Return to Transcripts main page

Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Gitmo Mystery: Latest Revelation; Terrorists May Target Medicine

Aired September 26, 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 (voice-over): Could terrorists target the nation's drug supply? A brutal beating on a bus caught on tape.

And, this weekend's "Hot Ticket."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

COOPER: And a good evening to you. Thanks for joining us on this Friday night.

We begin with the espionage mystery at Guantanamo Bay, the prison camp for alleged terrorists. The question: How could it have happened?

The latest revelation, an Air Force translator charged with spying at Gitmo was already being launched before being sent to the place where some of the most dangerous people on Earth are apparently being held.

The very latest now from senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even before Senior Airman Ahmed al-Halabi arrived for duty in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, he had fallen under suspicion of military investigators. Court documents say that in November of last year an investigation was initiated based on reports of suspicious activity while he was stationed at Travis Air Force Base, and also while deployed to Kuwait and Guantanamo Bay naval base.

Al-Halabi served as an Arabic language translator at Camp Delta, the prison for Taliban and al Qaeda suspects at Guantanamo, from November to July, when he was arrested just before he planned to fly to Syria to marry his Syrian fiancee. The court papers also allege al-Halabi made statements criticizing United States policy with regard to the detainees and the Middle East, and that he also expressed sympathy for, and had unauthorized contact with, the detainees. Al-Halabi is accused of providing unauthorized comfort items to Taliban and al Qaeda prisoners and attempting to smuggle out more than 180 of their messages.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE: His attorneys insist al-Halabi is not a spy. In fact, they call him a star performer who earned an early promotion in the Air Force. But because most of the evidence in the case is classified, his attorneys say they can't say much more on his behalf. Interestingly, though, they have put out a call for an expert in what they call psycho sociology to help prepare his defense -- Anderson.

COOPER: This case just gets more and more interesting. Jamie McIntyre, thanks very much.

We wanted to put a bit of American spy history in perspective. According to one Defense think tank, there have been 148 cases of Americans arrested and convicted of spying from 1945 through 1998. Half of the American spies have been military personnel, half civilian. And, interestingly enough, American spies are most often volunteers. They are not recruited.

Moving on tonight now, there is a new concern in the war on terror. It involves Internet drug purchases, an increasingly popular option for Americans trying to save money on prescriptions. Experts worry that terrorists may try to exploit the system.

How? Our medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The medications in your cabinet may be a potential target for terrorists.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This would probably be easier than flying planes into buildings, because you could be in Afghanistan or Pakistan or Libya or wherever, and using a front Web address, say in Canada. I think we all need to be worried about it.

GUPTA: Global Options, an international risk management company, released a report assessing the threat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In this case, we wanted to see whether terrorists could tamper with our medicine supply in some way. And what we found was that they're already doing so.

GUPTA: In short, through the counterfeiting of medications, primarily on the Internet. That can mean big bucks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Money is the mother's milk of terrorism. Part of that money today is coming from phony pharmaceuticals.

GUPTA: Of greater concern to the FDA is the possibility of not just counterfeiting, but contaminating. It was more than 20 years ago when Tylenol laced with cyanide found its way into a store in Chicago. Seven people died. Some experts think it could happen again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our problems are is we have only 400 some inspectors in the entire country.

GUPTA: Most everyone agrees that existing safeguards are sound. The Department of Homeland Security considers contamination a low threat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't see it as a top priority for al Qaeda or other terrorist groups. And we have to focus our energies on other areas.

GUPTA: Still, don't be surprised if it soon becomes harder to obtain drugs over the Internet and the regulations grow even tighter.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: We're going to have more on this in the 8:00 hour.

Moving on now, though, another U.S. soldier has died in Iraq. Authorities say a rocket-propelled grenade hit a U.S. military vehicle in the northern city of Kirkuk, killing one American, wounding two others. Now, they were members of the Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade. Three hundred and seven American military personnel have died in Iraq since March; 196 of them under hostile circumstances.

Now the most U.S. troops in Iraq have been ordered to serve year- long rotations. The Pentagon is trying to lighten that burden. One hundred and ninety-two soldiers arrived at Baltimore-Washington International Airport today for two weeks of R&R, rest and recuperation. They are the first wave of what is slated to be the biggest home leave program since the Vietnam War. Another 78 U.S. troops are taking their R&R in Europe.

And it is still unclear just how long U.S. troops will remain in Iraq. Appearing on David Letterman's "Late Show," Secretary of State Colin Powell said the U.S. is hoping to return Iraq to self-rule as soon as possible.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: We're anxious to see a constitution written and ratified within the next six months or so, if that's possible. They're working hard on that. And then some period after that before they can have elections. It's difficult to give a precise date, but we're going to be there...

DAVID LETTERMAN, TALK SHOW HOST: So maybe another year, year and a half?

POWELL: At least.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: Wow. As Washington continued to discuss the cost of rebuilding Iraq, President Bush met with Russia's president Putin today to talk about Iraq, as well as other issues. Senior White House correspondent John King standing by.

John, it seems like the White House is finding it hard to sell its $87 billion Iraq package in Capitol Hill. Where is the opposition coming from?

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The opposition is coming from both Democrats and Republicans, Anderson, when it comes to that $87 billion. And, specifically, the $20 billion in it for reconstruction. As they look at the fine print, members in both parties are seeing millions spent to bring the area code telephone system to Iraq, millions spent to bring the zip code postal system to Iraq.

They say why, at a time of a sluggish economy here at home, would U.S. taxpayers be shelling out all that money to a country that has a tough economy right now but sits on the world's second largest oil reserve. So, increasingly, leaders in Congress are telling the president you cannot give this whole $20 billion in grants. Some of it will have to be paid back.

The big fight now, even though the president says -- he publicly says he still wants all $20 billion in grants, the big fight now, what proportion loans, what proportion grants? It may be settled next week.

COOPER: As you know, we began this week with the president speaking at the U.N. Is the White House any closer, they believe today, to getting allies involved in Iraq than it was on Monday?

KING: They are closer in terms of nice rhetoric and nice language, but they have no public commitments for new international troops just yet, no public commitments for any large scale contributions to Iraq's reconstruction. They need $40 to $50 billion.

The president hoping to make some progress this weekend up at Camp David with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. He is one of the major leaders who, of course, was so critical of this president when he went to war, calling the war in Iraq illegitimate. But President Putin arrived at Camp David tonight, saying he wants to reach a middle ground.

He even is leaving open the possibility of Russian troops some day perhaps participating in international peacekeeping in Iraq. So the reason Mr. Putin gets an invitation to Camp David is that he is expected tomorrow to say some things that this White House will very much like.

COOPER: All right. We'll watch for that. John King, thanks very much, at the White House.

Just one day after Congress took action to reinstate the national "Do Not Call" program, a new court order has put the plan in jeopardy yet again. A federal judge in Denver says establishing a "Do Not Call" list of telephone numbers, well, he says it would violate the free speech rights of telemarketers. The "Do Not Call" list is supposed to take effect next week.

As Greg Clarkin reports, today's ruling raises serious questions about whether that will even happen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GREG CLARKIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Will there be less of this come Wednesday, or will it be business as usual for telemarketers? That's the question millions of people have as the national "Do Not Call" list remains on hold. The list sidetracked by a federal judge in Denver.

Charities, politicians, and poll takers can still call you even if you're on the list. Telemarketers said that violated their right to free speech. The judge agreed.

TIM SEARCY, AMERICAN TELESERVICES ASSOCIATION: They created two classes of speech. Basically, they said it's OK for politicians and charities to call you, but we don't think it's OK for commercial interests to call you. Federal government cannot do that, according to the First Amendment.

CLARKIN: The Federal Trade Commission will appeal the decision. But for now, legal experts say the judge has made the list a constitutional issue.

WARREN DENNIS, FIRST AMENDMENT LAWYER: What if the law said painting companies can call, but siding companies can't? That distinction would create a difference. And what the court in Denver looked at is, is it constitutional to say with respect to the way we communicate that this is allowed but that's not?

CLARKIN: This latest setback for the list has politicians again looking for ways to keep the list intact. This just a day after a previous legal defeat sparked bills to make it clear the FTC could actually create the list in the first place.

(on camera): It's unclear as to whether the list will actually go into effect on Wednesday as planned. But the Direct Marketing Association, the largest industry trade group, has asked its members to abide by the list regardless if it's monitored in the courts.

Greg Clarkin, CNN Financial News, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: All right. From New York, let's go around the world in tonight's "Up Link."

Berlin, Germany: child porn. Authorities say they have cracked a huge international child pornography network involving more than 26,000 Internet users in 165 countries, including the U.S. Investigators say the suspects include police officers, a border guard, and a lot of educators.

Atlanta, Georgia: SARS worries. U.S. health officials say they are worried about another possible outbreak. We thought this thing went away. The respiratory illness infected more than 8,000 people around the world before it vanished as mysteriously as it appeared. Well, officials say it is a good bet the disease will reemerge and they want to be ready.

Australia: seasick sheep. We keep telling you about this story. Here is tonight's update.

A report the government may buy back 50,000 sheep stranded at sea. Another report says Australia may give them to Iraq. The sheep, you will remember, have been adrift since the Saudi Arabian government rejected them on grounds of disease. Australian officials have been under heavy pressure from animal rights groups to do something about all these sheep on a ship.

That's tonight's "Up Link."

Well, still to come tonight, bus beating caught on tape. Find out why nothing was done to save this 15-year-old boy from his attackers. You won't believe this videotape.

Plus, teen bombers done in by their own home video. A lot of people taping things. Find out what happened to these not so merry pranksters.

And, speaking of tape, porn goes mainstream. Big companies making big profits. We're going to check out who.

But first, a look "Inside the Box" at what the network newscasts had as their top stories tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Night is falling here in New York City. Night is falling.

What would do you if were you a bystander to a violent fight? Would you jump in to help the victim or would you run away? Well, Susan Candiotti has a story from Miami of a man who had to face just that choice. See what he did.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Police say no other passengers were on a Miami Dade County bus when a 15- year-old victim jumped on board to try to escape his attackers. A surveillance camera captures a teenager getting pummeled by five young men last month. Out of camera range, the bus driver does not interfere, even when the victim begs for help.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

CANDIOTTI: Authorities say part-time driver Barrett Wilson, hired last May, did not have to get involved but could have.

DET. JUAN DEL CASTILLO, MIAMI-DADE POLICE: Even if legally you don't have to do something, I think morally you should do something.

CANDIOTTI: Transit officials say Wilson was obligated to call for help by hitting a panic button or using his radio. Instead, authorities say, he waited 15 to 20 minutes to use his cell phone.

CLINTON FORBES, MIAMI-DADE TRANSIT: We are extremely troubled. It's an isolated incident. It's one operator out of 1,500. And we will not tolerate this behavior.

CANDIOTTI: The driver was asked, why?

BARRETT WILSON, BUS DRIVER: The only thing I could do was just offer my sincere apologies. And the bottom line is I got scared. And when you get scared, you're not thinking.

CANDIOTTI (on camera): Just last week, the bus driver was fired for not following proper procedure. Police have caught one of the five attackers. They're looking for the rest.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Unbelievable story. Let's take a quick trip now "Cross Country."

(UNINTELLIGIBLE), Florida: pipe bombs. Police have arrested two young men and charged them with making and exploding bombs in the central Florida town. As you can see from the videotape, police say they made this videotape. They apparently targeted locations all over the town, say the police, with these devices. A little home video gone amuck.

Taunts in Massachusetts: courtroom brawl. He said kids were shooting BB guns at his house. And when he went to court to see three of them arraigned on charges, apparently he was still pretty angry. All it took were a couple of words, and now the homeowner is facing a few charges of his own.

Nashville, Tennessee: fatal fire. Eight elderly people are dead, dozens injured, after a late-night fire in a nursing home. Now the fire started in one of the patient's rooms. The building had no fire sprinkler system installed. The firefighters said most of the injuries were from smoke inhalation.

And in San Francisco, a lucky cat. Ted -- that is apparently the cat's name -- was missing for 10 years. His owner had given up hope. But finally the microchip he had implanted under Ted's skin got scanned. And believe it or not, Ted came home after 10 years. Hard to believe.

That's a look at stories "Cross Country." Don't know who those people were playing ball. The countdown continues in California. The country's most popular state heads toward a recall election now just 11 days away. Mark your calendar. Arnold Schwarzenegger picked up a key endorsement today from Darrell Issa, the man that started this whole recall process. But Governor Gray Davis had a surprise of his own to announce.

Kelly Wallace has the story from West Hollywood.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An energized Governor Gray Davis after upping the ante on GOP frontrunner Arnold Schwarzenegger.

GOV. GRAY DAVIS (D), CALIFORNIA: I'm not going to take it anymore. And right here, right now, I challenge him to a debate. We have got to set the record straight.

WALLACE: Davis issues the challenge after getting a boost from Democratic heavyweights...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's keep Gray Davis and let's get rid of George Bush.

WALLACE: ... Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton on the phone and former Texas governor, Ann Richards.

ANN RICHARDS, FMR. TEXAS GOVERNOR: I think you're going to have to call him out and tell him one on one.

WALLACE: The move comes as Davis' aides concede their internal polls show the governor a few points shy of holding on to his job. The Davis team believes it's a winning strategy, confident the governor would defeat Schwarzenegger in any debate and believing the actor turned candidate could lose some ground if he's accused of dodging the chat challenge.

The Schwarzenegger camp immediately responded, saying it would not accept the invitation. Spokesman Todd Harris (ph) told CNN, "This is a page out of the desperate candidate's handbook."

California's GOP chairman, who came to hear what Davis would say and found himself surrounded by pro Davis supporters, agrees.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We heard nothing about this until the debate on Wednesday, where Arnold clearly showed that the people of California want a change in California. Now all of a sudden we're seeing a change in the governor's strategy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: And Kelly Wallace joins us live. Kelly, was it a risk for Gray Davis to challenge Schwarzenegger like this? I mean, is there a way it could end up backfiring on him? WALLACE: Well, Anderson, analysts say it could. They say the main risk is that, all along, Governor Gray Davis has been campaigning against the recall, not the candidates themselves. By challenging Schwarzenegger, he could be turning this from a decision on the recall to a choice between an unpopular sitting governor and a very popular Hollywood superstar -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right. Kelly Wallace, thanks very much.

Now a look at tonight's "Terror Watch."

Since 9/11, the nation's airports are safer. But even the head of the Federal Transportation Security Agency says they are not safe enough. More flaws have been detected in the X-ray systems being used to screen passengers' carry-on baggage. For example, some machines can't see box cutter blades in passengers' luggage.

Now, the wrangling over who is going to have to pay what concerning the WTC attacks is in yet another New York courtroom. The federal appeals court ruled today that a jury will have to decide if the building's leaseholders are entitled to two payments from their insurance carriers instead of just one. That leaseholder says that since there were two planes and two attacks, they ought to get paid damages for both events.

The Chinese are also paying attention to the possibility of terrorism. They just ran their first public anti-hijacking exercise. The drill began when supposed hijackers took over a 747.

And those are the stories in tonight's "Terror Watch."

Still to come this evening, a lot ahead. "Justice Served" coming up.

A cross-dressing millionaire accused of murderer. Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom sounds off on the case that has more twists and turns than a roller coaster ride.

Plus, off the road. The much-hyped Segways get pulled over for a safety recall. That and more still to come.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: In Galveston, Texas, Robert Durst is standing trial for killing and then dismembering his one-time neighbor, Morris Black. Now, prosecutors have argued they found blood evidence in a number of places, including Durst's car. Durst attorneys have told the court they plan to put their client on the stand in his own defense.

Joining us live from San Francisco, our legal analyst, Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom. Kimberly, thanks for being with us.

It's got to be a risky strategy putting this man on the stand. Do they even know what he's going to say? KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE NEWSOM, ASSISTANT D.A., SAN FRANCISCO, CA: Well, they're going to prep him very well. But it is definitely a high-risk strategy. Keep in mind, though, where you have a defense that is self-defense or accident, it is almost impossible to sell it to the jury without the defendant taking the stand.

There were two people present at the time this crime occurred. One of them is dead. Now this defendant is going to have to take the stand and explain what happened to justify all the things that occurred in this case.

COOPER: But it seems extraordinarily risky. I mean, this is a man who, by many accounts, portrayed himself as a -- you know, he was cross dressing, he portrayed himself as a mute woman. Certainly, you know, I guess eccentric, at the very least, would be the word to describe it. It seems a big gamble.

NEWSOM: It is a gamble. And it usually doesn't fare well when defendants take the stand. And when you have a man like this that has highly eccentric, bizarre behavior, bordering on what some people would loosely call insane behavior, that is a big risk that the defense attorney is gong to have to take. You can only hope that his attorney has a lot of client control and has really prepared him carefully for cross examination by the prosecution, who will have a field day with this guy.

What's been very smart is that the defense preempted all of these issues before the prosecution could bring it up in opening statements, suggesting about the defendant's past, his eccentric behavior, cross dressing, et cetera, to prepare them so they wouldn't be surprised.

COOPER: But investigators have now said they've entered into evidence that this man allegedly wiped his -- not only his apartment, but also the victim's apartment clean of fingerprints, or at least somebody did. He's going to have to answer those questions when he gets on the stand.

NEWSOM: He certainly is. He's gone to great lengths to cover up this crime. And if you're a man with nothing to hide -- and this really was an accident or self-defense -- then why go to all the lengths to not only wipe your apartment clean, but the victim's apartment clean? And then, of course, then dismembering the body and disposing of it in Galveston Bay. Really, really damaging evidence against the defendant.

COOPER: The trial continues. We'll be watching next week. Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom, thanks very much.

NEWSOM: Thank you.

COOPER: More "Justice Served" now from South Dakota. Congressman Bill Janklow pled not guilty today to second degree manslaughter and other charges. The case involves a fatal crash, where, according to police, Janklow ran a stop sign, hit a man on a motorcycle, killed him. If convicted on the manslaughter charge, he could face up to 10 years in prison. Janklow has a history of speeding. And state records show he's been involved in at least seven accidents over the past decade.

Friday burial (ph). All the news you probably didn't see. Find out why timing is everything for politicians. We'll explain coming up.

Also, the mainstreaming of porn. Big companies getting big bang for the buck. Oy. So how did a triple x star suddenly become so acceptable? I'll ask one of them, Candida Royalle.

And "The Weekender." A look at what's hot and what will flop at the box office. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Time to check "The Reset." In Washington, the Federal Trade Commission says it will appeal the latest court ruling against the "No Call" list. A judge in Denver said it's a violation of free speech to bar telemarketers from calling certain phone numbers. The "No Call" list is supposed to become effective next week.

In Bermuda, a tropical storm warning is in effect. A tropical storm named Juan reached hurricane strength today with 75 mile-an-hour winds. It is about 160 miles east of Bermuda. It is moving to the north and it is moving fast.

In Washington, a farmer who drove his tractor into a pond on the National Mall last March -- remember this story -- well, he has been convicted of making false threats and damaging government property. Each charge carries a possible sentence of up to 10 years in prison. Sentencing is set for December.

