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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Missing Student: Blood, Knife Found in Suspect's Car; New Document May Back Michael Jackson's Defense

Aired December 09, 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): Speaking out on behalf of Dean, Al Gore calls for a remake of the Democratic Party.

Still, no sign of Dru Sjodin. Tonight, what have they really got on the suspect?

Why a confidential government report says that Jackson allegations are unfounded.

Our special report, "Secret Societies." Tonight, a religious group shrouded in mystery.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

COOPER: And good evening. Thanks for joining us on 360.

We begin with an ominous development in the case of missing college student, Dru Sjodin. Investigators confirm her blood and a knife were found in the car of the man accused of kidnapping her. And they admit it is unlikely Dru Sjodin will be found alive.

Here's CNN's Jeff flock.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF FLOCK, CNN CHICAGO BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Authorities say they had Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. on security tape at this store near where Dru Sjodin disappeared, and they say they found a knife and a girl's blood in his car.

SHERIFF DAN HILL, GRAND FORKS COUNTY: It looks like at this time like there's no chance that we're, you know, going to find Dru alive. I believe that it's more of a recovery than a rescue at this point.

FLOCK: Sheriff Dan Hill saying the difficult words gone unspoken for days. Authorities say when Rodriguez's 2002 Mercury Sable was searched, they found a four-inch serrated knife in the trunk, along with cleaning solution they think could have been used to get rid of blood. According to this affidavit filed by prosecutors, traces of blood were found in the back seat and on the rear passenger window. Rodriguez has denied kidnapping Sjodin.

HILL: Blood did come back. It was a DNA match with Dru from the DNA taken from Dru's toothbrush.

FLOCK: Investigators also reveal they found a small black dress shoe she was wearing while searching along the Red Lake River near Crookston, Minnesota. But divers found nothing else. Bob Healis is a private investigator coordinating the family's own search, and he says they're not giving up.

(on camera): You think there's still a possibility despite...

BOB HEALIS, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR: Well, yes. I don't think there's anything here that says that she's not alive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Jeff Flock joins us now.

Jeff, I have two questions for you tonight. Has the family at all reacted to the statement by that sheriff that Dru Sjodin will not be found alive most likely? And do we know at this point, is the subject cooperating at all?

FLOCK: Nothing from the family beyond what Bob Healis said. They have been very positive all along. And they say until they see tangible evidence that she is dead, they want to believe she is alive.

As to cooperation, Mr. Rodriguez has had nothing to say to authorities since last week. One man close to the investigation today said that Mr. Rodriguez spent the better part of the last 30 years in prison. He knows he's going back, and he apparently believes he has nothing to gain from cooperating -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right. Jeff Flock, a tough day in North Dakota. Thanks, Jeff.

Now, what could be a bombshell in the case against Michael Jackson. A confidential memo is uncovered that suggests Los Angeles authorities cleared Jackson of sexual abuse allegations months ago. But as CNN's Charles Feldman tells us, the man prosecuting the case against Jackson says that really doesn't matter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHARLES FELDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services conducted an investigation last February into charges that Michael Jackson sexually abused a 12- year-old cancer patient. But in a memo confirmed by CNN to be authentic, the agency concluded that the allegations against the king of pop were unfounded.

In fact, the memo, which describes in detail the February investigation, quotes the boy's mother as saying that Jackson was "like a father to her children." But late Tuesday, the Santa Barbara D.A. issued a public statement, saying that the previous investigation is not a significant factor. One possible reason for that would be if prosecutors have any evidence that acts of alleged abuse may have occurred after the child agency's own investigation had already concluded.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FELDMAN: And that leaves us with plenty of wiggle room for both sides to spin. Why? Because so far, Jackson has not been officially charged with anything, and until he is, it's almost impossible to determine which side is telling the truth -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right. Charles Feldman, thanks very much in Los Angeles. A little later, we're going to talk to the man who found the confidential document and broke the story, and talk to Court TV's Lisa Bloom about what all this might mean to the defense's case. That's a little later on.

In the world of politics, today has been a very good day for Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean. Early today, former Vice President Al Gore made a stunning decision official, endorsing Dean for president, saying he is the Democrat who can take back the White House. Here's national correspondent Kelly Wallace.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Iowa, the man who wanted to be president tries to pick the next one.

AL GORE, FMR. VICE PRESIDENT OF THE : Howard Dean and you have managed to do a better job of igniting enthusiasm at the grassroots all across the United States of America, and that's what we need to rebuild the Democratic Party.

WALLACE: Gore hailed Dean as the party's best chance to win back the White House, and encouraged party activists to get on board.

HOWARD DEAN (D), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are the insurgent campaign. But the truth is, we're not going to win this campaign against George Bush unless we ignite the entire Democratic Party.

WALLACE: The Gore-Dean partnership became public in Harlem. Here, as well as in Iowa, Gore grew most passionate talking about his and Dean's strong opposition to the war in Iraq.

GORE: It was a mistake to get us into a quagmire over there. So don't tell me that because Howard Dean was the only major candidate who was right about that war, that that somehow calls his judgment into question on foreign policy.

WALLACE: Gore's running mate in 2000 showed signs of feeling betrayed. A source close to Gore said the vice president hoped to give Senator Joseph Lieberman a heads up before the Dean announcement, but the news leaked out. Gore called Lieberman Tuesday morning.

SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D-CT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would say that it was about four or five minutes in length and too late.

WALLACE: Gore's endorsement was the most sought after by Democrats besides that of Bill and Hillary Clinton, who are holding back.

SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: I'm not getting involved in the primary campaign. I'm going to wait and support whoever the nominee is that emerges from this process.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALLACE: And Gore called Dean on Friday saying he wanted to endorse him, according to a Dean campaign aide. The aide said that Dean was surprised and shocked. Anderson, the two men then agreed to announce it in Harlem on Tuesday. The location significant, because Al gore can help attract African-American voters to Dean's candidacy.

COOPER: Then went on to Iowa, and now they are -- now Dean is on his own. It was a fascinating day. Kelly Wallace, thanks very much.

WALLACE: Sure.

COOPER: Well, a quick news note on the Gore-Dean endorsement. CNN has learned that Gore and Dean secretly planned the surprised endorsement over the past several months. Kelly mentioned that. They have spoken every two weeks for the past six months and met for 90 minutes in Tennessee just one month ago. And in his recent trip to Tokyo, Gore carried a draft of Dean's speech on foreign policy.

All right. Let's move on and take a look at what's happening right now "Cross Country."

Washington: President Bush is strongly warning Taiwan against taking any steps toward independence after meeting with China's premiere. Now, Taiwan plans to hold a referendum in March that the White House sees as a step toward breaking away from China. Mr. Bush says the U.S. policy is one china and opposes any decision to change the status quo.

Warwick, Rhode Island: the other shoe drops. The owners of the nightclub where 100 people died in a fire last February, remember that? Hard to forget. Well, they have been indicted, along with the tour manager of the band Great White. All three men have pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter.

Washington D.C.: rating the games. A monitoring group says there has been some progress, but video games are still too violent. An industry group says it's the jobs of parents to keep violent games away from their kids.

Springfield, Illinois: former Senator Paul Simon died at a hospital one day after undergoing heart surgery. The two-term senator and one-time presidential hopeful was 75 years old.

And that's a look at stories "Cross Country" right now. Tonight we continue with our look at "Secret Societies." We'll talk with the current and former member of a little known Catholic group called Opus Dei.

And the reports some are calling a bombshell in the case against Michael Jackson. We'll talk to the man who found the confidential document and talk about what happens now to the prosecution's case.

And still to come, if nice guys finish last, it seems average Joes don't fair much better on reality TV. We'll talk to this guy, the guy who almost got the girl coming up a little bit later.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, a sad story to report tonight. A U.S. soldier and his family are grieving at this hour, home from duty in Iraq planning his baby's son's funeral after the boy dies of the flu. We get the story now from (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's called MRSA, Methicillin Resistant Staph Aureus. Untreated, it goes from a minor pimple to a gruesome wound in a matter of days. Doctors around Los Angeles County told CNN the same thing, at least half the skin infections they see are resistant to the usual medicine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two years ago, this was completely unheard of. And it's remarkable how quickly it's gone from something that was nonexistent to one of the most common things that we see.

GUPTA: It even struck seven players on the country's number one ranked football team at the University of Southern California. Five ended up in the hospital. Antibiotics work to cure a patient by killing all of the harmful bacteria. Resistance arises when some of the bugs survive. For example, if you only take half your prescription.

Those surviving bugs with genes that fight off the antibiotic grow back and multiply. What make this outbreak so worrisome is that the patients were not taking antibiotics before hand, meaning the resistant bacteria strain, MRSA, is already loose in the community, joining a dangerous trend of diseases that have developed resistance to antibiotics that were designed to kill them.

DR. ELIZABETH BANCROFT, L.A. CITY DEPT. OF HEALTH SERVICES: And that's really the big difference. We're seeing resistant syphilis, we're seeing resistant gonorrhea, we're seeing resistant salmonella, and now we're seeing these resistant skin infections. And I think that's the new wave of resistance that we're seeing.

(END VIDEOTAPE) COOPER: Well, we want to apologize. We obviously ran a piece at the wrong time. That was a piece by Dr. Gupta talking about growing resistance to some antibiotics. Dr. Gupta joins us now.

Pretty troubling story.

GUPTA: It really is. And you know, for the first time in a while now, they're starting to see these resistant bugs actually in the community. Now, before, these were only really seen in the hospital. And really healthy people, five football players, college football players, getting this.

A real challenge now, Anderson, moving forward. Are they going to be about to develop antibiotics that fight these resistant bacteria and not develop resistant down the line? If these things get out of control, there's just nothing you can do about it. They're no antibiotic; there's no way to treat it.

