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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Court Delays Recall Election; Hurricane Isabel Could Hit East Coast

Aired September 15, 2003 - 19:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: A court blocks California's recall election. What happens now?

Hurricane Isabel, how bad will it be?

Osama bin Laden: why can't the U.S. find him?

A toddler is dead, her brother clings to life. The prime suspect? Their father.

An Air Force top gun survives a fiery crash.

Arnold and Maria get the Oprah treatment.

The new material mommy?

ANNOUNCER: Live from the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is ANDERSON COOPER 360.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Hey, there. Good evening. Thanks for joining us. We've got a lot ahead tonight.

We're going to take you live to the DMZ. An exclusive report from the frontlines, the fault line between the two Koreas.

Also ahead, they called it water torture, a fraternity initiation gone terribly wrong. A college freshman is dead. Six fraternity brothers are charged with negligent homicide. We're going to look at what's behind these lethal rituals.

And the latest on the investigation into who killed the sister of Venus and Serena Williams.

All that ahead.

We begin, however, in California. The election on hold. Just three weeks before the scheduled vote, a federal appeals court has ordered a delay. Then it delayed its decision to delay the election, giving opponents a week to file an appeal. And there will be appeals.

Kelly Wallace tries to sort it all out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In its decision to delay the election, the three-judge federal appeals panel said, "The inherent defects in the system are such that approximately 40,000 voters who travel to the polls and cast their ballot will not have their vote counted at all."

The court sided with the American Civil Liberties Union, that argued six California counties, including Los Angeles, were still using punch card ballots. Those ballots were ruled invalid by the federal courts after the disputed 2000 presidential election.

The proponents of the recall movement pledged to file an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court within 48 hours.

Republican candidates quickly condemned the ruling. GOP front- runner Arnold Schwarzenegger said the election should be held next month.

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: We are going to continue campaigning the way we have, aggressively move forward. This is the people's will that the election will happen.

WALLACE: Republicans State Senator Tom McClintock said the Ninth Circuit has become a, quote, "national laughing stock."

STATE SEN. TOM MCCLINTOCK (R), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: This is the most reversed court in the United States and for good reason.

WALLACE: The man who appeared to benefit most, embattled Governor Gray Davis, who teamed up with a Democratic heavyweight, former President Bill Clinton, for the second day in a row.

Davis had pushed for the election to be postponed until the March presidential primary, when traditionally more voters head to the polls. But on this day, he reacted cautiously.

GRAY DAVIS (D), CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR: I was not a party to this suit. I did not bring this suit. I do -- I would like a result however, that allows as many Californians as possible to vote.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Kelly Wallace joins us now from Los Angeles. Kelly, what comes next?

WALLACE: Well, Anderson, I was just on the phone with attorneys for this recall movement. They say they will seek an emergency, immediate stay from the U.S. Supreme Court as early as tomorrow.

Now the court is currently not in session. Ironically, it's not supposed to be in session until October 7. That is the date the California recall election was supposed to take place. So the court could decide to grant a stay. These attorneys are hoping that is the case and they're hoping that the election would go forward and there would be a hearing sometime after the election to discuss this matter.

They are confident, Anderson. They point to the Ninth Circuit and say in the last session the Supreme Court overturned 18 out of 24 of these decisions by the Ninth Circuit. So they say they're confident the court will rule in its favor.

COOPER: It's certainly a controversial court. Kelly Wallace, thanks for that update. Coming up, our legal analyst, Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom, explains the court decision. That's in just about 20 minutes or so.

Well, today's court ruling came several hours after Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver, went on Oprah Winfrey's TV show.

The candidate tried to diffuse the controversy over comments he made back when he was a bodybuilder. He said his boasts about group sex and marijuana use were an attempt to win publicity.

Well, from a political hurricane to a real live one by the name of Isabel, people on the east coast are battening down, stocking up and maybe most important of all, planning to just get out of the way.

We want to get the very latest on when and where Isabel might make landfall from our Rob Marciano of the CNN weather center.

Rob, how's it looking out there?

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, there's a little bit of good news tonight, Anderson, in that it has weakened a little bit as this thing has made its way towards us.

You can see earlier this week the eye wall was about 40 nautical miles wide. And now as it drifts off to the west it has weakened just a hair. And that's good news. But it's still a major hurricane. And we don't want to make light of this by any means. It could strengthen even a little bit more. That's not the official forecast, but it has some warm water it can go over before it hits landfall over North Carolina.

This is the exact specifics of the storm: 125-mile-an-hour winds. That makes it a category three. Its movement is off towards the northwest at eight miles an hour. And with that sort of movement, we're looking for landfall potentially Wednesday night into early Thursday morning.

Here we go as we drift the storm off to the north and west. Forecast track keeping it a major hurricane. If it's at this point Wednesday, then we're looking at a North Carolina hit.

If it's at all shifted to the east, and that's possible, as well, it could continue to scoot up and head towards the Jersey coastline and even Long Island and New England. And this will head towards the Great Lakes, as well, it bringing some heavy rain, not so much the wind there, but certainly some heavy rain.

Let's go over the Isabel highlights with this storm. We're looking at a category three, 125-mile-an-hour winds. Still a major hurricane. Likely to hold that strength through landfall. Heads up, North Carolina coast. All the way to New England. We do expect landfall to be likely sometime during the day on Thursday.

That's the latest, Anderson. This is going to be a doozy. We'll watch it as it comes ashore.

COOPER: OK. We're going to be watching this thing closely. Rob, thanks very much.

One North Carolina resident described it as a nice, sunny, calm day today. In short, perfect weather to get ready for a massive hurricane.

Now one stressed out hardware store manager said he is being picked clean, saying, "I don't have the staff for what they're doing to me."

More on the race to prepare from CNN's Jeanne Meserve.

Jeanne, good to see you. How seriously are people preparing?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it varies, to be perfectly frank.

But let me tell you, the Navy is preparing in a big way. Norfolk is home to the largest naval base in the world. And a short time ago the Navy made the decision to move its ships out to sea to ride out Isabel. About 40 ships, including the aircraft carriers Ronald Reagan and George Washington will be headed out, starting at about 9 a.m. tomorrow.

Many private boat owners are not waiting so long. One marina operator told us today that his phone has been ringing off the hook. People want to get their boats out of the water and onto dry land.

A lot of other people in the stores stocking up on vital provisions like water and food and batteries. Some boarding up windows. Some moving in the lawn furniture, all in anticipation of this storm, expected to be the biggest to hit the east coast in some time.

Meanwhile, the federal, state and local governments are also preparing, moving personnel and equipment into position to deal with evacuation, should those be necessary and also deal with the effects of the storm.

Here it is, a couple of days before Isabel is slated to hit and already the governor of Virginia, Mark Warner, has activated the National Guard and more. GOV. MARK WARNER, VIRGINIA: Today I've declared a state of emergency for the entire commonwealth. This implements the state emergency operations plan and directs state agencies to take all necessary actions to protect the health of Virginians.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: Of course, for some who are looking forward to the storm, surfers congregated at some locations, relishing the thought of the big waves this storm is likely to kick up.

And you can see here on the beach here at Virginia Beach, a couple of people still down there at the water, enjoying this last beautiful good weather, weather which we all know is not going to be lasting for long.

Anderson, back to you.

COOPER: Enjoy it while you can. Jeanne Meserve, thanks very much.

Just as people get ready for Isabel, a troubling warning came from the American Red Cross. They said their disaster relief fund is empty. Now the charity said coastal U.S. residents can expect the Red Cross to provide the immediate basic stuff, food, clothing, shelter and medicine, but that disaster victims may not get as many services as they have in the past.

This is a flashback we want to tell you about no one wants to imagine. In a word, Andrew, a category five storm.

Andrew back in 1992 was the most destructive hurricane on record. The most important thing lost, of course, were the 58 people killed. And the financial damages were massive, more than $26 billion, which is roughly the entire gross national product of Afghanistan. And there was a staggering number of homes destroyed, 110,000 in all.

All right. Let's take a look cross-country right now.

A Florida father suspected of drowning his daughter and trying to drown his son, was killed in an apparent murder-suicide attempt today. Police say Bryan Randall drove his pickup in front of a tractor- trailer on I4. There's the aftermath right there. Two of his other kids were with him but survived. Everyone is in the hospital.

Pennsylvania floodwaters saturating parts of the state have forced some dramatic and daring rescues, including this one. Look at this. The woman and boy seen here were both plucked out of harm's way after some very, very harrowing moments.

Idaho, an F-16 pilot had his own brush with death during a thunderbird air show this weekend. He ejected safely before his plane crashed. No one on the ground was hurt. Unbelievable picture.

Washington, D.C., police say the person responsible for a string of arson fires may look something like the man seen right here this composite drawing they released tonight. One person has died in those fires. Several have been hurt.

