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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

California Wildfires: Battle Rages On; Former Iraqi General Suspected of Attacks in Iraq

Aired October 29, 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): The latest on the fires. What's fueling the California inferno?

Ding dong ditch. A midnight prank turns deadly.

Our special series, "Infidelity." Tonight: athletes who cheat and why some women stand by them.

Scott Peterson goes to court and prosecutors lay out their case.

And dramatic new images. Can prayer heal the body?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

COOPER: Good evening. Thanks for joining us on 360.

Tonight, the California fires claim another life, the life of someone who was battling to put them out. Word tonight one firefighter is dead, two others wounded. They were battling the cedar fire, right now the largest one in the state.

All day, as you can see, the winds have been shifting. The 13 wildfires growing evermore unpredictable. You're looking at four of the biggest trouble spots.

California's treasurer says the state is likely going to have to spend $100 million to extinguish the fires. Cooler ocean breezes are now pushing the flames east, toward mountain communities. That has led to even more evacuations.

So far, about 200,000 homes are destroyed. The hot zone stretches from the mountains of San Diego County up the coast of Ventura County, northwest of Los Angeles. So far, at least 620,000 acres have been blackened, roughly the size of the entire state of Rhode Island.

Tonight, we are taking you to the fires' front lines. CNN's Jason Carroll is in Julian, California; Frank Buckley is farther north in Lake Arrowhead. We begin with Jason Carroll -- Jason. JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the flames are advancing from the south just behind me and also from the west. This is a wind- driven, a fuel-driven fire that has already claimed the life of one firefighter and injured two others.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL (voice-over): This is what the fight against a massive brush fire out of control has come down to: a battle to save homes, one at a time.

(on camera): You are setting a backfire to try to protect this home over here? Is that what's going on?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Correct. We're going to burn off the light- flashing fuels here, let it burn down around. Burn the light-flashing fuels off of here right before the front of the fire gets here.

CARROLL (voice-over): Thirty-three hundred firefighters are on the front lines in San Diego County, the worst hit by the California wildfires. Many are here in Julian, but they can't be everywhere in this mountain community north of San Diego. So for people like the Verdovas (ph), who refuse to evacuate, they are on their own.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just going to stop the fire. That's all.

CARROLL: The cedar fire, which is threatening the Verdovas' (ph) home, has scorched more than 230,000 acres so far. It has destroyed almost 1,000 structures. But weather or not cooperating, winds are increasing, making the battle all the more difficult.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't get in front of it because that thing has got a life of its own and it's just going to keep rolling.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, guys. You've got to do a better job. Let's go. Let's go.

CARROLL: Again, at this point, one firefighter was killed, two others were injured. They're trying to get some more information surrounding exactly how that firefighter was killed. Again, at this point, the fire here in Julian, just 15 percent contained, but the winds, as you can see, here are kicking up.

They are so erratic, making things especially difficult for firefighters trying to get this fire contained. Back to you.

COOPER: All right. Jason Carroll reporting. No end in sight in that region.

The situation near Los Angeles is tense tonight as well. The merged old Grand Prix fire has threatening several mountain communities. CNN's Frank Buckley joins us live from Lake Arrowhead -- Frank. FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, we are at the northeast corner of Lake Arrowhead, where there is a very tough fight going on right now, mostly from the air as helicopters attack the San Bernardino National Forest. Right down here behind me, you can see all of the smoke. From time to time, we will see these trees going up in flames.

And if you look here in the foreground, you can see that the trees are very brown. That is because these trees are dead. They are the victims of bark beetles, and some 50 percent or more of the trees in this region have been killed by these bark beetles.

The firefighters tell me when these trees go up, they go up just like as if you've had your Christmas tree in the back yard for a month and lit it on fire. It goes up immediately, except instead of a 7- foot tree, you are talking about a 100-foot tall tree.

Now, why is the effort here so important? Look right beyond me on this side. These are the homes that are just around Lake Arrowhead, the northeast section of Lake Arrowhead just beyond the Cedar Glen neighborhood. Right around all of these homes you have multiple strike teams, firefighters doing structure protection, doing the best they can to make sure that these homes do not go up. But there have been some situations around Lake Arrowhead today where homes have gone up.

We've got some video of smoke surrounding some of the homes. It was difficult to get in on the ground, but we were told there was extensive structure loss to the south of Lake Arrowhead. This was the problem that they were so concerned about yesterday, that the fire would jump Highway 18. And, in fact, it did do that overnight and is now roaring around Lake Arrowhead, pinching Lake Arrowhead from both sides. Right now, thousands of homes are threatened by this fire that is roaring around this area.

Meanwhile, the search for the suspect continues. That suspect described in a composite sketch that was released this week as a white male in his 20s. We can tell you that suspects, or at least people, have been detained at various locations. In one instance in Wrightwood (ph) today, a man who was living apparently in a green van, some residents called it in.

He was interviewed. He was photographed. His van was searched. They didn't find any information, and that man was released.

But as we've said, Anderson, there's a great deal of effort going on to find the suspect, and that was one of the efforts that took place today. Right now here, the structure protection continues -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right. Frank Buckley, thanks very much for that tonight. A lot of people in need this evening.

Now, this is the largest wildfire battle in California's state history. It is not the worst one in U.S. history. Here's a fast fact for you. The worst U.S. wildfire was in Peshtigo, Wisconsin; the date, October, 1871. Fifteen hundred people died, more than 3.7 million acres burned.

Well, more on the fires shortly. But now we go to Iraq.

Two members of the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry were killed in northern Iraq last night. Their tank rolled over an explosive device. Now, in recent days, attack on U.S. troops and their allies have been increasing. Thirty-three attacks per day on average, say coalition officials. And that is double the number in early September.

Tonight, a potentially significant development, however. About an hour ago, Pentagon officials said they now know who is coordinating the attacks. Senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. military officials believe the mastermind behind the latest attacks is Izzat Ibrahim Al-Duri, who was the Iraqi military's northern regional commander and a member of Saddam Hussein's inner circle. He is number six, the king of clubs on the list of 55 most wanted Iraqis. The highest-ranking former official still at large with the exception of Saddam Hussein himself.

Sources say U.S. Commander Lieutenant General Rick Sanchez has told the Pentagon the capture of several suspected members of the Ansar al-Islam terrorist group within the last week in northern Iraq provided the key intelligence, including clear indications the Saddam loyalists are working hand in glove with foreign fighters linked to al Qaeda. One suspect, said to be very close to Al-Duri, fingered him as the brains and financier behind the attacks.

(on camera): The U.S. military is intently searching for both Al-Duri and Saddam Hussein in the area north of Baghdad. It's not believed, however, they are hiding in the same place.

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, we should point out, with the latest casualties in Iraq, a sad milestone has been reached. Since May 1, the day President Bush declared major combat over, 117 Americans have died in hostile action. Before May 1, 114 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq.

Now, you'll remember that President Bush made that May 1 statement on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln. Clearly visible, a banner declaring "Mission accomplished." As senior White House correspondent John King reports, that setting and the symbolism are now coming under a criticism.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: This made-for-TV banner is, for the moment, exhibit A in the debate over the president's handling of postwar Iraq. The White House now concedes it produced and paid for the banner as part of the president's May visit to the USS Abraham Lincoln. But it says Mr. Bush was accurate on Tuesday when he described its meaning.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The "Mission Accomplished" sign, of course, was put up by the members of the USS Abraham Lincoln, saying that their mission was accomplished.

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This was about paying tribute to our men and women in the military for a job well done, for a mission that they had accomplished after a very lengthy deployment. And the president was proud to do that.

KING: Critics on the campaign trail and in Congress don't buy it. They say Mr. Bush used the ship and banner to send a broader message that is now backfiring.

SEN. TOM DASCHLE (D-SD), MINORITY LEADER: We've lost more lives since he's declared victory than we lost prior to the time he declared victory. And this latest fabrication is yet another illustration of their unwillingness to accept reality.

KING: Made-for-TV moments are a staple of the modern presidency, but the emphasis on image backfires sometimes. Made in the USA was the theme of this event in January. But look again, and it turns out the boxes were in China. A cover-up the White House attributed to an over zealous volunteer. Now this banner is, for at least a few days, a focal point in the debate over whether the president underestimated the challenges in postwar Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: And fresh evidence tonight that at least one senior White House official has been worrying for some time that this might return, the banner, as a political problem for the president. Communications director Dan Bartlett told an academic forum early this month that he approved hanging the banner, again, he said, at the request of the crew. And while Bartlett says the president's critics are now taking that banner out of context, he said he would not cast his decision as a mistake. But he did say this: "Sometimes pictures have a way of coming back, which can be very difficult" -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right. John King, thanks for that tonight.

We're going to take a quick trip right now "Cross Country" and see what else is happening in the country.

Here comes the sun, or at least particles from it. Scientists say a giant geomagnetic storm is now hitting the Earth. It's causing major havoc with some global communications on Earth and has already caused a Japanese communications satellite to malfunction. It could even lead to power outages.

That is certainly the bad news. On a somewhat positive note, strong geomagnetic storms can produce colorful lights in the sky, as you see right there, at night. Visible as far as Texas and Florida.