COOPER: I want to talk about the flu a little bit. And a case in particular, because there's a story, the story we were trying to run about this soldier who has returned from Iraq is now burying his small child. So many parents out there worried about what they can do to protect their kids. What advice can you give them?

GUPTA: Well, you know, people talk about the basic things, no question. The flu shot is something that people have been talking about quite a bit. Some concern over whether or not there's going to be enough flu shot as well.

One thing, just a hand washing, people talk about that. Not sharing utensils important as well. Keep your kid home. If your kid is sick and has the flu, keep your kid home as well.

But the flu shot is an important thing, because one of the things, about six to 23-month-olds, take a look at the numbers there. Five times more likely to be hospitalized if they develop the flu. So this is an important issue.

Just hearing about that sad story about the child actually dying, the soldier coming home, this does happen. Thirty-six thousand people do die of the flu every year. A lot of them are children.

So there's some basic things you can do. The flu shot is an important one as well.

COOPER: All right. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks very much.

GUPTA: Good to see you. Yes -- take care.

COOPER: Well, we want to put your flu outbreak in a little bit of perspective. Let's look at the activity tracked by the CDC last year at this same time of the year.

In 2002, only Texas reported widespread activity by this time. This year, already 13 states have reported widespread flu activity, which means half of those states, health department reported confirmed cases.

All right. Let's take a look at what's going on right now around the globe. Here's the "UpLink."

Moscow, Russia: suicide bomber. An explosion kills six people, wounds 13 others. The attack happened outside a hotel in the heart of the city across from Red Square and the Kremlin. Investigators suspect the female suicide bomber planned to target Russia's parliament, but the bomb went off before it was supposed to.

Near Fallujah, Iraq: emergency landing. A U.S. chopper is forced to land in flames. A military source says the chopper was hit by suspected small arms fire during a security recon mission. Now, there were no injuries.

But that unfortunately is not the case in northern Iraq. At least 33 U.S. soldiers wounded there after bombings at two U.S. bases. The attacks less than three hours apart.

Beijing, China now: mass murderer gets death. This man, a man sentenced to die after being convicted of killing 17 teenage boys after luring them here to his home. It is a case that has just shocked China. A father whose son was murdered called the man a tumor to society.

And that is a look at tonight's "UpLink."

Every Tuesday we like to look a story the media seems to have forgotten about. We call it "How Quickly We Forget."

Tonight, we focus on the battle against the Taliban in Afghanistan. This past weekend, several children were killed in a U.S. air strike there, and as CNN chief international correspondent, Christian Amanpour, reports, the road to recovery in Afghanistan is proving longer and more difficult than many expected.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The deaths of the nine children come as the U.S. military fights a counteroffensive against an increasingly fierce resurgence by remnants of the ousted Taliban regime. The Taliban are trying to discredit and even kill Afghanistan's moderate U.S.-backed president as he tries to march his country towards elections scheduled for next summer and a brand new constitution scheduled to be ratified this month.

HAMID KARZAI, AFGHAN INTERIM PRESIDENT: The risks are that Afghanistan will go back into the hands of terrorists, into chaos, into despair. And we are not going to allow that.

AMANPOUR: The constitution will be ratified in a traditional loya jirga, in a tent meeting like this one. Delegates will come from all over the country. In a profound break with the past, the document envisions an Islamic republic, but not Islamic (UNINTELLIGIBLE) law. It provides for a powerful president who will be commander in chief of the military, as well as a two-house legislature. It also enshrines women's rights to education and to a role in governing the country. This is expected to be fiercely debated by hard-line conservative delegates.

A U.N. report just released says the global efforts to rescue Afghanistan could fail because of the security crisis, and it called on the U.S. and the rest of the world to keep its promises to Afghanistan. But even with more aid soon, progress in Afghanistan will take time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Another couple of years for them to stand on their own two feet and become a poor country, struggling with whatever help is available from the international community.

AMANPOUR: Even though there have been improvements, like millions of children in school, officials warn the next several months will be critical if democracy and recovery are to succeed.

Christian Amanpour, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, our special series continues, "Secret Societies." Tonight we'll talk with current and former members of Opus Dei. What is the group really about? We'll try to sort out fact from the myths.

Also ahead, a newly revealed document on Michael Jackson. Is it as damaging to the prosecution as it may appear? We'll talk to the man who broke the story and court TV's Lisa Bloom.

And we'll drop in on the final Democratic presidential debate of the year. We'll take you live to New Hampshire later on in the program.

First, here's today's "Buzz." If a known sex offender moved into your neighborhood, would you stay? Vote now at cnn.com/360. We'll have results at the end of the program.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: How many times have we all seen that picture?

Now to "Justice Served" and that Web site report that a memo detailing a confidential investigation cleared Michael Jackson of charges he sexually abused a boy. The Santa Barbara district attorney's office has released a statement saying it knew about that finding when Michael Jackson was arrested. Sources also tell CNN that the prosecutor isn't concerned because he contends at least some of the alleged acts of molestation happened after the time of this investigation, which was in February of 2003.

Bill Baston is the editor and founder of thesmokinggun.com, which posted the memo on its Web site. And Court TV's anchor, Lisa Bloom, is hear to talk about the legal implications of the development. We should also point out Court TV owns thesmokinggun.com.

Thanks both for being with us.

Bill, I'm not even going to bother to ask you how you got this confidential document, because I know you're not going to answer the question. But the wording is very important. "Unfounded," that's what this investigation concluded. Why that word? They had other options.

BILL BASTON, FOUNDER, EDITOR, THESMOKINGGUN.COM: They did their -- the closing of child welfare investigation and they determined that it was substantiated, that they were able to confirm that the abuse took place. The second alternative is unsubstantiated, which means that they were not able to develop enough evidence to confirm the allegations, though the possibility exists that they were true.

And the final one is that the allegations are unfounded. Essentially, that there was no merit to the allegations. And that's what they opted for...

COOPER: So this investigation back in February basically said, this isn't just a question of like, well, there's not enough evidence, we can't find it. They actually took the next step and said this thing is unfounded?

BASTON: Correct.

COOPER: Pretty damaging stuff, Lisa Bloom. I mean, how does the prosecution deal with this? I mean, they say they knew about it, but what does that mean?

LISA BLOOM, COURT TV: Yes. I think this is the best evidence the defense has revealed so far in the case. There's three choices. Either Jackson is innocent, the molestation happened after February, which the prosecution says some of those incidents today happened after February, or the third possibility is that the accuser and his family were covering for Jackson.

Now, I have litigated child sexual abuse cases in California courts. The courts accept a psychological syndrome called the Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome, which says, essentially, that a child sexual abuse victim is likely to deny that the abuse is going on at the time, likely to tell and then recant, tell and then recant.

That's the way child victims tend to report, because they're often in love with the perpetrator, they want to cover for the perpetrator. That's how molestation often goes on for years because a child participates in the cover-up.

COOPER: But, Bill, I mean, no matter how you look at it -- and Lisa, you say there's this thing -- but they now have a tape recording. The defense apparently has some tape recording in which this child and this child's mother and this child's brother all say there's no problem.

They now have this investigation that went on that said it was unfounded. I mean, you have several things now which have compounded to make it very difficult for the prosecution to make their case.

BASTON: Well, I would say that this probably has more heft to it than a videotape that he would have made for a defense counsel that claimed he was coerced. This is LAPD investigators and child welfare investigators trained in interviewing children. They were separate from their mother when they were interviewed, and they're the ones who came to the conclusion, which is a little bit different than kind of talking into a defense camera and kind of reading from a script or being coerced.

BLOOM: Well, I agree with that, but keep in mind the timeline. All of these events where the accuser is denying molestation are in February. The Bashir documentary, this child welfare service investigation, and also the Jackson investigators audiotape. That's all in February.

So we know pretty clearly now that the kid was denying in February that there was any molestation. But I go back to there could be events afterwards, or this child could be participating in a cover- up.

COOPER: Bill, you're shaking your head.

BASTON: Well, I mean, I would find that remarkable. The documentary aired in England on February 3. It aired here in the United States on February 6.

There was an uproar. The investigation in Los Angeles didn't start until a week later and ended at the end of February. And if he was doing things, or is alleged to have been doing things three and a half weeks after the uproar started, it's going to be fairly remarkable.

COOPER: We're not going to hear the last of this. And next week, we're supposed to see charges filed.

BLOOM: That's right. Next Monday, according to the prosecutor. That's the timeline.

COOPER: We'll see. All right. Lisa Bloom, Bill Baston, thanks very much. Appreciate it.

BASTON: Thanks.

COOPER: Well, is it a secret sect within the Catholic Church, or a group simply following its religious beliefs? Coming up, we take you inside Opus Dei. You may have read about it in "The Da Vinci Code." We're going to talk to a current and former member.

Also, beauty wins over brains. Tonight, the "Average Joe" speaks out. You'll meet him ahead.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Time for the "Reset," tonight's top stories.

New York City: former Vice President Al Gore has officially endorsed former Vermont Governor Howard Dean for president. In a joint appearance in Harlem today, Gore calling the enthusiasm generated by the Dean campaign "the right prescription for America." We'll talk more about this in just a few minutes.

Moving on, Wall Street New York, the Dow rose above 10,000 this morning for the first time since May of last year, stayed there for all of a minute. Then as expected, the Fed said it was leaving interest rates unchanged but issued a statement saying the nation's economic output is expanding briskly. The Dow once more flirted with the 10,000 level before sliding to it's lowest point of the day.

