousins. And nephews. They're missed as much today as the day they were lost.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My husband Michael Anderson was killed in Desert Storm and Kyle was only nine months old when Michael was killed and it's real important, I think, for him to come at this time of his life and he's now old enough to realize the sacrifice that his dad made.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To see it's prepared me a lot and helped me to understand part of what my dad did.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was totally dedicated. To G-d and country. He is sorely missed but as we reflect back on his life and the sacrifice that he made, we have immense pride. To me, that was just something that's really special that my husband whether I'm here or not is remembered.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: For anyone who is lost a loved one in war or peace, the memory never really dies. And that is what the privilege is of being a journalist is that you can bring stories of the human condition and we have got one that is really quite interesting in a Florida community. It involves a girl in a tuxedo. Up next, the conclusion of one female student's quest to wear what she wanted in her high school yearbook photo. Pretty controversial.

And still to come, Halle Berry's life lesson about how to handle failure.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: The senior year photo, it is a big deal for high school students who dress up for a picture that's featured prominently in the yearbook. And that was definitely the case for a north Florida student who like everyone else dressed up for the photo. But what she wore caused a huge controversy in her community. CNN's Denise Belgrave has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DENISE BELGRAVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): People tend to remember their own yearbook photo. It is a snapshot at a time when life is at a crossroads. Kelli Davis' photo will be remembered by many.

KELLI DAVIS, HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: I had a choice between a tux and a drape and I chose one of the two.

BELGRAVE: Kelli who recollects makes no attempt to hide her sexual orientation, chose a tuxedo. Fleming Island High School disapproved, pulling her photo out of the yearbook.

DAVID OWENS, CLAY COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT: Her sexual preference is her preference and that's okay. But the school shouldn't be the platform for her to make the statement.

BELGRAVE: The decision drew a huge crowd for Thursday's night school board meeting. Messages in the crowd supporting Kelli and others to champion traditional female attire. Kelli's mom spoke out for her.

CINDI DAVIS, KELLI DAVIS' MOTHER: What is so offensive about this tiny picture? Who would have ever even noticed her attire. I ask you, that you, the school board , to place my child's picture as is in the yearbook where it belongs with the senior class of 2005.

BELGRAVE: And others came to the stand, 25 and all, speaking on both sides of the issue. But the final word rested with Superintendent Owens.

OWENS: My decision is that I stand by the principal and his decision and her picture will not be in the senior section of the yearbook.

KELLI DAVIS: I kind of expected the outcome but I mean, listening to the people talk, it showed me how much support I have in this community.

BELGRAVE: Kelli and her parents decided to turn the page on this controversy. They're declining any legal action. But if a yearbook photo designed to remind people about who you were, then Kelly Davis has succeeded. Denise Belgrave, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: In other news, one of Hollywood's sexiest stars shows she's a gracious winner and loser. Up next, Halle Berry's unexpected reaction to receiving one of the year's most dubious film awards.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: If Hollywood gave an award for good sport, actress Halle Berry would be a front runner. Last night, her performance in "Catwoman" won her a Razzie award for worst actress. And she surprised the crowd by showing up to receive it.

HALLE BERRY, ACTRESS (video clip): Thank you so much. I never in my life thought I would be up here. With a Razzie.

LIN: What a good sport. The Razzies are the Oscars flipside, they dishonor the film's industry's worst work. "Catwoman" also took prizes for worst film, worst director and worst screenplay. It practically swept at the 25th annual awards. Well, from the worst to the best, CNN's special coverage of Oscar night begins in a few minutes. We're going to hit the red carpet and give you live interviews with Hollywood's hottest stars plus give you fashion reviews and inside predictions on who will be tonight's top winners.

And check this out. A live look at Leonardo DiCaprio and his famous model girlfriend. See how they do tonight. "The Aviator" is up for almost a dozen awards.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired February 27, 2005 - 18:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: A community in shock. Two days after police arrest the suspected BTK Killer, a community comes to grips with the charges facing their long-time neighbor. Also, within the past hour, a victim's son speaks out on the man police believe killed his mother.
It is February 27. And you're watching CNN LIVE SUNDAY.

Good evening from CNN's global headquarters in Atlanta. I'm Carol Lin. And here's what's happening right now in the news.

The Associated Press reports Syria captured Saddam Hussein's half brother and handed him over to Iraq in an apparent goodwill gesture. Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hassan was number 36 on the U.S. military's 55 Most Wanted Iraqis List. We are going to have a live report in 10 minutes.