New York: sex offender sweep. Federal agents round up 56 foreign nationals convicted of child sex offenses. Part of Operation Predator. Sixteen suspects are still at large.

Golden, Colorado: Columbine. The new sheriff says officials knew about the violent nature of the two students who carried out the Columbine High School massacre two years before the bloodbath. Now, the sheriff says newly discovered documents show authorities examined the killer's Web site.

On the site, the students discussed blowing up pipe bombs and looking for a good location, a spot they called ground zero. There was also a search warrant that was not acted upon.

New York City: revising the toll. Officials say the number of people killed in the terrorist attacks on the twin towers has dropped by 40 to 2,752. They say it is part of an ongoing review.

And that's a look at stories "Cross Country" tonight.

A teenage sniper victim faces down his alleged shooter. The boy who was shot outside his middle school takes the stand. We'll go live to the courthouse.

Plus, our weeklong series, "Broken Vows: Infidelity in America." We'll look at the temptations facing pro athletes and the impact it has on their wives.

And the power of thought. Can your mind heal your body? A look at some amazing new images that may hold the answer.

But first tonight, let's take a look "Inside the Box" at the top stories on tonight's network evening newscasts.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, a dramatic day in the trial of sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad, as a teenage victim took the stand. CNN's Jeanne Meserve has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fourteen-year- old sniper survivor Iran Brown described his shooting in stark and simple terms. It happened just after his aunt dropped him off at school.

"I opened the door and walked out. I put my book bag down and I got shot. It brought me closer to god," he testified. Brown was calm, controlled, betraying no emotion. But sitting across the room from John Muhammad was something that terrified and traumatized him, according to an attorney who briefly (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... second-hand information from his mother, which I'm sure is absolutely accurate. He just lives in holy terror. MESERVE: After he was shot, Iran made it back to his aunt's car. In court, Tonya Brown listened to the 911 call she made as she rushed him to a medical military. "Hold it, Iran. Hold it," she says, apparently directing her nephew to apply pressure to his wound. "Oh, my god, we've got to hurry up," she yells, blowing her horn and urging other drivers to get out of the way.

When the tape was over, prosecutors asked Tonya Brown if Iran said anything to her during that horrifying drive. "He told me that he loved me," she replied tearfully.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: Several witnesses today testified that they saw the Chevy Caprice, in which John Muhammad and Lee Malvo were arrested, at or near shooting scenes. And some said they told investigators about it at the time, raising the question, could the sniper shootings have been stopped earlier -- Anderson.

COOPER: Jeanne Meserve, thanks very much tonight.

With Halloween approaching, parents, you may want to pay attention to this next story. This evening in Boca Raton, Florida, a funeral for a teenager shot by his neighbor while playing a prank. Now, family and friends of course are in shock. Investigators are trying to figure out whether they should even arrest the neighbor.

More now from CNN's Susan Candiotti.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just after midnight last weekend in this quiet neighborhood, two teens, goofing off, police say, ringing doorbells and running for cover. A prank that took Mark Drewes life on his 16th birthday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It seems so senseless and tragic.

CANDIOTTI: Police say homeowner Jay Levin, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), told them he heard a noise.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was in fear of his life and he opened the door and was confronted by this individual, believed him to be armed, and shot him.

CANDIOTTI: Police won't say what if anything, the teenager had in his hands. Drewes collapsed in a neighbor's yard across the street. The victim's relatives overcome with grief and anger.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not self-defense. The young man was shot. A young boy was shot in the back, OK?

CANDIOTTI (on camera): For now, police aren't saying whether the teenager was shot in the front or the back. Which way he was facing is important, investigative sources say, as authorities try to decide whether this was an appropriate use of force to protect yourself or your property.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why did he kill my son? He murdered my son.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Levin, seen here in the light gold shirt, told reporters his lawyer advised him to remain silent for now. As family and friends remembered Drewes at a private church service, prosecutors promise a decision soon on whether Levin will be arrested.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, Boca Raton Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, a number of international stories tonight to tell you about. Let's check the "UpLink."

Baghdad, Iraq: cutting back. The International Red Cross trims its staff in the Iraqi capital. This, of course, after Monday's bombing at its Baghdad headquarters. Two Iraqi Red Cross workers and 10 others were killed in that attack.

Bangkok, Thailand: monsoon misery. Take a look at these pictures. Thai soldiers are now on boat patrol to rescue people from flooded villages. This wet mess is affecting at least 200,000 people in eight provinces.

Taiji, Japan: don't kill the dolphins. That is the call being made by a U.S. anti-whaling group. It has released this disturbing video showing a bloody dolphin hunt in the small fishing town. The hunts are allowed under Japanese law and are done close to shore so international regulations do not apply.

Russia: rescue. Eleven coal miners are alive, safe, after being trapped for six days. One miner was found dead and one is still missing at this hour.

And that is tonight's "UpLink."

"Broken Vows: Infidelity in America."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) mentality is a reflection of what I call the culture of adultery in the world of professional sports.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Pro athletes facing temptation at every turn. What impact does it have on wives and girlfriends? We'll talk to Wilt Chamberlain's long-time companion.

Also tonight: justice served. Scott Peterson back in court. Find out why his case is hanging on DNA evidence.

And in a few minutes, the power of the mind. Can it actually heal your body? Dr. Sanjay Gupta with amazing new images that may show how it happens.

First, today's buzz. What do you think? Which is more powerful for healing, mind or medicine? Vote now at cnn.com/360. We're going to have the results at the end of the program.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, more and more you hear about the healing powers of the mind. Now there is some fascinating new visual evidence. A doctor at the University of Pennsylvania has been studying the link between spirituality and health. And he has new images showing what he says are examples of how prayer impacts parts of the brain that affect our well being.

CNN's medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eastern meditations...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

GUPTA: ... or Western prayer. You may be looking at the next fitness craze.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The mind and the body are very intimately connected.

GUPTA: Dr. Andrew Newberg (ph), a radiologist at the University of Pennsylvania, studies what happens inside the brain when you enter the spiritual realm. Using a radioactive dye that targets brain activity, he scans the brains of his subjects to see what happens before meditation or prayer and then during the act.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then what we are going to do is we're going to slide you in here.

GUPTA: So what happens? Activity in the frontal lobe goes up, while the area which gives us a sense of self, separate from the outside world, well that goes quiet. In these brain scans, red signals more activity. Green and yellow less.

The brain on the left is a Franciscan nun in a normal state of mind. On the right, after 30 minutes of intense prayer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They begin to lose that boundary between themselves and the world. They may have a feeling of oneness between themselves and the world.

GUPTA: Another key finding, meditation seems to trigger changes in the hypothalamus, which governs heart rate, blood pressure and hormones like cortisol, the stress hormone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The cortisol is actually an immune suppressant. So if you diminish the cortisol level, then you can actually have an increase in the overall immune function so that if we are thinking about something that makes us anxious, then we relieve the stress hormones. If we are doing something with meditation or prayer, then we stop releasing those stress hormones.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, Sanjay Gupta joins us. Sanjay, the pictures are fascinating, the brain in meditation, not in meditation. But, I mean, is there really evidence? Should doctors suddenly start prescribing prayer and meditation? How skeptical should we be?

GUPTA: Well, it's interesting. I think for a long time doctors and patients have been embracing this sort of thing. I mean, I think prayer and meditation is a large part of a patient's well being and recovery after things. But the prescription part, I think there is probably some scientific evidence now, but probably very few doctors are going to start saying, take two prayers and call me in the morning.

Not there yet. But it's something that certainly merits more study -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right. Really interesting images. Thanks very much, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

GUPTA: Thank you.

COOPER: But of course we want to know what you think. That's our buzz question tonight. It's this: Which is more powerful for healing, mind or medicine? Vote now, cnn.com/360. We'll have the results at the end of the program.

Well, new fires breaking out in Colorado. We're going to have the latest from there.

Plus, broken vows. Why do so many wives of cheating athletes stand by their men?

That and more when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: All right. Time for the "Reset" of tonight's top stories.

Miami, Florida: Schiavo brief filed. Lawyers representing Michael Schiavo filed papers today challenging the law that's keeping Schiavo's wife, Terri, alive. The recently passed law allowed Florida Governor Jeb Bush to order Terri Schiavo's feeding tube reinserted despite her husband's protests.

Washington D.C., conviction overturned. A federal judge overturn the 1983 conviction of this man, former CIA operative Edwin Wilson. The judge said the government knowingly used false evidence to convict Wilson, now 75. The ruling could lead to a new trial.

Galveston, Texas, SARS and pets. Scientists say pets can spread the SARS virus to other animals and it is possible they could spread it to people as well. One expert said if there's another SARS outbreak like the one earlier this year it may not be a bad idea to quarantine pets as well as people.

North Korea, heroes return. Half a century after the end of the Korean War, what are believed to be the remains of eight American soldiers have been recovered at two North Korean battle sites. The remains have been turned over to U.S. authorities in Japan.

Los Angeles, California, rocker arrested. Stone Temple Pilots' singer Scott Weiland has been arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence. Police say he crashed his car into a parked car in Hollywood and left the scene of the accident.

