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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

New Al-Jazeera Video Shows Kidnapped U.S. Soldier; Czech Journalist Freed in Iraq

Aired April 16, 2004 - 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, CNN ANCHOR: New Al-Jazeera video confirms a family's worst fears, a U.S. soldier missing since last week now a hostage. We'll have the latest.

Another hostage is freed. Tonight, a journalist just released tells of his harrowing five days in captivity.

First, O'Neill then Clarke, now Woodward, get ready for the next bombshell book about the Bush administration's war plan.

Bush and Blair, common goals, same visions, the president's partner comes to the White House. Can they hold the coalition together?

A baby born in the back of a car survives a fatal crash thanks to a heroic passerby.

And the crackdown on indecency is it coming to an adult store near you?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

COOPER: And good evening.

We begin with an American soldier held hostage in Iraq. This video aired by the Al-Jazeera network late this afternoon, on the tape a man surrounded by masked gunmen. He identifies himself as Keith Maupin a soldier listed as missing since last week this on a day where the White House, President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair pledged to stand firm on Iraq, a lot to cover ahead.

At the Pentagon Jamie McIntyre and in Washington White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux, we begin at the Pentagon. Jamie, what's the latest on this young American hostage?

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, the latest is the Pentagon is still not officially confirming his identity but there's no reason to think it's not on of the soldiers who has been missing since an April 9 attack.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE (voice-over): On the tape aired by Al-Jazeera, the man in a U.S. military uniform identifies himself as one of the two soldiers currently missing in Iraq.

PFC KEITH MAUPIN, U.S. SOLDIER: My name is Keith Matthew Maupin.

MCINTYRE: The military won't confirm it's him but 20-year-old Private First Class Keith Maupin has been missing an April 9 attack on a convoy of fuel trucks outside Baghdad.

Also missing after the same incident is 40-year-old Sergeant Elmer Krause and several American contractors who work for the Halliburton subsidiary KBR, including Thomas Hamill who was seen on video shot by Australian television.

On the tape, the hostage takers say their captive is in good health and being treated based on the tenets of Islamic law for the treatment of soldiers taken hostage. Their only hint of demands: "We will keep him until we trade him for our prisoners in the custody of the U.S. enemy." The U.S. insists it won't deal.

DAN SENIOR, COALITION SPOKESMAN: We are putting everything behind trying to rescue these hostages. We will not negotiate with the terrorists who have engaged in the hostage taking but we are putting everything behind their release both from an intelligence statement, from a military standpoint and other resources we have at our disposal.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE: At this point, the U.S. says it has no idea for sure who is behind these hostage takings and it's still working to identify four bodies found near the scene of that attack to try to confirm if those are four of the people still missing -- Anderson.

COOPER: Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon thanks.

If terrorism is theater there is no quicker way to get an audience than with a hostage. It's a tactic Dan Byman knows very well. He's an assistant professor at Georgetown University, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. He joins us from Washington. Dan, how effective a strategy is this by insurgents?

DAN BYMAN, BROOKINGS INSTITUTE: Insurgents are taking advantage of a time honored tactic that has worked again and again for terrorist groups. In many ways, kidnapping they can get a lot more attention, a lot more drama than by killing people.

COOPER: You say worked in what sense?

BYMAN: It grabs attention for their cause. It grabs attention to them at a local level in Iraq and it forces the United States, it forces the world to pay attention to them.

COOPER: It's also designed to demoralize whoever they oppose. BYMAN: Certainly. It creates a sense of failure. It is hard for any government spokesman to say things are going very well when there is a kidnapping drama going on and, even though this may only be a few individuals, the horror of it, the drama of it compels the government to respond and makes it very difficult to put a good face on this.

COOPER: Dozens of hostages taken in this past week alone in Iraq what do you make of that? Are these coordinated?

BYMAN: It's difficult to say. There could be a coordinated order saying go forth. Take hostages of different groups, but we've seen different parts of Iraq have hostage incidents.

We've seen different groups in Iraq take hostages. What may be happening is that groups are simply learning from one another that they see this, they see the media coverage, they see the attention given and they decide to take hostages on their own.

COOPER: And the best way to deal with a hostage situation?

BYMAN: The best way to deal with hostage situations, unfortunately, is not to negotiate. It creates a very dangerous precedent that only makes them more hostage taking.

This is very bad news, of course, for the families of those involved and the individuals involved but the goal is to keep this to a minimum to show that's a tactic that will not work, not one that will be rewarded.