And protesters in Lebanon appear to be on a collision course with government troops. Critics of Syria's military presence in Lebanon have promised a huge demonstration tomorrow in Beirut. Hundreds have already gathered. The government forces that forces will use all military means to insure protests will not be held.

Against the wishes of the U.S., Russia has signed a nuclear energy deal with Iran. Russia will transfer fuel to a power plant in Iran. Iran will send spent fuel back to Russia. Russia insists Iran does not intend to produce nuclear weapons.

Pope John Paul II remains in a Rome hospital where he made a surprise appearance from his window today during the traditional Angeles blessing. It was the first time the blessing took place at St. Peter's Square without him. The pope is recovering from a tracheotomy.

In the meantime, there is shock and outrage and relief today in Wichita following the arrest in the infamous BTK Killing spree. Police say 59-year-old Dennis Rader was responsible for 10 murders over 17 years. He was arrested Friday, 14 years after the last murder and a year after the killer resurfaced with a series of messages to Wichita media.

For some of the victims' families, the arrest has opened old wounds.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF DAVID, VICTIM'S SON: It was interesting that what had been in the past been just a mindless, faceless image all of a sudden, this devil mascarading as a human being had a face. And, it made me sick to my stomach to look at him and still does. He makes me sick.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Jeff Davis' 62-year-old mother was murdered by the BTK Killer. You can see my entire interview with Jeff Davis at 11:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

In the meantime, a crisis intervention team was on hand today at Wichita's Christ Lutheran Church. That is where Dennis Rader had been an usher and a church council president. And many say they are shocked by the arrest of the man who worshipped right beside them for 30 years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BISHOP GERALD MANSHOLT, CENTRAL STATES SYNOD: Sharing in those acts that are at the center of our life together, prayer and the sharing of holy communion, when that person turns out to be the one accused of such terrible crimes, it is a soul shattering experience.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: The bishop says he is praying for all the entire family of the accused.

In the meantime, I want to turn now to someone who has been following the BTK case literally since the very beginning. Larry Hatteburg is an anchor with CNN affiliate KAKE and joins me now live from Wichita.

Larry, you have been so much a part of the story in a sense. You were a young photographer on the very first murder scene. And then you have recently in the past months been actually trying to communicate with the BTK serial killer.

Here's a man, married, churchgoer, virtually a pillar of the community. Was this the face that you imagined behind the serial killings?

LARRY HATTEBERG, KAKE-TV ANCHOR: Well, Carol, in many ways it was the face that we imagined. I remember that the former Wichita Police Chief Richard Lemonian said that BTK was probably living amongst us. That he was going to the mall with us. That he was going shopping with us. Going to the movie theater with us and he was living next door to us. And those words proved to be so true.

And I know the investigators who have been working on this case believe that he did have a criminal justice background. And sure enough, Dennis Rader did graduate from Wichita State University with a degree from criminal justice.

So, many things are starting to fit. They believed he had a military background, and sure enough Dennis Rader did have a military background. And I have to tell you, Carol, that we are going to breaking information ton 5:30 newscast here in Wichita. Sources are currently telling us that Dennis Rader is talking, and apparently talking a lot, to the police and the FBI. And now, the Wichita Police Department is a bit concerned that he may be responsible for even more murders.

LIN: Seriously. How many?

HATTEBERG: We don't know. They're simply looking into the possibility that that might be the case.

And we do know that he has confessed to some of the murders. What we don't know is if he is confessed to the murders that we know about or murders that we don't yet know about.

And, also, what we're going to break on our 5:30 newscast is sources are telling us that the floppy disk that was included in BTK's last communication to the media, it was a simple 39 cent floppy disk, that that floppy disk led authorities to the Lutheran Church where he was president of the church council and that led to a major break in the case.

So, we have this new information now coming out this evening. And as you know, reporters here are working this story like crazy.

LIN: I can imagine.

HATTEBERG: And it seems like every half nour hour, new information is coming out. And we're learning more and more about this man.

LIN: What are you hearing about the connection between the break in the case and his daughter's DNA?

HATTEBERG: Right. We do know that they did obtain DNA from the daughter. What is unclear is how that DNA was exactly obtained, whether it was done in cooperation with her or whether it wasn't.

There was an earlier story out that she had gone to the police and given up DNA, because she suspected her dad. That is not true. That did not happen that way.

We do know that they did have her DNA. And the family portion of the DNA was a hit when they did the test. And that also helped lead them to a break in the case.