And President Bush put on a hard hat and safety glasses today and took aim at critics who have been blasting a change he made to clean air rules during a fund-raising swing through Michigan. He toured a coal-burning power plant and said rolling back such regulations was, quote, "the right thing."

All right. Let's get the latest now from Iraq. Secretary of State Colin Powell continues his visit. A U.S. soldier was killed, his vehicle hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in Baghdad.

Now, recent have polls have shown that both the rising death toll and the cost of the war are beginning to trouble some Americans who say the White House underestimated both the danger and the price tag.

That story from CNN's senior White House correspondent, John King.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN CORESPONDENT (voice-over): The president is unequivocal.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: One thing is for certain: no terrorist organization will ever get a weapon of mass destruction from Mr. Saddam Hussein.

KING: But, as critics note, no such weapons have been found in Iraq, evidence to them the administration is stretching the truth, or making definitive statements about issues that are anything but.

JOSEPH CIRINCIONE, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PIECE: The White House stole this war on the cheek. It was going to be a cakewalk, low casualties, we'd be greeted as liberators. We'd be in and out in a matter of months. None of this has turned out to be true.

KING: Consider Vice President Cheney's Sunday appearance on "Meet the Press." He described Iraq as the key geographic base for the September 11 hijackers and said documents recovered in Iraq detail links with al Qaeda. But he offered no details and other administration officials and members of Congress familiar with intelligence matters say they know of no proof the 9/11 hijackers operated out of Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was Afghanistan that was the geographic base for the terrorist attacks on September 11, not Iraq.

KING: The vice president also said Sunday the administration did not underestimate post-war cost in Iraq or underestimate the resistance U.S. troops would face.

But consider these statements back in March from Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz.

PAUL WOLFOWITZ, DEPUTY DEFENSE SECRETARY: There's a lot of money to pay for this that doesn't have to be U.S. taxpayer money.

KING: And from Vice President Cheney.

CHENEY: My belief is we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: John King.

KING: Exaggerations and distortions, first in making the case for war, now in defending the administration policy. But the vice president and others here at the White House say they stand by their assessments, including their belief that weapons of mass destruction eventually will be found -- Anderson.

COOPER: John, let's talk about another international crisis the White House is dealing with: the Middle East.

Now, the Bush administration has announced today that it has put off a decision to financially sanction Israel for building a wall around the West Bank. Tell us what that means and how they're going to go about that.

KING: Well, they are going to wait a little bit longer. The president told Prime Minister Sharon when he was here a few months ago that the administration was poised to sanctions Israel by cutting back on loan guarantees if the construction of the security barrier, security fence, depending on what you call it, continues between Israel and the Palestinian territories.

The president said it's an obstacle to the peace process. But just two weeks ago, the administration said that decision should come soon. Today the administration announced it was reducing by a small degree the loan guarantees available because of illegal settlement activity. But it says that it's putting off that other decision.

Obviously, a big change in the dynamic between two weeks, when Mahmoud Abbas was still the Palestinian prime minister, a man this administration trusted. And now the administration is much more mad at Yasser Arafat and the Palestinians than it is at Prime Minister Sharon -- Anderson.

COOPER: John King at the White House. Thanks very much.

Still to come this evening, an exclusive report from the DMZ between North and South Korea.

Also coming up: a verdict in a Mississippi case involving a nurse accused of killing her heart surgeon husband.

And why can't America find Osama bin Laden before the break? Take a look at what the networks led with tonight on their evening newscasts.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(AUDIO/VIDEO GAP)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ... Panmonjom, the MDL, the military demarcation line. It is located about 25 feet in that direction.

Here's what you have to always keep in mind when you are on the DMZ. The Korean War halted about 50 years ago with an armistice. But there was never a peace agreement. Technically the two sides are still officially at war.

The armistice set up the DMZ as a buffer zone to keep the two sides apart. It's two and a half miles wide, 150 miles long, all the way through the Korean Peninsula.

So that is the reason you have tension along that border. Two million troops on either side, ready to go back to war if need be. Nowhere else, though, other than here at Panmunjom, do the two former enemies come as close as they do here. Literally, they are separated only by a couple of inches.

In fact, we'll give you a demonstration as to just how close they come.

See this right here, this cement divider? That is the border. It measures roughly about 16 to 17 inches. If I step across that line there's going to be trouble. If anyone comes from the north across that line from the south, well, the same sort of predicament ensues.

The buildings that you may see in the background here, light blue, they're part of Panmunjom as a neutral meeting site. But the most important thing is the posture of the guards and the face off that you talked about.

Take a look over here. This is a ROK soldier, or a Republic of Korea soldier. He is standing in an intimidating stance, and all of this is part of that warfare. Notice the sunglasses. It's fogy out. They have them all the time. Notice the posture. He is standing in what's referred to as a ROK ready position. Martial arts, Tae Kwon Do stance, to look imposing to those across the way in the North.

A path exposed by the building, protected halfway, exposed halfway. The soldiers that are here are selected not only by their positioning, but also by their size. Most of the South Koreans are standing at least about 5'8", two inches above normal for the population.

That face-off has gone on here for 50 years. Tension has existed, but the truce has always held -- Anderson.

COOPER: Just unbelievable images you're getting, just extraordinary access. We're going to hear from you later on in the week, throughout the week. Marin Savidge, thanks very much.

Still a lot ahead this evening. The California recall bombshell. Our legal contributor Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom will join us with a look at where the legal trail could go next.

Also tonight, fraternity brothers have been charged after a deadly hazing incident that didn't involve beer. We're going to tell you what it was. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Justice served. Now earlier in the hour, we reported a federal appeals court delayed next month's California recall election. An appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is being discussed right now. Will the election come off in October or not? That is the question.

Our 360 legal analyst, Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom is here to discuss it. She's also an assistant district attorney in San Francisco.

Kimberly, good to see you.

KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE NEWSOM, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Good to see you.

COOPER: A surprising ruling today. Although I guess not so surprising considering this court, this Ninth Circuit.

NEWSOM: Yes, it's fascinating but I'm not surprised, being from California. We're very familiar with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. This is pretty much par for the course. They are always full of surprises and not afraid to go on a limb and stake out new territory. That's what they've done here. And it's definitely interesting.

COOPER: Now, they ruled, this was the ACLU had filed this motion, had argued this in court, basically saying that people would be disenfranchised.

NEWSOM: That's correct, and this involves about 40 percent of the California electorate that is, in fact, relying on punch card voting systems. What this decision says is that is unconstitutional, violates equal protection when you have people voting within the same state using different machines.

COOPER: Because they're saying the punch cards are antiquated and no longer effective.

NEWSOM: Correct.

COOPER: Even though Governor Gray Davis was elected using punch cards.

NEWSOM: Just a year ago. And in fact, you have Secretary of State Kevin Shelley, who said -- certified that punch card voting is antiquated, unreliable, and therefore we would not have another election using it.

They didn't see this coming. They expected to have the new systems in place by March of 2004. So this is a surprise on all fronts. COOPER: And I guess they're saying that in the areas where these punch cards are being used, it's predominantly minority areas and therefore, that's why these groups in particular would be disenfranchised.

NEWSOM: That's correct. And in fact, the Democrats, this is actually a big win, I think, for Governor Gray Davis. The experts believe this is actually going to help him. If this decision and this election is put off until March, this will give him more time to campaign and a better chance to reach those voters that are more inclined to vote for him.

COOPER: And some of the people who outraged by this decision say that they are going to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court directly.

NEWSOM: Right. And in fact, The U.S. Supreme Court is not in session right now, will not be in session until October. Sandra Day O'Connor, who's the point judge for this particular circuit court of appeals, is out of the country.

So there's a time issue here with October 7 looming closely for them to get this decision, grant a review and come down with a firm decision on whether or not to proceed forward.

COOPER: You know, you didn't think this race could get any more interesting. It just got a lot more interesting today.

Kimberly, good to see you. Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom, thanks.

NEWSOM: Thank you.

Cooper: All right. Still a lot ahead.

More justice served now. A Mississippi nurse has been found guilty of killing her doctor husband with a fatal dose of drugs. That is the woman there. The judge immediately sentenced 36-year-old Stephanie Stevens to life in prison. She did not testify in her own defense at the trial.

Defense lawyers had argued unsuccessfully that Dr. David Stephens committed suicide because of health problems. The jury said no.

Still to come this evening, the softer, tamer side of Madonna, the global debut of her book for kids. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: All right. Time for the Reset of our top stories for those of you just joining us. The California recall is now officially on hold. An appeals court has postponed the election because several counties still use the antiquated punch card ballot system. The U.S. Supreme Court appeal on today's ruling is said to be imminent.

Hurricane Isabel's churning West and eyeing the Eastern seaboard. The storm is still at least three days from landfall, but many homes that could be in Isabel's path are being buttoned up already. In Iraq, another U.S. soldier was killed, becoming the 73rd American to die since President Bush declared an end to major combat. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Colin Powell continued his trip to the region and stopped at a mass grave where the bodies of many Kurds were dumped during Saddam Hussein's regime.