Chesapeake, Virginia, a prosecutor in the trial of accused D.C. area sniper Lee Boyd Malvo came down hard on a court appointed physiologist for the defense today. In cross-examination, Commonwealth Attorney Robert Horan Jr. accused Dewey Cornell of coordinating his diagnosis to line up with another defense expert's conclusions.

Grand Forks, North Dakota, authorities confirm they have found the blood of missing college student Dru Sjodin in the car of a man accused of kidnapping her. They also found a knife. Grand Fork County Sheriff Dan Hill now says he sees no chance of finding the woman alive.

That brings us to tonight's "Buzz" question, if a known sex offender moved into your neighborhood would you stay. Vote now at cnn.com/360. Results at the end of the program.

That's a look at the "Reset" tonight.

Coming up we continue our look at "Secret Societies." A weeklong look. Tonight hear from a current and former member of the Catholic group Opus Dei. That is just coming up.

But first, the eighth and final debate of the year is under way for the Democratic presidential candidates.

Dan Lothian joins live from Durham, New Hampshire with the latest.

Good evening, Dan.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Anderson. These debates are really supposed to be at the issues. We expect them to talk about everything from national security to the economy. But this debate started off this evening for at least the first 16 minutes by focusing on that endorsement that we've been talking so much about. Moderator Ted Koppel asked all the panelists, all the candidates to raise your hand if you believe Governor Dean can beat George Bush. Of course Governor Dean was the only person to raise his hand. And there was a bit of laughter in the audience. It brought up an interesting point as each one of the candidates was asked to explain why he or she did not raise their hands. They pointed out this is not a race about which endorsement you can get. They said this race will not be decided by an endorsement. It will be decided by the voters. And it was Kucinich who brought up an interesting point. There are a lot of important issues we should be focusing on liked education or healthcare or the environment, whatever it might be. And here we are spending the first 16 minutes of the debate focusing on an endorsement. He said, this is trivializing the process of a debate where we should be focusing on the issues.

So that's how it started off tonight. The debate continues now. They're going into the second half where some of the candidates will get a chance to talk to each other, ask each other some questions about the issues. Back to you, Anderson.

COOPER: All right. Dan Lothian live in Durham. Thanks very much, Dan.

More now on how Gore's endorsement of Howard Dean might affect the Democratic playing field. Political analyst Carlos Watson and Lisa Caputo joining me as well here in New York.

Nice to see both of you. Thanks for being with us.

Let's start off by playing some of what Al Gore said earlier about the Dean campaign. Let's play this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Howard Dean really is the only candidate who has been able to inspire at the grassroots level all over this country the kind of passion and enthusiasm for democracy and change and transformation of America that we need in this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Carlos, let me start with you. This is an anointing of Howard Dean by Gore?

CARLOS WATSON, POLITICAL ANALYST: Comes pretty close to it. I think Howard Dean gets three things from it. Certainly gets credibility and while the other candidates are right that's not the end of the ball game but for an outsider like Dean to get this bless from Gore is important credibility wise. And two other things, he's actually going to raise more money. Remember last quarter he outlapped the field, raised the largest any Democrat had raised in the quarter, $14.7 million. So look for close to $20 million this quarter. And last but not least I think you will get a 2 to 4 percent bump in polls in Iowa.

COOPER: Because of this endorsement?

WATSON: In Iowa and New Hampshire, I think a lot of people on the fence will say you know what I like what he's saying, been holding back a little bit, maybe I'd been going with Lieberman, maybe Edwards, others, you know what I think that is guy can do it let me get on board. COOPER: Want to talk about the polls in a minute.

But Lisa, does the endorsement bring in any risk to it?

Is there for Howard Dean?

LISA CAPUTO, POLITICAL ANALYST: Sure there's a risk. I mean, there's a great gamble here for Howard Dean. He risks Al Gore being the 800 pound guerrilla. You saw tonight in the debate just in that report where the first part of the debate was focused on the endorsement. Howard Dean can't run the risk of living in the shadow of Al Gore. At the same time, it's a gamble for Gore. It all depends on how this plays out for Dean. Whether he wins the nomination and goes on to run a bid. What you heard Gore just say in the setup piece to our round table here is very interesting. And he talked about this is a campaign at the grassroots level. People have been around Gore for a long time talk about how this is the campaign Al Gore wanted to run himself and didn't.

COOPER: Interesting. Is there is a danger that some Dean supporters are going to say this guy's moving too far to the main stream. I mean, if Al Gore is supporting Dean maybe people who came to Dean early on that provided that grassroot support do they maybe move away?

WATSON: I think there's only a little risk of that. Lisa kind of touched on this before. I think there's really grassroots support that has weathered Howard Dean through a couple of storms, weathered him when he wasn't front runner at all. And for people who have been on the outside who were banging the anti-war drum, banging the be harder on George W. Bush drum, and thinking the Democrats were being too tepid, I think on the contrary, they're going to be excited finally the mainstream's coming to them. You know what I mean, that finally it's like the main mainstream embracing rock and roll 50 years ago. They are going to say good Ed Sullivan, you know, you put Elvis Presley on. And it doesn't make Elvis less popular. It makes, you know, the main stream embrace something that previously (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

COOPER: If you were any of the other Democratic candidates tonight what do you do?

I mean, how do you get beyond this?

CAPUTO: You got to move beyond it. That's exactly what you have to do. You have to say, one day story got to move on. Got to get to the issue. Got to get away from Gore. Got to get away the endorsements, as you saw them do. and move on to the issues and really start to go after Dean. Dean has emerged as the front runner going into Iowa and New Hampshire. Clearly, a lock on the lead in both going into the southern primaries in February. At this the point now is to try to really discredit Dean as much as possible frankly. The other point to the Gore endorsement that I think is -- is a bit risky is that I talked to a lot of Democrats today. They're a lot of Democrats angry at the way the former vice president handled this. Not calling his former running mate for example. I mean, there are issues there that have gotten some Democrats angry.

COOPER: We've gotten some ideas though for future politicians who want to dump their former running mates at the end of the program. Lisa Caputo good to see you. Thanks very much.

CAPUTO: You, Anderson.

COOPER: And Carlos Watson, thanks very much.

All right. Some call it controversial secret society. Others say there's -- well, there's nothing mysterious about it.

Opus Dei past and current members speak out tonight, just ahead.

Also ahead -- is this Jerry Seinfeld?

Well, he may be coming back. We'll explain all that in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, tonight we continue our look at "Secret Societies," and the controversial Roman Catholic group Opus Dei. Now you may have heard of the group if you read the best seller the "Da Vinci Code" which paints a picture of secretive organization with a dark side. But members they are following the light of God to be saint in everyday life.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): Opus Dei, Latin for work of God, was founded in 1928. Its 85,000 members around the world practice a conservative brand of Catholicism. Their motto, posted on their Web site, "Finding God in work and daily life."

PROF. THOMAS GROOME, BOSTON COLLEGE: They would prefer Catholic people, lay people, to bring their faith into the workplace, into the marketplace of life. Now, what could be more admirable than that?

COOPER: Opus Dei says there's nothing secret about their organization. Critics, however, say Opus Dei has a darker side. They point to ritualistic self-abuse some members engage in. The bestselling novel "The Da Vinci Code" paints an unflattering portrait of Opus Dei though its members say that it is pure fantasy and has nothing to do with their faith.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Last night we tried to bring you this next interview but we had some technical problems for which we're sorry. You're about to meet a woman named Tammy DiNicola. As a college student she joined Opus Dei in Boston. You'll also meet her mother, Dianne, who started what she calls the Opus Dei Awareness Network because she believed the group was cult-like and she wanted to warn other people. Tammy is no longer part of Opus Dei. I spoke with both of them a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) COOPER: Is it really fair, though, to call it a secret society? I mean, on their Web site they say there's nothing secret about us. I mean, they have a Web site. You know, they do charity work. They do good works. Where's the controversy?

TAMMY DINICOLA, FORMER MEMBER OF OPUS DEI: Well, the controversy is in what they are actually doing behind closed doors and it's very cult-like in their practices.

DIANNE DINICOLA, CO-FOUNDER, OPUS DEI AWARENESS NETWORK: Opus Dei has an underside that hurts people and tears people apart from their families.

COOPER: What does the membership entail? I mean, I understand at one point, I guess, you were giving all your money to the organization? Is that true? And there's also -- they talk about self- punishment or self-penance. How does that -- how does that happen?

T. DINICOLA: They have, besides giving over all of your salary and your letters to be read both going and coming and all your reading and books and everything, they directed you to use the cilis which is a spike chain.

The purpose of it is penance and trying to identify with the sufferings of Christ and offering that up for the different people that you want to join Opus Dei.

COOPER: So it's sort of a metal or barbed wire things with spikes that you put around your leg, is that it?

T. DINICOLA: Yes. You put it around your thigh and you tie it on for two hours each day. Most days of the week.

COOPER: And then there's something else called the discipline.

T. DINICOLA: Yeah. And then this is the discipline. This is what you use -- you whip yourself on the buttocks with this once a week. Even within Opus Dei they would talk about how the founder was so zealous in using these that he would splatter the bathroom walls with blood.

COOPER: Tammy, let me ask you, I mean, there are those who say, OK, look, you know, that's not my cup of tea, using an item like this to flagellate myself but are they harming any other people? Are you making those kind of charges?

T. DINICOLA: The harm is that they -- the way they get people to use these items, it's one thing if somebody chooses to use it, but if you're told that this is the only way you're going to be faithful to God then there's a lot of guilt and fear that's involved.