COOPER: Dan Byman from Georgetown and Brookings thanks very much.

A quick news note now on the hostage situation in Iraq, so far more than 40 foreigners have been kidnapped, most have been released but earlier this week an Italian was killed by his captors who are still threatening to kill the three other Italians they're holding. Those hostage takers are demanding Italy withdraw its troops from Iraq.

Well, amid the threats there is hope. Today three Czech reporters were released by their captors in Iraq, just ahead my exclusive interview with one of the reporters now free and you're going to hear firsthand what it's like to be held hostage in Iraq.

At the White House today, a united front on Iraq, President Bush and his closest ally, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, holding talks once again and pledging to stand fast.

Here is White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: With the rising death toll in Iraq and the June 30 deadline for Iraqi sovereignty fast approaching, President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair vowed to stay the course.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This transfer will demonstrate to the Iraqi people that our coalition has no interest in occupation.

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We will not back down in the face of attacks either on us or on defenseless civilians.

MALVEAUX: Their oval office meeting comes at a critical time for both leaders. Blair, who is facing growing criticism for supporting the Iraq War, has privately been pushing Mr. Bush to allow for a greater U.N. role in Iraq's future and Mr. Bush who has seen renewed violence there acknowledged the U.S. needs more help.

BUSH: We welcome the proposals presented by the U.N. Special Envoy Brahimi. He's identified a way forward to establishing an interim government that is broadly acceptable to the Iraqi people.

MALVEAUX: The two leaders also presented a united front to support Israel's controversial new plan to withdraw from Gaza but keep some West Bank settlements.

While both argued it would jump-start the road map's stalled Israeli-Palestinian talks, Blair's pushing for more aid to the Palestinian Authority, an organization the U.S. refuses to deal with under the leadership of Yasser Arafat.

BLAIR: We want the quartet to meet as soon as possible to discuss how it can support the Palestinian Authority in particular economically, politically and in respective security to respond to that offer.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Now, wrapping up a week of meetings with the leaders of Egypt, Israel and Britain. Next week President Bush meets with Jordan's King Abdullah to try to button up support for his Middle East Iraq initiatives -- Anderson.

COOPER: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House thanks very much.

We want to take you live right now to a rally that is going on in Batavia, Ohio with family, friends and supporters of Private First Class Keith Maupin, a rally in support of him tonight.

Happening right now this is Keith's hometown, Batavia, Ohio, the suburbs of Cincinnati at the steps of the Claremont County Courthouse. This rally was actually scheduled before the videotape was broadcast today. Let's look. We'll check in with the rally later on.

Details today leaking about another book that examines the Bush administration's timing for waging war in Iraq, this book is by veteran investigative reporter Bob Woodward and already Washington is bracing for fallout.

Here's CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): According to the Associated Press, which obtained a copy of Woodward's new book "Plan of Attack," the book says the president pulled Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld aside on November 21, 2001, less than two months into the war in Afghanistan, and asked him what kind of war plan Rumsfeld had for Iraq.

AP's account of the book says Rumsfeld told the president the plan was outdated and Mr. Bush responded that Rumsfeld should get started on a new plan. Bob Woodward has yet to comment on his soon to be released book.

The "Washington Post" Web site says Woodward's book describe Vice President Dick Cheney as "a powerful steamrolling force behind the idea of an Iraq War" and describes the relationship between Cheney and Secretary of State Colin Powell becoming so strained over the war that they're barely on speaking terms.

Contacted by CNN, an official in Cheney's office said the vice president and his spokesman are traveling back from Asia and would not be in a position to respond to our question before our deadline.

The State Department spokesman had this to say.

RICHARD BOUCHER, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: I think that's not true.

TODD: According to the "Post's" reporting of the book, the president had made up his mind to take military action in Iraq by early January, 2003. Quoting the president: "I am prepared to risk my presidency to do what I think is right. I was going to act and, if it could cost the presidency, I fully realize that."

Bush was reportedly asked by Woodward how history would judge the war and replied "history, we don't know. We'll all be dead."

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Tonight, the search for Osama bin Laden has intensified after the release of the latest audio tape yesterday. In Khowst, Afghanistan tracking the manhunt CNN's Nic Robertson, Nic any new leads on bin Laden?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Anderson there doesn't appear to be any new leads. Every piece of information here is being very, very hard won. One of the tactics being employed by troops here is to get into remote areas of Afghanistan, perhaps within a few days walk of the Pakistan border.