A congresswoman from Texas says mending fences with the international community starts in the House cafeteria. Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee is circulating a letter among colleagues, suggesting the word "French" be put back on the menu in front of such items as "freedom fries" and "freedom toast".

And researchers in Sweden say today's cell phone users could pay a long-term price when it comes to their health. They say prolonged exposure is bad for the brain and could force people to "drown in a sea of microwaves."

And that's the Reset for you. An update now.

The tragic story of two Florida children who were left to drown in an Orlando pond, well, it got even worse today. Police now think their father, the one who left them there, and say he may have also intentionally driven into a truck with his other two children in a murder-suicide scheme. CNN's Susan Candiotti has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Police say Bryan Randall left behind a note suggesting he planned to kill himself and take the lives of his children.

CHIEF RICHARD BERRY, MAITLAND, FLORIDA POLICE: It says, "Dearest family and friends, 'why' must be the question on your minds. The following are the reasons: I made too many mistakes, I would not allow those beautiful children to grow up in a manner in which you would raise them, I didn't get the latest job..."

CANDIOTTI: His horrifying plan began to unfold Sunday at a pond in the Orlando area. A fisherman noticed a boy's body floating in the water. The 4-year-old was alive. He's now in serious condition.

A short time later, the lifeless body of his 2-year-old sister was discovered in the same pond. Then the children's mother contacted police. She told them she'd left all four of her children with her estranged husband Friday. He was supposed to return them to her Sunday.

She had a restraining order against him, reportedly because of abuse. Within hours, news that Randall's SUV was involved in a major car wreck. Police say that with his 6 and 8-year-old sons in the vehicle, Randall intentionally drove into the path of a tractor- trailer on a busy interstate.

Randall died later in the hospital. One of his boys is in critical condition. The other has a shoulder injury. All told, a tragedy, police say, that defies explanation. Susan Candiotti, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, we want to talk more about this story with someone who has been closely involved. Gary Calhoun is the deputy police chief in Maitland, Florida. He joins us live.

Appreciate you being with us, Chief. First of all, let me ask you, how are these four kids doing? Well, the three children, I'm sorry.

DEPUTY POLICE CHIEF GARY CALHOUN, MAITLAND, FLORIDA: So far, the three are still -- two in very critical condition. One is in stable condition.

COOPER: The note that was left behind suggests some sort of murder-suicide scheme. Can you tell us any details about the note? Did it spell out anything about motive or what this guy was thinking?

CALHOUN: It didn't give us a lot of details. It basically went into some situations that he was disappointed with the way his life had turned, that his wife had separated from him, and that he didn't want anyone else raising his children if he wasn't going to be doing it.

COOPER: His wife not only was separated, she had a restraining order against him. Do you know any details of that or if he had a history of abuse or a criminal record?

CALHOUN: We couldn't find any criminal history on him, actually. And there's only one incident, I believe, that was reported in the adjacent county up in Seminole County that was what fueled the injunction in the first place.

COOPER: I take it at this point you have ruled out the mother of these children as any way involved in this. She didn't report it, which is why I asked that question. They were supposed to be back Sunday night at 8:00.

You know this all happened today Monday, she still hadn't reported it. She heard about it, I guess, through friends on the TV. She's not a suspect, is she?

CALHOUN: No, we're not looking at the mother as a suspect at all.

COOPER: How is she doing? Is she with the kids in the hospital now?

CALHOUN: Yes. She's got actually two different hospitals to travel between, but she's spending her time there right now.

COOPER: What comes next? I mean, where do you go from here in the investigation? CALHOUN: Still looking for information to try to piece together a timeline of what exactly took place. One thing we hope is to be able to talk to the 6-year-old, Julian, whenever he is up and about and able to speak to us and hopefully give us some more detailed information.

COOPER: Have the kids been able to speak at all? I understand the little boy who was first found in the pond was able to say his name. I know he's still unconscious.

I know one of your investigators I think, talked to Julian a little bit, but not very much. Are they able to talk at this point?

CALHOUN: Not as of yet. You are correct that the first little boy, Regal (ph), was actually able to speak a little bit and did say the name Randall, which turned out to be his last name. We did try to talk to Julian, the 6-year-old today, but he really wasn't able to talk after going through the ordeal that he went through today.

COOPER: Right. I can't even imagine what these kids have gone through. Chief Calhoun, appreciate you joining us. Thank you very much.

CALHOUN: No problem -- thank you.

COOPER: All right.

Let's turn now to tonight's terror watch, which begins with a story about the fight against cyber attacks. A top cyber sleuth has been hired to help protect the U.S. against viruses, worms, and other attacks. Amit Yoran helped oversee computer security at the Defense Department before starting his own security firm, Riptech.

There is now a formal blacklist for the Palestinian group Hamas by the EU, the European Union. The decision freezes the funding for charities and social welfare groups connected with Hamas. The move follows last month's deadly bus bombing in Jerusalem.

And near Chechnya today, a bomber drove a truck loaded with nearly a ton of explosives into a key Russian government building. At least two people were killed, more than two dozen were wounded. Russian authorities blame Chechen terrorists for the suicide operation.

Well, it is a question guaranteed to get a rise from White House officials. How come John Walker Lindh was able to join the Taliban and even meet Osama bin Laden, and yet now America's best spy power hasn't been able to do the same? The al Qaeda tapes that surfaced just last week, just before the 9/11 anniversary, made the question even more urgent: why can't we catch him?

That is the headline of Mark Hosenball's latest investigative piece for "Newsweek." He joins us now.

Mark, thanks for being with us. Let's talk about it, why can't the U.S. get Osama bin Laden, even find him? MARK HOSENBALL, "NEWSWEEK" INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Well, the simple reason is they don't know where he is. I mean, if he's alive, and most of the people in the government seem to believe he's alive...

COOPER: But they're not even 100 percent sure he's alive.

HOSENBALL: They're not 100 percent sure that he's alive. There's a minority view inside the intelligence community that he's dead, because you haven't really heard from him. This new tape doesn't really tell you much about him being alive. The last really authentic communication that they had from him with his voice (UNINTELLIGIBLE) temporary reference was like nearly a year ago, November 2002.

COOPER: So we'll first talk signals intelligence. He's not, I guess, using cell phones.

HOSENBALL: He's not using cell phones, he's not using satellite phones. He figured out that they were bugging his satellite phone, listening into his conversation back in 1998, I think.

He's only using couriers. He's only meeting face to face with people. He's apparently living in a very remote and possibly politically wild part of Pakistan or Afghanistan. That's their best guest.

But they don't seem to really know. The point is they can't find him. They say it's really difficult, it's really difficult. That's what I hear.

COOPER: And in terms of human intelligence, I mean, their ability to infiltrate any kind of groups or even this region seems limited to nonexistence.

HOSENBALL: It seems to be pretty negligible, that's right.

COOPER: Describe the area -- I mean, everyone talks about him being in this sort of no man's land between Pakistan and Afghanistan. I mean, it is a very tricky place to operate in. I mean, all the compounds are sort of walled. People are not -- there is not free access.

HOSENBALL: Well, it's very mountainous, it's very rugged. But moreover, the people there are not necessarily friendly to the United States, particularly on the Pakistani side. And moreover, on the Pakistani side, the United States has to proceed with great caution because the Pakistani government doesn't really want them to operate openly there. So it's a difficult environment in which to operate.

COOPER: How intensive are the operations, to your knowledge, in this region? First, before, I want to put a quote from one of your articles. A U.S. defense official involved in the hunt for bin Laden saying basically, "We're going to have to be very lucky to get him."

HOSENBALL: That's what they said, and they also said -- I mean, think of how difficult it is to find a guy in the area the size of Washington, D.C., which is supposedly the area where he is. Well, you know, you think about that for a second. You think, well, we found the snipers in Washington, D.C. in about three or four weeks, why can't they find him? But it seems to be pretty difficult.

COOPER: Well, the sniper was found by someone reporting -- you know, a citizen calling in. So, I mean, a lot of that, you know...

HOSENBALL: Well, the sniper was found by them putting a whole bunch of clues together eventually. You know, using records and traffic tickets and stuff like that. And, of course, bin Laden doesn't leave traffic tickets. They don't even know how he travels around.

COOPER: And the cooperation with the ISA, the Pakistan Intelligence Service, how is that?

HOSENBALL: I mean, officially, they say it's great. I'm sure privately officials don't necessarily completely trust that they are getting all the information, whether the Pakistan Intelligence Service is doing all it possibly can. They do seem to be able, when they are under great pressure, to actually produce suspects, such as, for example, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheik (ph).

They found that guy who was accused of staging the murder of the "Wall Street Journal" reporter Daniel Pearl within a few days of the death there. They found Ramsey bin al-Shibh and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, two very major September 11th conspirators in Pakistani cities. You know, so they are capable of finding things, but, you know, it's a bit odd.