In Seattle, authorities say they've arrested a juvenile for releasing a computer worm that devastated computers around the world. They say the boy used a variant of the blaster worm to launch a denial of service attack on Microsoft.

In Washington, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a recall of all 6,000 Segue (ph) scooters ever sold, all of them. It says an upgrade will stop the scooters from running when the battery is running down. At least three people were thrown off the unusual scooters when low battery levels affected their gyroscope systems, which apparently keep the Segways upright. I wondered how they did that.

And that's "The Reset."

More now on politics and a question. If news breaks on a Friday when no one is watching, did it ever really break?

We're talking about the Friday burial, when politicians release news when they know no one is watching. Today brought accusations of just such a Friday burial. A report showing an increase in poverty. Democrats complained it got a Friday burial instead of coming out on the usual release days, which is Tuesday or Thursday. The Census Bureau strongly denies it. But fair to say politicians on both sides of the aisle have proven in the past that they have impeccable timing when it comes to releasing news they'd rather you ignore. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): Friday nights are the least watched newscast of the work week. And Saturday morning's papers have the lowest circulation, which means fewer people see news that happens on Fridays than on any other day.

The White House benefited from that when the first President Bush lists some Chinese trade sanctions on a Friday in 1989, not long after the massacre in Tianemen Square.

President Clinton's team benefited on the Friday in 1996 when they released the first lady's supposedly missing law firm records.

And this Bush White House benefits as well. Environmentalists are so used to getting bad news on Fridays, like easing restrictions in the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, that they call it the 5:00 follies. The EPA has said it releases information when it gets it. But former White House Spokesman Ari Fleischer has acknowledged managing the timing of some environmental news. Otherwise, Fleischer says, chances are more of the story will be about reaction to the president's environmental announcement than the substantive reasons why the president did it.

But it's not just environmental announcements. The departures of Army Secretary Thomas White, Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and economic adviser Larry Lindsey were all announced on -- you guessed it -- Fridays.

True, the White House decision to permit some logging with less study of environmental impact came on a Wednesday. But it was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

A key point, though, from a Democratic strategist, everyone does it.

DOUG HATTAWAY, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: This is really a time- honored tactic that's been used both by Republican and Democratic White Houses to minimize their exposure to bad news. I think the difference is that the Clinton White House was usually doing to bury news about personal scandals and the Bush administration is really manipulating public information like the poverty rate or unemployment.

COOPER: When it comes to not wanting to deliver bad news, the Democrats and Republicans are united.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, two big debates dominated this week's political news. Newly declared candidate Wesley Clark joined in his first president debate. You all know that. And in California, actor- turned-candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger participated in what was widely expected to be his only gubernatorial debate. We'll see about that.

Joining us to take a look, political analyst Carlos Watson. Thanks for being with us. Good to actually meet you.

CARLOS WATSON, POLITICAL ANALYST: Good to be here.

COOPER: Let's talk about the debate happening yesterday, this Democratic debate. Winners? Losers? I mean, a lot of people thought that Clark was going to be attacked. But actually Dean seemed to be subject of a lot of attacks.

WATSON: Dean was the focus,, and actually, what was interesting about this debate is that everyone did well. Everyone did well for themselves. Strong performances. No one dramatically dropped the ball.

The two winners? Probably Clark and Dean. Clark because expectations were really low, meaning that if he dropped the ball, people would have worried. But he didn't do that here. He did a good job.

Now Dean on the other hand -- he was the focus of the attacks. And that really kind of cemented his status as the frontrunner.

Now a couple folks who didn't do well enough -- Edwards, Graham, Lieberman. All turned in solid performances, but all needed to break out of the pack. And I think you're going to see when the fundraising reports come out, Anderson, that they needed to show a little more.

COOPER: Al Sharpton wowed the crowd, I think, the most of anyone there. And Tucker Carlson yesterday described him as a rock star, which I thought was kind of interesting.

WATSON: Well, you know, people constantly are underestimating Al Sharpton. I mean, he's a funny guy.

COOPER: Right.

WATSON: He certainly will, not only through the first two contests, but farther along. And I think you'll see more of him in the debates come February and March.

COOPER: All right. There's this video floating right now. Republican National Committee released it. It's an amateur tape shot of Wesley Clark. This was back in 2001. Let's show it and talk about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RET. GEN. WESLEY CLARK, FMR. NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: But if you look around the world, there's a lot of work to be done. And I'm very glad we've got a great team in office. Men like Colin Powell, Don Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, Paul O'Neill, people I know very well. Our president, George W. Bush. We need them there, because we've got some tough challenges ahead in Europe.

We got...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: He sounds like a Republican. I mean, is that his biggest challenge now? Prove he's a Democrat?

WATSON: Well, and his answer is I was a Republican at the time. But I've since changed. Or he could use the Ronald Reagan line. Remember when Ronald Reagan, lifetime Democrat, said, I didn't leave the Democratic Party. The Democrats left me. And here Wesley Clark is saying, I didn't leave the Republican Party. They left me on the environment, on gun control, on abortion.

COOPER: You keep trying -- you're a Democratic strategist. So you keep trying to spin this as a positive for Wesley Clark.

WATSON: I -- not a Democratic strategist such that I need to spin this. But I think realistically, if I'm Wesley Clark, I'm looking at fundamentally still a popular president, even though his numbers are down. When I'm going into the general election, do I want some crossover votes? Do I want some independents and Republicans (UNINTELLIGIBLE) McCain?

COOPER: Right.

WATSON: Republicans, independents, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- sure. And if you see that kind of video, does that help me out a little bit? Sure it does.

COOPER: Very briefly, California. Any chance Arnold Schwarzenegger is going to do any more debates in the 11 days left?

WATSON: I think we don't know what's going to happen in the last 10 days, because here's what's important -- I think Tom McClintock is staying in the race.

COOPER: Really? All the way?

WATSON: I think he hadn't made up his mind before this debate. I think he feels like he did well enough, he's going to stay in. He knows he's going to lose. But watch him in March of next year, Anderson. I predict he runs for the U.S. Senate against Barbara Boxer, and I think he's going to stay in and cement his conservative base.

COOPER: And he's still running commercials, so it seems to be true.

All right. It was great to see you.

WATSON: It was good to be here.

COOPER: Carlos Watson, thank you very much.

WATSON: Look forward to seeing you again.

COOPER: All right.

On now to a remarkable transformation, a stretch of land not far from downtown Dallas magicly reinvented as Nasiriyah, Iraq. Yes, a young woman's drama as a prisoner of war is about to become "Must-See TV," NBC's "Saving Jessica Lynch."

Ed Lavandera went behind the scenes. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are we set, guys? Action!

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Your inside attempt in the Iraqi desert, just hours before Jessica Lynch is rescued.

DAN PAULSON, EXEC. PROD., "SAVING JESSICA LYNCH": This is the really brain trust that's putting this rescue together.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gentlemen, get your teams on line. We're going in tonight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roll sound.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roll it.

LAVANDERA: This is the set of the TV movie "Saving Jessica Lynch." Five weeks of filming is coming to a close.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cut!

LAVANDERA: The real Jessica Lynch did not cooperate with this movie. Her character is played by a Canadian actress.

PAULSON: She'll see this as very authentic. And it -- you know, it tells a story in a good way. And I'm certainly hoping that she enjoys it. I see no reason why she wouldn't.

LAVANDERA: Producers base their script on published accounts of the capture and rescue. They say the real Iraqi lawyer who led American forces to Lynch also helped.

Actor Nicholas Gulack plays that role.

NICHOLAS GULACK, ACTOR, "SAVING JESSICA LYNCH": It was a little difficult at first because I don't know what it's like to live in Iraq, and I've never had to live in fear, being born and raised here. The risks this man took is unreal.

LAVANDERA (on camera): Jessica Lynch and the 507th Maintenance Company were attacked in Al-Nasiriyah, the southern Iraqi town that sits on the road to Baghdad is supposed to look a lot like this. Well, not really. This version of Al-Nasiriyah sits in the shadows of downtown Dallas.

(voice-over): People here often brag that Texas is like a whole other country. Not sure they had Iraq in mind when they came up with that line.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Only in America.

Still to come this evening, porn. Not just for peep shows anymore. How the extra racy has gone mainstream and become huge business.

Also tonight, the death of an 80's style icon. We remember Robert Palmer.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Welcome back. If you look on TV and in the theaters these days, you'll see what's become an unmistakable trend, and probably a whole lot more -- the mainstreaming of porn, and companies making a mint while doing it, big companies, not just a peep show crowd getting rich by going racy. Corporate America profits as well. Cable operators through porn on pay-per-view -- that includes AOL Time Warner, the parent of CNN and Comcast, also hotel chains like Marriott, Hilton and Westin. They get the big bucks from adult movies ordered in hotel rooms. It all adds up. To old industry veterans, corporate America, well, they're just playing catch-up. More from CNN's Miguel Marquez.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll do a couple of shots with the clothes on.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If sex sells, possibly no one has sold it longer and more of it than Larry Flynt.

LARRY FLYNT, PORN MOGUL: We just do primarily just plain old vanilla sex. You know? The old one-two.

MARQUEZ: But he and pornographers like him aren't the only ones making money on porn, and subjects related to it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "SKIN")

RON SILVER, ACTOR: I really don't have time for some spoiled porn queen who's throwing a hissy fit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: "The Skin," a new series on Fox, is a sort of Romeo and Juliette, with the porn industry as the backdrop.

In film, there was "Boogie Nights." And now, "Wonderland," which chronicles four real-life murders and their connection to L.A.'s pornographic underbelly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "WONDERLAND")

ERIC BOGOSIAN, ACTOR: John, I am going to kill every person in that book."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: The music industry also has its porn flirtation. Jenna Jameson, a self-made porn and publicity machine, shares a bed with Eminem. Even male stars like Ron Jeremy find their way into mainstream pop culture.

FLYNT: It's been fascinating to observe everything unfold.

MARQUEZ (on camera): What's unfolded in Larry Flint's 30 years in the industry is porn going from the back room to the front office. Even companies like Time Warner, CNN's parent, earns a fraction of its profit from adult material.

FLYNT: Today it's $11 billion a year business.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): That's billion, with a "B." That's also Larry Flynt's estimate. Most industry analysts say they don't know how big the porn industry is. They just know it's big.

BENJAMIN LOPEZ, TRADITIONAL VALUES COALITION: Today, society has just basically seen to go to hell in a handbasket, basically. And pornography -- who would have thought that pornography would have gone so mainstream like it has today.

MARQUEZ: Who could have imagined a world where a porn magnate and a porn actress could even run for governor of California?

Miguel Marquez, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: I'll say it again, only in America.

It's not often we can say we have a true porn pioneer on the program. I don't think I've ever said that, in fact. Candida Royalle's distinguished titles include "Femmes de Sade," "Outlaw Ladies" and "Sexcapades." She now has her own production company, Femme Productions. Candida Royalle is joining us from Charlotte, North Carolina. It is nice to meet you. Thanks very much for being with us.

You heard that man from the Traditional Values Coalition saying he's surprised at the mainstreaming of porn. Are you?

CANDIDA ROYALLE, FEMME PRODUCTIONS: I'm not surprised. I think it's -- the age of innocence has long been over. People aren't shocked by this sort of thing. And besides, you know, the longer we keep something as a forbidden fruit, the more appealing it becomes.

COOPER: But I've heard you say that it's really women who you believe are driving sort of the mainstreaming of it. Explain.

ROYALLE: Absolutely. I think that when I started Femme Productions, women were just becoming curious, and I could tell. If women, the wives, the mothers weren't curious about this and willing to look at it in the comfort of their own homes, we wouldn't be seeing the mainstreaming of it. Because let's face it, women, wives, mothers decide what gets looked at at home, what she and her husband can look at it. And if it weren't for women saying, OK, this isn't so bad, this is fun, I don't think you'd be seeing this.

COOPER: Are you surprised -- I mean, the amount of money at stake here, the amount of money being made by a lot of people is pretty extraordinary. Is it possible to lose money in porn? Is anybody not doing well in the porn business?

ROYALLE: Absolutely. You know, we throw these gigantic figures around. And people don't realize how many people are trying to share in that enormous pie. There are so many people making these cheesy little movies that really aren't making any money. So it's really rather misleading.

COOPER: But has the Internet made it easier? I mean, distributing these things, getting advertisements, getting eyeballs just to your Web site? Has that helped?

ROYALLE: I know that it looks like there is so much commerce going on, people are buying all of these movies and things off the Internet. It's not really that easy. And again, they throw these big, big numbers around. But it's not everyone is making that much money.

COOPER: Where is the most money made?

ROYALLE: I would say -- I think corporate America is really making the most money. They have absolutely very little outlay of money. They're making tons of money. AT&T, by phone sales and phone sex and Time Warner selling the explicit content on TV now. They're making a ton of money. There are a few big companies that are making a lot of money. But you know, they throw around a figure of $100 million. I mean, what's 100 million these days? Really not that much.

COOPER: I'll take it.

ROYALLE: Yeah, well, so will I.

COOPER: All right. Hey, Candida Royalle, it was really interesting to talk to you. Appreciate you joining us. Thank you.

ROYALLE: You're very welcome.

COOPER: All right. Time for a quick check of "The Current" right now.

Days after arriving, royal officials are considering whether a besieged Prince Harry should come home from a planned year in Australia. Say it ain't so. Terrible news for overly emotional Australian girls who never had a chance with him anyway but are in complete denial.

The latest insult for David Blaine, who let's face it, must have that not-so-fresh feeling about now. A ripening anti-hero has been told he'll have to pay for the police keeping the British mobs at bay. He's now three weeks into a stay in a plastic box at Tower Bridge in London.

Speaking of Britain, a Christian group there says please remember the stock brokers. Jesus would. It seems Britons are praying for the warm and fuzzies, like teachers and nurses, and not the Gordon Geckos of the world. Who needs prayer more, your beloved kindergarten teacher or that smirking suit who hasn't made you a buck since the '80s? You decide. And that's "The Current" for tonight.

Still to come, "The Weekender" looks at the film "Duplex." Plus The Rock's latest flick. Elvis Mitchell joins us for that from "The New York Times."

Also tonight, "The Nth Degree" has one big doggy don't. A call to pet owners everywhere, stop fussing with Fido. We'll explain.

And remembering a suave picture of MTV back when MTV actually showed videos. Robert Palmer. We'll talk about him. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Such stretch as an actor. That's the Rock starring in "The Rundown," one of the movies out this weekend that we want to talk about in "The Weekender" with "New York Times" film critic Elvis Mitchell. Elvis, welcome back. It's nice to see you.

ELVIS MITCHELL, "NEW YORK TIMES": Good to see you. I'm glad you ran one of the more dramatic clips, because my God the way...

COOPER: OK. How was he? How does he do?

MITCHELL: You know when you get pulled over by a cop and they have that kind of weird, dead pan, sarcastic thing, but it's always like you feel you're being made fun of a little bit? That's sort of his view, pardon the expression, acting style. He's flattened down so he's not doing...

COOPER: The eyebrow thing?

MITCHELL: Yes, he's not doing that so much. But the thing is, he can't quite figure out how to play it. And it's sort of sad, because he's a smug guy trying to play something who is not smug.

COOPER: I want to see a movie you likened to being pulled over by a police officer. That means it's a good film-going experience.

MITCHELL: I mean, it was dramatic.

COOPER: You don't actually feel tense and nervous? MITCHELL: You actually do. You kind of feel, what is he doing? You keep waiting for him to find the character and he doesn't. It's weird because it's a movie directed by an actor, by Peter Berg.

COOPER: Oh really. He directed it. I didn't know that.

MITCHELL: And it's obviously, he's just staging the action sequences. After a while you figure somebody must get really hurt, because even a smile sounds like something a winch being driven into flesh.

COOPER: There's also this other movie opened today "The Duplex" with Danny DeVito.

MITCHELL: Having directed.

COOPER: Oh, he directed it?

MITCHELL: Yes.

COOPER: Is he in it?

MITCHELL: No.

COOPER: What do I know? Let's take a look at the clips. And we'll talk about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, hello Dickey. And back again. Shall, we have a bit of music.

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: I didn't know Danny DeVito's hair had gone white.

MITCHELL: Mine went white from watching it. Is it yours from watching those clips.

COOPER: Obviously it's Ben Stiller and some anonymous actor.

MITCHELL: And some anonymous actors and Drew Barrymore. They buy a Duplex in Brooklyn and can't get rid of their tenant who has this wonderful rent control apartment.

Seeing that clip, I just saw a movie two hours ago is like having a Desert Storm flashback. I thought I had gotten it out of my head.

It's weird because the movie obviously wants to be a comedy about really bad people, which is a pretty interesting thing to do. But it's so flat and cartoonish. They're sort of so nondescript, movie sort of backs away from making it truly dangerous people or making hurts to this truly insidious woman. So it's kind of -- it falls between 2 stools. COOPER: People are comparing it to "Throw Momma From A Train?"

MITCHELL: That's worse than being pulled over by a cop being compared to "Throw Momma From A Train."

COOPER: All right, so if we're not going to see a movie this weekend there's a lot of TV. On Sunday night, a seven-part series about the blues starts off, Martin Scorsese.

MITCHELL: The executive producer and he directs the first 2 segments. I think sometimes you get when a film director works on TV and the lens is too big, so everybody's head looks like this big. Scorsese actually makes it very intimate. It's a very interesting little story. It's called "It Feels Like Going Home." And it follows this blues musician Corey Harris (ph) making this journey trying to figure out what blues means.

The number of great directors or big-deal film directors who all love the music. Clint Eastwood has a great segment actually. He's kind of a novice jazz pianist himself. He sits down with Ray Charles and Dave Brubeck and a few other people.

COOPER: It's on Sunday night on PBS.

MITCHELL: Seven nights in a row.

COOPER: All right. Elvis Mitchell, thanks very much.

MITCHELL: Good to be back.

COOPER: And that's the weekender. For people of a certain age, say in their 30s, the news that Robert Palmer had died of a heart attack brought a momentary shock and a flash of nostalgia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): Palmer helped score the sound track for those bygone days of the go-go 80s. And gave us that unforgettable image of the early days of MTV, the smooth operator in a slick suited, surrounded by a bevy of lacquered robotic babes. Those videos cause add minor feminist uproar. Palmer, low-key and unassuming, insisted it was all in good fun.

Palmer's career began when he was just 15, just a kid from Yorkshire. Through the years, his sound changed. He can be found at his bluesy best in 1974's "Sneaking Sally Through The Alley." His collaboration with Duran Duran, Powerstation, scored some big hits.

But it seeps inevitable that Palmer will be remembered best for those videos. And that style. He took home Grammys and a Rolling Stone Award for best dressed male artist. An irresistible voice from a decade-long past. A man still well loved. Robert Palmer was 54.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: And still to come this evening, the Nth degree, set your dog free from the chains of polite human society. We'll explain.