COOPER: Let me ask you finally, you know, there are those who say look, faith takes many forms and if some people want to express their faith in this way through this organization, what's so wrong with that? T. DINICOLA: Well, I would say do it without manipulation and deception. Lay out all the details of membership ahead of time instead of deliberately holding it back. And then let people, you know, after six months or 18 months make a decision at that point whether they want to stay or leave without the guilt and without the deception and without the orchestration that goes on behind the scenes.

COOPER: All right, Tammy and Dianne DiNicola, we appreciate you joining us. Thank you very much.

T. DINICOLA: Thank you.

D. DINICOLA: OK. Thanks for having us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: We're now joined by Cathy Hickey who's been a member of Opus Dei for 30 years. Cathy, thanks very much for being with us. Now, Tammy was a numerary. You are a supernumerary. You have a family, you have kids.

CATHY HICKEY, OPUS DEI MEMBER: That's right. I've got seven children.

COOPER: How is Opus Dei different for you than her experience?

HICKEY: It's the same vocation for everybody. I don't think it is different. The difference between a numerary and supernumerary is really a difference of availability. If you're married and have a family you can't uproot yourself and leave but numerary vocations, you really -- they could be asked, would they be willing, they would be asked, they have the freedom to say no, would you be willing to go to another country?

Would you be willing to start Opus Dei in another place? And for the most part because they're trying to do the will of God, they will probably say yes but they have the freedom to say yes.

COOPER: The mother of that woman Tammy, Dianne, basically said that she felt it was sort of like a cult.

HICKEY: You know, every -- that's so silly. I mean, I've heard that said and it's a silly thing to say in a way. Every path is different. Everybody has to choose their own path. Maybe it wasn't Tammy's path. Because particularly it's not so easy to be a member of Opus Dei. I mean, to join -- when she said six months, you know, they should be able to decide in six months -- well, it's longer than that. You have to be a certain age. You have to be living in the work and they can say, will this woman be able to do it?

COOPER: And how do you explain why you want to be part of it? What is it? Is it something you were searching for or is it something that you found in Opus Dei that you couldn't find elsewhere?

HICKEY: Well, I'll tell you my own experience. When I met people in Opus Dei, I thought, they have something that I want. They were just delightful. They were happy. They were fulfilled. And as I got to know them and admired them, I thought, this is what I want. And then I had found through the years it's just -- it's a wonderful path to God. There are many paths to God. For me, Opus Dei was the one. It was a great help in raising my family. It's just been wonderful.

COOPER: Well, Cathy Hickey, we really appreciate you coming in and talking about it. Thank you very much. It was a pleasure to meet you.

HICKEY: It was a pleasure to be with you. Thank you so much.

COOPER: All right. Well, our series "Secret Societies" continues tomorrow. We're going to look at Yale University's ultrasecret Skull and Bones considered by many to be America's most exclusive secret society. Captains of industry and presidents past and present have been Bonesmen. Is it a stepping stone of power or a glorified frat house. We'll tell you or at least we'll try to find out tomorrow.

On Thursday, we'll examine the century's old world of the Freemasons and look at what they're doing to survive in the 21st century. Finally, on Friday, a secret society of a very different sort. We'll look at what is perhaps the country's most despised group, the Ku Klux Klan.

Well, how do you say you're sorry for dissing your former running mate? There isn't a greeting card for that one. Not yet anyway but we'll show you how Al Gore could have made amends with Joe Lieberman. We'll take that to "The Nth Degree" tonight.

Also, tonight, there is no hope in Dudville for the average Joe struck out. Does this mean women are just as shallow as men are? Could it be? We'll talk to average Joe Adam Mesh of the reality TV show. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: All right. Time to check on tonight's "Current." Let's take a look at what's going on out there.

"Variety" reports that Jerry Seinfeld will write and star in a new animated movie called "The B Movie." In a statement, Seinfeld said, quote, "I have always been fascinated by B society, the world's most harmoniously run organization." Jason Alexander, meanwhile, is no longer doing ads for Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Bachelor Andrew Firestone (ph) has broken up with fiancee Jen Sheft (ph), seven months after they got engaged on TV. The couple said their love was as genuine as anyone else's, and they announced their breakup in traditional fashion, with a press release to "Extra."

Finally, if you've ever seen the famous painting "The Scream," you may have wondered why the background sky is so red. Well, an article in today's "Sky and Telescope" magazine says it's due to the eruption of Krakatoa, which created red twilights in Europe at the time, thereby blowing out my college paper arguing that it representing the artist's inner turmoil over the dehumanizing effects of encroaching industrialization. Stupid volcano.

All right. That's "The Current."

Right now, reality TV, the latest reality TV series dared to ask a question, can a beauty queen find love with an average Joe? As much of America learned last night in the show's grand finale -- the answer, no. Beauty queens end up having the hots for beauty kings. Truly, there is no justice.

Adam Mesh was doing well until the show's producer sent in a couple of hunks to try to spice things up. Last night, Melanie Scantlin (ph) went off with a hunk and left Adam Mesh, the last average Joe still standing. But all is not lost for young Adam. As a consolation prize, he gets to hang out with us tonight. He joins us. Adam, thanks for being with us.

ADAM MESH, "AVERAGE JOE": Thank you.

COOPER: Number one, did you know this show was called "Average Joe" when you signed up for it?

MESH: No.

COOPER: What did they tell you it was going to be called?

MESH: I thought it was called "Life of the Party," and I was told about going on a show that was like a dream vacation, where there was romance, adventure and fun in the sun. So I'm like, sign me up.

COOPER: Let's see the actual -- the killing moment right here I guess from last night. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "AVERAGE JOE")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The romance has to end. It tears me up inside to send you home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: It tears her up inside. Did you buy that? What was that like? Was that just crushing?

MESH: I think I would have bought it if she didn't have such a big smile on her face as she was saying it. It's like, it tears me up, smile smile smile, to send you home. I guess you're not that upset about it.

COOPER: Were you hurt? Were you upset by it?

MESH: No. I would have been upset earlier in the process, but at that point I had done everything, I had participated in every event, every activity possible.

COOPER: And you made it all the way to the end.

MESH: But I got to do everything, which is what you want to do on a show like that, and there was nothing left unsaid or undone. It's like a game. If I was playing a sport and I tried my best and gave it my all and didn't win, at least I could walk away with my head high. It's the same thing.

COOPER: By the way, I appreciate you not using the word "journey." Because if one more of these reality people uses the word "journey," I'm going to scream.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: I know you've gotten huge, like, response. I mean, you got like 3,000 e-mails. Someone I guess posted your phone number on the Internet so you've been getting calls all night long?

MESH: Yes, I haven't slept in a couple of days now. The California people watch the show three hours later, and they kept calling until 4:00, or 5:00 in the morning. And like, I couldn't sleep through most of them, so then all of a sudden I would be like, all right, I'll just answer this call. Hello, is Adam there. I'm like, yeah, it's 5:00 in the morning, of course I'm here.

They're like, oh, I know it's late. I just wanted to congratulate. And it's nice, but it's like 5:00 in the morning.

COOPER: We went out on the streets with our cameras and asked some people what they thought of what happened last night. Let's take a look at it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was disappointed, because I thought the other guy, what was he named, average Joe, he was cool.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think she went for the looks over what's inside, which tends to be the case quite often.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's good looking, that's about it. This other guy offered her everything, but she's gone for the better- looking guy, I guess.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The show is called "Average Joe," but the moral of the story was, the pretty face won.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: But you must be pleased with all the response. I mean, is this something you would ever do again?

MESH: How so in terms of competing for someone?

COOPER: Would you be on a reality show again, a reality dating show again?

MESH: Under the right circumstances, I would participate. I wouldn't ever want to be the guy that's hurting everyone's feelings.

COOPER: If they did a show called "Average Jane," would you be on it?

MESH: That would be where I'm the one who has to reject 15 girls and pick one? I would feel too bad doing that, I think.

COOPER: All right. Adam Mesh, good luck to you. Thanks for being with us.

MESH: Thank you.

COOPER: All right. It's a fun show.

Think it's awkward choosing guys on national TV? Then you know the tough time Al Gore had choosing whom to endorse today. If only he had told Joe Lieberman first -- well, if he had done that, we couldn't take him to "The Nth Degree." That's just ahead.

Plus, tomorrow, our series on "Secret Societies" continues, as we flesh out Skull and Bones. Get it? With a look at some of its suspected powerful members. Join us for that tomorrow.

And today's buzz -- you can vote now at cnn.com/360. If a known sex offender moved into your neighborhood, would you stay? Results when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Time now for "The Buzz." We asked you, if a known sex offender moved into your neighborhood, would you stay? Seventy-one percent of you said yes, 29 percent said no. This is not a scientific poll, just viewer buzz.

Tonight, taking bad news to "The Nth Degree." Al Gore endorsed Howard Dean for president today. Not only did Mr. Gore pass over his own former running mate, Senator Joe Lieberman, turns out he didn't even call Lieberman before word got out. No call, not even a card.

Look, it's hard giving bad news to anyone, especially someone who helped you get the Jewish vote and distance you from Clinton. They don't make greeting cards for that kind of thing. But why not? They have cards for cats these days. Why not politicians?

So tonight, we're proud to introduce the 360 line of political greeting cards. Don't know how to tell your running mate he's no longer he's no longer you're running favorite? Try this card: "Deepest condolences on the loss of endorsement, due to several factors, most notably your position on the war in Iraq."

At 360, we got cards for every political occasion. "Get well soon. You blew it in Iowa, but New Hampshire is just around the corner. Pull yourself together, or your shot at the nomination is dead."

Or my personal favorite: "Thinking of you, but unable to endorse you, because you pandered too much to the party faithful in the early primaries to be a viable candidate."

Whatever your Machiavellian political needs are, we think there should be a card for you.

That wraps up the program tonight. Coming up next, "PAULA ZAHN NOW."