COOPER: It's a fascinating look. It's in this week's "Newsweek." Mark Hosenball, thanks very much.

HOSENBALL: Thank you very much.

COOPER: Well, still to come this evening, a hazing ritual killed him, but it wasn't alcohol he was forced to drink. We're going to tell you how water killed this college freshman.

Also tonight, the newest release from Madonna isn't a controversial single, but it might just be step 48 in her plan to take over the entire world. I'll tell you about it when we get back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, with the school year under way at colleges across the country, an old practice is getting under way once more: hazing. Fraternities and pledges keep doing it, even when they hear horror stories like the one you are about to hear from Deborah Feyerick. A case where a pledge died from drinking nothing more than water.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was part of fraternity initiation at Psi Epsilon Kai (ph). Drink gallons and gallons of water, enough to throw up. Prosecutors say that's what Dean Jennings (ph) did, then he passed out and died.

CHRIS HAN, FELLOW PLEDGE: He had more heart than anyone and he passion towards everything, especially this. This is what he wanted more than anything.

FEYERICK: Jennings (ph) made it through 10 days of hazing. But then the freshman's brain swelled from all the water.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dean Jennings (ph) didn't die from an aneurysm. He didn't die of any natural causes. He died of water intoxication, due to the conduct of pledging and hazing.

FEYERICK: Six fraternity brothers are facing criminally negligent homicide, and along with others in the house, charges of destroying evidence, hazing, and lying about where they were the night of the death. They all plead not guilty. Chris Han survived the hazing.

HAN: I wanted to leave, but I never really thought of saying anything because I didn't think it was such a big deal. I just pictured that it as something I never went through.

FEYERICK: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) banned the fraternity years ago because of alcohol. The university says it warned students Psi Epsilon Kai (ph) was not a fraternity to join.

Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: They called it water torture. It's not just this one underground fraternity that hazes, not by a long shot. Remember the girls on that Chicago high school football team, the powder puff team they called it. Well, it's average, ordinary young men and women who do it. The question is, why?

Hank Nuwer is the author of "The Hazing Reader." He joins us tonight from Indianapolis. Hank, thanks for being with us. I'm sorry it's under these circumstances.

You know you heard from the pledge in that piece who said, "I wanted to walk away, but I didn't." Why don't pledges just say, this is ridiculous.

HANK NUWER, "THE HAZING READER": Well, we live at a time where status and wanting to belong would be very, very important to a young person, and that person is seen others of status get into the group and supposedly they have endured a lot of rituals. So this person goes through an ordeal and expects to get respect and status by going through it.

COOPER: Remember that powder puff football game, or whatever it was they called it. I think we have some video of that. You know, there were plenty of people just standing by on the sidelines watching this. You know we talked about the pledges. Let's talk about the people, the fraternity members and the people who were around them who were watching it. Why don't they at some point step in and say, enough is enough?

NUWER: Well, in my new book, "The Hazing Reader," we talk about group think, and people that are the bystanders tend to watch it because they either, number one, think that the group members are good people and they wouldn't injure anyone or, number two, they've bought into the system and allowed these people to haze for them as sort of representatives of them. In terms of fighting this then, that 80 percent or so of bystanders would be the people we have to reach in early education programs so they do step in.

COOPER: But how do you reach these people? Because I mean this school in particular, where this young man died from this so-called water torture, you know they had a hazing hotline, they had education programs. This fraternity was apparently underground, but it wasn't as if they had stuck their head in the sand. They were out there talking about hazing. That doesn't seem to be enough.

NUWER: No, it isn't enough. And I think that I would like to see people, in my opinion, reach into bullying programs as early as the first and second grades. What we are seeing...

COOPER: You're saying it starts with bullying?

NUWER: Yes, I believe it does. I think that students are very, very aggressive, do not learn how to play at the early age. And so they turn to crime and violent behavior and sort of rituals like hazing in order to belong. And we are seeing that it kind of escalates over time.

COOPER: Yes, it certainly does escalate. And I think of this other video from Las Vegas, this gang or so-called gang, the 311 click (ph), who were basically videotaping themselves beating up somebody. I mean, it does veer into illegal behavior.

NUWER: It is totally into illegal behavior, and I think part of the frightening thing is that certainly police who work with gangs and so forth are not surprised by this. The point is, unless it gets on a video, we tend to overlook it. We have this sort of, we love a gladiator mentality in this country.

We have it in the media. We encourage it by the kind of shows that we have on television. And it's certainly -- these younger people are coming into it. The fights in Las Vegas came after something called the bum fights, in which bums were paid to engage in fights.

COOPER: Yes, I certainly remember those. Hank Nuwer, appreciate you joining us. I'm sorry we only talk about this stuff when there's death. But I do appreciate you shedding some light on it. Thanks very much.

NUWER: Thank you very much. COOPER: Coming up next on 360, remembering Johnny Cash, as if anyone could forget the original man in black.

Also tonight, Madonna's new children's book hit the shelves today. But what will the 6-year-old critics say about it? Well, we're going to find out. Stay with us.

And as we go to break, a celebration in New York Central Park, 150 years old. There it is. They're calling it the light cycle, an explosion event. But the rest of us would call them really cool fireworks.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: It seems like only yesterday. It could be argued that Madonna has already made a superstar career on telling, shall we say, great bedtime stories. But now she's going after the G-rated set, aiming to tuck in the tykes a few years younger than Britney and Christina with her first children's book.

In true Madonna fashion, the launch seems more like global conquest. Jeanne Moos talked to Madonna's new target audience.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I guess she's trying to clean up her image a little bit by writing a children's book.

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Have you guys heard that Madonna wrote a book for kids?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

MOOS: You don't know Madonna?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

MOOS: Madonna?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. I would not read it. That's for girls.

MOOS: It's for girls? Well, how can you tell?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does it have any boys in it?

MOOS: You got me on that one.

Did you guys see the Video Music Awards?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. She wants to put out a children's book and then she goes up there and does that. I don't know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, people should give her a chance. Maybe she's trying to step away from that or maybe she's trying to show that she has a better side.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As long as she's not sending out the wrong image.

MOOS: Well, I don't think there's any girl-on-girl kisses.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I hope not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She did like those things. That doesn't mean that she's mean and stuff. That just means that she was just born like that.

MOOS: You mean kind of wild?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Some people are like that.

MOOS: So she should still be able to write kids' books?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. It's not illegal to write books and be wild.

MOOS: Not yet anyway.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: All right. Time for Fresh Print, our look at every Monday and the new magazines on the stands. The dangers of the magazine business are on display this week. Magazines need a couple days to be put together, so when a story changes, sometimes they are left at the altar, such as the case this week.

"In Touch Weekly" feels more like out of touch strongly. The cover promises wedding secrets, how J. Lo is making sure her third marriage will last forever. Doh!

"US Weekly" also jumped the gun, saying the wedding would take place September 14. But whoever decided not to put J. Lo on the cover should get a big raise at "US." "US" already seems over Bennifer. They now insist Justin and Cameron are crazy in love.

Don't you wish magazines were like TV, you could just fast forward to the breakup? It would save everyone so much time and money.

Are you sick of celebrity gossip? I was. I picked up a copy of the hip-hop magazine, "The Source," which this month takes some shots, not literally, at Rapper 50 Cent, asking, is he "really a gangster or just a wangster?" Boy, If I had 50 cents for every time someone asked me that question.

According to the source, 50 Cent was previously known by the somewhat less fiduciary moniker Boo Boo. He's also accused by old associates of snitchin', fronton' (ph), not keeping it real, and a whole host of hip-pop heresies, which frankly I didn't understand.

And finally, "High Times" magazine has released its annual list of top 10 colleges. Parents, take note: the number one college is the University of Florida in Gainesville. One of the reasons? Gainesville apparently, and I quote, "hosts some of the dankest green." The administration must be very proud.

Well, a lot more coming up. Also, tomorrow, we're going to look at Hurricane Isabel right in the eye, side by side with the storm chasers. The Nth Degree is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: It seems everyone has taken the concept of procrastination to the Nth degree today. A federal appeals court put off the California recall election. Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez put off their wedding and possibly their entire future together.

Now sure the people of California may be better off, and Affleck might stop sweating so profusely. But is all this delay good for us? Consider the Affleck-Lopez romance. Now, we don't know the exact details, but we -- oh, wait a minute. I'm told we do have some metaphorical video of what happened to their romance. Let's play that metaphorical video.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): As you can see, the jet here represents the course of their love slamming hideously into the tarmac of high expectations. True tragedy was averted because the pilot, seen here symbolizing Ben Affleck, bailed out safely with only seconds to spare. Delaying just a split longer could have trapped him for the reset of his life in a flaming heap of mangled wreckage.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Metaphorically, of course. So never delay longer than you have to, anyway. That wraps it up for us tonight.