LIN: All right. And then clearly the evidence from the various crime scenes so well preserved that they were able to match that DNA.

Larry, given that this is a man who did literally live among you, what do you make of the secrecy that police conducted this investigation? Do you think that more information -- that police should have given more information to the community? And if they had during this investigation that maybe this killer would have been caught sooner? HATTEBERG: Well, I think the police department did an excellent job on a very, very difficult case. Those of us in the media, we want more information. Of course, we wanted more information all the time they were in this case. And we were pushing the police department all the time at every second, every step of the way to please release more information.

Because I will tell you, there is an absolute hunger in this community for every detail about this case. And the reason is obvious, this guy terrorized this community for 30 years.

But we walk a fine line here. The police department want to preserve the evidence to go through the judicial system. And yet those of us serving the public through the media like you, we want to get all the information that we possibly can out.

We do believe that it was through the last 11 communications now that he made a mistake. So it was important for him and for us to keep those communications going and if the media helped in that, great.

The bottom line was to get the guy caught. And apparently he is behind bars.

LIN: All right. And apparently talking according to your reporting.

All right. Larry, you're going to be breaking that news on your station in about 20 minutes. Thank you very much for giving us...

HATTEBERG: Just about 20 minutes. That is correct.

LIN: All right. Thank you very much. Larry Hatteberg, KAKE.

HATTEBERG: Sure.

LIN: We are working to verify as much information as possible. But Larry hearing that the suspect is talking and perhaps maybe even confessing to more crimes. We are going to find out more tonight.

In the meantime, there is much more on the BTK case straight ahead, because at the bottom of the hour, I'm talking to a criminal profiler, Pat Brown, on how this man lived this double life for so long. What goes through the mind of a serial killer? And when and how does he decide to start killing?

Tomorrow, also at 10:00 Eastern, CNN's Aaron Brown will have a special edition of "NEWSNIGHT" "Catching BTK." So, stay tuned for that on Monday night.

Also a case of dashed hopes in the search for 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford of Florida. A potential lead today failed to pan out. So, we want to take you to CNN's Sara Dorsey. She joins me now live from Homasassa Springs, Florida with the very latest on that.

Sarah, so much hope that this picture, this photo, might actually be of the missing girl at a convenience store.

SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Carol. At one point in the day, we thought we might have had a break in the case. The Citrus County Sheriff's Office brought out a surveillance videotape taht was taken at a convenience store nearby that showed a little girl that resembled Jessica Lunsford. She was with a man in that video. Now, that was put out to the media. And since then, the man has been identified and the little girl is not Jessica.

So, it seems now that this investigation is back to square one where it stood before which is basically no leads. Despite that, though, people in the community are coming together. Nearly 400 searchers showed up today. In fact, more than 400 as the day progressed came out. They were fighting weather, and pretty harsh conditions throughout the day. It was raining.

They also had to get through a lot of very wooded areas. And they worked together side by side searching for any sign of this little girl which, in fact, they did not find anything so far today.

Now, those people that couldn't search, because it was a hard terrain to get through, as we mentioned. Most of them went to church today, there were vigils for Jessica, they were praying for her to come back. And in fact, her grandparents talked to the preacher about trying to get her back by today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was visiting with Arty (ph) and Ruthy yesterday. They said, pastor, wouldn't it be great if tomorrow morning Ruthie and I could walk in the door with little Jessica? Sit in church. I said, let's just pray to that end. Well, didn't happen for this morning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DORSEY: Many of the volunteers we spoke with today said they do plan to come back out as needed. The sheriff's office says they will continue to search for the little girl until they have answers. But right now, they have nearly nothing.

They're getting some tips in, but a lot of those are false sightings and things that just don't seem to be panning out. So once again, the sheriff's office stressing if anyone knows anything, even if it seems insignificant, to call them. They need to check up on all of these leads, because the focus in this community is getting this little 9-year-old girl back home safely.

LIN: All right. Sara, are they even working on any kind of presumption? I mean, this girl didn't disappear, I mean, she was last seen in the bed at 10:00 at night. Are they working on the presumption that somebody walked into that house and kidnapped her. Or do they also equal that to the possibility that she got up and walked out on her own?

DORSEY: Frankly, they don't know. They say that it's hard to believe from talking to family and friends that the little girl walked out on her own. She didn't seem to be having any problems or having any issues with her family. But there's also no sign of forced entry.