And San Diego County, California, a firefighter killed for the first time since they broke out last week. The Southern California wild fires have claimed the life of a firefighter, bringing the overall death toll to 18. More than 600,000 acres have burned in 5 California counties and about 2,000 homes have been destroyed.

Jamestown, Colorado. Word of fast-moving wildfire. It's forced the evacuation of thousands of homes and businesses south of Denver. The flames are shooting high, as you can see. With firefighters are being deployed to help in California, the area is low on manpower. Ominous news. That is a look at our "Reset."

Now back to the fight against the California wildfires. It's been a tough day all around, a deadly day, for those fighting the state's largest blaze, the Cedar Fire. A firefighter died on the front lines. I want to give you a better sense of what is going on there. Here's how CNN's Jeff Flock saw the battle today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We've really got some wind today. This is uncharacteristic of the past few days. So, this has been really whipping the flames.

(voice-over): This drama continues to unfold here.

Off in the distance you see flames that are just starting to lick up against the trees.

We've got a real live situation maybe you can see a flame coming through this ridge.

We're getting the Santa Ana effects right now. And that's what's responsible for all the problems here in Julian.

This is the same scene we showed you before. But for awhile we had a situation where the fire was crowning through the trees, just exploded up here.

Very -- almost difficult to hear you out here because of the winds and chopper drops that are coming overhead. She's dipping way down into that pond, filling up that 250 gallon bucket and bringing that up and dumping it on the flames.

With the winds blowing like they are, it's difficult to do anything about it. You see where he's flying. He's flying right over top of this house here. They've been trying to save this house.

(on camera): Based on what you're seeing here -- I know you took a walk into the fire lines. They are running a bulldozer back in there. What else are they doing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A hot shot crew in there. They are in there trying to control some of the burning on the grounds, cutting lines.

FLOCK (voice-over): There are these dramas playing out, you know, in 18 miles of fire line right now. Not far from here in Julian, and sometimes they win, sometimes they lose.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Unbelievable images.

Now time for justice served. After being postponed four times long awaited preliminary hearing for Scott Peterson took place in Modesto, California, today. The focus was on witnesses and a dispute over DNA evidence. CNN's Rusty Dornin has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With Amber Frey still expected to be the prosecution's star witness, defense attorney Mark Geragos said, he's worried her attorney, Gloria Allred, will tell her what other witnesses say. So he asked the judge to remove Allred from court. It's not the first time the two have butted heads over this case.

GLORIA ALLRED, ATTORNEY: Today he tried to exclude me from the courtroom. He was unsuccessful. He has three strikes. I don't know when he's going to understand that he has to give us his fixation with me as the attorney for Amber Frey.

DORNIN: The judge let her stay, but told Allred to keep witness testimony from her client. Prosecutors say they plan to call 2 additional witnesses, Margarite Nave (ph), a woman who did house cleaning for Scott and Laci and Amy Rocha, Laci's sister. Rocha was one of the last to see her alive. Was brought by investigators to the house when police were searching the residence.

Most of the day was spent on a battle over whether to allow DNA evidence to be admitted. Hair found on pliers at the bottom of Scott's boat. The prosecution says it's Laci's. The defense wants to have it thrown out, because it involves a relatively new form of DNA testing known as Mitochondrial DNA. A DNA expert from the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia testified for hours about the validity of using that kind of analysis in forensic cases. The expert told the court how she received five packets of evidence from Modesto Police, including a blood sample on a card and hair. The judge will not decide on the admissibility of the hair until Monday.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DORNIN: Well, that's when the defense expert will tell the court that they expect that the mitochondrial DNA analysis is just not reliable. Meantime, defense attorney Mark Geragos, will continue cross-examination of the prosecution's FBI expert on tomorrow -- Mark Geragos just stepped outside with the Petersons. He said he is glad the preliminary hearing is finally under way and hopes the truth comes out quickly and the family said they are doing fine -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right, Rusty Dornin, thanks for the update. Joining me now, 360 legal analyst Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom live from San Fransisco. Kimberly good to see you again.

Let's talk about this midochrondrial DNA. How experimental, really, is it really? The defense doesn't want it admitted, doesn't want the hair found on this plier admitted.

KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE NEWSOM, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: The defense doesn't want this evidence anywhere near the courtroom or this case, because this is powerful evidence against Scott Peterson. So far, based on the facts we know, this is the most significant physical evidence that corroborates the prosecution's claim that Scott Peterson is responsible for the death of Laci, and his young son Connor. This is very important evidence. It's been admitted in across this country. There is precedent for it in California.

Keep in mind, recently we had the Westerfield case that had both mitochondrial DNA evidence and Nuclear DNA evidence admitted into court. The court should definitely allow it in and definitely the defense wants it out.

COOPER: Yes, Kimberly, Rusty Dornin was saying in her report that Amber Frey is going to be the most important witness for the prosecution. What about Laci Peterson's sister, Amy Rocha, who is now going to be allowed to testify. How important is what she is going to say?

NEWSOM: I think she's very important because it sets up the timeline. She's the last person to see Laci Peterson alive. It helps the prosecution establish the time frame, which is going to be important for establishing Scott's whereabouts and when this young woman went missing. The last time she was seen, there's been varying reports in the media.

Also she was a precipient witness, present at the time they executed a search warrant, where evidence was recovered. I think also she knows the relationship very well, was close to her sister. She'll be a pivotal witness for the prosecution. COOPER: You know, interesting to see Gloria Allred talking to cameras. Obviously, she came to the trial. The judge said she could say, Geragos didn't want her there. Is there really any legal reason Gloria Allred needs to be at this trial other than to be on TV?

NEWSOM: That's a good point. Many people have speculated why does Amber Frey need an attorney in this case? In 99.9 percent of the cases, you will not have a witness that has their own attorney that they bring to court.

However, I have to say that there really isn't a good reason for Geragos to have her excluded. I think the court made the right call in allowing her to be there. He's just going to basically accept her good-faith basis and statement that she's not going to give Amber any information about what witnesses say in court that could influence Amber Frey's testimony.

COOPER: All right. I think we're going to see a lot of Gloria Allred on TV in the next couple of weeks. All right, Kimberly, thanks very much. Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom.

All right, on to America Rocks the Vote. It's our lead-up to next Tuesday 7:00 p.m. here on CNN. We'll be live from Boston where the Democratic contenders will take questions from young voters.

There's one group of young voters that will be watching, college volunteers trying to get out the vote for their candidate of choice. CNN's Anish Roman (ph) met some of them in Manchester, New Hampshire.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANISH ROMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The pay is minimal. The hours seemingly endless and the food is as basic as it gets.

UNIDENTIIFED MALE: The campaign diet is Ramen noodles and Pop Tarts.

ROMAN: Call it lifestyles of the young and the political. These college age students are giving up the next four months of their lives to court the crucial voters of New Hampshire. Rachel Sobelson, a 19- year-old sophomore, on leave from Hamilton College is the Manchester office manager for Howard Dean.

RACHEL SOBELSON, DEAN VOLUNTEER: A lot of my job is making people come in here and making them feel like we care about them and what they have to say. And I like being that person.

ROMAN: 24-year-old Tim Henna (ph) lacks even the luxury of a crowded work place. Here it's just him and 2 other recent grads heading up outreach in the region for John Kerry.

TIM HENNA, COLLEGE VOLUNTEER: Definitely a very, very busy lifestyle. And not a lot of time for other things. Sort of our lives become the New Hampshire primary.

ROMAN: Getting more college students to pay attention, says 21- year-old Lieberman staffer David Solimini is simply a matter of tactics.

DAVID SOLIMINI, LIEBERMAN VOLUNTEER: If someone who is going to engage me personally, then I think that's going to have an impact in how I'm looking at the process.

ROMAN: And it may be the most important role for these staffers, because political salesman to their peers, the almost 10 million college students who are traditionally apathetic when it comes to voting, could prove instrumental next fall. Anish Roman (ph), CNN, Manchester, New Hampshire.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Nice piece.

All right, in case you missed my big plug, here it is again, I hope you'll join me November 4 7 p.m. right here on CNN. I'll be hosting "America Rocks the Vote," live from Boston. There's our fancy commercial, where the Democratic contenders will square off, answer questions directly from young voters. And you can now rock the vote from your cell phone. If you want to receive text message alerts and vote on our online poll, sign up right now at cnn.com/360 and click on to the Rock the Vote link.

All right. Enough of that. Our special series "Broken Vows: Infidelity in America," athletes who cheat and the wives who have a stark choice, leave or look the other way.

Also tonight, a former grunge princess who is in trouble with the law, and the latest on those fires, along with a look at exactly what strategies a firefighter uses in battling a blaze.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: All right. On now to our week-long look at "Broken Vows -- Infidelity in America." Tonight, men who often have long days and nights on the road and temptation everywhere they look. Athletes, whose wives sometimes pay a bitter price for being married to a star.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): When L.A. Lakers star Kobe Bryant denied a charge of rape but admitted adultery, his wife Vanessa stayed right by his side.

KOBE BRYANT, L.A. LAKERS: I love my wife so much. She's so special to me.

COOPER: It may be easier to stand by your man, said some late- night comedians, when you have a $4 million ring weighing you down. But Vanessa Bryant is certainly not the only wife who has had to deal with their sports star husband's admission of adultery.