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





East Coast>


Aired September 15, 2003 - 19:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: A court blocks California's recall election. What happens now?

Hurricane Isabel, how bad will it be?

Osama bin Laden: why can't the U.S. find him?

A toddler is dead, her brother clings to life. The prime suspect? Their father.

An Air Force top gun survives a fiery crash.

Arnold and Maria get the Oprah treatment.

The new material mommy?

ANNOUNCER: Live from the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is ANDERSON COOPER 360.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Hey, there. Good evening. Thanks for joining us. We've got a lot ahead tonight.

We're going to take you live to the DMZ. An exclusive report from the frontlines, the fault line between the two Koreas.

Also ahead, they called it water torture, a fraternity initiation gone terribly wrong. A college freshman is dead. Six fraternity brothers are charged with negligent homicide. We're going to look at what's behind these lethal rituals.

And the latest on the investigation into who killed the sister of Venus and Serena Williams.

All that ahead.

We begin, however, in California. The election on hold. Just three weeks before the scheduled vote, a federal appeals court has ordered a delay. Then it delayed its decision to delay the election, giving opponents a week to file an appeal. And there will be appeals.

Kelly Wallace tries to sort it all out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In its decision to delay the election, the three-judge federal appeals panel said, "The inherent defects in the system are such that approximately 40,000 voters who travel to the polls and cast their ballot will not have their vote counted at all."

The court sided with the American Civil Liberties Union, that argued six California counties, including Los Angeles, were still using punch card ballots. Those ballots were ruled invalid by the federal courts after the disputed 2000 presidential election.

The proponents of the recall movement pledged to file an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court within 48 hours.

Republican candidates quickly condemned the ruling. GOP front- runner Arnold Schwarzenegger said the election should be held next month.

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: We are going to continue campaigning the way we have, aggressively move forward. This is the people's will that the election will happen.

WALLACE: Republicans State Senator Tom McClintock said the Ninth Circuit has become a, quote, "national laughing stock."

STATE SEN. TOM MCCLINTOCK (R), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: This is the most reversed court in the United States and for good reason.

WALLACE: The man who appeared to benefit most, embattled Governor Gray Davis, who teamed up with a Democratic heavyweight, former President Bill Clinton, for the second day in a row.

Davis had pushed for the election to be postponed until the March presidential primary, when traditionally more voters head to the polls. But on this day, he reacted cautiously.

GRAY DAVIS (D), CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR: I was not a party to this suit. I did not bring this suit. I do -- I would like a result however, that allows as many Californians as possible to vote.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Kelly Wallace joins us now from Los Angeles. Kelly, what comes next?

WALLACE: Well, Anderson, I was just on the phone with attorneys for this recall movement. They say they will seek an emergency, immediate stay from the U.S. Supreme Court as early as tomorrow.

Now the court is currently not in session. Ironically, it's not supposed to be in session until October 7. That is the date the California recall election was supposed to take place. So the court could decide to grant a stay. These attorneys are hoping that is the case and they're hoping that the election would go forward and there would be a hearing sometime after the election to discuss this matter.

They are confident, Anderson. They point to the Ninth Circuit and say in the last session the Supreme Court overturned 18 out of 24 of these decisions by the Ninth Circuit. So they say they're confident the court will rule in its favor.

COOPER: It's certainly a controversial court. Kelly Wallace, thanks for that update. Coming up, our legal analyst, Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom, explains the court decision. That's in just about 20 minutes or so.

Well, today's court ruling came several hours after Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver, went on Oprah Winfrey's TV show.

The candidate tried to diffuse the controversy over comments he made back when he was a bodybuilder. He said his boasts about group sex and marijuana use were an attempt to win publicity.

Well, from a political hurricane to a real live one by the name of Isabel, people on the east coast are battening down, stocking up and maybe most important of all, planning to just get out of the way.

We want to get the very latest on when and where Isabel might make landfall from our Rob Marciano of the CNN weather center.

Rob, how's it looking out there?

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, there's a little bit of good news tonight, Anderson, in that it has weakened a little bit as this thing has made its way towards us.

You can see earlier this week the eye wall was about 40 nautical miles wide. And now as it drifts off to the west it has weakened just a hair. And that's good news. But it's still a major hurricane. And we don't want to make light of this by any means. It could strengthen even a little bit more. That's not the official forecast, but it has some warm water it can go over before it hits landfall over North Carolina.

This is the exact specifics of the storm: 125-mile-an-hour winds. That makes it a category three. Its movement is off towards the northwest at eight miles an hour. And with that sort of movement, we're looking for landfall potentially Wednesday night into early Thursday morning.

Here we go as we drift the storm off to the north and west. Forecast track keeping it a major hurricane. If it's at this point Wednesday, then we're looking at a North Carolina hit.

If it's at all shifted to the east, and that's possible, as well, it could continue to scoot up and head towards the Jersey coastline and even Long Island and New England. And this will head towards the Great Lakes, as well, it bringing some heavy rain, not so much the wind there, but certainly some heavy rain.

Let's go over the Isabel highlights with this storm. We're looking at a category three, 125-mile-an-hour winds. Still a major hurricane. Likely to hold that strength through landfall. Heads up, North Carolina coast. All the way to New England. We do expect landfall to be likely sometime during the day on Thursday.

That's the latest, Anderson. This is going to be a doozy. We'll watch it as it comes ashore.

COOPER: OK. We're going to be watching this thing closely. Rob, thanks very much.

One North Carolina resident described it as a nice, sunny, calm day today. In short, perfect weather to get ready for a massive hurricane.

Now one stressed out hardware store manager said he is being picked clean, saying, "I don't have the staff for what they're doing to me."

More on the race to prepare from CNN's Jeanne Meserve.

Jeanne, good to see you. How seriously are people preparing?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it varies, to be perfectly frank.

But let me tell you, the Navy is preparing in a big way. Norfolk is home to the largest naval base in the world. And a short time ago the Navy made the decision to move its ships out to sea to ride out Isabel. About 40 ships, including the aircraft carriers Ronald Reagan and George Washington will be headed out, starting at about 9 a.m. tomorrow.

Many private boat owners are not waiting so long. One marina operator told us today that his phone has been ringing off the hook. People want to get their boats out of the water and onto dry land.

A lot of other people in the stores stocking up on vital provisions like water and food and batteries. Some boarding up windows. Some moving in the lawn furniture, all in anticipation of this storm, expected to be the biggest to hit the east coast in some time.

Meanwhile, the federal, state and local governments are also preparing, moving personnel and equipment into position to deal with evacuation, should those be necessary and also deal with the effects of the storm.

Here it is, a couple of days before Isabel is slated to hit and already the governor of Virginia, Mark Warner, has activated the National Guard and more. GOV. MARK WARNER, VIRGINIA: Today I've declared a state of emergency for the entire commonwealth. This implements the state emergency operations plan and directs state agencies to take all necessary actions to protect the health of Virginians.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: Of course, for some who are looking forward to the storm, surfers congregated at some locations, relishing the thought of the big waves this storm is likely to kick up.

And you can see here on the beach here at Virginia Beach, a couple of people still down there at the water, enjoying this last beautiful good weather, weather which we all know is not going to be lasting for long.

Anderson, back to you.

COOPER: Enjoy it while you can. Jeanne Meserve, thanks very much.

Just as people get ready for Isabel, a troubling warning came from the American Red Cross. They said their disaster relief fund is empty. Now the charity said coastal U.S. residents can expect the Red Cross to provide the immediate basic stuff, food, clothing, shelter and medicine, but that disaster victims may not get as many services as they have in the past.

This is a flashback we want to tell you about no one wants to imagine. In a word, Andrew, a category five storm.

Andrew back in 1992 was the most destructive hurricane on record. The most important thing lost, of course, were the 58 people killed. And the financial damages were massive, more than $26 billion, which is roughly the entire gross national product of Afghanistan. And there was a staggering number of homes destroyed, 110,000 in all.

All right. Let's take a look cross-country right now.

A Florida father suspected of drowning his daughter and trying to drown his son, was killed in an apparent murder-suicide attempt today. Police say Bryan Randall drove his pickup in front of a tractor- trailer on I4. There's the aftermath right there. Two of his other kids were with him but survived. Everyone is in the hospital.

Pennsylvania floodwaters saturating parts of the state have forced some dramatic and daring rescues, including this one. Look at this. The woman and boy seen here were both plucked out of harm's way after some very, very harrowing moments.

Idaho, an F-16 pilot had his own brush with death during a thunderbird air show this weekend. He ejected safely before his plane crashed. No one on the ground was hurt. Unbelievable picture.

Washington, D.C., police say the person responsible for a string of arson fires may look something like the man seen right here this composite drawing they released tonight. One person has died in those fires. Several have been hurt.