Like you said, the little girl went to bed at 10:00. She was in the nightgown. No one heard anything. So really, the police say they don't know where to look. They have questioned the family. They have questioned the little girl's friends and they really are stuck at this point right now. So we'll have to wait to see if anything pops up in the next few days.

LIN: Right. Well, they were aggressive about pursuing this photograph even though the parents insisted it wasn't Jessica. So clearly going for any lead they can get. Thanks very much, Sara Dorsey reporting live from Homasassa Spring, Florida.

All right. We want to move now to Iraq and the latest on the capture of Saddam Hussein's half brother. According to the Associated Press, Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hassan al-Tikriti was picked up by Syrian authorities and handed over to Iraq.

Our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson explains why there was a million dollar reward for ah-Hassan's capture.

(BEGIN VIDOETAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): On the run, for almost two years, Saddam Hussein's half brother, Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hassan al-Tikriti, number 36 on the list of 55 most wanted, now captured.

When these pictures were taken in 1999, he was an adviser to Saddam. Today's interim government accuses him of supervising, planning and carrying out insurgent operations as well as killing and torturing Iraqis.

During the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, he was head of Iraqi intelligence. Becoming director of Iraqi security during the '90s. Then, he fell out of favor. And was placed under house arrest before being rehabilitated to presidential adviser several years later.

Most on the top 55 list, including Saddam's other brothers Balzan (ph) and Watban seen here at the same metal ceremony for presidential advisers have already been arrested.

Balzan (ph), likely one of the first of Saddam's favored hard men to face the Iraqi special tribunal. Sabawi who had a million dollar bounty on his head seems likely to face a similar fate.

(on camera): According to an Iraqi intelligence sources, Sabawi has spent much of the last two years outside Iraq. Notably, they say, settling in Syria for a while. They also say he's been in regular contact with Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, Saddam's most trusted lieutenant outside his immediate family. A man U.S. military officials say is a key figure behind the insurgents.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Bagdad. (END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: And the hunt for the most wanted man in Iraq now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wouldn't surprise me if that was the safe place for Zarqawi or any of his lieutenants to operate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: We are going to take you to the front lines with the marines taking part in Operation River Blitz.

Plus, a high school student's quest to wear a tuxedo in her yearbook photo. Well, it comes to and. And we're going to tell you what the big deal is and whether she succeed, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: In about 2 hours, members of the movie industry are going to star thinning out that table full of precious Oscar statuettes on the stage of Hollywood's Kodak Theatre. Tonight's the night for the 77th Annual Academy Awards. And CNN entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas is live from the red carpet right now with a little red of her own.

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes, I'm wearing -- apropos, of course, a little red.

But it's absolutely bustling with excitment out here, Carol. I can just tell you that Beyonce made her way down the red carpet and Jay-Z and I'm telling you, the crowd went wild. I can just imagine when Leo and Jamie Foxx make their way down how crazy this place is going to be.

But I'll tell you, they're contenders. And a lot of people are going for the gold tonight. Now, I'm not sure who the big winners are going to be, but with 11 nominations, you can sure bet that "The Aviator" is flying high.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VARGAS (voice-over): The story at the Oscars may come down to this: Does the Aviator fly high or crash and burn?

It's the most nominated film of the year with 11 totals, include one for the lead actor Leonardo DiCaprio and another for supporting actress Kate Blanchett.

KATE BLANCHETT, ACTRESS: I was terrified when I sort of embarked on the journey of it. I'm so thrilled.

VARGAS: The Aviator could bring Martin Scorsese his first directing Oscar in 5 tries.

MARTIN SCORSESE, DIRECTOR: I would like to win. I would like the film to get some awards.

HILARY SWANK, ACRESS: I know if you train me right, I'm going to be a champ.

VARGAS: If the Aviator goes down, it will probably be at the hands, or fists, of Million Dollar Baby. The boxing drama is up for best picture and best director, Clint Eastwood.

He even directed himself to an acting nomination along with co- stars Morgan Freeman and Hilary Swank.

SWANK: He is, you know, such a special, special person. And obviously, such talent. He is amazing.

VARGAS: Swank finds herself competing once again with Annette Bening, star of Being Julia. They squared off 5 years ago with Swank prevailing for Boys Don't Cry over American Beauty's Bening.

The safest bet for an Oscar this year may be Jamie Foxx for his lead role in Ray. He powers into the Oscars having snagged the SAG Award and a Golden Globe.

JAMIE FOX, ACTOR: This is a beautiful time.

VARGAS: Foxx is aso nominated in the supporting category for Collateral. His two nominations in a single year are a first for an African-American actor.