And Monday, the Phil Spector murder case. He is accused of killing an actress with a single shot. Is it really an open and shut case? We'll have a preview of his upcoming trial. Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Tonight, dogs to the Nth degree. A new study in "Science" magazine reveals that researchers have finished a rough draft of a dogs you know. Now it turns out that dogs and humans are pretty similar. 75 percent of human genes have dog gene matches. Scientists seem pretty intrigued, but really it's not news to us dog lovers that there is a deep genetic canine connection.

But we're not sure this study is a great idea. We fear that confirmation of the connection will only further a deeply alarming trend among some dog owners. The trend, treating your pooch like a person in need of primping. Remember when dogs were kept outside; loved yes, but not allowed on the bed?

Today there are dog spas, dog psychics, even doggy breath mints. The result? We're creating a race of humanoid, girly dogs, buffed, blow dried dogs. Dogs that, let's face it, look like drag queens. Is it just me, or are more and more dogs looking like celebrities. This one, looks like Gwen Stefani. Is that Carol Channing? And why would anyone want their dog to look like CC Deville of Poison? Rock on fido.

So if you don't want your pooch to be stalked by paparazzi, rip out those pretty pink berets, throw out that doggy nail buff, cancel the fur fluffing session at Bliss and start treating your dog like a dog. Give him a bone, let him run outside. The great thing about dogs is, they'll only love you move for it.

Paula Zahn is off tonight. We have another full hour of ANDERSON COOPER 360, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Exclusive behind-the-scenes video with U.S. troops in Iraq.

Can science take the uncertainty out of the death penalty?

And Emmy winner and "Sopranos" star Joey Pants. That's Mr. Joe Pantoliano to you.

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

COOPER: And a good evening to you. Paula Zahn is off tonight. She'll be back on Monday. This is a special extended version of 360.

We have a lot ahead tonight.

Could your prescription drugs be the next terror weapon? We'll look at a chilling report just out this week.

In court today, Representative Bill Janklow of South Dakota pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and traffic charges. He's accused of blowing through a stop sign, killing a motorcyclist. Should Janklow resign his seat in Congress? We're going to talk with Ralph Nader.

And what's up with the new crop of TV shows? A lot of them got their start in Britain. We'll talk about that.

But first, a look behind the scenes in Iraq. Is the media portrayal of what's going on in Baghdad and beyond accurate?

Retired Air Force General and CNN military analyst Donald Shepperd has just returned from a trip Iraq, a Pentagon-sponsored trip, we should point out. Well, we wanted to get his perspective.

General Shepperd joins me now from Washington. Thanks for being with us.

General, good to see you again.

You have no doubt been watching the media coverage of the situation in Iraq in Baghdad before you went. You've now been for yourself. You've seen it with your own eyes. Are we getting an accurate picture of what's going on?

RETIRED MAJOR GEN. DONALD SHEPPERD, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Anderson, I never know how to assess that.

I watch TV like everyone and form opinions. And the opinion I've been kind of getting from watching TV, and also from the print media, is that things are going to heck in a handbasket over there. As I visited the theater, now, remember, this is not a balanced view of what's taken place.

We didn't visit the Iraqi people and ask them. We visited the military troops, the top commanders and the troops. We got a lot of time to talk to both. They are very, very positive and optimistic about the outcome, which is different than what I'm getting from the media. It doesn't mean that they're right. It doesn't mean the media is wrong. But, clearly, they are very, very optimistic.

COOPER: Well, let's talk about what you did see, what you did hear.

As you know, since President Bush has declared an end to major hostilities, 169 U.S. soldiers have died in that country. Where are the troops set up in Iraq? Where do they need to increase their security?

SHEPPERD: Yes.

Basically, they are set up in the major cities, Baghdad, Mosul, Tikrit, and in the outlying cities from there. And their job is to provide security, but to get it so that the Iraqi police, the Iraqi facility protection service, the civil defense corps, and the army can take over security of the nation. That's what they're doing, is trying to get it ready for the Iraqis to take over. And it's a dangerous business.

And casualties are going to continue, in my opinion, as long as we're there, Anderson.

COOPER: As long as we're there, nothing that can be done about it?

SHEPPERD: Well, it's not that nothing can be done about it. It's that we are the target as long as we are there. And that's why I am so much against adding more U.S. troops to the area.

And every commander, senior commander, that we talked to said, we don't need more troops to do what we're doing. What we need is some different types of troops. And if we get a new mission, such as sealing the borders or preventing a civil war, then we would need more troops. But to do what we need to do now, which is to provide an increased security -- especially they, enhancements are going to take place over the next couple or three months to train the Iraqi police, to get things moving in the right direction, so they can take over. We have sufficient troops and equipment to do that now.

COOPER: Well, how close are Iraqis, in your estimation, to taking over? You talk about the training of the police. All those things take time.

SHEPPERD: Yes, they do, indeed.

And we asked that. We said, look, tell us the truth. Don't you really need more troops? No. How long are going to we be here? How long is this going to take? They all shake their head and they say, I don't know. But probably, a good guess would be 18 months to two years now before they are ready to take over and we can really reduce numbers in any significant number. Their fear is that we will turn tail and run, lose the patience of the American people before the Iraqis are ready to take over, and all of this will have been for naught. That's their greatest fear.

COOPER: What surprised you about your trip most of all?

SHEPPERD: Well, I think, first of all, the optimism surprised me.

COOPER: Optimism U.S. forces there?

SHEPPERD: The optimism of the commanders and the troops. They're very optimistic about what they're doing. And, secondly...

COOPER: Let me just interrupt there. Don't you hear that across the board? I know you spent a lot of time in the military. But a lot of media folks, when they go out, they talk to troops in the field, you get this gung-ho, everything is fine. Is that what you heard? Or does it go deeper than that?

SHEPPERD: I did not get the gung-ho, everything is fine.

Basically, what I heard was, when you get troops on the side, either commanders or troops in the field, they will really talk to you. And I really pushed them to say, look, come on, don't you need more troops? How do these guys feel when they go out and get shot at? And I said -- the replies I got were: We understand what we're doing. We all want to go home. We want to go home today. But it's not time for us to go home. We understand the mission and what we're doing. We think it's important.

I got a very positive -- the other thing I was surprised at is, I expected to hear, no, we really do need more troops. And it was exactly the opposite. Then, I also expected -- I didn't expect to see shortages of body armor or shortages of up-armored vehicles for patrols. But there are shortages over there, even though we've been through two wars in the Mideast. That surprised me very much.

COOPER: So there are shortages? They are in need of more body armor, Kevlar, more armored vehicles?

SHEPPERD: Indeed. It is arriving, but we don't have it. We don't even have two desert camouflage uniforms for everybody over there. So there's shortages of body armor, desert camouflage uniforms, and up-armored vehicles. All of that is arriving, but it's not there yet.

And then, the big question, WMD and where is Saddam? WMD, I expected to hear something. We heard nothing, no hint that they found anything, that there's more information. And then you say, where is Saddam? And, basically, they think he's still alive, they're still in the area, and they think they're going to find him. Very positive about that.

COOPER: General Shepperd, appreciate you talking about your trip with us and also showing us some of your videos, which you took yourself. Appreciate it. Thanks very much.

SHEPPERD: Pleasure.

COOPER: As we mentioned, Representative Bill Janklow of South Dakota pleaded not guilty today to charges stemming from a traffic accident that killed a motorcyclist. Janklow is charged with second- degree manslaughter after allegedly running a stop sign, slamming into the motorcyclist at high speed just last month.

Now, on Monday, Janklow spoke to reporters for the first time, and this is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. BILL JANKLOW (R), SOUTH DAKOTA: Let me say that I couldn't be sorrier for what's happened. I'm not going to talk about the accident in any way, shape or form.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: Well, that apology doesn't mean much to one high-profile critic. Consumer advocate Ralph Nader sent Janklow a scathing letter not long after the accident, demanding that he resign now.

Ralph Nader joins us from Washington.

Thanks for being with us.

Why is this case of such interest to you?

RALPH NADER, CONSUMER ADVOCATE: First of all, he's a chronic speedster. He's been cited for 12 speeding violations. And many more would have been the case, if he wasn't governor, if he wasn't a public official and got off.

And he actually joked about it. And here he goes through a stop sign at 71 miles an hour and kills Randy Scott, the motorcyclist. Only a year earlier, he just missed, going through a stop sign, he just missed a woman in the car with her family by a split-second.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: We should point, he has pled not guilty to this. So he is innocent until proven guilty. He will be facing trial.

NADER: Yes. Of course.

COOPER: You think, though, he should resign, and resign now?

NADER: Absolutely.

There's no question of what he did. He went through a stop sign at 71 miles an hour. He killed an innocent motorcyclist. That is a very severe crime. I understand, he still has to be convicted of it. But it's a slam-dunk prosecution.

(CROSSTALK)

NADER: And he's supposed to be setting an example. He's supposed to be setting an example, as a public official.

COOPER: Does it point to a need for greater driving laws? I want to play you something that he had said to South Dakota legislature back in 1999. Let's play the tape and then talk about it. It's actually just a full screen.

He said: "Bill Janklow speeds when he drives." This is him talking about himself. "Shouldn't, but he does. When he gets the ticket he pays it. But if someone told me I was going to jail for two days for speeding, my driving habits would change."

Do driving laws need to change, get tougher?

NADER: Well, he needs to go to jail, because then maybe his driving habits will change. The quote you just conveyed proves the point. He is a recidivist speedster, both when he was governor, when he's congressman, when he was not in public life. He's a menace on South Dakota highways.

COOPER: I've got to ask you about a couple political issues. Last night's debate, I don't know if you saw it. I assume you did. What did you think of General Clark? How did he do?

NADER: I didn't see the debate.

COOPER: Any thoughts on General Clark, his entrance to the race thus far? How is he...

NADER: Yes. I think he adds more excitement to what is already a pretty exciting group of Democrats, given conventional boundaries of what they're willing to talk about and not willing to talk about.

I don't hear much about the corporate crime wave that all the press has reported for three years that has drained and looted trillions of dollars from millions of workers, their pensions and their jobs and small investors. I don't hear much about getting corrupt money out of politics. I don't hear much about living wage for 47 million full-time working Americans who can't live on what they make.

But within the normal conventions of Democratic dialogue, the Democratic Party, it's a much more exciting field. And I think Dennis Kucinich is the one who is the most forthright about standing for the people's interests.

COOPER: You talked about General Clark adding excitement. Do you plan to add any excitement into this race in 2004? Any chance you're going to enter?

NADER: I won't decide one way or the other until the end of the year.

COOPER: All right, Ralph Nader, appreciate you joining us tonight. Thank you.

NADER: You're welcome.

COOPER: Well, fresh off his first debate, retired General Wesley Clark is wasting no time hitting the campaign trail. He spent the day in the crucial primary state of New Hampshire, where he is taking part in a town meeting tonight.

And that's where CNN's Dan Lothian is standing by for a live report.

Dan, how's it looking today?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, as you know, we're only about 17 weeks or so until the New Hampshire primary.

And as you mentioned, this is a critical state, a critical primary state. And Clark is here for the very first time since announcing his bid for the presidential race more than a week ago. He is currently meeting in a town hall meeting here at New England College in New Hampshire, where he's fielding questions on everything from homeland security, the economy and health care.

But Clark, who has been criticized for flip-flopping on his position on the Iraq war, came out swinging in his opening remarks, criticizing the Bush administration for its plan in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WESLEY CLARK (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When I looked at where the country was headed, I looked at the administration that took us without due reason into war in Iraq, without an imminent threat, and claimed it to be a preemptive attack, without really assembling the evidence, but rather seeking evidence to justify, I guess, some predetermined course of action, I saw, it was wrong.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LOTHIAN: Earlier in the day, he was in Manchester, New Hampshire, at a diner there, meeting and greeting. He had a lot of supporters there, but also had some folks who didn't know a lot about him. And he was trying to introduce himself, also pushing that $100 billion jobs plan -- back to you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLARK: I was going to be either a very, very lonely Republican, or I was going to be a very happy Democrat. And I am a Democrat. And I'm proud to be one. I'm a new Democrat. And you know what? I'm going to bring a lot of other new Democrats into this party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: That was Clark earlier today at the Merrimack diner that you were talking about. I guess there has been a fair amount of questioning about his loyalty to the Democratic Party, the same kind of questioning we heard at the debate yesterday.

I'm interested for your perspective, Dan. How good a campaigner is he? What is he like on the campaign trail? Does he seem pretty natural at this? Is there a big growth curve?

LOTHIAN: Well, he does seem somewhat natural at meeting and greeting people. He seemed very relaxed.

In fact, he walked into that diner and he met a senior citizen at the table sitting, a lady sitting by herself. And she said, I don't know a whole lot about you. And he just said: Listen, let me explain to you who I am, what I stand for.

So he seems very natural when it comes to that. But he, by his own admission, has a long way to go in terms of fleshing out the various issues. He said he is still sitting down with his staff. He came to this race late. And he still needs to come up with concrete things in order to harden his issues.

COOPER: And any sense -- nationally, we've heard some polls that they say he's out in front, according to various polls, if you pay any attention to them. Any local polls? Any sense of how he's doing individually in the states?

LOTHIAN: Yes.

There is a recent poll that came out here in New Hampshire. He's running at 11 percent, behind Kerry, who has 22 percent, and behind Dean, who has 35 percent. So he does have a lot of ground to catch up here. And, certainly, as he comes here today, he will be here as well tomorrow trying to win over the voters in this critical primary state.

COOPER: Has he kissed any babies yet?

LOTHIAN: We haven't seen him kiss any babies. He did bend down, though, inside that diner and surrounded himself by young kids and talked to them about what they were learning about in school, but didn't pick up any babies.

COOPER: All right, let us know when he does.

LOTHIAN: OK.

COOPER: Dan Lothian, thanks very much tonight.

We want to talk about the nation's drug supply. Could it be the next target of terrorists? Our debate tonight. We're going to talk about that.

But, also, we have a debate tonight on the do-not-call list; 50 million people want it, so why is it hung up in the courts? We'll debate it.

And you're going to meet Joey Pants, Emmy winner Joe Pantoliano from "The Sopranos." He's got a new show starting tonight. We'll hear what he says.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Welcome back.

Could your medicine cabinet be the next front in the war on terror? That's the question. A new report says terrorists could easily taint America's pharmaceutical supply, especially with the counterfeiting of drugs on the rise and purchasing drugs on the Internet.

Joining me from Washington is the author of that chilling new study, William Livingstone from Global Options, a risk management firm.

William, thanks for being with us. I know it's a complex scenario, but break it down for us. How is the drug supply at risk?

WILLIAM LIVINGSTONE, GLOBAL OPTIONS INC.: Well, there is a growing terrorist threat to America's medical supply system.

On one hand, you have terrorists who have -- terrorist organizations who have been involved in smuggling pharmaceuticals and in manufacturing counterfeit pharmaceuticals. And then another trend is occurring at the same time. Terrorists are seeking to increase the lethality of the attacks that they are mounting by using chemical weapons, including poison.

COOPER: Let's pause there. You mentioned terrorist groups are already doing this. I believe you're referring to the IRA and Hezbollah, who you say in your report have been basically making -- counterfeiting medicines.

LIVINGSTONE: In the early 1990s, the IRA, the Irish Republican Army, set up a clandestine laboratory in Florida to produce a anti- parasitic drug. It was a counterfeit drug. And with the profits from that operation, it has supported their efforts in Northern Ireland.

COOPER: And you're saying Hezbollah basically was manufacturing methamphetamine, bringing it to the U.S. from Canada. Is that right?

LIVINGSTONE: Well, earlier in the 1990s, Hezbollah was purchasing a pharmaceutical in Canada that was legal and not well- controlled, and bringing it and smuggling it across the border into the United States, where it is very carefully controlled.

And they were using the drug to produce methamphetamine. It's a precursor to the process. And so, from those profits, the Hezbollah was using it to support their operations and their terrorist attacks.

COOPER: Well, William, if this is such a major concern, someone from CNN put the question to someone in the Department of Homeland Security. We have got the videotape of it. We're going to show that. And then let's respond to it.

This is Gordon Johndroe from the Department of Homeland Security, talking about this threat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORDON JOHNDROE, HOMELAND SECURITY DEPARTMENT: We don't see it as a top priority for al Qaeda or other terrorist groups. And we have to focus our energies on other areas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Now, how do you explain that? Are they just mistaken or are they just not up to snuff? What's going on?

LIVINGSTONE: Well, unfortunately, the threat is really under the radar screen. Prior to our study, there really hadn't been a threat assessment completed, actually measured the threat to our drug supply system.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: I'm just a little confused, though. Is the threat that they're going to manufacture fake drugs that will poison people, in your opinion, or is it that they are going to manufacture these fake drugs just to raise money to fund their terrorist operations elsewhere?

LIVINGSTONE: Well, terrorists are already using a lot of counterfeit goods to raise money for their operations. The fear is that they may go the next step and actually taint a popular drug with a poison and introduce it into our drug supply system.

COOPER: After the Tylenol tampering incident, which I think was back in 1982...

LIVINGSTONE: Yes.

COOPER: Requirements were strengthened. There was stringent packaging rules put into effect. Is that not enough?

LIVINGSTONE: Well, the anti-tampering procedures that were put into effect are basically easy to replicate. And that's the reason you see a growth in counterfeiting around the world.

Terrorists basically can get access to the same equipment used by regular manufacturers and they can produce a drug, package it. And the consumer really can't tell the difference.

COOPER: So, bottom line, what needs to be done now?

LIVINGSTONE: Well, there are a couple things.

First of all, because the issue really hasn't been addressed by government or private industry, the first thing to do is to recognize that, while it might be a low-probability threat, it has very, very high consequences. Two, other industries have come together with government to work together to find ways to reduce risk. And a similar situation hasn't occurred with the pharmaceutical industry and the U.S. government.

And then, finally, there need to be new anti-tampering provisions to better protect drugs.

COOPER: All right, it's an interesting report. William Livingstone from Global Options Inc., I appreciate you joining us tonight.

LIVINGSTONE: Thank you.

COOPER: All right.

Our next report on terrorism will show you what Pakistan is doing in the hunt for Osama bin Laden along the Afghan border, what they're doing and what they're not doing, we should say. Also: American TV invaded by the Brits? What's going on? Don't U.S. producers have any ideas of their own? We're going to talk to Richard Quest all about it.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: And welcome back.

Pakistan is considered a big U.S. ally in the war on terror. But, for months, the face of al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, is thought to have been roaming free within Pakistan's borders. So why haven't Pakistani authorities been able to catch him?

National correspondent Mike Boettcher reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pakistan's tribal areas, a remote and forbidding place and the place where Osama bin Laden is believed to be hiding.

The area is called Wazirstan. It's just across the border from Afghanistan in the rugged mountains southwest of Peshawar. Intelligence sources believe bin Laden is being protected by some of the fiercely independent clans that live there. Until now the area has been off limits even to Pakistan's own national army.

PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, PAKISTANI PRESIDENT: For over a century nobody went inside this area. For the first time in our operation against terrorism we debated with the tribal elders and we were allowed entry.