And President Bush put on a hard hat and safety glasses today and took aim at critics who have been blasting a change he made to clean air rules during a fund-raising swing through Michigan. He toured a coal-burning power plant and said rolling back such regulations was, quote, "the right thing."

All right. Let's get the latest now from Iraq. Secretary of State Colin Powell continues his visit. A U.S. soldier was killed, his vehicle hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in Baghdad.

Now, recent have polls have shown that both the rising death toll and the cost of the war are beginning to trouble some Americans who say the White House underestimated both the danger and the price tag.

That story from CNN's senior White House correspondent, John King.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN CORESPONDENT (voice-over): The president is unequivocal.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: One thing is for certain: no terrorist organization will ever get a weapon of mass destruction from Mr. Saddam Hussein.

KING: But, as critics note, no such weapons have been found in Iraq, evidence to them the administration is stretching the truth, or making definitive statements about issues that are anything but.

JOSEPH CIRINCIONE, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PIECE: The White House stole this war on the cheek. It was going to be a cakewalk, low casualties, we'd be greeted as liberators. We'd be in and out in a matter of months. None of this has turned out to be true.

KING: Consider Vice President Cheney's Sunday appearance on "Meet the Press." He described Iraq as the key geographic base for the September 11 hijackers and said documents recovered in Iraq detail links with al Qaeda. But he offered no details and other administration officials and members of Congress familiar with intelligence matters say they know of no proof the 9/11 hijackers operated out of Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was Afghanistan that was the geographic base for the terrorist attacks on September 11, not Iraq.

KING: The vice president also said Sunday the administration did not underestimate post-war cost in Iraq or underestimate the resistance U.S. troops would face.

But consider these statements back in March from Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz.

PAUL WOLFOWITZ, DEPUTY DEFENSE SECRETARY: There's a lot of money to pay for this that doesn't have to be U.S. taxpayer money.

KING: And from Vice President Cheney.

CHENEY: My belief is we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: John King.

KING: Exaggerations and distortions, first in making the case for war, now in defending the administration policy. But the vice president and others here at the White House say they stand by their assessments, including their belief that weapons of mass destruction eventually will be found -- Anderson.

COOPER: John, let's talk about another international crisis the White House is dealing with: the Middle East.

Now, the Bush administration has announced today that it has put off a decision to financially sanction Israel for building a wall around the West Bank. Tell us what that means and how they're going to go about that.

KING: Well, they are going to wait a little bit longer. The president told Prime Minister Sharon when he was here a few months ago that the administration was poised to sanctions Israel by cutting back on loan guarantees if the construction of the security barrier, security fence, depending on what you call it, continues between Israel and the Palestinian territories.

The president said it's an obstacle to the peace process. But just two weeks ago, the administration said that decision should come soon. Today the administration announced it was reducing by a small degree the loan guarantees available because of illegal settlement activity. But it says that it's putting off that other decision.

Obviously, a big change in the dynamic between two weeks, when Mahmoud Abbas was still the Palestinian prime minister, a man this administration trusted. And now the administration is much more mad at Yasser Arafat and the Palestinians than it is at Prime Minister Sharon -- Anderson.

COOPER: John King at the White House. Thanks very much.

Still to come this evening, an exclusive report from the DMZ between North and South Korea.

Also coming up: a verdict in a Mississippi case involving a nurse accused of killing her heart surgeon husband.

And why can't America find Osama bin Laden before the break? Take a look at what the networks led with tonight on their evening newscasts.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(AUDIO/VIDEO GAP)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ... Panmonjom, the MDL, the military demarcation line. It is located about 25 feet in that direction.

Here's what you have to always keep in mind when you are on the DMZ. The Korean War halted about 50 years ago with an armistice. But there was never a peace agreement. Technically the two sides are still officially at war.

The armistice set up the DMZ as a buffer zone to keep the two sides apart. It's two and a half miles wide, 150 miles long, all the way through the Korean Peninsula.

So that is the reason you have tension along that border. Two million troops on either side, ready to go back to war if need be. Nowhere else, though, other than here at Panmunjom, do the two former enemies come as close as they do here. Literally, they are separated only by a couple of inches.

In fact, we'll give you a demonstration as to just how close they come.

See this right here, this cement divider? That is the border. It measures roughly about 16 to 17 inches. If I step across that line there's going to be trouble. If anyone comes from the north across that line from the south, well, the same sort of predicament ensues.

The buildings that you may see in the background here, light blue, they're part of Panmunjom as a neutral meeting site. But the most important thing is the posture of the guards and the face off that you talked about.

Take a look over here. This is a ROK soldier, or a Republic of Korea soldier. He is standing in an intimidating stance, and all of this is part of that warfare. Notice the sunglasses. It's fogy out. They have them all the time. Notice the posture. He is standing in what's referred to as a ROK ready position. Martial arts, Tae Kwon Do stance, to look imposing to those across the way in the North.

A path exposed by the building, protected halfway, exposed halfway. The soldiers that are here are selected not only by their positioning, but also by their size. Most of the South Koreans are standing at least about 5'8", two inches above normal for the population.

That face-off has gone on here for 50 years. Tension has existed, but the truce has always held -- Anderson.

COOPER: Just unbelievable images you're getting, just extraordinary access. We're going to hear from you later on in the week, throughout the week. Marin Savidge, thanks very much.

Still a lot ahead this evening. The California recall bombshell. Our legal contributor Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom will join us with a look at where the legal trail could go next.

Also tonight, fraternity brothers have been charged after a deadly hazing incident that didn't involve beer. We're going to tell you what it was. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Justice served. Now earlier in the hour, we reported a federal appeals court delayed next month's California recall election. An appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is being discussed right now. Will the election come off in October or not? That is the question.

Our 360 legal analyst, Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom is here to discuss it. She's also an assistant district attorney in San Francisco.

Kimberly, good to see you.

KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE NEWSOM, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Good to see you.

COOPER: A surprising ruling today. Although I guess not so surprising considering this court, this Ninth Circuit.

NEWSOM: Yes, it's fascinating but I'm not surprised, being from California. We're very familiar with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. This is pretty much par for the course. They are always full of surprises and not afraid to go on a limb and stake out new territory. That's what they've done here. And it's definitely interesting.

COOPER: Now, they ruled, this was the ACLU had filed this motion, had argued this in court, basically saying that people would be disenfranchised.

NEWSOM: That's correct, and this involves about 40 percent of the California electorate that is, in fact, relying on punch card voting systems. What this decision says is that is unconstitutional, violates equal protection when you have people voting within the same state using different machines.

COOPER: Because they're saying the punch cards are antiquated and no longer effective.

NEWSOM: Correct.

COOPER: Even though Governor Gray Davis was elected using punch cards.

NEWSOM: Just a year ago. And in fact, you have Secretary of State Kevin Shelley, who said -- certified that punch card voting is antiquated, unreliable, and therefore we would not have another election using it.

They didn't see this coming. They expected to have the new systems in place by March of 2004. So this is a surprise on all fronts. COOPER: And I guess they're saying that in the areas where these punch cards are being used, it's predominantly minority areas and therefore, that's why these groups in particular would be disenfranchised.

NEWSOM: That's correct. And in fact, the Democrats, this is actually a big win, I think, for Governor Gray Davis. The experts believe this is actually going to help him. If this decision and this election is put off until March, this will give him more time to campaign and a better chance to reach those voters that are more inclined to vote for him.

COOPER: And some of the people who outraged by this decision say that they are going to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court directly.

NEWSOM: Right. And in fact, The U.S. Supreme Court is not in session right now, will not be in session until October. Sandra Day O'Connor, who's the point judge for this particular circuit court of appeals, is out of the country.

So there's a time issue here with October 7 looming closely for them to get this decision, grant a review and come down with a firm decision on whether or not to proceed forward.

COOPER: You know, you didn't think this race could get any more interesting. It just got a lot more interesting today.

Kimberly, good to see you. Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom, thanks.

NEWSOM: Thank you.

Cooper: All right. Still a lot ahead.

More justice served now. A Mississippi nurse has been found guilty of killing her doctor husband with a fatal dose of drugs. That is the woman there. The judge immediately sentenced 36-year-old Stephanie Stevens to life in prison. She did not testify in her own defense at the trial.

Defense lawyers had argued unsuccessfully that Dr. David Stephens committed suicide because of health problems. The jury said no.

Still to come this evening, the softer, tamer side of Madonna, the global debut of her book for kids. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: All right. Time for the Reset of our top stories for those of you just joining us. The California recall is now officially on hold. An appeals court has postponed the election because several counties still use the antiquated punch card ballot system. The U.S. Supreme Court appeal on today's ruling is said to be imminent.

Hurricane Isabel's churning West and eyeing the Eastern seaboard. The storm is still at least three days from landfall, but many homes that could be in Isabel's path are being buttoned up already. In Iraq, another U.S. soldier was killed, becoming the 73rd American to die since President Bush declared an end to major combat. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Colin Powell continued his trip to the region and stopped at a mass grave where the bodies of many Kurds were dumped during Saddam Hussein's regime.