It was good year all the way around for actors of color. For the first time, they're represented in every abouting category. That includes young Latino actress Catalina Sandino Moreno who earned a best actress nomination for Maria Full of Grace.

She wasn't expecting it.

CATALINA SANDINO MORENO, ACTRESS: Never, never, never, ever, ever, ever in my dreams ever.

VARGAS: That's Oscar for you, the stuff dreams are made of.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VARGAS: And you can bet there's going to be a lot of dreams coming through this evening. And if you want more on the Oscars, well we'll be coming to you about half an hour with a little bit more. We will have the celeBrities, the fashion. You name it, everything, predictions, everything, Carol. We'll bring it to you.

LIN: Wow. All right. Looking forward to it. Thanks Sibila.

VARGAS: Thank you.

LIN: In the meantime, we're going to go beyond the blogs: the politics of poverty adn the president's European report. And the only way we know how is with CNN political correspondent Carlos Watson. He's got the scoop. He's got a perspective on the week in politics. Plus, getting inside the mind of a serial killer. I'm going to talk with a criminal profiler about the BTK case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: With his profile visit with American European allies out of the way, President Bush heads to New Jersey and Indiana this week. He's waving the carrot of private Social Security accounts in front of millions of Americans. But will they bite? Our White House correspondent Dana Bash is live with the very latest -- Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.

Well, the president says he is eager to get back on the road, resume his traveling sales pitch to overhaul Social Security. And though some Republicans insist that it is still very early in the process, others are bracing for some tough compromise to get anything passed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASH (voice-over): After a week on the world stage, the president returns to his biggest challenge on the home front: selling a Social Security overhaul. While Mr. Bush was on his self described European listening tour, members of Congress were back hom listening to often skeptical constituents about the Bush plan for creating private accounts in Social Security.

SEN. RICK SANTORUM, (R) PENNSYLVANIA: What do you get in exchange if we do nothing?

BASH: Republican Senator Rick Sanatorium spent all week in town hall meetings pushing the idea, insists it's still early, but admits the president is short support.

SANTORUM: Right now, they're not there. But like I said, you're asking me whether I win the game and I'm two minutes into the game.

BASH: Several Senate Democrats say they'd back private retirement accounts but only outside Social Security. Some Republicans are starting to signal compromising on personal accounts may be inevitable, but the philosophical divide runs deep.

SEN. JON CORZINE, (D) NEW JERSEY: This proposal of privatization is a radical shift in the covenant that we have laid down with regard to Social Security on generation to the next.

SEN. JOHN SUNUNU, (R) NEW HAMPSHIRE: I don't think a bill will pass that doesn't include personal accounts for younger workers, at least giving them the option.

BASH: Still completely unresolved, how to achieve the president's stated goal: ensuring Social Security's solvency. The White House concedes personal accounts alone won't do it. And Democrats are seizing on that. SEN. JOE BIDEN, (D) DELAWARE: The American people begin to understand there's no correlation between, quote, fixing Social Security and private accounts.

BASH: The president is careful not to take anything except raising payroll taxes off the table. Republican sources say compromise options for keeping Social Security out of the red include cutting benefits deepest for the wealthy while letting low income beneficiaries do better and raising the $90,000 payroll tax cap, though most GOP leaders call that a tax hype and a nonstarter.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: Republicans do see some prospects, some progress for their cause in that some key Democrats are now saying that Social Security does need to be fixed. That it is a problem and that needs some kind of overhaul.

Still, one key Republican senator said that he sees the odds getting anything done in order to do that this year at just better than 50/50 -- Carol.

LIN: Hmm. All right.

Thanks very much, Dana Bash live at the White House.

OK. So the president's diplomatic skills are tested certainly here at home. They certainly were tested on his European tour lately. So let's see how this is going to affect the bigger issues all of us facing in this country.

Political analyst Carlos Watson joins me now. He's been tracking the president's move and a lot of other really interesting news. So Carlos, it doesn't sound like the president got much of a bounce from his European tour as far as domestic issues are concerned, at least not yet.

CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Not yet. But Carol, he did show that he was willing to extend the olive branch and that will ultimately helped him here with moderate Democrats in feeling that he doesn't just a war agenda. But significantly what's going to be important is the president had a big policy victory in the war on terror.

Although it hasn't been talked about a lot, the U.S. and Russia have tentatively agreed to try to destroy more nuclear weapons. Meaning they may be kept out of the hands of rogue terrorists. And so that means Los Angeles and Cleveland aren't necessarily safe, but they could be a little bit safer. and that's actually a big deal.