Who has cheated? Michael Jordan, Mark Ghastinow (ph), Darryl Strawberry. The list goes on and on.

Some sports stars develop a fast-food sex mentality, according to this sociologist.

STEVEN ORTIZ, SOCIOLOGIST: While the fast-food sex mentality is a reflection of what I call the culture of adultery in the world of professional sports.

COOPER: What fuels the culture? Some say the macho code of sports, combined with celebrity and the availability of groupies, who follow athletes on the road.

Players' egos feed on it. Coaches ignore it, and often wives simply choose to endure it. Steven Ortiz interviewed the wives of 47 professional athletes.

ORTIZ: They found out much to their regret in certain ways what they were in for after they were married, and as the husband's career began to take off. But through the school of hard knocks, that these particular women learned to adapt, to survive, to cope.

COOPER: Coping is tough. The wife of former NBA star James Worthy says she found out on TV her husband had been arrested for soliciting prostitution.

ANGELA WILDER, EX-WIFE OF JAMES WORTHY: I found out through Headline News. So I was never even given a discreet notice about what had happened. It was just devastating.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: We're joined now by the former companion for nearly 30 years of someone who claimed to be an Olympian womanizer, the late basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain, who once said he slept with 20,000 women. Lynda Huey is writing a second book, called "Married to a Bachelor, the Wilt Years," she joins us from Los Angeles. Linda, thanks for being with us. Why did you stay?

LYNDA HUEY, CHAMBERLAIN'S FORMER COMPANION: Well, you got to remember that Wilt and I both chose to be single. Wilt solved his problem about life on the road by staying single, by not marrying. He and I had a 28-year relationship that went through everything from romance to feeling like we lived together, to not speaking to each other for a year or two at a time, to him coaching and sponsoring my track club, Wilt's Wonder Women, to helping me start an aquatic therapy company called Complete PT here in Los Angeles.

I helped him rehab. I helped him recover from his elbow, his knee...

COOPER: But, you know, Lynda, I mean, a lot of people...

HUEY: We had a weird relationship.

COOPER: A lot of people are going to say, yes, it does sound like a very weird relationship, and we had this sociologist on talking about a culture of adultery. You talk about a world of denial in the world of professional sports. What do you mean? HUEY: Well, the world of denial is a fact that the athletes who are married, who are on the road, deny that they are married to the people -- and we're not just talking about men ,we're talking about women and men, and the women athletes who don't have media coverage will flock to the place where the men athletes are in order to be part of that game and part of that whole scene where all the excitement is. And they are denying the fact that the men are married. The men are denying they are married. The women seldom deny (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

COOPER: Lynda, let me jump in here...

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: Why do the wives of these athletes stay? I mean, is it the money? Is it the prestige or, I mean, love?

HUEY: Well, you know, I didn't marry. I chose not to marry. And that's why Wilt was a great person for me to come home to, and he came home to me.

But he had many other women. I had other men. We came home to each other. We were an alternative lifestyle. We weren't the category you are trying to create where there are only the married people and the people who are adulterising. This was a choice that Wilt made because he wanted to be honest about his lifestyle.

COOPER: All right. Lynda Huey, appreciate you joining us, thank you very much.

Our special series "Broken Vows: Infidelity in America" continues all this week. Tomorrow, to catch a cheat. A how-to on spotting infidelity with a focus on how the Internet enables some cheaters.

And on Friday, surviving infidelity. How some couples have gone past betrayal. They say it is possible.

All right, now, let's take a look at the pop culture "Current," what's going on.

On Monday, we told you that Courtney Love was talking trash about how she tried to make a recent overdose, quote, "fun for her daughter." Well, the fun is over. She's now been charged with possessing illegal painkillers and has lost custody of her child.

Who says middle age fantasies can't come true? New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg yesterday became the envy of every 50-something man when J.Lo came a-calling. The mayor has fessed up to having a little bit of a crush. And is it just me, or does Ben Affleck looks just a little bit jealous? I don't know, maybe it's just me.

All right, fashionistas, take note. Australian Olympic swim star -- let's move on, there we go, Ian Thorpe, has come out with his own line of tighty whiteys. Today, he did his little turn on the catwalk. Yes, the catwalk, leaving some observers to now understand why Thorpe is called "The Thorpedo." I don't know what that means. I really don't. The world of rap mourned today for Nelly, who joins Lil' Kim as the latest victim of bling-bling grand larceny. Didn't know there was such a category. Rapper who's asked all of America to shake ye tail feather says he had $1 million in bling-bling pinched from his Vegas Strip hotel room early this week. Let me repeat so I get full time for the inevitable envy and jealousy to sip in -- Nelly was walking around with $1 million worth of rocks. Somewhere Liberace is smiling. That is the check of "The Current."

And still to come this evening -- our "Mid-Week Crisis" segment, this week the crisis facing thousands of brave firefighters. We are going to go inside their battle plan for stopping the blaze.

And a little later, less than subliminal messages to "The Nth Degree."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Our "Midweek Crisis" segment tonight takes us back to California, where thousands of firefighters bravely continuing to struggle with multiple wildfires using a wide variety of tactics.

Harold Schaitberger is president of the International Association of Firefighters. He's been fighting fires for 37 years. He joins us from San Diego to discuss some strategies of doing this.

Harold, thanks very much for being with us.

HAROLD SCHAITBERGER, PRES., INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIREFIGHTERS: It's good to be with you.

COOPER: I guess one big strategy is starting what they call a backfire. Walk us through it. How does it work?

SCHAITBERGER: Well, there's many techniques in fighting these major wildfires.

One is a direct attack, but one is also known as an indirect attack. And that's where you use a backfire. Simply, you try to guide the fire away from property, away from communities, and you do so by trying to take the fuel away from the fire. So that in the graphic that you have in front of you -- and last night I spent all night on a fireline where that would have been Route 18 I'm looking at -- and the Canyon Fire would have been burning pretty heavily -- and we're trying to protect the homes and the properties up in the Great Bear...

COOPER: So you light -- you light....

SCHAITBERGER: .... resort.

COOPER: You light a small fire -- you dig a ditch -- you light a small fire in the hopes of burning up whatever fuel that the larger fire coming toward it might feed on?

SCHAITBERGER: That's correct. You have to -- you have to parallel it. You have to stay in front of the head of the fire. You're burning the fuel in order so that when the major fire burns into the direction of the natural break that you're using -- a lake, a road, a rock formation -- that the fuel has already been burned and therefore, when the fire gets to that point, there's no fuel to allow it to continue to burn and to cross over and jump that natural barrier.

COOPER: But the winds are just -- I mean, in this fire, are particularly bad because it can make the fire jump a road.

SCHAITBERGER: Anderson, last night I can't tell you the exact example. The firefighters did an extraordinary job all night last night on Route 18. They lined and worked that fire. But at about 6:00, that wind changed. It picked up. It brought it back up the canyon. It jumped 18 and now it's in the resort area.

COOPER: I just hate to hear that and hate to hear about the loss of the firefighter today. I believe two others were injured in the fire.

Harold Schaitberger, appreciate you joining us tonight. Thank you very much.

SCHAITBERGER: Thank you.

COOPER: Well, coming up on "The Nth Degree," masters of subtlety trying to sneak their message into the minds of Americans? Is that what's going on?

Plus, tomorrow -- we'll have more of our series. We'll be right back.

Actually, first, let's take a look at today's "Buzz Question" for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: All right. We're all over the place with our graphic right now.

We asked a "Buzz Question." We asked you, "Which is more powerful for healing -- mind or medicine?" Seventy-two percent of you said it's the mind; 28 percent say it's the medicine. Not a scientific poll. Just your viewer "Buzz."

Let's look at this e-mail. "Instant Feedback."

This is from Melanie in Las Vegas: "Too bad the mind can cure the body's illness, but can't keep people from cheating on their spouses and significant others. Perhaps if these people were meditating more, they'd be cheating less."

We always appreciate your e-mails. You can always send us your "Instant Feedback." Log on at cnn.com/360.

Let's take a look at "The Nth Degree." (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Finally, not-so-subliminal messages to "The Nth Degree."

In politics, words can haunt you. And this week, two words are haunting the White House -- "mission accomplished."

Remember the banner? it was the backdrop for the president's "Top Gun" turn six months ago aboard the USS Lincoln. Mr. Bush has distanced himself from it now.

But there's no denying the White House seems to love -- well, less than subliminal messages. Maybe you haven't noticed.

When you saw this, did a message just kind of pop into your head? The president -- growth, jobs, growth, jobs. Maybe that's why you started feeling good about the economy.

Or here -- did you suddenly say to yourself, Wow, the president is all about corporate responsibility? That is, when he's not busy protecting workers' pensions.

Frankly, I don't have much faith at all this subliminal stuff works. I mean, do we really think anyone pays attention to random streams of words splattered behind someone? Come on, no one is going to watch something and instead of listening to what's being said, focus on what's written behind the speaker. No one is that simplistic.

In fact, it's insulting. Does anyone really think we're that gullible?

See, I don't think it's right to waste money and, yes, manpower on these not-so-subliminal messages. They should tell us what the message is, straight up, and stop playing silly head games.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: That wraps up the program tonight. Thanks for watching.