BOETTCHER: That admission by Pakistan's president shows why the hunt for bin Laden is taking a long time but, he adds, the U. S. , specifically the CIA, is actively involved in the search providing aerial surveillance and listening devices.

MUSHARRAF: This is CIA here assisting us. Your intelligence organizations are assisting us and they know exactly what is happening on the ground.

BOETTCHER: Earlier this month, the Pakistan military was on the move in the tribal areas using helicopters and all terrain vehicles. Sources say it was an attempt to flush out members of al Qaeda.

For the record, a spokesman would only call it a training exercise and said no U.S. troops were involved. While U.S. officials also say no Americans were involved, opposition politicians disagree.

SHUJA-UL MULK, PAKISTANI NATL. ASSEMBLY (through translator): This was no training exercise. We strongly protest these covert American operations on our soil. It is a violation of our sovereignty and we will stand in their way.

BOETTCHER: Musharraf admits al Qaeda still has support from Pakistanis, including in the tribal areas and there have been reports in the last two weeks of sympathizers inside the military with several officers under investigation or arrest.

PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: While the Pakistani government, much of that government is doing its best to go after al Qaeda, al Qaeda has also found a safe refuge in many places in Pakistan, so it's kind of a mixed picture.

BOETTCHER: Pakistan has captured a number of leading al Qaeda members including 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. President Musharraf says they've also come close to capturing Osama bin Laden and says his country has a new strike force trained by the U.S. to now go after him.

Mike Boettcher, CNN, Tucson.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: All right, coming up, we're going to debate the do-not- call list: 50 million people on one side, telemarketers on the other. Well, that's not all who is on that side.

Also, we'll celebrate the life of the man who tried everything, George Plimpton.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Time for "The Reset." Let's look at tonight's top stories.

President Bush welcomed Russian President Putin to Camp David today with Iraq at the top of the agenda. President Putin says he won't rule out sending Russian troops to Iraq, but he wants greater cooperation with the U.N.

The incoming head of the Federal Air Marshals Program says he has an idea to improve airline security. He wants other federal officers such as Secret Service agents to help provide security when they take commercial flight.

Laci Peterson's family has filed a civil lawsuits, trying to block Scott Peterson from receiving money if he sells his story. Scott Peterson is awaiting trial in the murder of his wife. You know that. Laci Peterson's mother wants any proceeds that might go to Scott Peterson to be put into a trust until the trial is over.

And fans and fellow writers are remembering one of the true free spirits of American letters. To many, George Plimpton was the professional amateur, known for taking on a multitude of jobs and writing about them. He took a few snaps behind center with the Baltimore Colts, took the ice with the NHL's Boston Bruins, circled the track in an Indy race car and even took the reigns in a harness race. One of the his best known books, "Paper Lion," documented his time training with the Detroit Lions. Other books included "Out of My League," "Bogey Man" and "Shadow."

Born in New York in 1927, the son of a diplomat, Plimpton used his upper-class connections well. He sailed with future President John F. Kennedy, and played tennis with George H.W. Bush and rode on Air Force One with President Clinton. At Harvard, he was a classmate of Robert Kennedy, and was walking directly in front of the senator when Kennedy was assassinated. He acted in numerous films, including "Reds' and "Good Will Hunting." Plimpton also developed a stand-up routine in Las Vegas and played percussion. with the New York Philharmonic.

In an interview a little over a month ago, he said, "I have a lot of life to go. But now is the time to think about memoirs and put something together." Plimpton was married twice, fathered four children. He died at the age of 76. A remarkable life.

A popular law designed to pull the plug on telemarketers is still on hold. The national "do not call" list is scheduled to take effect next week, but the registry is still tangled up in legal challenges. A federal judge says it violates free speech. Yet millions says telemarketers are intrusive.

Want to take a close issue right now. Joining me are William Heberer, whose law firm represents telemarketing companies, and California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, who joins us from San Francisco.

I want to start -- Mr. Heberer -- both of you, I appreciate you joining us.

Mr. Heberer, let me start with you. Can 60 million Americans really be wrong? They say telemarketers are intrusive. They don't want it. How can you defend it?

WILLIAM HEBERER, OPPOSES "DO NOT CALL" LIST: Well, I think what we're defending this on is the First Amendment ground. The -- as the court in Colorado said, and I think rightly so, many types of calls are equally intrusive. To the extent they are, the federal "do not call" list does not prohibit all types of telephone calls, it would only a sales solicitation calls that would be precluded. Other calls, such as example, polls calls, political contributions, charitable solicitations, these types of calls would not be precluded by the "do not call" list, but would obviously be equally as intrusive. That's the problem.

COOPER: Well, let me bring in the attorney general of California. Attorney general, do you think this is a free speech issue?

BILL LOCKYER, CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Well, it is partly, because free speech is appropriately protected in our country.

But this is commercial speech, not the kind of speech that was mentioned, that's charitable, that's political, that's part of the robust civic dialogue. This is advertising-type speech, which legally we can regulate much more readily than the purer forms of speech.

COOPER: But they're essentially saying that it is not fair to say that a political group can call you at home at night, but a company selling whatever they sell cannot.

LOCKYER: Well, the point is we can legally regulate the commercial speech with lower standards than the other kinds of political speech that require a much more rigorous test.

HEBERER: Well, that is true, but the fact remains that the distinction between commercial speech and non-commercial speech is really irrelevant for the purpose that the FTC said that they were trying to protect here. The purpose of the "do not call list" is supposed to be protect consumer privacy, and the privacy interest is implicated the same way, whether it's commercial speech or non- commercial speech. It's just as intrusive to get a call from someone running for governor of California as it is to get a call from a telemarketer.

COOPER: Attorney General Lockyer...

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: Go ahead.

LOCKYER: These days you get a lot of calls from people running for governor of California. But still, the point is that we can regulate more successfully this kind of speech. The substantial interest is protecting people's privacy from commercial advertising. It's much more difficult to regulate political and charitable calls.

COOPER: Well, let's talk about commercial advertising, Mr. Heberer. I mean, there are other forms of commercial ads out there -- billboards, other ways to reach consumers. What about those?

HEBERER: Well, those certainly exist, but we think that people that are involved in the telemarketing channel should be on all fours with those people and be able to contact the consumer through this channel. It's not so much that there aren't other avenues out there, it's that this particular channel is being closed off to us based on the content of our speech, and that is a constitutional problem.

LOCKYER: It should be mentioned that it's not closed off. In California, they were a little over six million phones listed by people that wanted to be on "do not call," but there are lots of phones that are still available that people that didn't seem to care enough to want to register. So it's not totally precluded and there are these alternative means of communication.

COOPER: Attorney General Lockyer...

LOCKYER: Yes.

COOPER: Telemarketers argue that a lot of people are going to lose their jobs. What do you say to those people who may, in fact, lose their jobs if this goes through?

LOCKYER: Well, I think it's probably not true. But the jobs aren't protected by the First Amendment. Speech is protected by that.

COOPER: You think it's probably not true that they'll lose jobs?

LOCKYER: Yes. No, I think they're still going to have plenty of opportunity to do telemarketing. There are exceptions, not just the ones that we have talked about, but existing business relationships with your bank, with your newspaper and so on, that are allowed to call you under these rulings, unless you specifically say to them put me on the "do not call" even for you.

So I think there is not going to be an economic impact. There are some states that have had these rules, like Missouri and others, under A.G. Nixon, that have been very robust about enforcing these. They still have telemarketing programs in those states.

COOPER: I would be remiss if I didn't ask the question, both of you. Mr. Heberer, do you calls at dinnertime? Did you sign up for this list?

HEBERER: I have not signed up for the list. You know, dinnertime -- I have dinner at 8:00 at night, so I don't know that there's a standard dinnertime. I get calls throughout the day.

And I think that's one of the other problems with this. I often hear people talk about regulating the dinner hour. I'd like to know in this day and age what the dinner hour really is.

COOPER: All right. You didn't sign on the list. Attorney General Lockyer, did you?

LOCKYER: Yes, I did, and it, of course, cuts off the calls for all day, not just some specific time.

COOPER: All right. We're going to have to leave it there.

LOCKYER: But I did sign up.

COOPER: All right. We'll leave it there. William Heberer, appreciate you joining us. And Attorney General Bill Lockyer, thank you very much.

Coming up, completely different subject. Joe Pantoliano from "The Sopranos" joins us, basking in the glow of his Emmy win this week, and his new show, which starts later tonight.

And Monday, Paula Zahn returns with the dynamic Gloria Estefan.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: And welcome back. Death penalty has been banned in Massachusetts since 1984, but now Republican Governor Mitt Romney is making a push to bring it back. This week, he named a panel of experts to write a death penalty bill that relies heavily on science. Its goal is to write a measure guaranteeing that an innocent person is not executed while at the same time ensuring that those guilty of the worst crimes receive the ultimate penalty.

Paula Zahn spoke with Governor Romney in an exclusive interview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Sir, how can you guarantee that an innocent person would not be executed?

GOV. MITT ROMNEY (R), MASSACHUSETTS: Well, you know, science is able to point out where innocent people are on death row, and it's able to free innocent people. Science can also identify guilty people. And that's why we have assembled a panel of scientists -- not politicians, but scientists and legal professors and so forth to come together and say let's fashion a process and a statute which assures that we're using science, forensic science, we're using it in such a way that we would not in any circumstance execute an innocent person.

ZAHN: But, sir, you would also have to acknowledge in the state of Illinois, that same kind of science determined that there were some 13 men who had been wrongly convicted, and they were ultimately let go.

ROMNEY: We can use, through science and technology, which allows us to determine the ultimate innocence of someone who may have been convicted. In the same way, we can look at a case where there has been a conviction, and where science gives the kind of evidence we need that the individual was in fact the perpetrator of the crime. When we remove the uncertainty, which is normally associated with a conviction, and we hold to a higher standard, a higher evidentiary standard, a matter that would involve the ultimate penalty.

But in cases of terrorism, the most heinous crimes, in cases where obstruction of justice is involved, we would apply that test to assure that those being executed would only be executed if we were virtually certain they had committed the crime.

ZAHN: So let's say that you feel you have that scientific evidence. Are you going to have a problem rejecting a pardon for someone sitting on death row, who maintains his innocence and interprets data, or his defense team interprets data one way and the state interprets it another way?

ROMNEY: Well, we're going to rely on juries, of course, to determine the guilt or innocence of an individual. Then following the assessment of guilt or innocence, we would look and determine is there in this circumstance the kind of hard evidence which guarantees that the verdict that has been reached by the jury is not based upon circumstantial evidence or even eyewitness evidence, but is rather absolutely convincing and compelling. It's incontrovertible evidence that this person perpetrated the crime. And if that's the case and you also have a case of extraordinary brutality, or one which involves the obstruction of justice in our society, such as terrorism, then in that case, you would consider the ultimate penalty.

ZAHN: So the way the system is designed, you don't think it is possible that an innocent person would ever be put to death?

ROMNEY: That's the objective of this panel. And that's why I've called it together. Not people of political backgrounds, but rather people of scientific backgrounds, some of the leading forensic scientists in the nation, some of the leading law professors, a former judge, and others, all coming together to fashion, if you will, in a unique way, not based on old law but on new law, which takes into account DNA evidence and modern technology, to assure that we have a process in place which preserves the rights of our citizens, the rights of those that are accused, and assures that we never in any circumstance imaginable would execute someone who is not actually guilty.

ZAHN: And finally tonight, I'm certain, Governor, you have interfaced with a lot of victims' family members. And I guess what I really want to understand here is the challenge in making these value judgments about which victim of a crime's killer deserves an execution, who doesn't, and how you color those judgments.

ROMNEY: In some cases, the crime is so awful and offends the society in such a way that considering the ultimate penalty is something that we want to be able to do. In cases of terrorism, for instance, in cases of the most brutal murders, where children are involved. In those cases, we want to be able to deter the evil acts of evil men and women, and we believe that a capital punishment statute is something which is necessary to help us do that.

ZAHN: Governor Mitt Romney, thank you very much for your time this evening. Appreciate you dropping by.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, talking to us after his Emmy win this week, you know him as Ralphie on "The Sopranos." Joey Pantoliano joins us next.

And also a second dose of TV, what is behind all the British TV shows on American TV? What is going on? Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE PANTOLIANO, ACTOR: Anthony, did I ever tell you about the time I had a Harley?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, cool.

PANTOLIANO: 74 shovelhead. I could blow off Porsches on that thing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not my dad's Boxster (ph).

PANTOLIANO: What's your name?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Matt.

PANTOLIANO: Matt, no offense, but your dad's Boxster (ph) is a Porsche with panties. That's not what I'm saying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, from that, you might recognize the character, Ralphie from "The Sopranos." He was brutal, even by "The Sopranos" yardstick of thuggery. While Ralphie nearly lost his head last season, the actor playing him won something else, Joe Pantoliano. Well, he's gotten over being whacked, and tonight is the premiere of "The Handler" on CBS, where you'll see a kinder, gentler Joey Pants than perhaps you're used to.

We talked to him this week and asked him about that Emmy moment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PANTOLIANO: It was about the journey, that walk up to that stage was reminding me that when I was a little kid, I always had a dream and I got to fulfill it, finally. And so it reaches out to so many people, my cousins, my friends, that would watch me go to New York City and take speech classes and acting lessons, and it was just an extraordinary moment. It was a numbing experience for me.

COOPER: And I mean, you were just on a whirlwind. You've been at this game a very long time. You know, everyone sort of recognizes you, I remember see you in a lot of stuff over the years, and now you have your own show. It's starting Friday night. That has just got to be an amazing sort of cap.

PANTOLIANO: It is. It's what we all wish for as an actor. I mean, basically you just want to make a living. I've always wanted to just make a living. Anything after that was gravy. I always wanted to make -- pay the rent with my acting money.

COOPER: Let's show a clip from this show, this is "The Handler" on CBS.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE HANDLER")

PANTOLIANO: Wear this. It gets cold.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's very attractive.

PANTOLIANO: Give me your shoes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My shoes? I just got these. They're warm and they're waterproof.

PANTOLIANO: You ever see a panhandler wear $100 shoes? Put these on. Let's go. C'mon. There. You look like a real bum. See ya.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: You play always sort of tough characters, and this is kind of a departure. You're a nice guy at the same time. PANTOLIANO: Yes. What's interesting is because I'm undercover FBI, I will go undercover and be bad guys all the time. We're always playing characters. We're actors playing FBI agents who play parts on the show.

I'm like the grand dictator. I get a case, I write the scenario, I cast it with my agents, my FBI agents, or with informants and cooperators, and I put myself in there. I can cast myself as a hired hitman.

COOPER: Is it very close to what you're like as a real person?

PANTOLIANO: Yes. Yes, absolutely. We had no time, I was doing a play, "Franky and Johnny"

COOPER: Which I saw, it was great.

PANTOLIANO: Thank you. I was hired. And I went from Sunday to Monday working. And I just had no time to prepare. So I just, you know, learned the words and started talking.

COOPER: You always wanted to act, from...

PANTOLIANO: From the time I was a kid. It was the only opportunity -- I never had a plan b. I was dyslexic and a functionally illiterate, and my stepfather was a career criminal. Came home from federal penitentiary, saw in me the future that he had squandered and said, you can follow your bliss, and you can -- if you work hard, your dream may come true.

And, you know, it was really -- that's why I got so choked up out there that Sunday. I -- he was right, you know? And I never thought it could happen. I never thought I could get this far.

COOPER: Well, I wish you all the success in the world. As I said, this show has gotten great reviews, we look forward to seeing it on Friday night.

PANTOLIANO: Thank you.

COOPER: All right. Well, at least we know, our original man in London, Richard Quest is here -- look he's right here -- to tell us why so many American TV shows claim British heritage. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: At first glance, the new NBC comedy "Coupling" doesn't have much in common with "All In The Family." One is about 6 randy singles in Chicago. The other, a working class bigot in Queens, but both started out with a distinctly British accent. For about 30 years there's been a quiet invasion on the teles. Joining me now is our own British import, Richard Quest, to talk about it. Richard, good to see you.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: See, the problem is...

COOPER: Good lord.

QUEST: The problem is with American television won't actually run the British program.

COOPER: They should just transport them directly?

QUEST: They won't do that. Instead, they buy the format. So we ended up with "Sanford and Son" which is actually "Steptoe," "All In The Family," all these different programs.

COOPER: Does everyone in Britain speak so loudly?

QUEST: Bear with me on this.

COOPER: All right.

QUEST: Stay with me on this. Except for example two or three British programs that were run on public television here, "Monte Python," and "Benny Hill" and, of course, "Are You Being Served."

COOPER: And that's what we think of as British comedies, those are funny. Everyone here loves those.

QUEST: Except we stopped laughing at that 20 years ago. How many times can you hear about Mrs. Slocombe's pussy? Or how many times can Mr. Humphrey say I'm free.

COOPER: For Americans, never enough. You guys stopped laughing at that stuff 20 years ago?

QUEST: And more. However, there are some programs that are taking from Britain and simply transported in format. "The Millionaire," for example, "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire", fascinating, because with that program came a booklet, several volumes how it should be done. You know everything...

COOPER: And they do everything, every country -- Pakistan has the same program.

QUEST: Except, of course, the million of those is not quite the same as a million of ours. However, it doesn't matter, because the music, the set the way the lights go whoosh, all that sort of stuff.

COOPER: See, I get why so many American producers are taking British prgramming, because I think British TV is better.

QUEST: Except what we are now starting to see the critics in Britain say is American TV is actually much better than people give it credit for. If the week of the Emmys, "West Wing," "The Sopranos," "Six Foot Under," "Seinfeld," "Frazier," all those programs are original, they are different and doing extremely well around the world. Oh yes, if you want to powdered wig and a bit of old costume drama... COOPER: No, no. In Britain, you turn on the TV, and it's like saucy documentaries about British people taking trips to Beza (ph), and like going crazy and vomiting and it's compelling television.

QUEST: It is reality television which maybe would not go down so well in this country, because...

COOPER: It's real, reality television...

QUEST: Yes, but you have a higher threshold. You can't even show a naked lady's chest in much of American television.

COOPER: Yes, that is true. And what, that's a bad thing, you're saying?

QUEST: I'm not. I'm saying you can't have your cake and eat it.

COOPER: All right. Do you think this trend is going to continue. Do you we going to see more and British programming?

QUEST: I think you're going to see more formats, but as "The Weakest Link" showed, when a format is transported too much, the Americans won't watch it. And nobody wants to take risks. The stakes are too high in the American television market, far too high. Millions, tens of millions are at stake. You can't afford a failure in primetime on the network television.

COOPER: I think it's going to continue, because frankly there are no original ideas in Hollywood and people have to look overseas.

QUEST: How can you say that? I've just given you half a dozen original ideas.

COOPER: Richard Quest, you're the weakest link. Good-bye. No, you're not. You're not the weakest link at all.

Thanks very much for being with us on this extended broadcast. Paula Zahn, you'll be happy to know, will be back on Monday. Things will return to normal. "LARRY KING LIVE" is next. Have a great night.