One other thing to note about the president's trip was that behind that nuclear agreement, and by the way a couple of other things the president did, including meeting with the German chancellor was the handiwork of a guy many people may not know about it, Senator Dick Luger, who in many ways is the most moderate and internationalist key person in the Bush administration foreign policy circle. And it's if you will, kind of the new Colin Powell. So, look to hear more about him as we talk about Iran, North Korea and other places.

LIN: All right. Well, clearly, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee might be making the mark. And lots of people are interested in the war on terror, but frankly Carlos, with 36 million people in this country living beneath the poverty line folks are worried about getting food on the table. So is that going to at least get on the president's agenda?

WATSON: I think it could, Carol. I think that could surprise a lot of people both in Washington and outside of Washington. An anti- poverty discussion was not expected this year. Not a major one. Instead, Social Security, tax reform, maybe even education were thought to be the big issues, but a couple of different things are leading towards that conversation.

John Edwards, as he kicks off his presidential campaign, is focusing the spotlight. Two, there's clearly a lot of worker anxiety still around outsourcing and other issues and three, expect to see literally millions of dollars, if not tens of millions of dollars dollars spent this summer and fall as the Social Security debate starts as some groups like moveon.org and others say should we spend $2 trillion on private accounts or spend that to reconstruct poor societies here in the U.S.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, a legitimate question. But also, Carlos, you know what I love about your coverage is that you always get like the -- you know, inside scoop. You interviewed Arnold Schwarzenegger. Bodybuilder. Maybe might run for president some day. So I guess the bodybuilder maybe running for president, I guess the actors to be in office. Former football players?

WATSON: Former football players. Lynn Swann, four-time super bowl champion, former Pittsburgh Steeler announced he is thinking about running for governor of Pennsylvania. The latest polls still show him behind the sitting Democratic governor, Ed Rendell, but here's why this is a big deal, Carol.

One, as you said, with Arnold Schwarzenegger and others, seeing more celebrities, athletes or politicians, think about running for office. In 2006, if Swann runs, he may not be alone. You could see Al Franken run for the Senate up in Minnesota. You could see Jerry Springer throw his hat in the ring in Ohio.

LIN: But he's run before. Local politics.

WATSON: But out here in California, guess which Democrat polled the highest in a run for governor against Arnold Schwarzenegger?

LIN: Oh no.

WATSON: Rob Reiner.

LIN: Oh no. Are you serious?

WATSON: Day two, could be not just ...

LIN: Meathead?

WATSON: Could become a serious trend. The other interesting thing, though, on the flip side of Lynn Swann running. If Lynn Swann runs and loses, Ed Rendell could see the presidential prospects brighten. There's something for each side of this equation.

LIN: You know what? Tell Ed Rendell to forget law school, just get an agent. That is the key. Get an agent. Carlos Watson, great to see you. Thanks so much.

WATSON: Great to see you as always.

LIN: It's the bottom of the hour, so welcome back and here's a quick look at what's happening right now in the news. The Associated Press reports Syria has captured Saddam Hussein's half brother and handed him over to Iraqi authorities. Sabawi Ibrahim al Hassan was reportedly caught in northeastern Syria. Al Hassan was number 36 on the U.S. military's most wanted list.

High school is about to get more challenging for millions of students. Today, 13 states announced they've formed a coalition that will require high schools to make their courses and diploma requirements much tougher. The aim is to better prepare students for college and a competitive workplace.

A source close to the BTK serial killer investigation says the suspect's daughter did not provide DNA to investigators and was not involved directly in his capture. But CNN affiliate KAKE reports that the daughter's DNA did somehow play a role in the investigation.

Now, to more on the BTK arrest and a look inside if mind of an alleged serial killer. Pat Brown is a criminal profiler and she joins me now from Minneapolis with some fascinating insights into this extraordinary case. Pat, the question that so many people are asking right now about this man is that here he was the most ordinary of men, I mean, a churchgoer, a father, married. With two kids. A dogcatcher.

PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: Right.

LIN: When -- if it is true that he is the BTK serial killer, when does a person like that decide to kill and what triggers that instinct?

BROWN: Well, this guy is probably been a psychopathic personality since he was eight or nine years old. He's gotten a frustrated life even at that young an age but then getting into the teenagehood he decides he doesn't like the game played in society because he is not winning at it and starts to manipulate society, finding what he can get away with, finding how to pull the wool over people's eyes and he gets a real charge out of this.