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





General Suspected of Attacks in Iraq>


Aired October 29, 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): The latest on the fires. What's fueling the California inferno?

Ding dong ditch. A midnight prank turns deadly.

Our special series, "Infidelity." Tonight: athletes who cheat and why some women stand by them.

Scott Peterson goes to court and prosecutors lay out their case.

And dramatic new images. Can prayer heal the body?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

COOPER: Good evening. Thanks for joining us on 360.

Tonight, the California fires claim another life, the life of someone who was battling to put them out. Word tonight one firefighter is dead, two others wounded. They were battling the cedar fire, right now the largest one in the state.

All day, as you can see, the winds have been shifting. The 13 wildfires growing evermore unpredictable. You're looking at four of the biggest trouble spots.

California's treasurer says the state is likely going to have to spend $100 million to extinguish the fires. Cooler ocean breezes are now pushing the flames east, toward mountain communities. That has led to even more evacuations.

So far, about 200,000 homes are destroyed. The hot zone stretches from the mountains of San Diego County up the coast of Ventura County, northwest of Los Angeles. So far, at least 620,000 acres have been blackened, roughly the size of the entire state of Rhode Island.

Tonight, we are taking you to the fires' front lines. CNN's Jason Carroll is in Julian, California; Frank Buckley is farther north in Lake Arrowhead. We begin with Jason Carroll -- Jason. JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the flames are advancing from the south just behind me and also from the west. This is a wind- driven, a fuel-driven fire that has already claimed the life of one firefighter and injured two others.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL (voice-over): This is what the fight against a massive brush fire out of control has come down to: a battle to save homes, one at a time.

(on camera): You are setting a backfire to try to protect this home over here? Is that what's going on?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Correct. We're going to burn off the light- flashing fuels here, let it burn down around. Burn the light-flashing fuels off of here right before the front of the fire gets here.

CARROLL (voice-over): Thirty-three hundred firefighters are on the front lines in San Diego County, the worst hit by the California wildfires. Many are here in Julian, but they can't be everywhere in this mountain community north of San Diego. So for people like the Verdovas (ph), who refuse to evacuate, they are on their own.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just going to stop the fire. That's all.

CARROLL: The cedar fire, which is threatening the Verdovas' (ph) home, has scorched more than 230,000 acres so far. It has destroyed almost 1,000 structures. But weather or not cooperating, winds are increasing, making the battle all the more difficult.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't get in front of it because that thing has got a life of its own and it's just going to keep rolling.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, guys. You've got to do a better job. Let's go. Let's go.

CARROLL: Again, at this point, one firefighter was killed, two others were injured. They're trying to get some more information surrounding exactly how that firefighter was killed. Again, at this point, the fire here in Julian, just 15 percent contained, but the winds, as you can see, here are kicking up.

They are so erratic, making things especially difficult for firefighters trying to get this fire contained. Back to you.

COOPER: All right. Jason Carroll reporting. No end in sight in that region.

The situation near Los Angeles is tense tonight as well. The merged old Grand Prix fire has threatening several mountain communities. CNN's Frank Buckley joins us live from Lake Arrowhead -- Frank. FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, we are at the northeast corner of Lake Arrowhead, where there is a very tough fight going on right now, mostly from the air as helicopters attack the San Bernardino National Forest. Right down here behind me, you can see all of the smoke. From time to time, we will see these trees going up in flames.

And if you look here in the foreground, you can see that the trees are very brown. That is because these trees are dead. They are the victims of bark beetles, and some 50 percent or more of the trees in this region have been killed by these bark beetles.

The firefighters tell me when these trees go up, they go up just like as if you've had your Christmas tree in the back yard for a month and lit it on fire. It goes up immediately, except instead of a 7- foot tree, you are talking about a 100-foot tall tree.

Now, why is the effort here so important? Look right beyond me on this side. These are the homes that are just around Lake Arrowhead, the northeast section of Lake Arrowhead just beyond the Cedar Glen neighborhood. Right around all of these homes you have multiple strike teams, firefighters doing structure protection, doing the best they can to make sure that these homes do not go up. But there have been some situations around Lake Arrowhead today where homes have gone up.

We've got some video of smoke surrounding some of the homes. It was difficult to get in on the ground, but we were told there was extensive structure loss to the south of Lake Arrowhead. This was the problem that they were so concerned about yesterday, that the fire would jump Highway 18. And, in fact, it did do that overnight and is now roaring around Lake Arrowhead, pinching Lake Arrowhead from both sides. Right now, thousands of homes are threatened by this fire that is roaring around this area.

Meanwhile, the search for the suspect continues. That suspect described in a composite sketch that was released this week as a white male in his 20s. We can tell you that suspects, or at least people, have been detained at various locations. In one instance in Wrightwood (ph) today, a man who was living apparently in a green van, some residents called it in.

He was interviewed. He was photographed. His van was searched. They didn't find any information, and that man was released.

But as we've said, Anderson, there's a great deal of effort going on to find the suspect, and that was one of the efforts that took place today. Right now here, the structure protection continues -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right. Frank Buckley, thanks very much for that tonight. A lot of people in need this evening.

Now, this is the largest wildfire battle in California's state history. It is not the worst one in U.S. history. Here's a fast fact for you. The worst U.S. wildfire was in Peshtigo, Wisconsin; the date, October, 1871. Fifteen hundred people died, more than 3.7 million acres burned.

Well, more on the fires shortly. But now we go to Iraq.

Two members of the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry were killed in northern Iraq last night. Their tank rolled over an explosive device. Now, in recent days, attack on U.S. troops and their allies have been increasing. Thirty-three attacks per day on average, say coalition officials. And that is double the number in early September.

Tonight, a potentially significant development, however. About an hour ago, Pentagon officials said they now know who is coordinating the attacks. Senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. military officials believe the mastermind behind the latest attacks is Izzat Ibrahim Al-Duri, who was the Iraqi military's northern regional commander and a member of Saddam Hussein's inner circle. He is number six, the king of clubs on the list of 55 most wanted Iraqis. The highest-ranking former official still at large with the exception of Saddam Hussein himself.

Sources say U.S. Commander Lieutenant General Rick Sanchez has told the Pentagon the capture of several suspected members of the Ansar al-Islam terrorist group within the last week in northern Iraq provided the key intelligence, including clear indications the Saddam loyalists are working hand in glove with foreign fighters linked to al Qaeda. One suspect, said to be very close to Al-Duri, fingered him as the brains and financier behind the attacks.

(on camera): The U.S. military is intently searching for both Al-Duri and Saddam Hussein in the area north of Baghdad. It's not believed, however, they are hiding in the same place.

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, we should point out, with the latest casualties in Iraq, a sad milestone has been reached. Since May 1, the day President Bush declared major combat over, 117 Americans have died in hostile action. Before May 1, 114 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq.

Now, you'll remember that President Bush made that May 1 statement on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln. Clearly visible, a banner declaring "Mission accomplished." As senior White House correspondent John King reports, that setting and the symbolism are now coming under a criticism.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: This made-for-TV banner is, for the moment, exhibit A in the debate over the president's handling of postwar Iraq. The White House now concedes it produced and paid for the banner as part of the president's May visit to the USS Abraham Lincoln. But it says Mr. Bush was accurate on Tuesday when he described its meaning.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The "Mission Accomplished" sign, of course, was put up by the members of the USS Abraham Lincoln, saying that their mission was accomplished.

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This was about paying tribute to our men and women in the military for a job well done, for a mission that they had accomplished after a very lengthy deployment. And the president was proud to do that.

KING: Critics on the campaign trail and in Congress don't buy it. They say Mr. Bush used the ship and banner to send a broader message that is now backfiring.

SEN. TOM DASCHLE (D-SD), MINORITY LEADER: We've lost more lives since he's declared victory than we lost prior to the time he declared victory. And this latest fabrication is yet another illustration of their unwillingness to accept reality.

KING: Made-for-TV moments are a staple of the modern presidency, but the emphasis on image backfires sometimes. Made in the USA was the theme of this event in January. But look again, and it turns out the boxes were in China. A cover-up the White House attributed to an over zealous volunteer. Now this banner is, for at least a few days, a focal point in the debate over whether the president underestimated the challenges in postwar Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: And fresh evidence tonight that at least one senior White House official has been worrying for some time that this might return, the banner, as a political problem for the president. Communications director Dan Bartlett told an academic forum early this month that he approved hanging the banner, again, he said, at the request of the crew. And while Bartlett says the president's critics are now taking that banner out of context, he said he would not cast his decision as a mistake. But he did say this: "Sometimes pictures have a way of coming back, which can be very difficult" -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right. John King, thanks for that tonight.

We're going to take a quick trip right now "Cross Country" and see what else is happening in the country.

Here comes the sun, or at least particles from it. Scientists say a giant geomagnetic storm is now hitting the Earth. It's causing major havoc with some global communications on Earth and has already caused a Japanese communications satellite to malfunction. It could even lead to power outages.

That is certainly the bad news. On a somewhat positive note, strong geomagnetic storms can produce colorful lights in the sky, as you see right there, at night. Visible as far as Texas and Florida.