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





Medicine>


Aired September 26, 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 (voice-over): Could terrorists target the nation's drug supply? A brutal beating on a bus caught on tape.

And, this weekend's "Hot Ticket."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

COOPER: And a good evening to you. Thanks for joining us on this Friday night.

We begin with the espionage mystery at Guantanamo Bay, the prison camp for alleged terrorists. The question: How could it have happened?

The latest revelation, an Air Force translator charged with spying at Gitmo was already being launched before being sent to the place where some of the most dangerous people on Earth are apparently being held.

The very latest now from senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even before Senior Airman Ahmed al-Halabi arrived for duty in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, he had fallen under suspicion of military investigators. Court documents say that in November of last year an investigation was initiated based on reports of suspicious activity while he was stationed at Travis Air Force Base, and also while deployed to Kuwait and Guantanamo Bay naval base.

Al-Halabi served as an Arabic language translator at Camp Delta, the prison for Taliban and al Qaeda suspects at Guantanamo, from November to July, when he was arrested just before he planned to fly to Syria to marry his Syrian fiancee. The court papers also allege al-Halabi made statements criticizing United States policy with regard to the detainees and the Middle East, and that he also expressed sympathy for, and had unauthorized contact with, the detainees. Al-Halabi is accused of providing unauthorized comfort items to Taliban and al Qaeda prisoners and attempting to smuggle out more than 180 of their messages.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE: His attorneys insist al-Halabi is not a spy. In fact, they call him a star performer who earned an early promotion in the Air Force. But because most of the evidence in the case is classified, his attorneys say they can't say much more on his behalf. Interestingly, though, they have put out a call for an expert in what they call psycho sociology to help prepare his defense -- Anderson.

COOPER: This case just gets more and more interesting. Jamie McIntyre, thanks very much.

We wanted to put a bit of American spy history in perspective. According to one Defense think tank, there have been 148 cases of Americans arrested and convicted of spying from 1945 through 1998. Half of the American spies have been military personnel, half civilian. And, interestingly enough, American spies are most often volunteers. They are not recruited.

Moving on tonight now, there is a new concern in the war on terror. It involves Internet drug purchases, an increasingly popular option for Americans trying to save money on prescriptions. Experts worry that terrorists may try to exploit the system.

How? Our medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The medications in your cabinet may be a potential target for terrorists.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This would probably be easier than flying planes into buildings, because you could be in Afghanistan or Pakistan or Libya or wherever, and using a front Web address, say in Canada. I think we all need to be worried about it.

GUPTA: Global Options, an international risk management company, released a report assessing the threat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In this case, we wanted to see whether terrorists could tamper with our medicine supply in some way. And what we found was that they're already doing so.

GUPTA: In short, through the counterfeiting of medications, primarily on the Internet. That can mean big bucks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Money is the mother's milk of terrorism. Part of that money today is coming from phony pharmaceuticals.

GUPTA: Of greater concern to the FDA is the possibility of not just counterfeiting, but contaminating. It was more than 20 years ago when Tylenol laced with cyanide found its way into a store in Chicago. Seven people died. Some experts think it could happen again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our problems are is we have only 400 some inspectors in the entire country.

GUPTA: Most everyone agrees that existing safeguards are sound. The Department of Homeland Security considers contamination a low threat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't see it as a top priority for al Qaeda or other terrorist groups. And we have to focus our energies on other areas.

GUPTA: Still, don't be surprised if it soon becomes harder to obtain drugs over the Internet and the regulations grow even tighter.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: We're going to have more on this in the 8:00 hour.

Moving on now, though, another U.S. soldier has died in Iraq. Authorities say a rocket-propelled grenade hit a U.S. military vehicle in the northern city of Kirkuk, killing one American, wounding two others. Now, they were members of the Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade. Three hundred and seven American military personnel have died in Iraq since March; 196 of them under hostile circumstances.

Now the most U.S. troops in Iraq have been ordered to serve year- long rotations. The Pentagon is trying to lighten that burden. One hundred and ninety-two soldiers arrived at Baltimore-Washington International Airport today for two weeks of R&R, rest and recuperation. They are the first wave of what is slated to be the biggest home leave program since the Vietnam War. Another 78 U.S. troops are taking their R&R in Europe.

And it is still unclear just how long U.S. troops will remain in Iraq. Appearing on David Letterman's "Late Show," Secretary of State Colin Powell said the U.S. is hoping to return Iraq to self-rule as soon as possible.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: We're anxious to see a constitution written and ratified within the next six months or so, if that's possible. They're working hard on that. And then some period after that before they can have elections. It's difficult to give a precise date, but we're going to be there...

DAVID LETTERMAN, TALK SHOW HOST: So maybe another year, year and a half?

POWELL: At least.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: Wow. As Washington continued to discuss the cost of rebuilding Iraq, President Bush met with Russia's president Putin today to talk about Iraq, as well as other issues. Senior White House correspondent John King standing by.

John, it seems like the White House is finding it hard to sell its $87 billion Iraq package in Capitol Hill. Where is the opposition coming from?

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The opposition is coming from both Democrats and Republicans, Anderson, when it comes to that $87 billion. And, specifically, the $20 billion in it for reconstruction. As they look at the fine print, members in both parties are seeing millions spent to bring the area code telephone system to Iraq, millions spent to bring the zip code postal system to Iraq.

They say why, at a time of a sluggish economy here at home, would U.S. taxpayers be shelling out all that money to a country that has a tough economy right now but sits on the world's second largest oil reserve. So, increasingly, leaders in Congress are telling the president you cannot give this whole $20 billion in grants. Some of it will have to be paid back.

The big fight now, even though the president says -- he publicly says he still wants all $20 billion in grants, the big fight now, what proportion loans, what proportion grants? It may be settled next week.

COOPER: As you know, we began this week with the president speaking at the U.N. Is the White House any closer, they believe today, to getting allies involved in Iraq than it was on Monday?

KING: They are closer in terms of nice rhetoric and nice language, but they have no public commitments for new international troops just yet, no public commitments for any large scale contributions to Iraq's reconstruction. They need $40 to $50 billion.

The president hoping to make some progress this weekend up at Camp David with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. He is one of the major leaders who, of course, was so critical of this president when he went to war, calling the war in Iraq illegitimate. But President Putin arrived at Camp David tonight, saying he wants to reach a middle ground.

He even is leaving open the possibility of Russian troops some day perhaps participating in international peacekeeping in Iraq. So the reason Mr. Putin gets an invitation to Camp David is that he is expected tomorrow to say some things that this White House will very much like.

COOPER: All right. We'll watch for that. John King, thanks very much, at the White House.

Just one day after Congress took action to reinstate the national "Do Not Call" program, a new court order has put the plan in jeopardy yet again. A federal judge in Denver says establishing a "Do Not Call" list of telephone numbers, well, he says it would violate the free speech rights of telemarketers. The "Do Not Call" list is supposed to take effect next week.

As Greg Clarkin reports, today's ruling raises serious questions about whether that will even happen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GREG CLARKIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Will there be less of this come Wednesday, or will it be business as usual for telemarketers? That's the question millions of people have as the national "Do Not Call" list remains on hold. The list sidetracked by a federal judge in Denver.

Charities, politicians, and poll takers can still call you even if you're on the list. Telemarketers said that violated their right to free speech. The judge agreed.

TIM SEARCY, AMERICAN TELESERVICES ASSOCIATION: They created two classes of speech. Basically, they said it's OK for politicians and charities to call you, but we don't think it's OK for commercial interests to call you. Federal government cannot do that, according to the First Amendment.

CLARKIN: The Federal Trade Commission will appeal the decision. But for now, legal experts say the judge has made the list a constitutional issue.

WARREN DENNIS, FIRST AMENDMENT LAWYER: What if the law said painting companies can call, but siding companies can't? That distinction would create a difference. And what the court in Denver looked at is, is it constitutional to say with respect to the way we communicate that this is allowed but that's not?

CLARKIN: This latest setback for the list has politicians again looking for ways to keep the list intact. This just a day after a previous legal defeat sparked bills to make it clear the FTC could actually create the list in the first place.

(on camera): It's unclear as to whether the list will actually go into effect on Wednesday as planned. But the Direct Marketing Association, the largest industry trade group, has asked its members to abide by the list regardless if it's monitored in the courts.

Greg Clarkin, CNN Financial News, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: All right. From New York, let's go around the world in tonight's "Up Link."

Berlin, Germany: child porn. Authorities say they have cracked a huge international child pornography network involving more than 26,000 Internet users in 165 countries, including the U.S. Investigators say the suspects include police officers, a border guard, and a lot of educators.

Atlanta, Georgia: SARS worries. U.S. health officials say they are worried about another possible outbreak. We thought this thing went away. The respiratory illness infected more than 8,000 people around the world before it vanished as mysteriously as it appeared. Well, officials say it is a good bet the disease will reemerge and they want to be ready.

Australia: seasick sheep. We keep telling you about this story. Here is tonight's update.

A report the government may buy back 50,000 sheep stranded at sea. Another report says Australia may give them to Iraq. The sheep, you will remember, have been adrift since the Saudi Arabian government rejected them on grounds of disease. Australian officials have been under heavy pressure from animal rights groups to do something about all these sheep on a ship.

That's tonight's "Up Link."

Well, still to come tonight, bus beating caught on tape. Find out why nothing was done to save this 15-year-old boy from his attackers. You won't believe this videotape.

Plus, teen bombers done in by their own home video. A lot of people taping things. Find out what happened to these not so merry pranksters.

And, speaking of tape, porn goes mainstream. Big companies making big profits. We're going to check out who.

But first, a look "Inside the Box" at what the network newscasts had as their top stories tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Night is falling here in New York City. Night is falling.

What would do you if were you a bystander to a violent fight? Would you jump in to help the victim or would you run away? Well, Susan Candiotti has a story from Miami of a man who had to face just that choice. See what he did.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Police say no other passengers were on a Miami Dade County bus when a 15- year-old victim jumped on board to try to escape his attackers. A surveillance camera captures a teenager getting pummeled by five young men last month. Out of camera range, the bus driver does not interfere, even when the victim begs for help.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

CANDIOTTI: Authorities say part-time driver Barrett Wilson, hired last May, did not have to get involved but could have.

DET. JUAN DEL CASTILLO, MIAMI-DADE POLICE: Even if legally you don't have to do something, I think morally you should do something.

CANDIOTTI: Transit officials say Wilson was obligated to call for help by hitting a panic button or using his radio. Instead, authorities say, he waited 15 to 20 minutes to use his cell phone.

CLINTON FORBES, MIAMI-DADE TRANSIT: We are extremely troubled. It's an isolated incident. It's one operator out of 1,500. And we will not tolerate this behavior.

CANDIOTTI: The driver was asked, why?

BARRETT WILSON, BUS DRIVER: The only thing I could do was just offer my sincere apologies. And the bottom line is I got scared. And when you get scared, you're not thinking.

CANDIOTTI (on camera): Just last week, the bus driver was fired for not following proper procedure. Police have caught one of the five attackers. They're looking for the rest.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Unbelievable story. Let's take a quick trip now "Cross Country."

(UNINTELLIGIBLE), Florida: pipe bombs. Police have arrested two young men and charged them with making and exploding bombs in the central Florida town. As you can see from the videotape, police say they made this videotape. They apparently targeted locations all over the town, say the police, with these devices. A little home video gone amuck.

Taunts in Massachusetts: courtroom brawl. He said kids were shooting BB guns at his house. And when he went to court to see three of them arraigned on charges, apparently he was still pretty angry. All it took were a couple of words, and now the homeowner is facing a few charges of his own.

Nashville, Tennessee: fatal fire. Eight elderly people are dead, dozens injured, after a late-night fire in a nursing home. Now the fire started in one of the patient's rooms. The building had no fire sprinkler system installed. The firefighters said most of the injuries were from smoke inhalation.

And in San Francisco, a lucky cat. Ted -- that is apparently the cat's name -- was missing for 10 years. His owner had given up hope. But finally the microchip he had implanted under Ted's skin got scanned. And believe it or not, Ted came home after 10 years. Hard to believe.

That's a look at stories "Cross Country." Don't know who those people were playing ball. The countdown continues in California. The country's most popular state heads toward a recall election now just 11 days away. Mark your calendar. Arnold Schwarzenegger picked up a key endorsement today from Darrell Issa, the man that started this whole recall process. But Governor Gray Davis had a surprise of his own to announce.

Kelly Wallace has the story from West Hollywood.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An energized Governor Gray Davis after upping the ante on GOP frontrunner Arnold Schwarzenegger.

GOV. GRAY DAVIS (D), CALIFORNIA: I'm not going to take it anymore. And right here, right now, I challenge him to a debate. We have got to set the record straight.

WALLACE: Davis issues the challenge after getting a boost from Democratic heavyweights...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's keep Gray Davis and let's get rid of George Bush.

WALLACE: ... Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton on the phone and former Texas governor, Ann Richards.

ANN RICHARDS, FMR. TEXAS GOVERNOR: I think you're going to have to call him out and tell him one on one.

WALLACE: The move comes as Davis' aides concede their internal polls show the governor a few points shy of holding on to his job. The Davis team believes it's a winning strategy, confident the governor would defeat Schwarzenegger in any debate and believing the actor turned candidate could lose some ground if he's accused of dodging the chat challenge.

The Schwarzenegger camp immediately responded, saying it would not accept the invitation. Spokesman Todd Harris (ph) told CNN, "This is a page out of the desperate candidate's handbook."

California's GOP chairman, who came to hear what Davis would say and found himself surrounded by pro Davis supporters, agrees.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We heard nothing about this until the debate on Wednesday, where Arnold clearly showed that the people of California want a change in California. Now all of a sudden we're seeing a change in the governor's strategy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: And Kelly Wallace joins us live. Kelly, was it a risk for Gray Davis to challenge Schwarzenegger like this? I mean, is there a way it could end up backfiring on him? WALLACE: Well, Anderson, analysts say it could. They say the main risk is that, all along, Governor Gray Davis has been campaigning against the recall, not the candidates themselves. By challenging Schwarzenegger, he could be turning this from a decision on the recall to a choice between an unpopular sitting governor and a very popular Hollywood superstar -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right. Kelly Wallace, thanks very much.

Now a look at tonight's "Terror Watch."

Since 9/11, the nation's airports are safer. But even the head of the Federal Transportation Security Agency says they are not safe enough. More flaws have been detected in the X-ray systems being used to screen passengers' carry-on baggage. For example, some machines can't see box cutter blades in passengers' luggage.

Now, the wrangling over who is going to have to pay what concerning the WTC attacks is in yet another New York courtroom. The federal appeals court ruled today that a jury will have to decide if the building's leaseholders are entitled to two payments from their insurance carriers instead of just one. That leaseholder says that since there were two planes and two attacks, they ought to get paid damages for both events.

The Chinese are also paying attention to the possibility of terrorism. They just ran their first public anti-hijacking exercise. The drill began when supposed hijackers took over a 747.

And those are the stories in tonight's "Terror Watch."

Still to come this evening, a lot ahead. "Justice Served" coming up.

A cross-dressing millionaire accused of murderer. Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom sounds off on the case that has more twists and turns than a roller coaster ride.

Plus, off the road. The much-hyped Segways get pulled over for a safety recall. That and more still to come.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: In Galveston, Texas, Robert Durst is standing trial for killing and then dismembering his one-time neighbor, Morris Black. Now, prosecutors have argued they found blood evidence in a number of places, including Durst's car. Durst attorneys have told the court they plan to put their client on the stand in his own defense.

Joining us live from San Francisco, our legal analyst, Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom. Kimberly, thanks for being with us.

It's got to be a risky strategy putting this man on the stand. Do they even know what he's going to say? KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE NEWSOM, ASSISTANT D.A., SAN FRANCISCO, CA: Well, they're going to prep him very well. But it is definitely a high-risk strategy. Keep in mind, though, where you have a defense that is self-defense or accident, it is almost impossible to sell it to the jury without the defendant taking the stand.

There were two people present at the time this crime occurred. One of them is dead. Now this defendant is going to have to take the stand and explain what happened to justify all the things that occurred in this case.

COOPER: But it seems extraordinarily risky. I mean, this is a man who, by many accounts, portrayed himself as a -- you know, he was cross dressing, he portrayed himself as a mute woman. Certainly, you know, I guess eccentric, at the very least, would be the word to describe it. It seems a big gamble.

NEWSOM: It is a gamble. And it usually doesn't fare well when defendants take the stand. And when you have a man like this that has highly eccentric, bizarre behavior, bordering on what some people would loosely call insane behavior, that is a big risk that the defense attorney is gong to have to take. You can only hope that his attorney has a lot of client control and has really prepared him carefully for cross examination by the prosecution, who will have a field day with this guy.

What's been very smart is that the defense preempted all of these issues before the prosecution could bring it up in opening statements, suggesting about the defendant's past, his eccentric behavior, cross dressing, et cetera, to prepare them so they wouldn't be surprised.

COOPER: But investigators have now said they've entered into evidence that this man allegedly wiped his -- not only his apartment, but also the victim's apartment clean of fingerprints, or at least somebody did. He's going to have to answer those questions when he gets on the stand.

NEWSOM: He certainly is. He's gone to great lengths to cover up this crime. And if you're a man with nothing to hide -- and this really was an accident or self-defense -- then why go to all the lengths to not only wipe your apartment clean, but the victim's apartment clean? And then, of course, then dismembering the body and disposing of it in Galveston Bay. Really, really damaging evidence against the defendant.

COOPER: The trial continues. We'll be watching next week. Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom, thanks very much.

NEWSOM: Thank you.

COOPER: More "Justice Served" now from South Dakota. Congressman Bill Janklow pled not guilty today to second degree manslaughter and other charges. The case involves a fatal crash, where, according to police, Janklow ran a stop sign, hit a man on a motorcycle, killed him. If convicted on the manslaughter charge, he could face up to 10 years in prison. Janklow has a history of speeding. And state records show he's been involved in at least seven accidents over the past decade.

Friday burial (ph). All the news you probably didn't see. Find out why timing is everything for politicians. We'll explain coming up.

Also, the mainstreaming of porn. Big companies getting big bang for the buck. Oy. So how did a triple x star suddenly become so acceptable? I'll ask one of them, Candida Royalle.

And "The Weekender." A look at what's hot and what will flop at the box office. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Time to check "The Reset." In Washington, the Federal Trade Commission says it will appeal the latest court ruling against the "No Call" list. A judge in Denver said it's a violation of free speech to bar telemarketers from calling certain phone numbers. The "No Call" list is supposed to become effective next week.

In Bermuda, a tropical storm warning is in effect. A tropical storm named Juan reached hurricane strength today with 75 mile-an-hour winds. It is about 160 miles east of Bermuda. It is moving to the north and it is moving fast.

In Washington, a farmer who drove his tractor into a pond on the National Mall last March -- remember this story -- well, he has been convicted of making false threats and damaging government property. Each charge carries a possible sentence of up to 10 years in prison. Sentencing is set for December.