A congresswoman from Texas says mending fences with the international community starts in the House cafeteria. Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee is circulating a letter among colleagues, suggesting the word "French" be put back on the menu in front of such items as "freedom fries" and "freedom toast".

And researchers in Sweden say today's cell phone users could pay a long-term price when it comes to their health. They say prolonged exposure is bad for the brain and could force people to "drown in a sea of microwaves."

And that's the Reset for you. An update now.

The tragic story of two Florida children who were left to drown in an Orlando pond, well, it got even worse today. Police now think their father, the one who left them there, and say he may have also intentionally driven into a truck with his other two children in a murder-suicide scheme. CNN's Susan Candiotti has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Police say Bryan Randall left behind a note suggesting he planned to kill himself and take the lives of his children.

CHIEF RICHARD BERRY, MAITLAND, FLORIDA POLICE: It says, "Dearest family and friends, 'why' must be the question on your minds. The following are the reasons: I made too many mistakes, I would not allow those beautiful children to grow up in a manner in which you would raise them, I didn't get the latest job..."

CANDIOTTI: His horrifying plan began to unfold Sunday at a pond in the Orlando area. A fisherman noticed a boy's body floating in the water. The 4-year-old was alive. He's now in serious condition.

A short time later, the lifeless body of his 2-year-old sister was discovered in the same pond. Then the children's mother contacted police. She told them she'd left all four of her children with her estranged husband Friday. He was supposed to return them to her Sunday.

She had a restraining order against him, reportedly because of abuse. Within hours, news that Randall's SUV was involved in a major car wreck. Police say that with his 6 and 8-year-old sons in the vehicle, Randall intentionally drove into the path of a tractor- trailer on a busy interstate.

Randall died later in the hospital. One of his boys is in critical condition. The other has a shoulder injury. All told, a tragedy, police say, that defies explanation. Susan Candiotti, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, we want to talk more about this story with someone who has been closely involved. Gary Calhoun is the deputy police chief in Maitland, Florida. He joins us live.

Appreciate you being with us, Chief. First of all, let me ask you, how are these four kids doing? Well, the three children, I'm sorry.

DEPUTY POLICE CHIEF GARY CALHOUN, MAITLAND, FLORIDA: So far, the three are still -- two in very critical condition. One is in stable condition.

COOPER: The note that was left behind suggests some sort of murder-suicide scheme. Can you tell us any details about the note? Did it spell out anything about motive or what this guy was thinking?

CALHOUN: It didn't give us a lot of details. It basically went into some situations that he was disappointed with the way his life had turned, that his wife had separated from him, and that he didn't want anyone else raising his children if he wasn't going to be doing it.

COOPER: His wife not only was separated, she had a restraining order against him. Do you know any details of that or if he had a history of abuse or a criminal record?

CALHOUN: We couldn't find any criminal history on him, actually. And there's only one incident, I believe, that was reported in the adjacent county up in Seminole County that was what fueled the injunction in the first place.

COOPER: I take it at this point you have ruled out the mother of these children as any way involved in this. She didn't report it, which is why I asked that question. They were supposed to be back Sunday night at 8:00.

You know this all happened today Monday, she still hadn't reported it. She heard about it, I guess, through friends on the TV. She's not a suspect, is she?

CALHOUN: No, we're not looking at the mother as a suspect at all.

COOPER: How is she doing? Is she with the kids in the hospital now?

CALHOUN: Yes. She's got actually two different hospitals to travel between, but she's spending her time there right now.

COOPER: What comes next? I mean, where do you go from here in the investigation? CALHOUN: Still looking for information to try to piece together a timeline of what exactly took place. One thing we hope is to be able to talk to the 6-year-old, Julian, whenever he is up and about and able to speak to us and hopefully give us some more detailed information.

COOPER: Have the kids been able to speak at all? I understand the little boy who was first found in the pond was able to say his name. I know he's still unconscious.

I know one of your investigators I think, talked to Julian a little bit, but not very much. Are they able to talk at this point?

CALHOUN: Not as of yet. You are correct that the first little boy, Regal (ph), was actually able to speak a little bit and did say the name Randall, which turned out to be his last name. We did try to talk to Julian, the 6-year-old today, but he really wasn't able to talk after going through the ordeal that he went through today.

COOPER: Right. I can't even imagine what these kids have gone through. Chief Calhoun, appreciate you joining us. Thank you very much.

CALHOUN: No problem -- thank you.

COOPER: All right.

Let's turn now to tonight's terror watch, which begins with a story about the fight against cyber attacks. A top cyber sleuth has been hired to help protect the U.S. against viruses, worms, and other attacks. Amit Yoran helped oversee computer security at the Defense Department before starting his own security firm, Riptech.

There is now a formal blacklist for the Palestinian group Hamas by the EU, the European Union. The decision freezes the funding for charities and social welfare groups connected with Hamas. The move follows last month's deadly bus bombing in Jerusalem.

And near Chechnya today, a bomber drove a truck loaded with nearly a ton of explosives into a key Russian government building. At least two people were killed, more than two dozen were wounded. Russian authorities blame Chechen terrorists for the suicide operation.

Well, it is a question guaranteed to get a rise from White House officials. How come John Walker Lindh was able to join the Taliban and even meet Osama bin Laden, and yet now America's best spy power hasn't been able to do the same? The al Qaeda tapes that surfaced just last week, just before the 9/11 anniversary, made the question even more urgent: why can't we catch him?

That is the headline of Mark Hosenball's latest investigative piece for "Newsweek." He joins us now.

Mark, thanks for being with us. Let's talk about it, why can't the U.S. get Osama bin Laden, even find him? MARK HOSENBALL, "NEWSWEEK" INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Well, the simple reason is they don't know where he is. I mean, if he's alive, and most of the people in the government seem to believe he's alive...

COOPER: But they're not even 100 percent sure he's alive.

HOSENBALL: They're not 100 percent sure that he's alive. There's a minority view inside the intelligence community that he's dead, because you haven't really heard from him. This new tape doesn't really tell you much about him being alive. The last really authentic communication that they had from him with his voice (UNINTELLIGIBLE) temporary reference was like nearly a year ago, November 2002.

COOPER: So we'll first talk signals intelligence. He's not, I guess, using cell phones.

HOSENBALL: He's not using cell phones, he's not using satellite phones. He figured out that they were bugging his satellite phone, listening into his conversation back in 1998, I think.

He's only using couriers. He's only meeting face to face with people. He's apparently living in a very remote and possibly politically wild part of Pakistan or Afghanistan. That's their best guest.

But they don't seem to really know. The point is they can't find him. They say it's really difficult, it's really difficult. That's what I hear.

COOPER: And in terms of human intelligence, I mean, their ability to infiltrate any kind of groups or even this region seems limited to nonexistence.

HOSENBALL: It seems to be pretty negligible, that's right.

COOPER: Describe the area -- I mean, everyone talks about him being in this sort of no man's land between Pakistan and Afghanistan. I mean, it is a very tricky place to operate in. I mean, all the compounds are sort of walled. People are not -- there is not free access.

HOSENBALL: Well, it's very mountainous, it's very rugged. But moreover, the people there are not necessarily friendly to the United States, particularly on the Pakistani side. And moreover, on the Pakistani side, the United States has to proceed with great caution because the Pakistani government doesn't really want them to operate openly there. So it's a difficult environment in which to operate.

COOPER: How intensive are the operations, to your knowledge, in this region? First, before, I want to put a quote from one of your articles. A U.S. defense official involved in the hunt for bin Laden saying basically, "We're going to have to be very lucky to get him."

HOSENBALL: That's what they said, and they also said -- I mean, think of how difficult it is to find a guy in the area the size of Washington, D.C., which is supposedly the area where he is. Well, you know, you think about that for a second. You think, well, we found the snipers in Washington, D.C. in about three or four weeks, why can't they find him? But it seems to be pretty difficult.

COOPER: Well, the sniper was found by someone reporting -- you know, a citizen calling in. So, I mean, a lot of that, you know...

HOSENBALL: Well, the sniper was found by them putting a whole bunch of clues together eventually. You know, using records and traffic tickets and stuff like that. And, of course, bin Laden doesn't leave traffic tickets. They don't even know how he travels around.

COOPER: And the cooperation with the ISA, the Pakistan Intelligence Service, how is that?

HOSENBALL: I mean, officially, they say it's great. I'm sure privately officials don't necessarily completely trust that they are getting all the information, whether the Pakistan Intelligence Service is doing all it possibly can. They do seem to be able, when they are under great pressure, to actually produce suspects, such as, for example, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheik (ph).

They found that guy who was accused of staging the murder of the "Wall Street Journal" reporter Daniel Pearl within a few days of the death there. They found Ramsey bin al-Shibh and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, two very major September 11th conspirators in Pakistani cities. You know, so they are capable of finding things, but, you know, it's a bit odd.