When gets more older, a little more power control, he says, now what can I get away with? I want this big, big thrill. This huge amount of power. And he decides maybe killing is his thing. What he is going to do is he is going to look around and he is going to analyze things. What can I get away with?

Well, most serial homicides in this country are not solved. The sexual homicide rate is out of this world and most serial killers stay in the community like this guy did for 10, 20, 30 years. Look at the Green River Killer. When did we get him? When he's about to retire. When did we get Ted Bundy? 20 women later. Finally Ted Bundy gets caught. And then what happens to you? You wm an anti-hero, a celebrity, you get books, you get Web sites. Everybody is fascinated by you. So what do you have to lose if you think you can get away with it decade after decade?

LIN: But the amazing thing is, if it's true, 59 years old now and if it is in fact him, the suspect in custody, that he murdered his first victims, a family of four when he was only 25 years old. I mean, how do you pull that off and then go on to lead what seems like an ordinary life? You get married, you have kids, you get a job. You work for the city.

BROWN: Well, everybody does that in their ordinary life. Even the president has an ordinary life in spite of the fact ...

LIN: But he has a double life, I should say. He led a double life perhaps.

BROWN: Well, he has a hobby, shall we call it. And he's not doing this hobby every day. We are talking about killing somebody and then he's not doing it again for six months or a year, sometimes five or ten years depending on his mood. So he really does have a lot of other time to spend like any normal person and he needs to keep that up. And he's only going to when he has bad moments in his life, decide now I want to do that and rev up for it and plan for it and if he gets away with it he's going to become very arrogant and realize he can get away with it and he's going to do it again and again. And if we don't recognize how they operate and go after them, we leave them in the community to kill decade after decade as we see with the BTK strangler.

LIN: Pat Brown, you know, it's a fascinating face and we're learning more by the hour. Thank you very much.

BROWN: My pleasure.

LIN: A quick reminder. We're going to hear from the son of one of the victims later tonight. Police say Jeff Davis' mother Delores was the last person killed in the BTK spree. Find out what he has to say about the arrest and the secrecy of police in their investigation. He is joining me tonight. You will see him at 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

In the meantime, marking a military milestone. The end of the first Gulf War. We are going to show you how those lost in the line of duty were remembered today.

Plus, on the front lines in the current Iraq War. We are going to take you on patrol with marines in one of that nation's most violent provinces. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Every week we bring you the more personal stories from the front lines. And today, our report is from CNN's Jane Arraf with marines on the hunt for insurgents along the Euphrates River in the town of Haditha.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There was little resistance here. Although the 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. curfew had lifted there was no one was in the streets but marines. Almost everyone was indoors waiting to see what would happen.

(on camera): There's no traffic coming in or out of this city behind me. It's part of a major operation along the river to isolate cities and towns and hunt down insurgents.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably just push through there.

ARRAF (on camera): Marine commanders believe that insurgents migrated here to cities and towns and the vast expanse of western desert from Falluja. They believe foreign fighters moved back and forth across the border from Syria. That they've used safe houses in these isolated towns to launch attacks in Ramadi and Mosul. And at the most wanted man in Iraq, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, might be in the area.

COL. CRAIG TUCKER, USMC: We know there's several networks of structure that facilitate the operation of the safe houses. So it wouldn't surprise me if that was a safe place for Zarqawi or any of his lieutenants to operate.

ARRAF: There is no working police force in the towns. Police here either been killed or intimidated into quitting. In Haditha, a private Iraqi security force trained by the marines is under marine command.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where do bad people go? That is the question.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a good question.

ARRAF: They're called the Freedom Guards. Company commander Maneer Capitan, just 20 years old says they're confident they'll find Zarqawi.

MANEER CAPITAN, IRAQI SECURITY FORCE CMDR: I'm sure that one day we'll show him and my soldiers will capture him in one of the holes just like Saddam Hussein.

ARRAF: Further along this river in the town of Heet (ph), this imam is upset that the marines rolled in.

TUCKER: I think there is a solution for the problem, that is to get the Iraqi -- the head of the police department to come in and provide security and keep the terrorists out. We will not have to come back in here.