In Seattle, authorities say they've arrested a juvenile for releasing a computer worm that devastated computers around the world. They say the boy used a variant of the blaster worm to launch a denial of service attack on Microsoft.

In Washington, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a recall of all 6,000 Segue (ph) scooters ever sold, all of them. It says an upgrade will stop the scooters from running when the battery is running down. At least three people were thrown off the unusual scooters when low battery levels affected their gyroscope systems, which apparently keep the Segways upright. I wondered how they did that.

And that's "The Reset."

More now on politics and a question. If news breaks on a Friday when no one is watching, did it ever really break?

We're talking about the Friday burial, when politicians release news when they know no one is watching. Today brought accusations of just such a Friday burial. A report showing an increase in poverty. Democrats complained it got a Friday burial instead of coming out on the usual release days, which is Tuesday or Thursday. The Census Bureau strongly denies it. But fair to say politicians on both sides of the aisle have proven in the past that they have impeccable timing when it comes to releasing news they'd rather you ignore. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): Friday nights are the least watched newscast of the work week. And Saturday morning's papers have the lowest circulation, which means fewer people see news that happens on Fridays than on any other day.

The White House benefited from that when the first President Bush lists some Chinese trade sanctions on a Friday in 1989, not long after the massacre in Tianemen Square.

President Clinton's team benefited on the Friday in 1996 when they released the first lady's supposedly missing law firm records.

And this Bush White House benefits as well. Environmentalists are so used to getting bad news on Fridays, like easing restrictions in the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, that they call it the 5:00 follies. The EPA has said it releases information when it gets it. But former White House Spokesman Ari Fleischer has acknowledged managing the timing of some environmental news. Otherwise, Fleischer says, chances are more of the story will be about reaction to the president's environmental announcement than the substantive reasons why the president did it.

But it's not just environmental announcements. The departures of Army Secretary Thomas White, Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and economic adviser Larry Lindsey were all announced on -- you guessed it -- Fridays.

True, the White House decision to permit some logging with less study of environmental impact came on a Wednesday. But it was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

A key point, though, from a Democratic strategist, everyone does it.

DOUG HATTAWAY, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: This is really a time- honored tactic that's been used both by Republican and Democratic White Houses to minimize their exposure to bad news. I think the difference is that the Clinton White House was usually doing to bury news about personal scandals and the Bush administration is really manipulating public information like the poverty rate or unemployment.

COOPER: When it comes to not wanting to deliver bad news, the Democrats and Republicans are united.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, two big debates dominated this week's political news. Newly declared candidate Wesley Clark joined in his first president debate. You all know that. And in California, actor- turned-candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger participated in what was widely expected to be his only gubernatorial debate. We'll see about that.

Joining us to take a look, political analyst Carlos Watson. Thanks for being with us. Good to actually meet you.

CARLOS WATSON, POLITICAL ANALYST: Good to be here.

COOPER: Let's talk about the debate happening yesterday, this Democratic debate. Winners? Losers? I mean, a lot of people thought that Clark was going to be attacked. But actually Dean seemed to be subject of a lot of attacks.

WATSON: Dean was the focus,, and actually, what was interesting about this debate is that everyone did well. Everyone did well for themselves. Strong performances. No one dramatically dropped the ball.

The two winners? Probably Clark and Dean. Clark because expectations were really low, meaning that if he dropped the ball, people would have worried. But he didn't do that here. He did a good job.

Now Dean on the other hand -- he was the focus of the attacks. And that really kind of cemented his status as the frontrunner.

Now a couple folks who didn't do well enough -- Edwards, Graham, Lieberman. All turned in solid performances, but all needed to break out of the pack. And I think you're going to see when the fundraising reports come out, Anderson, that they needed to show a little more.

COOPER: Al Sharpton wowed the crowd, I think, the most of anyone there. And Tucker Carlson yesterday described him as a rock star, which I thought was kind of interesting.

WATSON: Well, you know, people constantly are underestimating Al Sharpton. I mean, he's a funny guy.

COOPER: Right.

WATSON: He certainly will, not only through the first two contests, but farther along. And I think you'll see more of him in the debates come February and March.

COOPER: All right. There's this video floating right now. Republican National Committee released it. It's an amateur tape shot of Wesley Clark. This was back in 2001. Let's show it and talk about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RET. GEN. WESLEY CLARK, FMR. NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: But if you look around the world, there's a lot of work to be done. And I'm very glad we've got a great team in office. Men like Colin Powell, Don Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, Paul O'Neill, people I know very well. Our president, George W. Bush. We need them there, because we've got some tough challenges ahead in Europe.

We got...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: He sounds like a Republican. I mean, is that his biggest challenge now? Prove he's a Democrat?

WATSON: Well, and his answer is I was a Republican at the time. But I've since changed. Or he could use the Ronald Reagan line. Remember when Ronald Reagan, lifetime Democrat, said, I didn't leave the Democratic Party. The Democrats left me. And here Wesley Clark is saying, I didn't leave the Republican Party. They left me on the environment, on gun control, on abortion.

COOPER: You keep trying -- you're a Democratic strategist. So you keep trying to spin this as a positive for Wesley Clark.

WATSON: I -- not a Democratic strategist such that I need to spin this. But I think realistically, if I'm Wesley Clark, I'm looking at fundamentally still a popular president, even though his numbers are down. When I'm going into the general election, do I want some crossover votes? Do I want some independents and Republicans (UNINTELLIGIBLE) McCain?

COOPER: Right.

WATSON: Republicans, independents, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- sure. And if you see that kind of video, does that help me out a little bit? Sure it does.

COOPER: Very briefly, California. Any chance Arnold Schwarzenegger is going to do any more debates in the 11 days left?

WATSON: I think we don't know what's going to happen in the last 10 days, because here's what's important -- I think Tom McClintock is staying in the race.

COOPER: Really? All the way?

WATSON: I think he hadn't made up his mind before this debate. I think he feels like he did well enough, he's going to stay in. He knows he's going to lose. But watch him in March of next year, Anderson. I predict he runs for the U.S. Senate against Barbara Boxer, and I think he's going to stay in and cement his conservative base.

COOPER: And he's still running commercials, so it seems to be true.

All right. It was great to see you.

WATSON: It was good to be here.

COOPER: Carlos Watson, thank you very much.

WATSON: Look forward to seeing you again.

COOPER: All right.

On now to a remarkable transformation, a stretch of land not far from downtown Dallas magicly reinvented as Nasiriyah, Iraq. Yes, a young woman's drama as a prisoner of war is about to become "Must-See TV," NBC's "Saving Jessica Lynch."

Ed Lavandera went behind the scenes. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are we set, guys? Action!

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Your inside attempt in the Iraqi desert, just hours before Jessica Lynch is rescued.

DAN PAULSON, EXEC. PROD., "SAVING JESSICA LYNCH": This is the really brain trust that's putting this rescue together.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gentlemen, get your teams on line. We're going in tonight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roll sound.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roll it.

LAVANDERA: This is the set of the TV movie "Saving Jessica Lynch." Five weeks of filming is coming to a close.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cut!

LAVANDERA: The real Jessica Lynch did not cooperate with this movie. Her character is played by a Canadian actress.

PAULSON: She'll see this as very authentic. And it -- you know, it tells a story in a good way. And I'm certainly hoping that she enjoys it. I see no reason why she wouldn't.

LAVANDERA: Producers base their script on published accounts of the capture and rescue. They say the real Iraqi lawyer who led American forces to Lynch also helped.

Actor Nicholas Gulack plays that role.

NICHOLAS GULACK, ACTOR, "SAVING JESSICA LYNCH": It was a little difficult at first because I don't know what it's like to live in Iraq, and I've never had to live in fear, being born and raised here. The risks this man took is unreal.

LAVANDERA (on camera): Jessica Lynch and the 507th Maintenance Company were attacked in Al-Nasiriyah, the southern Iraqi town that sits on the road to Baghdad is supposed to look a lot like this. Well, not really. This version of Al-Nasiriyah sits in the shadows of downtown Dallas.

(voice-over): People here often brag that Texas is like a whole other country. Not sure they had Iraq in mind when they came up with that line.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Only in America.

Still to come this evening, porn. Not just for peep shows anymore. How the extra racy has gone mainstream and become huge business.

Also tonight, the death of an 80's style icon. We remember Robert Palmer.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Welcome back. If you look on TV and in the theaters these days, you'll see what's become an unmistakable trend, and probably a whole lot more -- the mainstreaming of porn, and companies making a mint while doing it, big companies, not just a peep show crowd getting rich by going racy. Corporate America profits as well. Cable operators through porn on pay-per-view -- that includes AOL Time Warner, the parent of CNN and Comcast, also hotel chains like Marriott, Hilton and Westin. They get the big bucks from adult movies ordered in hotel rooms. It all adds up. To old industry veterans, corporate America, well, they're just playing catch-up. More from CNN's Miguel Marquez.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll do a couple of shots with the clothes on.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If sex sells, possibly no one has sold it longer and more of it than Larry Flynt.

LARRY FLYNT, PORN MOGUL: We just do primarily just plain old vanilla sex. You know? The old one-two.

MARQUEZ: But he and pornographers like him aren't the only ones making money on porn, and subjects related to it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "SKIN")

RON SILVER, ACTOR: I really don't have time for some spoiled porn queen who's throwing a hissy fit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: "The Skin," a new series on Fox, is a sort of Romeo and Juliette, with the porn industry as the backdrop.

In film, there was "Boogie Nights." And now, "Wonderland," which chronicles four real-life murders and their connection to L.A.'s pornographic underbelly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "WONDERLAND")

ERIC BOGOSIAN, ACTOR: John, I am going to kill every person in that book."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: The music industry also has its porn flirtation. Jenna Jameson, a self-made porn and publicity machine, shares a bed with Eminem. Even male stars like Ron Jeremy find their way into mainstream pop culture.

FLYNT: It's been fascinating to observe everything unfold.

MARQUEZ (on camera): What's unfolded in Larry Flint's 30 years in the industry is porn going from the back room to the front office. Even companies like Time Warner, CNN's parent, earns a fraction of its profit from adult material.

FLYNT: Today it's $11 billion a year business.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): That's billion, with a "B." That's also Larry Flynt's estimate. Most industry analysts say they don't know how big the porn industry is. They just know it's big.

BENJAMIN LOPEZ, TRADITIONAL VALUES COALITION: Today, society has just basically seen to go to hell in a handbasket, basically. And pornography -- who would have thought that pornography would have gone so mainstream like it has today.

MARQUEZ: Who could have imagined a world where a porn magnate and a porn actress could even run for governor of California?

Miguel Marquez, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: I'll say it again, only in America.

It's not often we can say we have a true porn pioneer on the program. I don't think I've ever said that, in fact. Candida Royalle's distinguished titles include "Femmes de Sade," "Outlaw Ladies" and "Sexcapades." She now has her own production company, Femme Productions. Candida Royalle is joining us from Charlotte, North Carolina. It is nice to meet you. Thanks very much for being with us.

You heard that man from the Traditional Values Coalition saying he's surprised at the mainstreaming of porn. Are you?

CANDIDA ROYALLE, FEMME PRODUCTIONS: I'm not surprised. I think it's -- the age of innocence has long been over. People aren't shocked by this sort of thing. And besides, you know, the longer we keep something as a forbidden fruit, the more appealing it becomes.

COOPER: But I've heard you say that it's really women who you believe are driving sort of the mainstreaming of it. Explain.

ROYALLE: Absolutely. I think that when I started Femme Productions, women were just becoming curious, and I could tell. If women, the wives, the mothers weren't curious about this and willing to look at it in the comfort of their own homes, we wouldn't be seeing the mainstreaming of it. Because let's face it, women, wives, mothers decide what gets looked at at home, what she and her husband can look at it. And if it weren't for women saying, OK, this isn't so bad, this is fun, I don't think you'd be seeing this.

COOPER: Are you surprised -- I mean, the amount of money at stake here, the amount of money being made by a lot of people is pretty extraordinary. Is it possible to lose money in porn? Is anybody not doing well in the porn business?

ROYALLE: Absolutely. You know, we throw these gigantic figures around. And people don't realize how many people are trying to share in that enormous pie. There are so many people making these cheesy little movies that really aren't making any money. So it's really rather misleading.

COOPER: But has the Internet made it easier? I mean, distributing these things, getting advertisements, getting eyeballs just to your Web site? Has that helped?

ROYALLE: I know that it looks like there is so much commerce going on, people are buying all of these movies and things off the Internet. It's not really that easy. And again, they throw these big, big numbers around. But it's not everyone is making that much money.

COOPER: Where is the most money made?

ROYALLE: I would say -- I think corporate America is really making the most money. They have absolutely very little outlay of money. They're making tons of money. AT&T, by phone sales and phone sex and Time Warner selling the explicit content on TV now. They're making a ton of money. There are a few big companies that are making a lot of money. But you know, they throw around a figure of $100 million. I mean, what's 100 million these days? Really not that much.

COOPER: I'll take it.

ROYALLE: Yeah, well, so will I.

COOPER: All right. Hey, Candida Royalle, it was really interesting to talk to you. Appreciate you joining us. Thank you.

ROYALLE: You're very welcome.

COOPER: All right. Time for a quick check of "The Current" right now.

Days after arriving, royal officials are considering whether a besieged Prince Harry should come home from a planned year in Australia. Say it ain't so. Terrible news for overly emotional Australian girls who never had a chance with him anyway but are in complete denial.

The latest insult for David Blaine, who let's face it, must have that not-so-fresh feeling about now. A ripening anti-hero has been told he'll have to pay for the police keeping the British mobs at bay. He's now three weeks into a stay in a plastic box at Tower Bridge in London.

Speaking of Britain, a Christian group there says please remember the stock brokers. Jesus would. It seems Britons are praying for the warm and fuzzies, like teachers and nurses, and not the Gordon Geckos of the world. Who needs prayer more, your beloved kindergarten teacher or that smirking suit who hasn't made you a buck since the '80s? You decide. And that's "The Current" for tonight.

Still to come, "The Weekender" looks at the film "Duplex." Plus The Rock's latest flick. Elvis Mitchell joins us for that from "The New York Times."

Also tonight, "The Nth Degree" has one big doggy don't. A call to pet owners everywhere, stop fussing with Fido. We'll explain.

And remembering a suave picture of MTV back when MTV actually showed videos. Robert Palmer. We'll talk about him. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Such stretch as an actor. That's the Rock starring in "The Rundown," one of the movies out this weekend that we want to talk about in "The Weekender" with "New York Times" film critic Elvis Mitchell. Elvis, welcome back. It's nice to see you.

ELVIS MITCHELL, "NEW YORK TIMES": Good to see you. I'm glad you ran one of the more dramatic clips, because my God the way...

COOPER: OK. How was he? How does he do?

MITCHELL: You know when you get pulled over by a cop and they have that kind of weird, dead pan, sarcastic thing, but it's always like you feel you're being made fun of a little bit? That's sort of his view, pardon the expression, acting style. He's flattened down so he's not doing...

COOPER: The eyebrow thing?

MITCHELL: Yes, he's not doing that so much. But the thing is, he can't quite figure out how to play it. And it's sort of sad, because he's a smug guy trying to play something who is not smug.

COOPER: I want to see a movie you likened to being pulled over by a police officer. That means it's a good film-going experience.

MITCHELL: I mean, it was dramatic.

COOPER: You don't actually feel tense and nervous? MITCHELL: You actually do. You kind of feel, what is he doing? You keep waiting for him to find the character and he doesn't. It's weird because it's a movie directed by an actor, by Peter Berg.

COOPER: Oh really. He directed it. I didn't know that.

MITCHELL: And it's obviously, he's just staging the action sequences. After a while you figure somebody must get really hurt, because even a smile sounds like something a winch being driven into flesh.

COOPER: There's also this other movie opened today "The Duplex" with Danny DeVito.

MITCHELL: Having directed.

COOPER: Oh, he directed it?

MITCHELL: Yes.

COOPER: Is he in it?

MITCHELL: No.

COOPER: What do I know? Let's take a look at the clips. And we'll talk about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, hello Dickey. And back again. Shall, we have a bit of music.

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: I didn't know Danny DeVito's hair had gone white.

MITCHELL: Mine went white from watching it. Is it yours from watching those clips.

COOPER: Obviously it's Ben Stiller and some anonymous actor.

MITCHELL: And some anonymous actors and Drew Barrymore. They buy a Duplex in Brooklyn and can't get rid of their tenant who has this wonderful rent control apartment.

Seeing that clip, I just saw a movie two hours ago is like having a Desert Storm flashback. I thought I had gotten it out of my head.

It's weird because the movie obviously wants to be a comedy about really bad people, which is a pretty interesting thing to do. But it's so flat and cartoonish. They're sort of so nondescript, movie sort of backs away from making it truly dangerous people or making hurts to this truly insidious woman. So it's kind of -- it falls between 2 stools. COOPER: People are comparing it to "Throw Momma From A Train?"

MITCHELL: That's worse than being pulled over by a cop being compared to "Throw Momma From A Train."

COOPER: All right, so if we're not going to see a movie this weekend there's a lot of TV. On Sunday night, a seven-part series about the blues starts off, Martin Scorsese.

MITCHELL: The executive producer and he directs the first 2 segments. I think sometimes you get when a film director works on TV and the lens is too big, so everybody's head looks like this big. Scorsese actually makes it very intimate. It's a very interesting little story. It's called "It Feels Like Going Home." And it follows this blues musician Corey Harris (ph) making this journey trying to figure out what blues means.

The number of great directors or big-deal film directors who all love the music. Clint Eastwood has a great segment actually. He's kind of a novice jazz pianist himself. He sits down with Ray Charles and Dave Brubeck and a few other people.

COOPER: It's on Sunday night on PBS.

MITCHELL: Seven nights in a row.

COOPER: All right. Elvis Mitchell, thanks very much.

MITCHELL: Good to be back.

COOPER: And that's the weekender. For people of a certain age, say in their 30s, the news that Robert Palmer had died of a heart attack brought a momentary shock and a flash of nostalgia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): Palmer helped score the sound track for those bygone days of the go-go 80s. And gave us that unforgettable image of the early days of MTV, the smooth operator in a slick suited, surrounded by a bevy of lacquered robotic babes. Those videos cause add minor feminist uproar. Palmer, low-key and unassuming, insisted it was all in good fun.

Palmer's career began when he was just 15, just a kid from Yorkshire. Through the years, his sound changed. He can be found at his bluesy best in 1974's "Sneaking Sally Through The Alley." His collaboration with Duran Duran, Powerstation, scored some big hits.

But it seeps inevitable that Palmer will be remembered best for those videos. And that style. He took home Grammys and a Rolling Stone Award for best dressed male artist. An irresistible voice from a decade-long past. A man still well loved. Robert Palmer was 54.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: And still to come this evening, the Nth degree, set your dog free from the chains of polite human society. We'll explain.