New York: sex offender sweep. Federal agents round up 56 foreign nationals convicted of child sex offenses. Part of Operation Predator. Sixteen suspects are still at large.

Golden, Colorado: Columbine. The new sheriff says officials knew about the violent nature of the two students who carried out the Columbine High School massacre two years before the bloodbath. Now, the sheriff says newly discovered documents show authorities examined the killer's Web site.

On the site, the students discussed blowing up pipe bombs and looking for a good location, a spot they called ground zero. There was also a search warrant that was not acted upon.

New York City: revising the toll. Officials say the number of people killed in the terrorist attacks on the twin towers has dropped by 40 to 2,752. They say it is part of an ongoing review.

And that's a look at stories "Cross Country" tonight.

A teenage sniper victim faces down his alleged shooter. The boy who was shot outside his middle school takes the stand. We'll go live to the courthouse.

Plus, our weeklong series, "Broken Vows: Infidelity in America." We'll look at the temptations facing pro athletes and the impact it has on their wives.

And the power of thought. Can your mind heal your body? A look at some amazing new images that may hold the answer.

But first tonight, let's take a look "Inside the Box" at the top stories on tonight's network evening newscasts.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, a dramatic day in the trial of sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad, as a teenage victim took the stand. CNN's Jeanne Meserve has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fourteen-year- old sniper survivor Iran Brown described his shooting in stark and simple terms. It happened just after his aunt dropped him off at school.

"I opened the door and walked out. I put my book bag down and I got shot. It brought me closer to god," he testified. Brown was calm, controlled, betraying no emotion. But sitting across the room from John Muhammad was something that terrified and traumatized him, according to an attorney who briefly (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... second-hand information from his mother, which I'm sure is absolutely accurate. He just lives in holy terror. MESERVE: After he was shot, Iran made it back to his aunt's car. In court, Tonya Brown listened to the 911 call she made as she rushed him to a medical military. "Hold it, Iran. Hold it," she says, apparently directing her nephew to apply pressure to his wound. "Oh, my god, we've got to hurry up," she yells, blowing her horn and urging other drivers to get out of the way.

When the tape was over, prosecutors asked Tonya Brown if Iran said anything to her during that horrifying drive. "He told me that he loved me," she replied tearfully.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: Several witnesses today testified that they saw the Chevy Caprice, in which John Muhammad and Lee Malvo were arrested, at or near shooting scenes. And some said they told investigators about it at the time, raising the question, could the sniper shootings have been stopped earlier -- Anderson.

COOPER: Jeanne Meserve, thanks very much tonight.

With Halloween approaching, parents, you may want to pay attention to this next story. This evening in Boca Raton, Florida, a funeral for a teenager shot by his neighbor while playing a prank. Now, family and friends of course are in shock. Investigators are trying to figure out whether they should even arrest the neighbor.

More now from CNN's Susan Candiotti.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just after midnight last weekend in this quiet neighborhood, two teens, goofing off, police say, ringing doorbells and running for cover. A prank that took Mark Drewes life on his 16th birthday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It seems so senseless and tragic.

CANDIOTTI: Police say homeowner Jay Levin, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), told them he heard a noise.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was in fear of his life and he opened the door and was confronted by this individual, believed him to be armed, and shot him.

CANDIOTTI: Police won't say what if anything, the teenager had in his hands. Drewes collapsed in a neighbor's yard across the street. The victim's relatives overcome with grief and anger.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not self-defense. The young man was shot. A young boy was shot in the back, OK?

CANDIOTTI (on camera): For now, police aren't saying whether the teenager was shot in the front or the back. Which way he was facing is important, investigative sources say, as authorities try to decide whether this was an appropriate use of force to protect yourself or your property.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why did he kill my son? He murdered my son.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Levin, seen here in the light gold shirt, told reporters his lawyer advised him to remain silent for now. As family and friends remembered Drewes at a private church service, prosecutors promise a decision soon on whether Levin will be arrested.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, Boca Raton Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, a number of international stories tonight to tell you about. Let's check the "UpLink."

Baghdad, Iraq: cutting back. The International Red Cross trims its staff in the Iraqi capital. This, of course, after Monday's bombing at its Baghdad headquarters. Two Iraqi Red Cross workers and 10 others were killed in that attack.

Bangkok, Thailand: monsoon misery. Take a look at these pictures. Thai soldiers are now on boat patrol to rescue people from flooded villages. This wet mess is affecting at least 200,000 people in eight provinces.

Taiji, Japan: don't kill the dolphins. That is the call being made by a U.S. anti-whaling group. It has released this disturbing video showing a bloody dolphin hunt in the small fishing town. The hunts are allowed under Japanese law and are done close to shore so international regulations do not apply.

Russia: rescue. Eleven coal miners are alive, safe, after being trapped for six days. One miner was found dead and one is still missing at this hour.

And that is tonight's "UpLink."

"Broken Vows: Infidelity in America."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) mentality is a reflection of what I call the culture of adultery in the world of professional sports.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Pro athletes facing temptation at every turn. What impact does it have on wives and girlfriends? We'll talk to Wilt Chamberlain's long-time companion.

Also tonight: justice served. Scott Peterson back in court. Find out why his case is hanging on DNA evidence.

And in a few minutes, the power of the mind. Can it actually heal your body? Dr. Sanjay Gupta with amazing new images that may show how it happens.

First, today's buzz. What do you think? Which is more powerful for healing, mind or medicine? Vote now at cnn.com/360. We're going to have the results at the end of the program.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, more and more you hear about the healing powers of the mind. Now there is some fascinating new visual evidence. A doctor at the University of Pennsylvania has been studying the link between spirituality and health. And he has new images showing what he says are examples of how prayer impacts parts of the brain that affect our well being.

CNN's medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eastern meditations...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

GUPTA: ... or Western prayer. You may be looking at the next fitness craze.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The mind and the body are very intimately connected.

GUPTA: Dr. Andrew Newberg (ph), a radiologist at the University of Pennsylvania, studies what happens inside the brain when you enter the spiritual realm. Using a radioactive dye that targets brain activity, he scans the brains of his subjects to see what happens before meditation or prayer and then during the act.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then what we are going to do is we're going to slide you in here.

GUPTA: So what happens? Activity in the frontal lobe goes up, while the area which gives us a sense of self, separate from the outside world, well that goes quiet. In these brain scans, red signals more activity. Green and yellow less.

The brain on the left is a Franciscan nun in a normal state of mind. On the right, after 30 minutes of intense prayer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They begin to lose that boundary between themselves and the world. They may have a feeling of oneness between themselves and the world.

GUPTA: Another key finding, meditation seems to trigger changes in the hypothalamus, which governs heart rate, blood pressure and hormones like cortisol, the stress hormone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The cortisol is actually an immune suppressant. So if you diminish the cortisol level, then you can actually have an increase in the overall immune function so that if we are thinking about something that makes us anxious, then we relieve the stress hormones. If we are doing something with meditation or prayer, then we stop releasing those stress hormones.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, Sanjay Gupta joins us. Sanjay, the pictures are fascinating, the brain in meditation, not in meditation. But, I mean, is there really evidence? Should doctors suddenly start prescribing prayer and meditation? How skeptical should we be?

GUPTA: Well, it's interesting. I think for a long time doctors and patients have been embracing this sort of thing. I mean, I think prayer and meditation is a large part of a patient's well being and recovery after things. But the prescription part, I think there is probably some scientific evidence now, but probably very few doctors are going to start saying, take two prayers and call me in the morning.

Not there yet. But it's something that certainly merits more study -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right. Really interesting images. Thanks very much, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

GUPTA: Thank you.

COOPER: But of course we want to know what you think. That's our buzz question tonight. It's this: Which is more powerful for healing, mind or medicine? Vote now, cnn.com/360. We'll have the results at the end of the program.

Well, new fires breaking out in Colorado. We're going to have the latest from there.

Plus, broken vows. Why do so many wives of cheating athletes stand by their men?

That and more when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: All right. Time for the "Reset" of tonight's top stories.

Miami, Florida: Schiavo brief filed. Lawyers representing Michael Schiavo filed papers today challenging the law that's keeping Schiavo's wife, Terri, alive. The recently passed law allowed Florida Governor Jeb Bush to order Terri Schiavo's feeding tube reinserted despite her husband's protests.

Washington D.C., conviction overturned. A federal judge overturn the 1983 conviction of this man, former CIA operative Edwin Wilson. The judge said the government knowingly used false evidence to convict Wilson, now 75. The ruling could lead to a new trial.

Galveston, Texas, SARS and pets. Scientists say pets can spread the SARS virus to other animals and it is possible they could spread it to people as well. One expert said if there's another SARS outbreak like the one earlier this year it may not be a bad idea to quarantine pets as well as people.

North Korea, heroes return. Half a century after the end of the Korean War, what are believed to be the remains of eight American soldiers have been recovered at two North Korean battle sites. The remains have been turned over to U.S. authorities in Japan.

Los Angeles, California, rocker arrested. Stone Temple Pilots' singer Scott Weiland has been arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence. Police say he crashed his car into a parked car in Hollywood and left the scene of the accident.

And San Diego County, California, a firefighter killed for the first time since they broke out last week. The Southern California wild fires have claimed the life of a firefighter, bringing the overall death toll to 18. More than 600,000 acres have burned in 5 California counties and about 2,000 homes have been destroyed.