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





Document May Back Michael Jackson's Defense>


Aired December 9, 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): Speaking out on behalf of Dean, Al Gore calls for a remake of the Democratic Party.

Still, no sign of Dru Sjodin. Tonight, what have they really got on the suspect?

Why a confidential government report says that Jackson allegations are unfounded.

Our special report, "Secret Societies." Tonight, a religious group shrouded in mystery.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

COOPER: And good evening. Thanks for joining us on 360.

We begin with an ominous development in the case of missing college student, Dru Sjodin. Investigators confirm her blood and a knife were found in the car of the man accused of kidnapping her. And they admit it is unlikely Dru Sjodin will be found alive.

Here's CNN's Jeff flock.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF FLOCK, CNN CHICAGO BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Authorities say they had Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. on security tape at this store near where Dru Sjodin disappeared, and they say they found a knife and a girl's blood in his car.

SHERIFF DAN HILL, GRAND FORKS COUNTY: It looks like at this time like there's no chance that we're, you know, going to find Dru alive. I believe that it's more of a recovery than a rescue at this point.

FLOCK: Sheriff Dan Hill saying the difficult words gone unspoken for days. Authorities say when Rodriguez's 2002 Mercury Sable was searched, they found a four-inch serrated knife in the trunk, along with cleaning solution they think could have been used to get rid of blood. According to this affidavit filed by prosecutors, traces of blood were found in the back seat and on the rear passenger window. Rodriguez has denied kidnapping Sjodin.

HILL: Blood did come back. It was a DNA match with Dru from the DNA taken from Dru's toothbrush.

FLOCK: Investigators also reveal they found a small black dress shoe she was wearing while searching along the Red Lake River near Crookston, Minnesota. But divers found nothing else. Bob Healis is a private investigator coordinating the family's own search, and he says they're not giving up.

(on camera): You think there's still a possibility despite...

BOB HEALIS, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR: Well, yes. I don't think there's anything here that says that she's not alive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Jeff Flock joins us now.

Jeff, I have two questions for you tonight. Has the family at all reacted to the statement by that sheriff that Dru Sjodin will not be found alive most likely? And do we know at this point, is the subject cooperating at all?

FLOCK: Nothing from the family beyond what Bob Healis said. They have been very positive all along. And they say until they see tangible evidence that she is dead, they want to believe she is alive.

As to cooperation, Mr. Rodriguez has had nothing to say to authorities since last week. One man close to the investigation today said that Mr. Rodriguez spent the better part of the last 30 years in prison. He knows he's going back, and he apparently believes he has nothing to gain from cooperating -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right. Jeff Flock, a tough day in North Dakota. Thanks, Jeff.

Now, what could be a bombshell in the case against Michael Jackson. A confidential memo is uncovered that suggests Los Angeles authorities cleared Jackson of sexual abuse allegations months ago. But as CNN's Charles Feldman tells us, the man prosecuting the case against Jackson says that really doesn't matter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHARLES FELDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services conducted an investigation last February into charges that Michael Jackson sexually abused a 12- year-old cancer patient. But in a memo confirmed by CNN to be authentic, the agency concluded that the allegations against the king of pop were unfounded.

In fact, the memo, which describes in detail the February investigation, quotes the boy's mother as saying that Jackson was "like a father to her children." But late Tuesday, the Santa Barbara D.A. issued a public statement, saying that the previous investigation is not a significant factor. One possible reason for that would be if prosecutors have any evidence that acts of alleged abuse may have occurred after the child agency's own investigation had already concluded.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FELDMAN: And that leaves us with plenty of wiggle room for both sides to spin. Why? Because so far, Jackson has not been officially charged with anything, and until he is, it's almost impossible to determine which side is telling the truth -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right. Charles Feldman, thanks very much in Los Angeles. A little later, we're going to talk to the man who found the confidential document and broke the story, and talk to Court TV's Lisa Bloom about what all this might mean to the defense's case. That's a little later on.

In the world of politics, today has been a very good day for Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean. Early today, former Vice President Al Gore made a stunning decision official, endorsing Dean for president, saying he is the Democrat who can take back the White House. Here's national correspondent Kelly Wallace.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Iowa, the man who wanted to be president tries to pick the next one.

AL GORE, FMR. VICE PRESIDENT OF THE : Howard Dean and you have managed to do a better job of igniting enthusiasm at the grassroots all across the United States of America, and that's what we need to rebuild the Democratic Party.

WALLACE: Gore hailed Dean as the party's best chance to win back the White House, and encouraged party activists to get on board.

HOWARD DEAN (D), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are the insurgent campaign. But the truth is, we're not going to win this campaign against George Bush unless we ignite the entire Democratic Party.

WALLACE: The Gore-Dean partnership became public in Harlem. Here, as well as in Iowa, Gore grew most passionate talking about his and Dean's strong opposition to the war in Iraq.

GORE: It was a mistake to get us into a quagmire over there. So don't tell me that because Howard Dean was the only major candidate who was right about that war, that that somehow calls his judgment into question on foreign policy.

WALLACE: Gore's running mate in 2000 showed signs of feeling betrayed. A source close to Gore said the vice president hoped to give Senator Joseph Lieberman a heads up before the Dean announcement, but the news leaked out. Gore called Lieberman Tuesday morning.

SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D-CT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would say that it was about four or five minutes in length and too late.

WALLACE: Gore's endorsement was the most sought after by Democrats besides that of Bill and Hillary Clinton, who are holding back.

SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: I'm not getting involved in the primary campaign. I'm going to wait and support whoever the nominee is that emerges from this process.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALLACE: And Gore called Dean on Friday saying he wanted to endorse him, according to a Dean campaign aide. The aide said that Dean was surprised and shocked. Anderson, the two men then agreed to announce it in Harlem on Tuesday. The location significant, because Al gore can help attract African-American voters to Dean's candidacy.

COOPER: Then went on to Iowa, and now they are -- now Dean is on his own. It was a fascinating day. Kelly Wallace, thanks very much.

WALLACE: Sure.

COOPER: Well, a quick news note on the Gore-Dean endorsement. CNN has learned that Gore and Dean secretly planned the surprised endorsement over the past several months. Kelly mentioned that. They have spoken every two weeks for the past six months and met for 90 minutes in Tennessee just one month ago. And in his recent trip to Tokyo, Gore carried a draft of Dean's speech on foreign policy.

All right. Let's move on and take a look at what's happening right now "Cross Country."

Washington: President Bush is strongly warning Taiwan against taking any steps toward independence after meeting with China's premiere. Now, Taiwan plans to hold a referendum in March that the White House sees as a step toward breaking away from China. Mr. Bush says the U.S. policy is one china and opposes any decision to change the status quo.

Warwick, Rhode Island: the other shoe drops. The owners of the nightclub where 100 people died in a fire last February, remember that? Hard to forget. Well, they have been indicted, along with the tour manager of the band Great White. All three men have pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter.

Washington D.C.: rating the games. A monitoring group says there has been some progress, but video games are still too violent. An industry group says it's the jobs of parents to keep violent games away from their kids.

Springfield, Illinois: former Senator Paul Simon died at a hospital one day after undergoing heart surgery. The two-term senator and one-time presidential hopeful was 75 years old.

And that's a look at stories "Cross Country" right now. Tonight we continue with our look at "Secret Societies." We'll talk with the current and former member of a little known Catholic group called Opus Dei.

And the reports some are calling a bombshell in the case against Michael Jackson. We'll talk to the man who found the confidential document and talk about what happens now to the prosecution's case.

And still to come, if nice guys finish last, it seems average Joes don't fair much better on reality TV. We'll talk to this guy, the guy who almost got the girl coming up a little bit later.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, a sad story to report tonight. A U.S. soldier and his family are grieving at this hour, home from duty in Iraq planning his baby's son's funeral after the boy dies of the flu. We get the story now from (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's called MRSA, Methicillin Resistant Staph Aureus. Untreated, it goes from a minor pimple to a gruesome wound in a matter of days. Doctors around Los Angeles County told CNN the same thing, at least half the skin infections they see are resistant to the usual medicine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two years ago, this was completely unheard of. And it's remarkable how quickly it's gone from something that was nonexistent to one of the most common things that we see.

GUPTA: It even struck seven players on the country's number one ranked football team at the University of Southern California. Five ended up in the hospital. Antibiotics work to cure a patient by killing all of the harmful bacteria. Resistance arises when some of the bugs survive. For example, if you only take half your prescription.

Those surviving bugs with genes that fight off the antibiotic grow back and multiply. What make this outbreak so worrisome is that the patients were not taking antibiotics before hand, meaning the resistant bacteria strain, MRSA, is already loose in the community, joining a dangerous trend of diseases that have developed resistance to antibiotics that were designed to kill them.

DR. ELIZABETH BANCROFT, L.A. CITY DEPT. OF HEALTH SERVICES: And that's really the big difference. We're seeing resistant syphilis, we're seeing resistant gonorrhea, we're seeing resistant salmonella, and now we're seeing these resistant skin infections. And I think that's the new wave of resistance that we're seeing.

(END VIDEOTAPE) COOPER: Well, we want to apologize. We obviously ran a piece at the wrong time. That was a piece by Dr. Gupta talking about growing resistance to some antibiotics. Dr. Gupta joins us now.

Pretty troubling story.

GUPTA: It really is. And you know, for the first time in a while now, they're starting to see these resistant bugs actually in the community. Now, before, these were only really seen in the hospital. And really healthy people, five football players, college football players, getting this.

A real challenge now, Anderson, moving forward. Are they going to be about to develop antibiotics that fight these resistant bacteria and not develop resistant down the line? If these things get out of control, there's just nothing you can do about it. They're no antibiotic; there's no way to treat it.