ARRAF: The regimental commander promises they just need one more day to check out parts of town. He says they'll withdraw after that. Parts of this city are so normal that small children venture out in the street to play with the marines. But in other areas of this town and others along the river, marines believe, there are insurgents left to fight and safehouses still to be found. Jane Arraf, CNN, in al Anbar province.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

LIN: Also on the front lines, an important anniversary, the 14th anniversary of the ceasefire which ended Operation Desert Storm. And family members of the U.S. soldiers kill evicting the forces out of Kuwait attended a memorial service at Arlington National Cemetery today. CNN producer Jessica Rosegard (ph) and a photojournalist Tony Umrani (ph) bring us that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You gave your loved ones to the cause of peace and freedom in the world. You've come from 18 states, some as far away as California.

BGN JOHN W. NICOur war dead are never statistics they're husbands and wives. Sons and daughters. Brothers and sisters. And cousins. And nephews. They're missed as much today as the day they were lost.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My husband Michael Anderson was killed in Desert Storm and Kyle was only nine months old when Michael was killed and it's real important, I think, for him to come at this time of his life and he's now old enough to realize the sacrifice that his dad made.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To see it's prepared me a lot and helped me to understand part of what my dad did.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was totally dedicated. To G-d and country. He is sorely missed but as we reflect back on his life and the sacrifice that he made, we have immense pride. To me, that was just something that's really special that my husband whether I'm here or not is remembered.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: For anyone who is lost a loved one in war or peace, the memory never really dies. And that is what the privilege is of being a journalist is that you can bring stories of the human condition and we have got one that is really quite interesting in a Florida community. It involves a girl in a tuxedo. Up next, the conclusion of one female student's quest to wear what she wanted in her high school yearbook photo. Pretty controversial.

And still to come, Halle Berry's life lesson about how to handle failure.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: The senior year photo, it is a big deal for high school students who dress up for a picture that's featured prominently in the yearbook. And that was definitely the case for a north Florida student who like everyone else dressed up for the photo. But what she wore caused a huge controversy in her community. CNN's Denise Belgrave has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DENISE BELGRAVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): People tend to remember their own yearbook photo. It is a snapshot at a time when life is at a crossroads. Kelli Davis' photo will be remembered by many.

KELLI DAVIS, HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: I had a choice between a tux and a drape and I chose one of the two.

BELGRAVE: Kelli who recollects makes no attempt to hide her sexual orientation, chose a tuxedo. Fleming Island High School disapproved, pulling her photo out of the yearbook.

DAVID OWENS, CLAY COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT: Her sexual preference is her preference and that's okay. But the school shouldn't be the platform for her to make the statement.

BELGRAVE: The decision drew a huge crowd for Thursday's night school board meeting. Messages in the crowd supporting Kelli and others to champion traditional female attire. Kelli's mom spoke out for her.

CINDI DAVIS, KELLI DAVIS' MOTHER: What is so offensive about this tiny picture? Who would have ever even noticed her attire. I ask you, that you, the school board , to place my child's picture as is in the yearbook where it belongs with the senior class of 2005.

BELGRAVE: And others came to the stand, 25 and all, speaking on both sides of the issue. But the final word rested with Superintendent Owens.

OWENS: My decision is that I stand by the principal and his decision and her picture will not be in the senior section of the yearbook.

KELLI DAVIS: I kind of expected the outcome but I mean, listening to the people talk, it showed me how much support I have in this community.

BELGRAVE: Kelli and her parents decided to turn the page on this controversy. They're declining any legal action. But if a yearbook photo designed to remind people about who you were, then Kelly Davis has succeeded. Denise Belgrave, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: In other news, one of Hollywood's sexiest stars shows she's a gracious winner and loser. Up next, Halle Berry's unexpected reaction to receiving one of the year's most dubious film awards.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: If Hollywood gave an award for good sport, actress Halle Berry would be a front runner. Last night, her performance in "Catwoman" won her a Razzie award for worst actress. And she surprised the crowd by showing up to receive it.

HALLE BERRY, ACTRESS (video clip): Thank you so much. I never in my life thought I would be up here. With a Razzie.

LIN: What a good sport. The Razzies are the Oscars flipside, they dishonor the film's industry's worst work. "Catwoman" also took prizes for worst film, worst director and worst screenplay. It practically swept at the 25th annual awards. Well, from the worst to the best, CNN's special coverage of Oscar night begins in a few minutes. We're going to hit the red carpet and give you live interviews with Hollywood's hottest stars plus give you fashion reviews and inside predictions on who will be tonight's top winners.

And check this out. A live look at Leonardo DiCaprio and his famous model girlfriend. See how they do tonight. "The Aviator" is up for almost a dozen awards.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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