Jamestown, Colorado. Word of fast-moving wildfire. It's forced the evacuation of thousands of homes and businesses south of Denver. The flames are shooting high, as you can see. With firefighters are being deployed to help in California, the area is low on manpower. Ominous news. That is a look at our "Reset."

Now back to the fight against the California wildfires. It's been a tough day all around, a deadly day, for those fighting the state's largest blaze, the Cedar Fire. A firefighter died on the front lines. I want to give you a better sense of what is going on there. Here's how CNN's Jeff Flock saw the battle today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We've really got some wind today. This is uncharacteristic of the past few days. So, this has been really whipping the flames.

(voice-over): This drama continues to unfold here.

Off in the distance you see flames that are just starting to lick up against the trees.

We've got a real live situation maybe you can see a flame coming through this ridge.

We're getting the Santa Ana effects right now. And that's what's responsible for all the problems here in Julian.

This is the same scene we showed you before. But for awhile we had a situation where the fire was crowning through the trees, just exploded up here.

Very -- almost difficult to hear you out here because of the winds and chopper drops that are coming overhead. She's dipping way down into that pond, filling up that 250 gallon bucket and bringing that up and dumping it on the flames.

With the winds blowing like they are, it's difficult to do anything about it. You see where he's flying. He's flying right over top of this house here. They've been trying to save this house.

(on camera): Based on what you're seeing here -- I know you took a walk into the fire lines. They are running a bulldozer back in there. What else are they doing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A hot shot crew in there. They are in there trying to control some of the burning on the grounds, cutting lines.

FLOCK (voice-over): There are these dramas playing out, you know, in 18 miles of fire line right now. Not far from here in Julian, and sometimes they win, sometimes they lose.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Unbelievable images.

Now time for justice served. After being postponed four times long awaited preliminary hearing for Scott Peterson took place in Modesto, California, today. The focus was on witnesses and a dispute over DNA evidence. CNN's Rusty Dornin has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With Amber Frey still expected to be the prosecution's star witness, defense attorney Mark Geragos said, he's worried her attorney, Gloria Allred, will tell her what other witnesses say. So he asked the judge to remove Allred from court. It's not the first time the two have butted heads over this case.

GLORIA ALLRED, ATTORNEY: Today he tried to exclude me from the courtroom. He was unsuccessful. He has three strikes. I don't know when he's going to understand that he has to give us his fixation with me as the attorney for Amber Frey.

DORNIN: The judge let her stay, but told Allred to keep witness testimony from her client. Prosecutors say they plan to call 2 additional witnesses, Margarite Nave (ph), a woman who did house cleaning for Scott and Laci and Amy Rocha, Laci's sister. Rocha was one of the last to see her alive. Was brought by investigators to the house when police were searching the residence.

Most of the day was spent on a battle over whether to allow DNA evidence to be admitted. Hair found on pliers at the bottom of Scott's boat. The prosecution says it's Laci's. The defense wants to have it thrown out, because it involves a relatively new form of DNA testing known as Mitochondrial DNA. A DNA expert from the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia testified for hours about the validity of using that kind of analysis in forensic cases. The expert told the court how she received five packets of evidence from Modesto Police, including a blood sample on a card and hair. The judge will not decide on the admissibility of the hair until Monday.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DORNIN: Well, that's when the defense expert will tell the court that they expect that the mitochondrial DNA analysis is just not reliable. Meantime, defense attorney Mark Geragos, will continue cross-examination of the prosecution's FBI expert on tomorrow -- Mark Geragos just stepped outside with the Petersons. He said he is glad the preliminary hearing is finally under way and hopes the truth comes out quickly and the family said they are doing fine -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right, Rusty Dornin, thanks for the update. Joining me now, 360 legal analyst Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom live from San Fransisco. Kimberly good to see you again.

Let's talk about this midochrondrial DNA. How experimental, really, is it really? The defense doesn't want it admitted, doesn't want the hair found on this plier admitted.

KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE NEWSOM, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: The defense doesn't want this evidence anywhere near the courtroom or this case, because this is powerful evidence against Scott Peterson. So far, based on the facts we know, this is the most significant physical evidence that corroborates the prosecution's claim that Scott Peterson is responsible for the death of Laci, and his young son Connor. This is very important evidence. It's been admitted in across this country. There is precedent for it in California.

Keep in mind, recently we had the Westerfield case that had both mitochondrial DNA evidence and Nuclear DNA evidence admitted into court. The court should definitely allow it in and definitely the defense wants it out.

COOPER: Yes, Kimberly, Rusty Dornin was saying in her report that Amber Frey is going to be the most important witness for the prosecution. What about Laci Peterson's sister, Amy Rocha, who is now going to be allowed to testify. How important is what she is going to say?

NEWSOM: I think she's very important because it sets up the timeline. She's the last person to see Laci Peterson alive. It helps the prosecution establish the time frame, which is going to be important for establishing Scott's whereabouts and when this young woman went missing. The last time she was seen, there's been varying reports in the media.

Also she was a precipient witness, present at the time they executed a search warrant, where evidence was recovered. I think also she knows the relationship very well, was close to her sister. She'll be a pivotal witness for the prosecution. COOPER: You know, interesting to see Gloria Allred talking to cameras. Obviously, she came to the trial. The judge said she could say, Geragos didn't want her there. Is there really any legal reason Gloria Allred needs to be at this trial other than to be on TV?

NEWSOM: That's a good point. Many people have speculated why does Amber Frey need an attorney in this case? In 99.9 percent of the cases, you will not have a witness that has their own attorney that they bring to court.

However, I have to say that there really isn't a good reason for Geragos to have her excluded. I think the court made the right call in allowing her to be there. He's just going to basically accept her good-faith basis and statement that she's not going to give Amber any information about what witnesses say in court that could influence Amber Frey's testimony.

COOPER: All right. I think we're going to see a lot of Gloria Allred on TV in the next couple of weeks. All right, Kimberly, thanks very much. Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom.

All right, on to America Rocks the Vote. It's our lead-up to next Tuesday 7:00 p.m. here on CNN. We'll be live from Boston where the Democratic contenders will take questions from young voters.

There's one group of young voters that will be watching, college volunteers trying to get out the vote for their candidate of choice. CNN's Anish Roman (ph) met some of them in Manchester, New Hampshire.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANISH ROMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The pay is minimal. The hours seemingly endless and the food is as basic as it gets.

UNIDENTIIFED MALE: The campaign diet is Ramen noodles and Pop Tarts.

ROMAN: Call it lifestyles of the young and the political. These college age students are giving up the next four months of their lives to court the crucial voters of New Hampshire. Rachel Sobelson, a 19- year-old sophomore, on leave from Hamilton College is the Manchester office manager for Howard Dean.

RACHEL SOBELSON, DEAN VOLUNTEER: A lot of my job is making people come in here and making them feel like we care about them and what they have to say. And I like being that person.

ROMAN: 24-year-old Tim Henna (ph) lacks even the luxury of a crowded work place. Here it's just him and 2 other recent grads heading up outreach in the region for John Kerry.

TIM HENNA, COLLEGE VOLUNTEER: Definitely a very, very busy lifestyle. And not a lot of time for other things. Sort of our lives become the New Hampshire primary.

ROMAN: Getting more college students to pay attention, says 21- year-old Lieberman staffer David Solimini is simply a matter of tactics.

DAVID SOLIMINI, LIEBERMAN VOLUNTEER: If someone who is going to engage me personally, then I think that's going to have an impact in how I'm looking at the process.

ROMAN: And it may be the most important role for these staffers, because political salesman to their peers, the almost 10 million college students who are traditionally apathetic when it comes to voting, could prove instrumental next fall. Anish Roman (ph), CNN, Manchester, New Hampshire.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Nice piece.

All right, in case you missed my big plug, here it is again, I hope you'll join me November 4 7 p.m. right here on CNN. I'll be hosting "America Rocks the Vote," live from Boston. There's our fancy commercial, where the Democratic contenders will square off, answer questions directly from young voters. And you can now rock the vote from your cell phone. If you want to receive text message alerts and vote on our online poll, sign up right now at cnn.com/360 and click on to the Rock the Vote link.

All right. Enough of that. Our special series "Broken Vows: Infidelity in America," athletes who cheat and the wives who have a stark choice, leave or look the other way.

Also tonight, a former grunge princess who is in trouble with the law, and the latest on those fires, along with a look at exactly what strategies a firefighter uses in battling a blaze.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: All right. On now to our week-long look at "Broken Vows -- Infidelity in America." Tonight, men who often have long days and nights on the road and temptation everywhere they look. Athletes, whose wives sometimes pay a bitter price for being married to a star.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): When L.A. Lakers star Kobe Bryant denied a charge of rape but admitted adultery, his wife Vanessa stayed right by his side.

KOBE BRYANT, L.A. LAKERS: I love my wife so much. She's so special to me.

COOPER: It may be easier to stand by your man, said some late- night comedians, when you have a $4 million ring weighing you down. But Vanessa Bryant is certainly not the only wife who has had to deal with their sports star husband's admission of adultery.