COOPER: I want to talk about the flu a little bit. And a case in particular, because there's a story, the story we were trying to run about this soldier who has returned from Iraq is now burying his small child. So many parents out there worried about what they can do to protect their kids. What advice can you give them?

GUPTA: Well, you know, people talk about the basic things, no question. The flu shot is something that people have been talking about quite a bit. Some concern over whether or not there's going to be enough flu shot as well.

One thing, just a hand washing, people talk about that. Not sharing utensils important as well. Keep your kid home. If your kid is sick and has the flu, keep your kid home as well.

But the flu shot is an important thing, because one of the things, about six to 23-month-olds, take a look at the numbers there. Five times more likely to be hospitalized if they develop the flu. So this is an important issue.

Just hearing about that sad story about the child actually dying, the soldier coming home, this does happen. Thirty-six thousand people do die of the flu every year. A lot of them are children.

So there's some basic things you can do. The flu shot is an important one as well.

COOPER: All right. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks very much.

GUPTA: Good to see you. Yes -- take care.

COOPER: Well, we want to put your flu outbreak in a little bit of perspective. Let's look at the activity tracked by the CDC last year at this same time of the year.

In 2002, only Texas reported widespread activity by this time. This year, already 13 states have reported widespread flu activity, which means half of those states, health department reported confirmed cases.

All right. Let's take a look at what's going on right now around the globe. Here's the "UpLink."

Moscow, Russia: suicide bomber. An explosion kills six people, wounds 13 others. The attack happened outside a hotel in the heart of the city across from Red Square and the Kremlin. Investigators suspect the female suicide bomber planned to target Russia's parliament, but the bomb went off before it was supposed to.

Near Fallujah, Iraq: emergency landing. A U.S. chopper is forced to land in flames. A military source says the chopper was hit by suspected small arms fire during a security recon mission. Now, there were no injuries.

But that unfortunately is not the case in northern Iraq. At least 33 U.S. soldiers wounded there after bombings at two U.S. bases. The attacks less than three hours apart.

Beijing, China now: mass murderer gets death. This man, a man sentenced to die after being convicted of killing 17 teenage boys after luring them here to his home. It is a case that has just shocked China. A father whose son was murdered called the man a tumor to society.

And that is a look at tonight's "UpLink."

Every Tuesday we like to look a story the media seems to have forgotten about. We call it "How Quickly We Forget."

Tonight, we focus on the battle against the Taliban in Afghanistan. This past weekend, several children were killed in a U.S. air strike there, and as CNN chief international correspondent, Christian Amanpour, reports, the road to recovery in Afghanistan is proving longer and more difficult than many expected.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The deaths of the nine children come as the U.S. military fights a counteroffensive against an increasingly fierce resurgence by remnants of the ousted Taliban regime. The Taliban are trying to discredit and even kill Afghanistan's moderate U.S.-backed president as he tries to march his country towards elections scheduled for next summer and a brand new constitution scheduled to be ratified this month.

HAMID KARZAI, AFGHAN INTERIM PRESIDENT: The risks are that Afghanistan will go back into the hands of terrorists, into chaos, into despair. And we are not going to allow that.

AMANPOUR: The constitution will be ratified in a traditional loya jirga, in a tent meeting like this one. Delegates will come from all over the country. In a profound break with the past, the document envisions an Islamic republic, but not Islamic (UNINTELLIGIBLE) law. It provides for a powerful president who will be commander in chief of the military, as well as a two-house legislature. It also enshrines women's rights to education and to a role in governing the country. This is expected to be fiercely debated by hard-line conservative delegates.

A U.N. report just released says the global efforts to rescue Afghanistan could fail because of the security crisis, and it called on the U.S. and the rest of the world to keep its promises to Afghanistan. But even with more aid soon, progress in Afghanistan will take time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Another couple of years for them to stand on their own two feet and become a poor country, struggling with whatever help is available from the international community.

AMANPOUR: Even though there have been improvements, like millions of children in school, officials warn the next several months will be critical if democracy and recovery are to succeed.

Christian Amanpour, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, our special series continues, "Secret Societies." Tonight we'll talk with current and former members of Opus Dei. What is the group really about? We'll try to sort out fact from the myths.

Also ahead, a newly revealed document on Michael Jackson. Is it as damaging to the prosecution as it may appear? We'll talk to the man who broke the story and court TV's Lisa Bloom.

And we'll drop in on the final Democratic presidential debate of the year. We'll take you live to New Hampshire later on in the program.

First, here's today's "Buzz." If a known sex offender moved into your neighborhood, would you stay? Vote now at cnn.com/360. We'll have results at the end of the program.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: How many times have we all seen that picture?

Now to "Justice Served" and that Web site report that a memo detailing a confidential investigation cleared Michael Jackson of charges he sexually abused a boy. The Santa Barbara district attorney's office has released a statement saying it knew about that finding when Michael Jackson was arrested. Sources also tell CNN that the prosecutor isn't concerned because he contends at least some of the alleged acts of molestation happened after the time of this investigation, which was in February of 2003.

Bill Baston is the editor and founder of thesmokinggun.com, which posted the memo on its Web site. And Court TV's anchor, Lisa Bloom, is hear to talk about the legal implications of the development. We should also point out Court TV owns thesmokinggun.com.

Thanks both for being with us.

Bill, I'm not even going to bother to ask you how you got this confidential document, because I know you're not going to answer the question. But the wording is very important. "Unfounded," that's what this investigation concluded. Why that word? They had other options.

BILL BASTON, FOUNDER, EDITOR, THESMOKINGGUN.COM: They did their -- the closing of child welfare investigation and they determined that it was substantiated, that they were able to confirm that the abuse took place. The second alternative is unsubstantiated, which means that they were not able to develop enough evidence to confirm the allegations, though the possibility exists that they were true.

And the final one is that the allegations are unfounded. Essentially, that there was no merit to the allegations. And that's what they opted for...

COOPER: So this investigation back in February basically said, this isn't just a question of like, well, there's not enough evidence, we can't find it. They actually took the next step and said this thing is unfounded?

BASTON: Correct.

COOPER: Pretty damaging stuff, Lisa Bloom. I mean, how does the prosecution deal with this? I mean, they say they knew about it, but what does that mean?

LISA BLOOM, COURT TV: Yes. I think this is the best evidence the defense has revealed so far in the case. There's three choices. Either Jackson is innocent, the molestation happened after February, which the prosecution says some of those incidents today happened after February, or the third possibility is that the accuser and his family were covering for Jackson.

Now, I have litigated child sexual abuse cases in California courts. The courts accept a psychological syndrome called the Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome, which says, essentially, that a child sexual abuse victim is likely to deny that the abuse is going on at the time, likely to tell and then recant, tell and then recant.

That's the way child victims tend to report, because they're often in love with the perpetrator, they want to cover for the perpetrator. That's how molestation often goes on for years because a child participates in the cover-up.

COOPER: But, Bill, I mean, no matter how you look at it -- and Lisa, you say there's this thing -- but they now have a tape recording. The defense apparently has some tape recording in which this child and this child's mother and this child's brother all say there's no problem.

They now have this investigation that went on that said it was unfounded. I mean, you have several things now which have compounded to make it very difficult for the prosecution to make their case.

BASTON: Well, I would say that this probably has more heft to it than a videotape that he would have made for a defense counsel that claimed he was coerced. This is LAPD investigators and child welfare investigators trained in interviewing children. They were separate from their mother when they were interviewed, and they're the ones who came to the conclusion, which is a little bit different than kind of talking into a defense camera and kind of reading from a script or being coerced.

BLOOM: Well, I agree with that, but keep in mind the timeline. All of these events where the accuser is denying molestation are in February. The Bashir documentary, this child welfare service investigation, and also the Jackson investigators audiotape. That's all in February.

So we know pretty clearly now that the kid was denying in February that there was any molestation. But I go back to there could be events afterwards, or this child could be participating in a cover- up.

COOPER: Bill, you're shaking your head.

BASTON: Well, I mean, I would find that remarkable. The documentary aired in England on February 3. It aired here in the United States on February 6.

There was an uproar. The investigation in Los Angeles didn't start until a week later and ended at the end of February. And if he was doing things, or is alleged to have been doing things three and a half weeks after the uproar started, it's going to be fairly remarkable.

COOPER: We're not going to hear the last of this. And next week, we're supposed to see charges filed.

BLOOM: That's right. Next Monday, according to the prosecutor. That's the timeline.

COOPER: We'll see. All right. Lisa Bloom, Bill Baston, thanks very much. Appreciate it.

BASTON: Thanks.

COOPER: Well, is it a secret sect within the Catholic Church, or a group simply following its religious beliefs? Coming up, we take you inside Opus Dei. You may have read about it in "The Da Vinci Code." We're going to talk to a current and former member.

Also, beauty wins over brains. Tonight, the "Average Joe" speaks out. You'll meet him ahead.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Time for the "Reset," tonight's top stories.

New York City: former Vice President Al Gore has officially endorsed former Vermont Governor Howard Dean for president. In a joint appearance in Harlem today, Gore calling the enthusiasm generated by the Dean campaign "the right prescription for America." We'll talk more about this in just a few minutes.

Moving on, Wall Street New York, the Dow rose above 10,000 this morning for the first time since May of last year, stayed there for all of a minute. Then as expected, the Fed said it was leaving interest rates unchanged but issued a statement saying the nation's economic output is expanding briskly. The Dow once more flirted with the 10,000 level before sliding to it's lowest point of the day.