COOPER: It's a fascinating look. It's in this week's "Newsweek." Mark Hosenball, thanks very much.

HOSENBALL: Thank you very much.

COOPER: Well, still to come this evening, a hazing ritual killed him, but it wasn't alcohol he was forced to drink. We're going to tell you how water killed this college freshman.

Also tonight, the newest release from Madonna isn't a controversial single, but it might just be step 48 in her plan to take over the entire world. I'll tell you about it when we get back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, with the school year under way at colleges across the country, an old practice is getting under way once more: hazing. Fraternities and pledges keep doing it, even when they hear horror stories like the one you are about to hear from Deborah Feyerick. A case where a pledge died from drinking nothing more than water.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was part of fraternity initiation at Psi Epsilon Kai (ph). Drink gallons and gallons of water, enough to throw up. Prosecutors say that's what Dean Jennings (ph) did, then he passed out and died.

CHRIS HAN, FELLOW PLEDGE: He had more heart than anyone and he passion towards everything, especially this. This is what he wanted more than anything.

FEYERICK: Jennings (ph) made it through 10 days of hazing. But then the freshman's brain swelled from all the water.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dean Jennings (ph) didn't die from an aneurysm. He didn't die of any natural causes. He died of water intoxication, due to the conduct of pledging and hazing.

FEYERICK: Six fraternity brothers are facing criminally negligent homicide, and along with others in the house, charges of destroying evidence, hazing, and lying about where they were the night of the death. They all plead not guilty. Chris Han survived the hazing.

HAN: I wanted to leave, but I never really thought of saying anything because I didn't think it was such a big deal. I just pictured that it as something I never went through.

FEYERICK: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) banned the fraternity years ago because of alcohol. The university says it warned students Psi Epsilon Kai (ph) was not a fraternity to join.

Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: They called it water torture. It's not just this one underground fraternity that hazes, not by a long shot. Remember the girls on that Chicago high school football team, the powder puff team they called it. Well, it's average, ordinary young men and women who do it. The question is, why?

Hank Nuwer is the author of "The Hazing Reader." He joins us tonight from Indianapolis. Hank, thanks for being with us. I'm sorry it's under these circumstances.

You know you heard from the pledge in that piece who said, "I wanted to walk away, but I didn't." Why don't pledges just say, this is ridiculous.

HANK NUWER, "THE HAZING READER": Well, we live at a time where status and wanting to belong would be very, very important to a young person, and that person is seen others of status get into the group and supposedly they have endured a lot of rituals. So this person goes through an ordeal and expects to get respect and status by going through it.

COOPER: Remember that powder puff football game, or whatever it was they called it. I think we have some video of that. You know, there were plenty of people just standing by on the sidelines watching this. You know we talked about the pledges. Let's talk about the people, the fraternity members and the people who were around them who were watching it. Why don't they at some point step in and say, enough is enough?

NUWER: Well, in my new book, "The Hazing Reader," we talk about group think, and people that are the bystanders tend to watch it because they either, number one, think that the group members are good people and they wouldn't injure anyone or, number two, they've bought into the system and allowed these people to haze for them as sort of representatives of them. In terms of fighting this then, that 80 percent or so of bystanders would be the people we have to reach in early education programs so they do step in.

COOPER: But how do you reach these people? Because I mean this school in particular, where this young man died from this so-called water torture, you know they had a hazing hotline, they had education programs. This fraternity was apparently underground, but it wasn't as if they had stuck their head in the sand. They were out there talking about hazing. That doesn't seem to be enough.

NUWER: No, it isn't enough. And I think that I would like to see people, in my opinion, reach into bullying programs as early as the first and second grades. What we are seeing...

COOPER: You're saying it starts with bullying?

NUWER: Yes, I believe it does. I think that students are very, very aggressive, do not learn how to play at the early age. And so they turn to crime and violent behavior and sort of rituals like hazing in order to belong. And we are seeing that it kind of escalates over time.

COOPER: Yes, it certainly does escalate. And I think of this other video from Las Vegas, this gang or so-called gang, the 311 click (ph), who were basically videotaping themselves beating up somebody. I mean, it does veer into illegal behavior.

NUWER: It is totally into illegal behavior, and I think part of the frightening thing is that certainly police who work with gangs and so forth are not surprised by this. The point is, unless it gets on a video, we tend to overlook it. We have this sort of, we love a gladiator mentality in this country.

We have it in the media. We encourage it by the kind of shows that we have on television. And it's certainly -- these younger people are coming into it. The fights in Las Vegas came after something called the bum fights, in which bums were paid to engage in fights.

COOPER: Yes, I certainly remember those. Hank Nuwer, appreciate you joining us. I'm sorry we only talk about this stuff when there's death. But I do appreciate you shedding some light on it. Thanks very much.

NUWER: Thank you very much. COOPER: Coming up next on 360, remembering Johnny Cash, as if anyone could forget the original man in black.

Also tonight, Madonna's new children's book hit the shelves today. But what will the 6-year-old critics say about it? Well, we're going to find out. Stay with us.

And as we go to break, a celebration in New York Central Park, 150 years old. There it is. They're calling it the light cycle, an explosion event. But the rest of us would call them really cool fireworks.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: It seems like only yesterday. It could be argued that Madonna has already made a superstar career on telling, shall we say, great bedtime stories. But now she's going after the G-rated set, aiming to tuck in the tykes a few years younger than Britney and Christina with her first children's book.

In true Madonna fashion, the launch seems more like global conquest. Jeanne Moos talked to Madonna's new target audience.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I guess she's trying to clean up her image a little bit by writing a children's book.

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Have you guys heard that Madonna wrote a book for kids?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

MOOS: You don't know Madonna?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

MOOS: Madonna?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. I would not read it. That's for girls.

MOOS: It's for girls? Well, how can you tell?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does it have any boys in it?

MOOS: You got me on that one.

Did you guys see the Video Music Awards?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. She wants to put out a children's book and then she goes up there and does that. I don't know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, people should give her a chance. Maybe she's trying to step away from that or maybe she's trying to show that she has a better side.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As long as she's not sending out the wrong image.

MOOS: Well, I don't think there's any girl-on-girl kisses.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I hope not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She did like those things. That doesn't mean that she's mean and stuff. That just means that she was just born like that.

MOOS: You mean kind of wild?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Some people are like that.

MOOS: So she should still be able to write kids' books?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. It's not illegal to write books and be wild.

MOOS: Not yet anyway.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: All right. Time for Fresh Print, our look at every Monday and the new magazines on the stands. The dangers of the magazine business are on display this week. Magazines need a couple days to be put together, so when a story changes, sometimes they are left at the altar, such as the case this week.

"In Touch Weekly" feels more like out of touch strongly. The cover promises wedding secrets, how J. Lo is making sure her third marriage will last forever. Doh!

"US Weekly" also jumped the gun, saying the wedding would take place September 14. But whoever decided not to put J. Lo on the cover should get a big raise at "US." "US" already seems over Bennifer. They now insist Justin and Cameron are crazy in love.

Don't you wish magazines were like TV, you could just fast forward to the breakup? It would save everyone so much time and money.

Are you sick of celebrity gossip? I was. I picked up a copy of the hip-hop magazine, "The Source," which this month takes some shots, not literally, at Rapper 50 Cent, asking, is he "really a gangster or just a wangster?" Boy, If I had 50 cents for every time someone asked me that question.

According to the source, 50 Cent was previously known by the somewhat less fiduciary moniker Boo Boo. He's also accused by old associates of snitchin', fronton' (ph), not keeping it real, and a whole host of hip-pop heresies, which frankly I didn't understand.

And finally, "High Times" magazine has released its annual list of top 10 colleges. Parents, take note: the number one college is the University of Florida in Gainesville. One of the reasons? Gainesville apparently, and I quote, "hosts some of the dankest green." The administration must be very proud.

Well, a lot more coming up. Also, tomorrow, we're going to look at Hurricane Isabel right in the eye, side by side with the storm chasers. The Nth Degree is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: It seems everyone has taken the concept of procrastination to the Nth degree today. A federal appeals court put off the California recall election. Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez put off their wedding and possibly their entire future together.

Now sure the people of California may be better off, and Affleck might stop sweating so profusely. But is all this delay good for us? Consider the Affleck-Lopez romance. Now, we don't know the exact details, but we -- oh, wait a minute. I'm told we do have some metaphorical video of what happened to their romance. Let's play that metaphorical video.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): As you can see, the jet here represents the course of their love slamming hideously into the tarmac of high expectations. True tragedy was averted because the pilot, seen here symbolizing Ben Affleck, bailed out safely with only seconds to spare. Delaying just a split longer could have trapped him for the reset of his life in a flaming heap of mangled wreckage.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Metaphorically, of course. So never delay longer than you have to, anyway. That wraps it up for us tonight.

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





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