Who has cheated? Michael Jordan, Mark Ghastinow (ph), Darryl Strawberry. The list goes on and on.

Some sports stars develop a fast-food sex mentality, according to this sociologist.

STEVEN ORTIZ, SOCIOLOGIST: While the fast-food sex mentality is a reflection of what I call the culture of adultery in the world of professional sports.

COOPER: What fuels the culture? Some say the macho code of sports, combined with celebrity and the availability of groupies, who follow athletes on the road.

Players' egos feed on it. Coaches ignore it, and often wives simply choose to endure it. Steven Ortiz interviewed the wives of 47 professional athletes.

ORTIZ: They found out much to their regret in certain ways what they were in for after they were married, and as the husband's career began to take off. But through the school of hard knocks, that these particular women learned to adapt, to survive, to cope.

COOPER: Coping is tough. The wife of former NBA star James Worthy says she found out on TV her husband had been arrested for soliciting prostitution.

ANGELA WILDER, EX-WIFE OF JAMES WORTHY: I found out through Headline News. So I was never even given a discreet notice about what had happened. It was just devastating.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: We're joined now by the former companion for nearly 30 years of someone who claimed to be an Olympian womanizer, the late basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain, who once said he slept with 20,000 women. Lynda Huey is writing a second book, called "Married to a Bachelor, the Wilt Years," she joins us from Los Angeles. Linda, thanks for being with us. Why did you stay?

LYNDA HUEY, CHAMBERLAIN'S FORMER COMPANION: Well, you got to remember that Wilt and I both chose to be single. Wilt solved his problem about life on the road by staying single, by not marrying. He and I had a 28-year relationship that went through everything from romance to feeling like we lived together, to not speaking to each other for a year or two at a time, to him coaching and sponsoring my track club, Wilt's Wonder Women, to helping me start an aquatic therapy company called Complete PT here in Los Angeles.

I helped him rehab. I helped him recover from his elbow, his knee...

COOPER: But, you know, Lynda, I mean, a lot of people...

HUEY: We had a weird relationship.

COOPER: A lot of people are going to say, yes, it does sound like a very weird relationship, and we had this sociologist on talking about a culture of adultery. You talk about a world of denial in the world of professional sports. What do you mean? HUEY: Well, the world of denial is a fact that the athletes who are married, who are on the road, deny that they are married to the people -- and we're not just talking about men ,we're talking about women and men, and the women athletes who don't have media coverage will flock to the place where the men athletes are in order to be part of that game and part of that whole scene where all the excitement is. And they are denying the fact that the men are married. The men are denying they are married. The women seldom deny (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

COOPER: Lynda, let me jump in here...

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: Why do the wives of these athletes stay? I mean, is it the money? Is it the prestige or, I mean, love?

HUEY: Well, you know, I didn't marry. I chose not to marry. And that's why Wilt was a great person for me to come home to, and he came home to me.

But he had many other women. I had other men. We came home to each other. We were an alternative lifestyle. We weren't the category you are trying to create where there are only the married people and the people who are adulterising. This was a choice that Wilt made because he wanted to be honest about his lifestyle.

COOPER: All right. Lynda Huey, appreciate you joining us, thank you very much.

Our special series "Broken Vows: Infidelity in America" continues all this week. Tomorrow, to catch a cheat. A how-to on spotting infidelity with a focus on how the Internet enables some cheaters.

And on Friday, surviving infidelity. How some couples have gone past betrayal. They say it is possible.

All right, now, let's take a look at the pop culture "Current," what's going on.

On Monday, we told you that Courtney Love was talking trash about how she tried to make a recent overdose, quote, "fun for her daughter." Well, the fun is over. She's now been charged with possessing illegal painkillers and has lost custody of her child.

Who says middle age fantasies can't come true? New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg yesterday became the envy of every 50-something man when J.Lo came a-calling. The mayor has fessed up to having a little bit of a crush. And is it just me, or does Ben Affleck looks just a little bit jealous? I don't know, maybe it's just me.

All right, fashionistas, take note. Australian Olympic swim star -- let's move on, there we go, Ian Thorpe, has come out with his own line of tighty whiteys. Today, he did his little turn on the catwalk. Yes, the catwalk, leaving some observers to now understand why Thorpe is called "The Thorpedo." I don't know what that means. I really don't. The world of rap mourned today for Nelly, who joins Lil' Kim as the latest victim of bling-bling grand larceny. Didn't know there was such a category. Rapper who's asked all of America to shake ye tail feather says he had $1 million in bling-bling pinched from his Vegas Strip hotel room early this week. Let me repeat so I get full time for the inevitable envy and jealousy to sip in -- Nelly was walking around with $1 million worth of rocks. Somewhere Liberace is smiling. That is the check of "The Current."

And still to come this evening -- our "Mid-Week Crisis" segment, this week the crisis facing thousands of brave firefighters. We are going to go inside their battle plan for stopping the blaze.

And a little later, less than subliminal messages to "The Nth Degree."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Our "Midweek Crisis" segment tonight takes us back to California, where thousands of firefighters bravely continuing to struggle with multiple wildfires using a wide variety of tactics.

Harold Schaitberger is president of the International Association of Firefighters. He's been fighting fires for 37 years. He joins us from San Diego to discuss some strategies of doing this.

Harold, thanks very much for being with us.

HAROLD SCHAITBERGER, PRES., INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIREFIGHTERS: It's good to be with you.

COOPER: I guess one big strategy is starting what they call a backfire. Walk us through it. How does it work?

SCHAITBERGER: Well, there's many techniques in fighting these major wildfires.

One is a direct attack, but one is also known as an indirect attack. And that's where you use a backfire. Simply, you try to guide the fire away from property, away from communities, and you do so by trying to take the fuel away from the fire. So that in the graphic that you have in front of you -- and last night I spent all night on a fireline where that would have been Route 18 I'm looking at -- and the Canyon Fire would have been burning pretty heavily -- and we're trying to protect the homes and the properties up in the Great Bear...

COOPER: So you light -- you light....

SCHAITBERGER: .... resort.

COOPER: You light a small fire -- you dig a ditch -- you light a small fire in the hopes of burning up whatever fuel that the larger fire coming toward it might feed on?

SCHAITBERGER: That's correct. You have to -- you have to parallel it. You have to stay in front of the head of the fire. You're burning the fuel in order so that when the major fire burns into the direction of the natural break that you're using -- a lake, a road, a rock formation -- that the fuel has already been burned and therefore, when the fire gets to that point, there's no fuel to allow it to continue to burn and to cross over and jump that natural barrier.

COOPER: But the winds are just -- I mean, in this fire, are particularly bad because it can make the fire jump a road.

SCHAITBERGER: Anderson, last night I can't tell you the exact example. The firefighters did an extraordinary job all night last night on Route 18. They lined and worked that fire. But at about 6:00, that wind changed. It picked up. It brought it back up the canyon. It jumped 18 and now it's in the resort area.

COOPER: I just hate to hear that and hate to hear about the loss of the firefighter today. I believe two others were injured in the fire.

Harold Schaitberger, appreciate you joining us tonight. Thank you very much.

SCHAITBERGER: Thank you.

COOPER: Well, coming up on "The Nth Degree," masters of subtlety trying to sneak their message into the minds of Americans? Is that what's going on?

Plus, tomorrow -- we'll have more of our series. We'll be right back.

Actually, first, let's take a look at today's "Buzz Question" for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: All right. We're all over the place with our graphic right now.

We asked a "Buzz Question." We asked you, "Which is more powerful for healing -- mind or medicine?" Seventy-two percent of you said it's the mind; 28 percent say it's the medicine. Not a scientific poll. Just your viewer "Buzz."

Let's look at this e-mail. "Instant Feedback."

This is from Melanie in Las Vegas: "Too bad the mind can cure the body's illness, but can't keep people from cheating on their spouses and significant others. Perhaps if these people were meditating more, they'd be cheating less."

We always appreciate your e-mails. You can always send us your "Instant Feedback." Log on at cnn.com/360.

Let's take a look at "The Nth Degree." (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Finally, not-so-subliminal messages to "The Nth Degree."

In politics, words can haunt you. And this week, two words are haunting the White House -- "mission accomplished."

Remember the banner? it was the backdrop for the president's "Top Gun" turn six months ago aboard the USS Lincoln. Mr. Bush has distanced himself from it now.

But there's no denying the White House seems to love -- well, less than subliminal messages. Maybe you haven't noticed.

When you saw this, did a message just kind of pop into your head? The president -- growth, jobs, growth, jobs. Maybe that's why you started feeling good about the economy.

Or here -- did you suddenly say to yourself, Wow, the president is all about corporate responsibility? That is, when he's not busy protecting workers' pensions.

Frankly, I don't have much faith at all this subliminal stuff works. I mean, do we really think anyone pays attention to random streams of words splattered behind someone? Come on, no one is going to watch something and instead of listening to what's being said, focus on what's written behind the speaker. No one is that simplistic.

In fact, it's insulting. Does anyone really think we're that gullible?

See, I don't think it's right to waste money and, yes, manpower on these not-so-subliminal messages. They should tell us what the message is, straight up, and stop playing silly head games.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: That wraps up the program tonight. Thanks for watching.

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