Chesapeake, Virginia, a prosecutor in the trial of accused D.C. area sniper Lee Boyd Malvo came down hard on a court appointed physiologist for the defense today. In cross-examination, Commonwealth Attorney Robert Horan Jr. accused Dewey Cornell of coordinating his diagnosis to line up with another defense expert's conclusions.

Grand Forks, North Dakota, authorities confirm they have found the blood of missing college student Dru Sjodin in the car of a man accused of kidnapping her. They also found a knife. Grand Fork County Sheriff Dan Hill now says he sees no chance of finding the woman alive.

That brings us to tonight's "Buzz" question, if a known sex offender moved into your neighborhood would you stay. Vote now at cnn.com/360. Results at the end of the program.

That's a look at the "Reset" tonight.

Coming up we continue our look at "Secret Societies." A weeklong look. Tonight hear from a current and former member of the Catholic group Opus Dei. That is just coming up.

But first, the eighth and final debate of the year is under way for the Democratic presidential candidates.

Dan Lothian joins live from Durham, New Hampshire with the latest.

Good evening, Dan.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Anderson. These debates are really supposed to be at the issues. We expect them to talk about everything from national security to the economy. But this debate started off this evening for at least the first 16 minutes by focusing on that endorsement that we've been talking so much about. Moderator Ted Koppel asked all the panelists, all the candidates to raise your hand if you believe Governor Dean can beat George Bush. Of course Governor Dean was the only person to raise his hand. And there was a bit of laughter in the audience. It brought up an interesting point as each one of the candidates was asked to explain why he or she did not raise their hands. They pointed out this is not a race about which endorsement you can get. They said this race will not be decided by an endorsement. It will be decided by the voters. And it was Kucinich who brought up an interesting point. There are a lot of important issues we should be focusing on liked education or healthcare or the environment, whatever it might be. And here we are spending the first 16 minutes of the debate focusing on an endorsement. He said, this is trivializing the process of a debate where we should be focusing on the issues.

So that's how it started off tonight. The debate continues now. They're going into the second half where some of the candidates will get a chance to talk to each other, ask each other some questions about the issues. Back to you, Anderson.

COOPER: All right. Dan Lothian live in Durham. Thanks very much, Dan.

More now on how Gore's endorsement of Howard Dean might affect the Democratic playing field. Political analyst Carlos Watson and Lisa Caputo joining me as well here in New York.

Nice to see both of you. Thanks for being with us.

Let's start off by playing some of what Al Gore said earlier about the Dean campaign. Let's play this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Howard Dean really is the only candidate who has been able to inspire at the grassroots level all over this country the kind of passion and enthusiasm for democracy and change and transformation of America that we need in this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Carlos, let me start with you. This is an anointing of Howard Dean by Gore?

CARLOS WATSON, POLITICAL ANALYST: Comes pretty close to it. I think Howard Dean gets three things from it. Certainly gets credibility and while the other candidates are right that's not the end of the ball game but for an outsider like Dean to get this bless from Gore is important credibility wise. And two other things, he's actually going to raise more money. Remember last quarter he outlapped the field, raised the largest any Democrat had raised in the quarter, $14.7 million. So look for close to $20 million this quarter. And last but not least I think you will get a 2 to 4 percent bump in polls in Iowa.

COOPER: Because of this endorsement?

WATSON: In Iowa and New Hampshire, I think a lot of people on the fence will say you know what I like what he's saying, been holding back a little bit, maybe I'd been going with Lieberman, maybe Edwards, others, you know what I think that is guy can do it let me get on board. COOPER: Want to talk about the polls in a minute.

But Lisa, does the endorsement bring in any risk to it?

Is there for Howard Dean?

LISA CAPUTO, POLITICAL ANALYST: Sure there's a risk. I mean, there's a great gamble here for Howard Dean. He risks Al Gore being the 800 pound guerrilla. You saw tonight in the debate just in that report where the first part of the debate was focused on the endorsement. Howard Dean can't run the risk of living in the shadow of Al Gore. At the same time, it's a gamble for Gore. It all depends on how this plays out for Dean. Whether he wins the nomination and goes on to run a bid. What you heard Gore just say in the setup piece to our round table here is very interesting. And he talked about this is a campaign at the grassroots level. People have been around Gore for a long time talk about how this is the campaign Al Gore wanted to run himself and didn't.

COOPER: Interesting. Is there is a danger that some Dean supporters are going to say this guy's moving too far to the main stream. I mean, if Al Gore is supporting Dean maybe people who came to Dean early on that provided that grassroot support do they maybe move away?

WATSON: I think there's only a little risk of that. Lisa kind of touched on this before. I think there's really grassroots support that has weathered Howard Dean through a couple of storms, weathered him when he wasn't front runner at all. And for people who have been on the outside who were banging the anti-war drum, banging the be harder on George W. Bush drum, and thinking the Democrats were being too tepid, I think on the contrary, they're going to be excited finally the mainstream's coming to them. You know what I mean, that finally it's like the main mainstream embracing rock and roll 50 years ago. They are going to say good Ed Sullivan, you know, you put Elvis Presley on. And it doesn't make Elvis less popular. It makes, you know, the main stream embrace something that previously (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

COOPER: If you were any of the other Democratic candidates tonight what do you do?

I mean, how do you get beyond this?

CAPUTO: You got to move beyond it. That's exactly what you have to do. You have to say, one day story got to move on. Got to get to the issue. Got to get away from Gore. Got to get away the endorsements, as you saw them do. and move on to the issues and really start to go after Dean. Dean has emerged as the front runner going into Iowa and New Hampshire. Clearly, a lock on the lead in both going into the southern primaries in February. At this the point now is to try to really discredit Dean as much as possible frankly. The other point to the Gore endorsement that I think is -- is a bit risky is that I talked to a lot of Democrats today. They're a lot of Democrats angry at the way the former vice president handled this. Not calling his former running mate for example. I mean, there are issues there that have gotten some Democrats angry.

COOPER: We've gotten some ideas though for future politicians who want to dump their former running mates at the end of the program. Lisa Caputo good to see you. Thanks very much.

CAPUTO: You, Anderson.

COOPER: And Carlos Watson, thanks very much.

All right. Some call it controversial secret society. Others say there's -- well, there's nothing mysterious about it.

Opus Dei past and current members speak out tonight, just ahead.

Also ahead -- is this Jerry Seinfeld?

Well, he may be coming back. We'll explain all that in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, tonight we continue our look at "Secret Societies," and the controversial Roman Catholic group Opus Dei. Now you may have heard of the group if you read the best seller the "Da Vinci Code" which paints a picture of secretive organization with a dark side. But members they are following the light of God to be saint in everyday life.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): Opus Dei, Latin for work of God, was founded in 1928. Its 85,000 members around the world practice a conservative brand of Catholicism. Their motto, posted on their Web site, "Finding God in work and daily life."

PROF. THOMAS GROOME, BOSTON COLLEGE: They would prefer Catholic people, lay people, to bring their faith into the workplace, into the marketplace of life. Now, what could be more admirable than that?

COOPER: Opus Dei says there's nothing secret about their organization. Critics, however, say Opus Dei has a darker side. They point to ritualistic self-abuse some members engage in. The bestselling novel "The Da Vinci Code" paints an unflattering portrait of Opus Dei though its members say that it is pure fantasy and has nothing to do with their faith.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Last night we tried to bring you this next interview but we had some technical problems for which we're sorry. You're about to meet a woman named Tammy DiNicola. As a college student she joined Opus Dei in Boston. You'll also meet her mother, Dianne, who started what she calls the Opus Dei Awareness Network because she believed the group was cult-like and she wanted to warn other people. Tammy is no longer part of Opus Dei. I spoke with both of them a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) COOPER: Is it really fair, though, to call it a secret society? I mean, on their Web site they say there's nothing secret about us. I mean, they have a Web site. You know, they do charity work. They do good works. Where's the controversy?

TAMMY DINICOLA, FORMER MEMBER OF OPUS DEI: Well, the controversy is in what they are actually doing behind closed doors and it's very cult-like in their practices.

DIANNE DINICOLA, CO-FOUNDER, OPUS DEI AWARENESS NETWORK: Opus Dei has an underside that hurts people and tears people apart from their families.

COOPER: What does the membership entail? I mean, I understand at one point, I guess, you were giving all your money to the organization? Is that true? And there's also -- they talk about self- punishment or self-penance. How does that -- how does that happen?

T. DINICOLA: They have, besides giving over all of your salary and your letters to be read both going and coming and all your reading and books and everything, they directed you to use the cilis which is a spike chain.

The purpose of it is penance and trying to identify with the sufferings of Christ and offering that up for the different people that you want to join Opus Dei.

COOPER: So it's sort of a metal or barbed wire things with spikes that you put around your leg, is that it?

T. DINICOLA: Yes. You put it around your thigh and you tie it on for two hours each day. Most days of the week.

COOPER: And then there's something else called the discipline.

T. DINICOLA: Yeah. And then this is the discipline. This is what you use -- you whip yourself on the buttocks with this once a week. Even within Opus Dei they would talk about how the founder was so zealous in using these that he would splatter the bathroom walls with blood.

COOPER: Tammy, let me ask you, I mean, there are those who say, OK, look, you know, that's not my cup of tea, using an item like this to flagellate myself but are they harming any other people? Are you making those kind of charges?

T. DINICOLA: The harm is that they -- the way they get people to use these items, it's one thing if somebody chooses to use it, but if you're told that this is the only way you're going to be faithful to God then there's a lot of guilt and fear that's involved.

COOPER: Let me ask you finally, you know, there are those who say look, faith takes many forms and if some people want to express their faith in this way through this organization, what's so wrong with that? T. DINICOLA: Well, I would say do it without manipulation and deception. Lay out all the details of membership ahead of time instead of deliberately holding it back. And then let people, you know, after six months or 18 months make a decision at that point whether they want to stay or leave without the guilt and without the deception and without the orchestration that goes on behind the scenes.