And Monday, the Phil Spector murder case. He is accused of killing an actress with a single shot. Is it really an open and shut case? We'll have a preview of his upcoming trial. Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Tonight, dogs to the Nth degree. A new study in "Science" magazine reveals that researchers have finished a rough draft of a dogs you know. Now it turns out that dogs and humans are pretty similar. 75 percent of human genes have dog gene matches. Scientists seem pretty intrigued, but really it's not news to us dog lovers that there is a deep genetic canine connection.

But we're not sure this study is a great idea. We fear that confirmation of the connection will only further a deeply alarming trend among some dog owners. The trend, treating your pooch like a person in need of primping. Remember when dogs were kept outside; loved yes, but not allowed on the bed?

Today there are dog spas, dog psychics, even doggy breath mints. The result? We're creating a race of humanoid, girly dogs, buffed, blow dried dogs. Dogs that, let's face it, look like drag queens. Is it just me, or are more and more dogs looking like celebrities. This one, looks like Gwen Stefani. Is that Carol Channing? And why would anyone want their dog to look like CC Deville of Poison? Rock on fido.

So if you don't want your pooch to be stalked by paparazzi, rip out those pretty pink berets, throw out that doggy nail buff, cancel the fur fluffing session at Bliss and start treating your dog like a dog. Give him a bone, let him run outside. The great thing about dogs is, they'll only love you move for it.

Paula Zahn is off tonight. We have another full hour of ANDERSON COOPER 360, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Exclusive behind-the-scenes video with U.S. troops in Iraq.

Can science take the uncertainty out of the death penalty?

And Emmy winner and "Sopranos" star Joey Pants. That's Mr. Joe Pantoliano to you.

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

COOPER: And a good evening to you. Paula Zahn is off tonight. She'll be back on Monday. This is a special extended version of 360.

We have a lot ahead tonight.

Could your prescription drugs be the next terror weapon? We'll look at a chilling report just out this week.

In court today, Representative Bill Janklow of South Dakota pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and traffic charges. He's accused of blowing through a stop sign, killing a motorcyclist. Should Janklow resign his seat in Congress? We're going to talk with Ralph Nader.

And what's up with the new crop of TV shows? A lot of them got their start in Britain. We'll talk about that.

But first, a look behind the scenes in Iraq. Is the media portrayal of what's going on in Baghdad and beyond accurate?

Retired Air Force General and CNN military analyst Donald Shepperd has just returned from a trip Iraq, a Pentagon-sponsored trip, we should point out. Well, we wanted to get his perspective.

General Shepperd joins me now from Washington. Thanks for being with us.

General, good to see you again.

You have no doubt been watching the media coverage of the situation in Iraq in Baghdad before you went. You've now been for yourself. You've seen it with your own eyes. Are we getting an accurate picture of what's going on?

RETIRED MAJOR GEN. DONALD SHEPPERD, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Anderson, I never know how to assess that.

I watch TV like everyone and form opinions. And the opinion I've been kind of getting from watching TV, and also from the print media, is that things are going to heck in a handbasket over there. As I visited the theater, now, remember, this is not a balanced view of what's taken place.

We didn't visit the Iraqi people and ask them. We visited the military troops, the top commanders and the troops. We got a lot of time to talk to both. They are very, very positive and optimistic about the outcome, which is different than what I'm getting from the media. It doesn't mean that they're right. It doesn't mean the media is wrong. But, clearly, they are very, very optimistic.

COOPER: Well, let's talk about what you did see, what you did hear.

As you know, since President Bush has declared an end to major hostilities, 169 U.S. soldiers have died in that country. Where are the troops set up in Iraq? Where do they need to increase their security?

SHEPPERD: Yes.

Basically, they are set up in the major cities, Baghdad, Mosul, Tikrit, and in the outlying cities from there. And their job is to provide security, but to get it so that the Iraqi police, the Iraqi facility protection service, the civil defense corps, and the army can take over security of the nation. That's what they're doing, is trying to get it ready for the Iraqis to take over. And it's a dangerous business.

And casualties are going to continue, in my opinion, as long as we're there, Anderson.

COOPER: As long as we're there, nothing that can be done about it?

SHEPPERD: Well, it's not that nothing can be done about it. It's that we are the target as long as we are there. And that's why I am so much against adding more U.S. troops to the area.

And every commander, senior commander, that we talked to said, we don't need more troops to do what we're doing. What we need is some different types of troops. And if we get a new mission, such as sealing the borders or preventing a civil war, then we would need more troops. But to do what we need to do now, which is to provide an increased security -- especially they, enhancements are going to take place over the next couple or three months to train the Iraqi police, to get things moving in the right direction, so they can take over. We have sufficient troops and equipment to do that now.

COOPER: Well, how close are Iraqis, in your estimation, to taking over? You talk about the training of the police. All those things take time.

SHEPPERD: Yes, they do, indeed.

And we asked that. We said, look, tell us the truth. Don't you really need more troops? No. How long are going to we be here? How long is this going to take? They all shake their head and they say, I don't know. But probably, a good guess would be 18 months to two years now before they are ready to take over and we can really reduce numbers in any significant number. Their fear is that we will turn tail and run, lose the patience of the American people before the Iraqis are ready to take over, and all of this will have been for naught. That's their greatest fear.

COOPER: What surprised you about your trip most of all?

SHEPPERD: Well, I think, first of all, the optimism surprised me.

COOPER: Optimism U.S. forces there?

SHEPPERD: The optimism of the commanders and the troops. They're very optimistic about what they're doing. And, secondly...

COOPER: Let me just interrupt there. Don't you hear that across the board? I know you spent a lot of time in the military. But a lot of media folks, when they go out, they talk to troops in the field, you get this gung-ho, everything is fine. Is that what you heard? Or does it go deeper than that?

SHEPPERD: I did not get the gung-ho, everything is fine.

Basically, what I heard was, when you get troops on the side, either commanders or troops in the field, they will really talk to you. And I really pushed them to say, look, come on, don't you need more troops? How do these guys feel when they go out and get shot at? And I said -- the replies I got were: We understand what we're doing. We all want to go home. We want to go home today. But it's not time for us to go home. We understand the mission and what we're doing. We think it's important.

I got a very positive -- the other thing I was surprised at is, I expected to hear, no, we really do need more troops. And it was exactly the opposite. Then, I also expected -- I didn't expect to see shortages of body armor or shortages of up-armored vehicles for patrols. But there are shortages over there, even though we've been through two wars in the Mideast. That surprised me very much.

COOPER: So there are shortages? They are in need of more body armor, Kevlar, more armored vehicles?

SHEPPERD: Indeed. It is arriving, but we don't have it. We don't even have two desert camouflage uniforms for everybody over there. So there's shortages of body armor, desert camouflage uniforms, and up-armored vehicles. All of that is arriving, but it's not there yet.

And then, the big question, WMD and where is Saddam? WMD, I expected to hear something. We heard nothing, no hint that they found anything, that there's more information. And then you say, where is Saddam? And, basically, they think he's still alive, they're still in the area, and they think they're going to find him. Very positive about that.

COOPER: General Shepperd, appreciate you talking about your trip with us and also showing us some of your videos, which you took yourself. Appreciate it. Thanks very much.

SHEPPERD: Pleasure.

COOPER: As we mentioned, Representative Bill Janklow of South Dakota pleaded not guilty today to charges stemming from a traffic accident that killed a motorcyclist. Janklow is charged with second- degree manslaughter after allegedly running a stop sign, slamming into the motorcyclist at high speed just last month.

Now, on Monday, Janklow spoke to reporters for the first time, and this is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. BILL JANKLOW (R), SOUTH DAKOTA: Let me say that I couldn't be sorrier for what's happened. I'm not going to talk about the accident in any way, shape or form.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: Well, that apology doesn't mean much to one high-profile critic. Consumer advocate Ralph Nader sent Janklow a scathing letter not long after the accident, demanding that he resign now.

Ralph Nader joins us from Washington.

Thanks for being with us.

Why is this case of such interest to you?

RALPH NADER, CONSUMER ADVOCATE: First of all, he's a chronic speedster. He's been cited for 12 speeding violations. And many more would have been the case, if he wasn't governor, if he wasn't a public official and got off.

And he actually joked about it. And here he goes through a stop sign at 71 miles an hour and kills Randy Scott, the motorcyclist. Only a year earlier, he just missed, going through a stop sign, he just missed a woman in the car with her family by a split-second.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: We should point, he has pled not guilty to this. So he is innocent until proven guilty. He will be facing trial.

NADER: Yes. Of course.

COOPER: You think, though, he should resign, and resign now?

NADER: Absolutely.

There's no question of what he did. He went through a stop sign at 71 miles an hour. He killed an innocent motorcyclist. That is a very severe crime. I understand, he still has to be convicted of it. But it's a slam-dunk prosecution.

(CROSSTALK)

NADER: And he's supposed to be setting an example. He's supposed to be setting an example, as a public official.

COOPER: Does it point to a need for greater driving laws? I want to play you something that he had said to South Dakota legislature back in 1999. Let's play the tape and then talk about it. It's actually just a full screen.

He said: "Bill Janklow speeds when he drives." This is him talking about himself. "Shouldn't, but he does. When he gets the ticket he pays it. But if someone told me I was going to jail for two days for speeding, my driving habits would change."

Do driving laws need to change, get tougher?

NADER: Well, he needs to go to jail, because then maybe his driving habits will change. The quote you just conveyed proves the point. He is a recidivist speedster, both when he was governor, when he's congressman, when he was not in public life. He's a menace on South Dakota highways.

COOPER: I've got to ask you about a couple political issues. Last night's debate, I don't know if you saw it. I assume you did. What did you think of General Clark? How did he do?

NADER: I didn't see the debate.

COOPER: Any thoughts on General Clark, his entrance to the race thus far? How is he...

NADER: Yes. I think he adds more excitement to what is already a pretty exciting group of Democrats, given conventional boundaries of what they're willing to talk about and not willing to talk about.

I don't hear much about the corporate crime wave that all the press has reported for three years that has drained and looted trillions of dollars from millions of workers, their pensions and their jobs and small investors. I don't hear much about getting corrupt money out of politics. I don't hear much about living wage for 47 million full-time working Americans who can't live on what they make.

But within the normal conventions of Democratic dialogue, the Democratic Party, it's a much more exciting field. And I think Dennis Kucinich is the one who is the most forthright about standing for the people's interests.

COOPER: You talked about General Clark adding excitement. Do you plan to add any excitement into this race in 2004? Any chance you're going to enter?

NADER: I won't decide one way or the other until the end of the year.

COOPER: All right, Ralph Nader, appreciate you joining us tonight. Thank you.

NADER: You're welcome.

COOPER: Well, fresh off his first debate, retired General Wesley Clark is wasting no time hitting the campaign trail. He spent the day in the crucial primary state of New Hampshire, where he is taking part in a town meeting tonight.

And that's where CNN's Dan Lothian is standing by for a live report.

Dan, how's it looking today?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, as you know, we're only about 17 weeks or so until the New Hampshire primary.

And as you mentioned, this is a critical state, a critical primary state. And Clark is here for the very first time since announcing his bid for the presidential race more than a week ago. He is currently meeting in a town hall meeting here at New England College in New Hampshire, where he's fielding questions on everything from homeland security, the economy and health care.

But Clark, who has been criticized for flip-flopping on his position on the Iraq war, came out swinging in his opening remarks, criticizing the Bush administration for its plan in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WESLEY CLARK (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When I looked at where the country was headed, I looked at the administration that took us without due reason into war in Iraq, without an imminent threat, and claimed it to be a preemptive attack, without really assembling the evidence, but rather seeking evidence to justify, I guess, some predetermined course of action, I saw, it was wrong.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LOTHIAN: Earlier in the day, he was in Manchester, New Hampshire, at a diner there, meeting and greeting. He had a lot of supporters there, but also had some folks who didn't know a lot about him. And he was trying to introduce himself, also pushing that $100 billion jobs plan -- back to you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLARK: I was going to be either a very, very lonely Republican, or I was going to be a very happy Democrat. And I am a Democrat. And I'm proud to be one. I'm a new Democrat. And you know what? I'm going to bring a lot of other new Democrats into this party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: That was Clark earlier today at the Merrimack diner that you were talking about. I guess there has been a fair amount of questioning about his loyalty to the Democratic Party, the same kind of questioning we heard at the debate yesterday.

I'm interested for your perspective, Dan. How good a campaigner is he? What is he like on the campaign trail? Does he seem pretty natural at this? Is there a big growth curve?

LOTHIAN: Well, he does seem somewhat natural at meeting and greeting people. He seemed very relaxed.

In fact, he walked into that diner and he met a senior citizen at the table sitting, a lady sitting by herself. And she said, I don't know a whole lot about you. And he just said: Listen, let me explain to you who I am, what I stand for.

So he seems very natural when it comes to that. But he, by his own admission, has a long way to go in terms of fleshing out the various issues. He said he is still sitting down with his staff. He came to this race late. And he still needs to come up with concrete things in order to harden his issues.

COOPER: And any sense -- nationally, we've heard some polls that they say he's out in front, according to various polls, if you pay any attention to them. Any local polls? Any sense of how he's doing individually in the states?

LOTHIAN: Yes.

There is a recent poll that came out here in New Hampshire. He's running at 11 percent, behind Kerry, who has 22 percent, and behind Dean, who has 35 percent. So he does have a lot of ground to catch up here. And, certainly, as he comes here today, he will be here as well tomorrow trying to win over the voters in this critical primary state.

COOPER: Has he kissed any babies yet?

LOTHIAN: We haven't seen him kiss any babies. He did bend down, though, inside that diner and surrounded himself by young kids and talked to them about what they were learning about in school, but didn't pick up any babies.

COOPER: All right, let us know when he does.

LOTHIAN: OK.

COOPER: Dan Lothian, thanks very much tonight.

We want to talk about the nation's drug supply. Could it be the next target of terrorists? Our debate tonight. We're going to talk about that.

But, also, we have a debate tonight on the do-not-call list; 50 million people want it, so why is it hung up in the courts? We'll debate it.

And you're going to meet Joey Pants, Emmy winner Joe Pantoliano from "The Sopranos." He's got a new show starting tonight. We'll hear what he says.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Welcome back.

Could your medicine cabinet be the next front in the war on terror? That's the question. A new report says terrorists could easily taint America's pharmaceutical supply, especially with the counterfeiting of drugs on the rise and purchasing drugs on the Internet.

Joining me from Washington is the author of that chilling new study, William Livingstone from Global Options, a risk management firm.

William, thanks for being with us. I know it's a complex scenario, but break it down for us. How is the drug supply at risk?

WILLIAM LIVINGSTONE, GLOBAL OPTIONS INC.: Well, there is a growing terrorist threat to America's medical supply system.

On one hand, you have terrorists who have -- terrorist organizations who have been involved in smuggling pharmaceuticals and in manufacturing counterfeit pharmaceuticals. And then another trend is occurring at the same time. Terrorists are seeking to increase the lethality of the attacks that they are mounting by using chemical weapons, including poison.

COOPER: Let's pause there. You mentioned terrorist groups are already doing this. I believe you're referring to the IRA and Hezbollah, who you say in your report have been basically making -- counterfeiting medicines.

LIVINGSTONE: In the early 1990s, the IRA, the Irish Republican Army, set up a clandestine laboratory in Florida to produce a anti- parasitic drug. It was a counterfeit drug. And with the profits from that operation, it has supported their efforts in Northern Ireland.

COOPER: And you're saying Hezbollah basically was manufacturing methamphetamine, bringing it to the U.S. from Canada. Is that right?

LIVINGSTONE: Well, earlier in the 1990s, Hezbollah was purchasing a pharmaceutical in Canada that was legal and not well- controlled, and bringing it and smuggling it across the border into the United States, where it is very carefully controlled.

And they were using the drug to produce methamphetamine. It's a precursor to the process. And so, from those profits, the Hezbollah was using it to support their operations and their terrorist attacks.

COOPER: Well, William, if this is such a major concern, someone from CNN put the question to someone in the Department of Homeland Security. We have got the videotape of it. We're going to show that. And then let's respond to it.

This is Gordon Johndroe from the Department of Homeland Security, talking about this threat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORDON JOHNDROE, HOMELAND SECURITY DEPARTMENT: We don't see it as a top priority for al Qaeda or other terrorist groups. And we have to focus our energies on other areas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Now, how do you explain that? Are they just mistaken or are they just not up to snuff? What's going on?

LIVINGSTONE: Well, unfortunately, the threat is really under the radar screen. Prior to our study, there really hadn't been a threat assessment completed, actually measured the threat to our drug supply system.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: I'm just a little confused, though. Is the threat that they're going to manufacture fake drugs that will poison people, in your opinion, or is it that they are going to manufacture these fake drugs just to raise money to fund their terrorist operations elsewhere?

LIVINGSTONE: Well, terrorists are already using a lot of counterfeit goods to raise money for their operations. The fear is that they may go the next step and actually taint a popular drug with a poison and introduce it into our drug supply system.

COOPER: After the Tylenol tampering incident, which I think was back in 1982...

LIVINGSTONE: Yes.

COOPER: Requirements were strengthened. There was stringent packaging rules put into effect. Is that not enough?

LIVINGSTONE: Well, the anti-tampering procedures that were put into effect are basically easy to replicate. And that's the reason you see a growth in counterfeiting around the world.

Terrorists basically can get access to the same equipment used by regular manufacturers and they can produce a drug, package it. And the consumer really can't tell the difference.

COOPER: So, bottom line, what needs to be done now?

LIVINGSTONE: Well, there are a couple things.

First of all, because the issue really hasn't been addressed by government or private industry, the first thing to do is to recognize that, while it might be a low-probability threat, it has very, very high consequences. Two, other industries have come together with government to work together to find ways to reduce risk. And a similar situation hasn't occurred with the pharmaceutical industry and the U.S. government.

And then, finally, there need to be new anti-tampering provisions to better protect drugs.

COOPER: All right, it's an interesting report. William Livingstone from Global Options Inc., I appreciate you joining us tonight.

LIVINGSTONE: Thank you.

COOPER: All right.

Our next report on terrorism will show you what Pakistan is doing in the hunt for Osama bin Laden along the Afghan border, what they're doing and what they're not doing, we should say. Also: American TV invaded by the Brits? What's going on? Don't U.S. producers have any ideas of their own? We're going to talk to Richard Quest all about it.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: And welcome back.

Pakistan is considered a big U.S. ally in the war on terror. But, for months, the face of al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, is thought to have been roaming free within Pakistan's borders. So why haven't Pakistani authorities been able to catch him?

National correspondent Mike Boettcher reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE BOETTCHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pakistan's tribal areas, a remote and forbidding place and the place where Osama bin Laden is believed to be hiding.

The area is called Wazirstan. It's just across the border from Afghanistan in the rugged mountains southwest of Peshawar. Intelligence sources believe bin Laden is being protected by some of the fiercely independent clans that live there. Until now the area has been off limits even to Pakistan's own national army.

PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, PAKISTANI PRESIDENT: For over a century nobody went inside this area. For the first time in our operation against terrorism we debated with the tribal elders and we were allowed entry.