COOPER: All right, Tammy and Dianne DiNicola, we appreciate you joining us. Thank you very much.

T. DINICOLA: Thank you.

D. DINICOLA: OK. Thanks for having us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: We're now joined by Cathy Hickey who's been a member of Opus Dei for 30 years. Cathy, thanks very much for being with us. Now, Tammy was a numerary. You are a supernumerary. You have a family, you have kids.

CATHY HICKEY, OPUS DEI MEMBER: That's right. I've got seven children.

COOPER: How is Opus Dei different for you than her experience?

HICKEY: It's the same vocation for everybody. I don't think it is different. The difference between a numerary and supernumerary is really a difference of availability. If you're married and have a family you can't uproot yourself and leave but numerary vocations, you really -- they could be asked, would they be willing, they would be asked, they have the freedom to say no, would you be willing to go to another country?

Would you be willing to start Opus Dei in another place? And for the most part because they're trying to do the will of God, they will probably say yes but they have the freedom to say yes.

COOPER: The mother of that woman Tammy, Dianne, basically said that she felt it was sort of like a cult.

HICKEY: You know, every -- that's so silly. I mean, I've heard that said and it's a silly thing to say in a way. Every path is different. Everybody has to choose their own path. Maybe it wasn't Tammy's path. Because particularly it's not so easy to be a member of Opus Dei. I mean, to join -- when she said six months, you know, they should be able to decide in six months -- well, it's longer than that. You have to be a certain age. You have to be living in the work and they can say, will this woman be able to do it?

COOPER: And how do you explain why you want to be part of it? What is it? Is it something you were searching for or is it something that you found in Opus Dei that you couldn't find elsewhere?

HICKEY: Well, I'll tell you my own experience. When I met people in Opus Dei, I thought, they have something that I want. They were just delightful. They were happy. They were fulfilled. And as I got to know them and admired them, I thought, this is what I want. And then I had found through the years it's just -- it's a wonderful path to God. There are many paths to God. For me, Opus Dei was the one. It was a great help in raising my family. It's just been wonderful.

COOPER: Well, Cathy Hickey, we really appreciate you coming in and talking about it. Thank you very much. It was a pleasure to meet you.

HICKEY: It was a pleasure to be with you. Thank you so much.

COOPER: All right. Well, our series "Secret Societies" continues tomorrow. We're going to look at Yale University's ultrasecret Skull and Bones considered by many to be America's most exclusive secret society. Captains of industry and presidents past and present have been Bonesmen. Is it a stepping stone of power or a glorified frat house. We'll tell you or at least we'll try to find out tomorrow.

On Thursday, we'll examine the century's old world of the Freemasons and look at what they're doing to survive in the 21st century. Finally, on Friday, a secret society of a very different sort. We'll look at what is perhaps the country's most despised group, the Ku Klux Klan.

Well, how do you say you're sorry for dissing your former running mate? There isn't a greeting card for that one. Not yet anyway but we'll show you how Al Gore could have made amends with Joe Lieberman. We'll take that to "The Nth Degree" tonight.

Also, tonight, there is no hope in Dudville for the average Joe struck out. Does this mean women are just as shallow as men are? Could it be? We'll talk to average Joe Adam Mesh of the reality TV show. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: All right. Time to check on tonight's "Current." Let's take a look at what's going on out there.

"Variety" reports that Jerry Seinfeld will write and star in a new animated movie called "The B Movie." In a statement, Seinfeld said, quote, "I have always been fascinated by B society, the world's most harmoniously run organization." Jason Alexander, meanwhile, is no longer doing ads for Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Bachelor Andrew Firestone (ph) has broken up with fiancee Jen Sheft (ph), seven months after they got engaged on TV. The couple said their love was as genuine as anyone else's, and they announced their breakup in traditional fashion, with a press release to "Extra."

Finally, if you've ever seen the famous painting "The Scream," you may have wondered why the background sky is so red. Well, an article in today's "Sky and Telescope" magazine says it's due to the eruption of Krakatoa, which created red twilights in Europe at the time, thereby blowing out my college paper arguing that it representing the artist's inner turmoil over the dehumanizing effects of encroaching industrialization. Stupid volcano.

All right. That's "The Current."

Right now, reality TV, the latest reality TV series dared to ask a question, can a beauty queen find love with an average Joe? As much of America learned last night in the show's grand finale -- the answer, no. Beauty queens end up having the hots for beauty kings. Truly, there is no justice.

Adam Mesh was doing well until the show's producer sent in a couple of hunks to try to spice things up. Last night, Melanie Scantlin (ph) went off with a hunk and left Adam Mesh, the last average Joe still standing. But all is not lost for young Adam. As a consolation prize, he gets to hang out with us tonight. He joins us. Adam, thanks for being with us.

ADAM MESH, "AVERAGE JOE": Thank you.

COOPER: Number one, did you know this show was called "Average Joe" when you signed up for it?

MESH: No.

COOPER: What did they tell you it was going to be called?

MESH: I thought it was called "Life of the Party," and I was told about going on a show that was like a dream vacation, where there was romance, adventure and fun in the sun. So I'm like, sign me up.

COOPER: Let's see the actual -- the killing moment right here I guess from last night. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "AVERAGE JOE")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The romance has to end. It tears me up inside to send you home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: It tears her up inside. Did you buy that? What was that like? Was that just crushing?

MESH: I think I would have bought it if she didn't have such a big smile on her face as she was saying it. It's like, it tears me up, smile smile smile, to send you home. I guess you're not that upset about it.

COOPER: Were you hurt? Were you upset by it?

MESH: No. I would have been upset earlier in the process, but at that point I had done everything, I had participated in every event, every activity possible.

COOPER: And you made it all the way to the end.

MESH: But I got to do everything, which is what you want to do on a show like that, and there was nothing left unsaid or undone. It's like a game. If I was playing a sport and I tried my best and gave it my all and didn't win, at least I could walk away with my head high. It's the same thing.

COOPER: By the way, I appreciate you not using the word "journey." Because if one more of these reality people uses the word "journey," I'm going to scream.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: I know you've gotten huge, like, response. I mean, you got like 3,000 e-mails. Someone I guess posted your phone number on the Internet so you've been getting calls all night long?

MESH: Yes, I haven't slept in a couple of days now. The California people watch the show three hours later, and they kept calling until 4:00, or 5:00 in the morning. And like, I couldn't sleep through most of them, so then all of a sudden I would be like, all right, I'll just answer this call. Hello, is Adam there. I'm like, yeah, it's 5:00 in the morning, of course I'm here.

They're like, oh, I know it's late. I just wanted to congratulate. And it's nice, but it's like 5:00 in the morning.

COOPER: We went out on the streets with our cameras and asked some people what they thought of what happened last night. Let's take a look at it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was disappointed, because I thought the other guy, what was he named, average Joe, he was cool.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think she went for the looks over what's inside, which tends to be the case quite often.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's good looking, that's about it. This other guy offered her everything, but she's gone for the better- looking guy, I guess.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The show is called "Average Joe," but the moral of the story was, the pretty face won.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: But you must be pleased with all the response. I mean, is this something you would ever do again?

MESH: How so in terms of competing for someone?

COOPER: Would you be on a reality show again, a reality dating show again?

MESH: Under the right circumstances, I would participate. I wouldn't ever want to be the guy that's hurting everyone's feelings.

COOPER: If they did a show called "Average Jane," would you be on it?

MESH: That would be where I'm the one who has to reject 15 girls and pick one? I would feel too bad doing that, I think.

COOPER: All right. Adam Mesh, good luck to you. Thanks for being with us.

MESH: Thank you.

COOPER: All right. It's a fun show.

Think it's awkward choosing guys on national TV? Then you know the tough time Al Gore had choosing whom to endorse today. If only he had told Joe Lieberman first -- well, if he had done that, we couldn't take him to "The Nth Degree." That's just ahead.

Plus, tomorrow, our series on "Secret Societies" continues, as we flesh out Skull and Bones. Get it? With a look at some of its suspected powerful members. Join us for that tomorrow.

And today's buzz -- you can vote now at cnn.com/360. If a known sex offender moved into your neighborhood, would you stay? Results when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Time now for "The Buzz." We asked you, if a known sex offender moved into your neighborhood, would you stay? Seventy-one percent of you said yes, 29 percent said no. This is not a scientific poll, just viewer buzz.

Tonight, taking bad news to "The Nth Degree." Al Gore endorsed Howard Dean for president today. Not only did Mr. Gore pass over his own former running mate, Senator Joe Lieberman, turns out he didn't even call Lieberman before word got out. No call, not even a card.

Look, it's hard giving bad news to anyone, especially someone who helped you get the Jewish vote and distance you from Clinton. They don't make greeting cards for that kind of thing. But why not? They have cards for cats these days. Why not politicians?

So tonight, we're proud to introduce the 360 line of political greeting cards. Don't know how to tell your running mate he's no longer he's no longer you're running favorite? Try this card: "Deepest condolences on the loss of endorsement, due to several factors, most notably your position on the war in Iraq."

At 360, we got cards for every political occasion. "Get well soon. You blew it in Iowa, but New Hampshire is just around the corner. Pull yourself together, or your shot at the nomination is dead."

Or my personal favorite: "Thinking of you, but unable to endorse you, because you pandered too much to the party faithful in the early primaries to be a viable candidate."

Whatever your Machiavellian political needs are, we think there should be a card for you.

That wraps up the program tonight. Coming up next, "PAULA ZAHN NOW."

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





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