BOETTCHER: That admission by Pakistan's president shows why the hunt for bin Laden is taking a long time but, he adds, the U. S. , specifically the CIA, is actively involved in the search providing aerial surveillance and listening devices.

MUSHARRAF: This is CIA here assisting us. Your intelligence organizations are assisting us and they know exactly what is happening on the ground.

BOETTCHER: Earlier this month, the Pakistan military was on the move in the tribal areas using helicopters and all terrain vehicles. Sources say it was an attempt to flush out members of al Qaeda.

For the record, a spokesman would only call it a training exercise and said no U.S. troops were involved. While U.S. officials also say no Americans were involved, opposition politicians disagree.

SHUJA-UL MULK, PAKISTANI NATL. ASSEMBLY (through translator): This was no training exercise. We strongly protest these covert American operations on our soil. It is a violation of our sovereignty and we will stand in their way.

BOETTCHER: Musharraf admits al Qaeda still has support from Pakistanis, including in the tribal areas and there have been reports in the last two weeks of sympathizers inside the military with several officers under investigation or arrest.

PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: While the Pakistani government, much of that government is doing its best to go after al Qaeda, al Qaeda has also found a safe refuge in many places in Pakistan, so it's kind of a mixed picture.

BOETTCHER: Pakistan has captured a number of leading al Qaeda members including 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. President Musharraf says they've also come close to capturing Osama bin Laden and says his country has a new strike force trained by the U.S. to now go after him.

Mike Boettcher, CNN, Tucson.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: All right, coming up, we're going to debate the do-not- call list: 50 million people on one side, telemarketers on the other. Well, that's not all who is on that side.

Also, we'll celebrate the life of the man who tried everything, George Plimpton.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Time for "The Reset." Let's look at tonight's top stories.

President Bush welcomed Russian President Putin to Camp David today with Iraq at the top of the agenda. President Putin says he won't rule out sending Russian troops to Iraq, but he wants greater cooperation with the U.N.

The incoming head of the Federal Air Marshals Program says he has an idea to improve airline security. He wants other federal officers such as Secret Service agents to help provide security when they take commercial flight.

Laci Peterson's family has filed a civil lawsuits, trying to block Scott Peterson from receiving money if he sells his story. Scott Peterson is awaiting trial in the murder of his wife. You know that. Laci Peterson's mother wants any proceeds that might go to Scott Peterson to be put into a trust until the trial is over.

And fans and fellow writers are remembering one of the true free spirits of American letters. To many, George Plimpton was the professional amateur, known for taking on a multitude of jobs and writing about them. He took a few snaps behind center with the Baltimore Colts, took the ice with the NHL's Boston Bruins, circled the track in an Indy race car and even took the reigns in a harness race. One of the his best known books, "Paper Lion," documented his time training with the Detroit Lions. Other books included "Out of My League," "Bogey Man" and "Shadow."

Born in New York in 1927, the son of a diplomat, Plimpton used his upper-class connections well. He sailed with future President John F. Kennedy, and played tennis with George H.W. Bush and rode on Air Force One with President Clinton. At Harvard, he was a classmate of Robert Kennedy, and was walking directly in front of the senator when Kennedy was assassinated. He acted in numerous films, including "Reds' and "Good Will Hunting." Plimpton also developed a stand-up routine in Las Vegas and played percussion. with the New York Philharmonic.

In an interview a little over a month ago, he said, "I have a lot of life to go. But now is the time to think about memoirs and put something together." Plimpton was married twice, fathered four children. He died at the age of 76. A remarkable life.

A popular law designed to pull the plug on telemarketers is still on hold. The national "do not call" list is scheduled to take effect next week, but the registry is still tangled up in legal challenges. A federal judge says it violates free speech. Yet millions says telemarketers are intrusive.

Want to take a close issue right now. Joining me are William Heberer, whose law firm represents telemarketing companies, and California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, who joins us from San Francisco.

I want to start -- Mr. Heberer -- both of you, I appreciate you joining us.

Mr. Heberer, let me start with you. Can 60 million Americans really be wrong? They say telemarketers are intrusive. They don't want it. How can you defend it?

WILLIAM HEBERER, OPPOSES "DO NOT CALL" LIST: Well, I think what we're defending this on is the First Amendment ground. The -- as the court in Colorado said, and I think rightly so, many types of calls are equally intrusive. To the extent they are, the federal "do not call" list does not prohibit all types of telephone calls, it would only a sales solicitation calls that would be precluded. Other calls, such as example, polls calls, political contributions, charitable solicitations, these types of calls would not be precluded by the "do not call" list, but would obviously be equally as intrusive. That's the problem.

COOPER: Well, let me bring in the attorney general of California. Attorney general, do you think this is a free speech issue?

BILL LOCKYER, CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Well, it is partly, because free speech is appropriately protected in our country.

But this is commercial speech, not the kind of speech that was mentioned, that's charitable, that's political, that's part of the robust civic dialogue. This is advertising-type speech, which legally we can regulate much more readily than the purer forms of speech.

COOPER: But they're essentially saying that it is not fair to say that a political group can call you at home at night, but a company selling whatever they sell cannot.

LOCKYER: Well, the point is we can legally regulate the commercial speech with lower standards than the other kinds of political speech that require a much more rigorous test.

HEBERER: Well, that is true, but the fact remains that the distinction between commercial speech and non-commercial speech is really irrelevant for the purpose that the FTC said that they were trying to protect here. The purpose of the "do not call list" is supposed to be protect consumer privacy, and the privacy interest is implicated the same way, whether it's commercial speech or non- commercial speech. It's just as intrusive to get a call from someone running for governor of California as it is to get a call from a telemarketer.

COOPER: Attorney General Lockyer...

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: Go ahead.

LOCKYER: These days you get a lot of calls from people running for governor of California. But still, the point is that we can regulate more successfully this kind of speech. The substantial interest is protecting people's privacy from commercial advertising. It's much more difficult to regulate political and charitable calls.

COOPER: Well, let's talk about commercial advertising, Mr. Heberer. I mean, there are other forms of commercial ads out there -- billboards, other ways to reach consumers. What about those?

HEBERER: Well, those certainly exist, but we think that people that are involved in the telemarketing channel should be on all fours with those people and be able to contact the consumer through this channel. It's not so much that there aren't other avenues out there, it's that this particular channel is being closed off to us based on the content of our speech, and that is a constitutional problem.

LOCKYER: It should be mentioned that it's not closed off. In California, they were a little over six million phones listed by people that wanted to be on "do not call," but there are lots of phones that are still available that people that didn't seem to care enough to want to register. So it's not totally precluded and there are these alternative means of communication.

COOPER: Attorney General Lockyer...

LOCKYER: Yes.

COOPER: Telemarketers argue that a lot of people are going to lose their jobs. What do you say to those people who may, in fact, lose their jobs if this goes through?

LOCKYER: Well, I think it's probably not true. But the jobs aren't protected by the First Amendment. Speech is protected by that.

COOPER: You think it's probably not true that they'll lose jobs?

LOCKYER: Yes. No, I think they're still going to have plenty of opportunity to do telemarketing. There are exceptions, not just the ones that we have talked about, but existing business relationships with your bank, with your newspaper and so on, that are allowed to call you under these rulings, unless you specifically say to them put me on the "do not call" even for you.

So I think there is not going to be an economic impact. There are some states that have had these rules, like Missouri and others, under A.G. Nixon, that have been very robust about enforcing these. They still have telemarketing programs in those states.

COOPER: I would be remiss if I didn't ask the question, both of you. Mr. Heberer, do you calls at dinnertime? Did you sign up for this list?

HEBERER: I have not signed up for the list. You know, dinnertime -- I have dinner at 8:00 at night, so I don't know that there's a standard dinnertime. I get calls throughout the day.

And I think that's one of the other problems with this. I often hear people talk about regulating the dinner hour. I'd like to know in this day and age what the dinner hour really is.

COOPER: All right. You didn't sign on the list. Attorney General Lockyer, did you?

LOCKYER: Yes, I did, and it, of course, cuts off the calls for all day, not just some specific time.

COOPER: All right. We're going to have to leave it there.

LOCKYER: But I did sign up.

COOPER: All right. We'll leave it there. William Heberer, appreciate you joining us. And Attorney General Bill Lockyer, thank you very much.

Coming up, completely different subject. Joe Pantoliano from "The Sopranos" joins us, basking in the glow of his Emmy win this week, and his new show, which starts later tonight.

And Monday, Paula Zahn returns with the dynamic Gloria Estefan.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: And welcome back. Death penalty has been banned in Massachusetts since 1984, but now Republican Governor Mitt Romney is making a push to bring it back. This week, he named a panel of experts to write a death penalty bill that relies heavily on science. Its goal is to write a measure guaranteeing that an innocent person is not executed while at the same time ensuring that those guilty of the worst crimes receive the ultimate penalty.

Paula Zahn spoke with Governor Romney in an exclusive interview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Sir, how can you guarantee that an innocent person would not be executed?

GOV. MITT ROMNEY (R), MASSACHUSETTS: Well, you know, science is able to point out where innocent people are on death row, and it's able to free innocent people. Science can also identify guilty people. And that's why we have assembled a panel of scientists -- not politicians, but scientists and legal professors and so forth to come together and say let's fashion a process and a statute which assures that we're using science, forensic science, we're using it in such a way that we would not in any circumstance execute an innocent person.

ZAHN: But, sir, you would also have to acknowledge in the state of Illinois, that same kind of science determined that there were some 13 men who had been wrongly convicted, and they were ultimately let go.

ROMNEY: We can use, through science and technology, which allows us to determine the ultimate innocence of someone who may have been convicted. In the same way, we can look at a case where there has been a conviction, and where science gives the kind of evidence we need that the individual was in fact the perpetrator of the crime. When we remove the uncertainty, which is normally associated with a conviction, and we hold to a higher standard, a higher evidentiary standard, a matter that would involve the ultimate penalty.

But in cases of terrorism, the most heinous crimes, in cases where obstruction of justice is involved, we would apply that test to assure that those being executed would only be executed if we were virtually certain they had committed the crime.

ZAHN: So let's say that you feel you have that scientific evidence. Are you going to have a problem rejecting a pardon for someone sitting on death row, who maintains his innocence and interprets data, or his defense team interprets data one way and the state interprets it another way?

ROMNEY: Well, we're going to rely on juries, of course, to determine the guilt or innocence of an individual. Then following the assessment of guilt or innocence, we would look and determine is there in this circumstance the kind of hard evidence which guarantees that the verdict that has been reached by the jury is not based upon circumstantial evidence or even eyewitness evidence, but is rather absolutely convincing and compelling. It's incontrovertible evidence that this person perpetrated the crime. And if that's the case and you also have a case of extraordinary brutality, or one which involves the obstruction of justice in our society, such as terrorism, then in that case, you would consider the ultimate penalty.

ZAHN: So the way the system is designed, you don't think it is possible that an innocent person would ever be put to death?

ROMNEY: That's the objective of this panel. And that's why I've called it together. Not people of political backgrounds, but rather people of scientific backgrounds, some of the leading forensic scientists in the nation, some of the leading law professors, a former judge, and others, all coming together to fashion, if you will, in a unique way, not based on old law but on new law, which takes into account DNA evidence and modern technology, to assure that we have a process in place which preserves the rights of our citizens, the rights of those that are accused, and assures that we never in any circumstance imaginable would execute someone who is not actually guilty.

ZAHN: And finally tonight, I'm certain, Governor, you have interfaced with a lot of victims' family members. And I guess what I really want to understand here is the challenge in making these value judgments about which victim of a crime's killer deserves an execution, who doesn't, and how you color those judgments.

ROMNEY: In some cases, the crime is so awful and offends the society in such a way that considering the ultimate penalty is something that we want to be able to do. In cases of terrorism, for instance, in cases of the most brutal murders, where children are involved. In those cases, we want to be able to deter the evil acts of evil men and women, and we believe that a capital punishment statute is something which is necessary to help us do that.

ZAHN: Governor Mitt Romney, thank you very much for your time this evening. Appreciate you dropping by.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, talking to us after his Emmy win this week, you know him as Ralphie on "The Sopranos." Joey Pantoliano joins us next.

And also a second dose of TV, what is behind all the British TV shows on American TV? What is going on? Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE PANTOLIANO, ACTOR: Anthony, did I ever tell you about the time I had a Harley?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, cool.

PANTOLIANO: 74 shovelhead. I could blow off Porsches on that thing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not my dad's Boxster (ph).

PANTOLIANO: What's your name?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Matt.

PANTOLIANO: Matt, no offense, but your dad's Boxster (ph) is a Porsche with panties. That's not what I'm saying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, from that, you might recognize the character, Ralphie from "The Sopranos." He was brutal, even by "The Sopranos" yardstick of thuggery. While Ralphie nearly lost his head last season, the actor playing him won something else, Joe Pantoliano. Well, he's gotten over being whacked, and tonight is the premiere of "The Handler" on CBS, where you'll see a kinder, gentler Joey Pants than perhaps you're used to.

We talked to him this week and asked him about that Emmy moment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PANTOLIANO: It was about the journey, that walk up to that stage was reminding me that when I was a little kid, I always had a dream and I got to fulfill it, finally. And so it reaches out to so many people, my cousins, my friends, that would watch me go to New York City and take speech classes and acting lessons, and it was just an extraordinary moment. It was a numbing experience for me.

COOPER: And I mean, you were just on a whirlwind. You've been at this game a very long time. You know, everyone sort of recognizes you, I remember see you in a lot of stuff over the years, and now you have your own show. It's starting Friday night. That has just got to be an amazing sort of cap.

PANTOLIANO: It is. It's what we all wish for as an actor. I mean, basically you just want to make a living. I've always wanted to just make a living. Anything after that was gravy. I always wanted to make -- pay the rent with my acting money.

COOPER: Let's show a clip from this show, this is "The Handler" on CBS.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE HANDLER")

PANTOLIANO: Wear this. It gets cold.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's very attractive.

PANTOLIANO: Give me your shoes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My shoes? I just got these. They're warm and they're waterproof.

PANTOLIANO: You ever see a panhandler wear $100 shoes? Put these on. Let's go. C'mon. There. You look like a real bum. See ya.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: You play always sort of tough characters, and this is kind of a departure. You're a nice guy at the same time. PANTOLIANO: Yes. What's interesting is because I'm undercover FBI, I will go undercover and be bad guys all the time. We're always playing characters. We're actors playing FBI agents who play parts on the show.

I'm like the grand dictator. I get a case, I write the scenario, I cast it with my agents, my FBI agents, or with informants and cooperators, and I put myself in there. I can cast myself as a hired hitman.

COOPER: Is it very close to what you're like as a real person?

PANTOLIANO: Yes. Yes, absolutely. We had no time, I was doing a play, "Franky and Johnny"

COOPER: Which I saw, it was great.

PANTOLIANO: Thank you. I was hired. And I went from Sunday to Monday working. And I just had no time to prepare. So I just, you know, learned the words and started talking.

COOPER: You always wanted to act, from...

PANTOLIANO: From the time I was a kid. It was the only opportunity -- I never had a plan b. I was dyslexic and a functionally illiterate, and my stepfather was a career criminal. Came home from federal penitentiary, saw in me the future that he had squandered and said, you can follow your bliss, and you can -- if you work hard, your dream may come true.

And, you know, it was really -- that's why I got so choked up out there that Sunday. I -- he was right, you know? And I never thought it could happen. I never thought I could get this far.

COOPER: Well, I wish you all the success in the world. As I said, this show has gotten great reviews, we look forward to seeing it on Friday night.

PANTOLIANO: Thank you.

COOPER: All right. Well, at least we know, our original man in London, Richard Quest is here -- look he's right here -- to tell us why so many American TV shows claim British heritage. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: At first glance, the new NBC comedy "Coupling" doesn't have much in common with "All In The Family." One is about 6 randy singles in Chicago. The other, a working class bigot in Queens, but both started out with a distinctly British accent. For about 30 years there's been a quiet invasion on the teles. Joining me now is our own British import, Richard Quest, to talk about it. Richard, good to see you.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: See, the problem is...

COOPER: Good lord.

QUEST: The problem is with American television won't actually run the British program.

COOPER: They should just transport them directly?

QUEST: They won't do that. Instead, they buy the format. So we ended up with "Sanford and Son" which is actually "Steptoe," "All In The Family," all these different programs.

COOPER: Does everyone in Britain speak so loudly?

QUEST: Bear with me on this.

COOPER: All right.

QUEST: Stay with me on this. Except for example two or three British programs that were run on public television here, "Monte Python," and "Benny Hill" and, of course, "Are You Being Served."

COOPER: And that's what we think of as British comedies, those are funny. Everyone here loves those.

QUEST: Except we stopped laughing at that 20 years ago. How many times can you hear about Mrs. Slocombe's pussy? Or how many times can Mr. Humphrey say I'm free.

COOPER: For Americans, never enough. You guys stopped laughing at that stuff 20 years ago?

QUEST: And more. However, there are some programs that are taking from Britain and simply transported in format. "The Millionaire," for example, "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire", fascinating, because with that program came a booklet, several volumes how it should be done. You know everything...

COOPER: And they do everything, every country -- Pakistan has the same program.

QUEST: Except, of course, the million of those is not quite the same as a million of ours. However, it doesn't matter, because the music, the set the way the lights go whoosh, all that sort of stuff.

COOPER: See, I get why so many American producers are taking British prgramming, because I think British TV is better.

QUEST: Except what we are now starting to see the critics in Britain say is American TV is actually much better than people give it credit for. If the week of the Emmys, "West Wing," "The Sopranos," "Six Foot Under," "Seinfeld," "Frazier," all those programs are original, they are different and doing extremely well around the world. Oh yes, if you want to powdered wig and a bit of old costume drama... COOPER: No, no. In Britain, you turn on the TV, and it's like saucy documentaries about British people taking trips to Beza (ph), and like going crazy and vomiting and it's compelling television.

QUEST: It is reality television which maybe would not go down so well in this country, because...

COOPER: It's real, reality television...

QUEST: Yes, but you have a higher threshold. You can't even show a naked lady's chest in much of American television.

COOPER: Yes, that is true. And what, that's a bad thing, you're saying?

QUEST: I'm not. I'm saying you can't have your cake and eat it.

COOPER: All right. Do you think this trend is going to continue. Do you we going to see more and British programming?

QUEST: I think you're going to see more formats, but as "The Weakest Link" showed, when a format is transported too much, the Americans won't watch it. And nobody wants to take risks. The stakes are too high in the American television market, far too high. Millions, tens of millions are at stake. You can't afford a failure in primetime on the network television.

COOPER: I think it's going to continue, because frankly there are no original ideas in Hollywood and people have to look overseas.

QUEST: How can you say that? I've just given you half a dozen original ideas.

COOPER: Richard Quest, you're the weakest link. Good-bye. No, you're not. You're not the weakest link at all.

Thanks very much for being with us on this extended broadcast. Paula Zahn, you'll be happy to know, will be back on Monday. Things will return to normal. "LARRY KING LIVE" is next. Have a great night.

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





Medicine>