Get into those tiny villages, understand the villages, try and help the villagers, find out if they need schools, if they need health care, what services and facilities those villagers need, built trust in those villages in the hope that those villages will then pass on critical information about al Qaeda, if they are hiding there, if they have any associates there, if they pass through those areas.

Now the troops I'm talking to at this base here that I've been out on missions with in that area say they are winning that hearts and minds campaign, if you will. They are denying al Qaeda an area but they do say as well impossible this time to know where Osama bin Laden could be. They say there are so many remote houses. He could be in one of them and they just could walk right by it -- Anderson.

COOPER: And what level of cooperation do they say they are getting from these villagers?

ROBERTSON: Well, what I've seen is that villagers are telling them they're very happy to have the improved security. They're happy that the coalition is trying to help them. They're happy that the coalition is trying to put in place the new government in Afghanistan and broaden and extend its authority and they say that they will pass over information.

Indeed one area we went to the tribal leaders in that area had agreed that if anyone if their villages helped al Qaeda their house would be burned down, the rest of their lands taken away. They'd be given a several hundred dollar fine, very big in terms of these communities.

So, it does appear at least as if they are winning support in those areas but the key here is this is a community that's been in a state of war for over 20 years and the assessment is that they don't want war anymore that they would rather now work with the coalition.

But, of course, when you walk away from these communities it is so difficult to know what they think when they go inside those houses and close the doors -- Anderson.

COOPER: A whole different story then. All right, Nic Robertson thanks very much from Khowst.

Possible new security measures at Disney World. That story tops our look at news "Cross Country."

Orlando, Florida, a TV stations says Disney World may tighten security by installing metal detectors and will soon test them after hours to see if they're practical. Right now patrons are subject to purse and handbag searches on their way into the park.

Vancouver, Washington now, bogus address, police issue a new warrant for the freed sex offender we told you about just last night Edward Harvey Stokes who is supposed to tell authorities where he'd be living but now they say he lied about his address and they will try to arrest him for perjury.

Clearwater, Florida, murder suspect on the loose. Somehow Timothy Lee Humphrey managed to get out of the van that was transferring him from one jail to another. He is bald, stands about 6'1" and weighs about 225 pounds. Police are looking for him right now.

In Fort Bragg, North Carolina, a Tiger salute to the military. The world's top golfer wraps up a three day visit to the Army base with his clinic for kids. Woods says meeting military families put his vocation in perspective and called their sacrifice "the ultimate dedication."

Well, we are going to update you on the American hostage in Iraq and talk with another hostage just released today who tells us what it's like to be held captive. That is ahead.

Also tonight a bizarre car crash and a dramatic rescue, a woman becomes a mother and a widow within seconds, an incredible story you will not want to miss.

Plus, state authorities cracking down on adult stores. Is the government going too far, part of our weeklong series "Indecent Crackdown."

And fear in the porn industry, production comes to a grinding halt in Southern California because of HIV concerns, is enough being done to protect actors, all that ahead.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well this next story is one that is simply hard to believe. Two young expectant parents rushing to the hospital but the baby comes too soon. Then on a slick road the unthinkable happens.

CNN's Jason Carroll picks up the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Patrick Schlagenhaft remembers every detail of what happened on this highway in New Jersey.

PATRICK SCHLAGENHAFT, SAVED NEWBORN BOY: I stopped my truck in the middle of the street and I saw the car sitting here.

CARROLL: This is where Atara Sassoon (ph) and her husband Binyamin crashed early Wednesday morning. They were headed to the hospital when Sassoon suddenly gave birth in their car. Shortly after her husband lost control of their vehicle. He was killed. She was ejected but survived and yelled for help.

SCHLAGENHAFT: She said I need you to help me. My husband is knocked out and my infant is in the car.

CARROLL: Schlagenhaft found the newborn and knew he had to act fast.

SCHLAGENHAFT: He was laying in a fetal position, knees to his chest with his head buried in his hands, kind of struggling to get a good breath. That's what it looked like.

CARROLL: A 911 operator guided him through the next crucial steps over his cell phone.

911 Operator: OK, what I want you to do, the baby's breathing?

SCHLAGENHAFT: The baby, I could hear it, I heard it making some noise.

911 Operator: I want you to check the baby, make sure it's not hemorrhaging from where the cord is.

SCHLAGENHAFT: No, I wouldn't think it is. I see a car. I can see him crying.

CARROLL: For months, Schlagenhaft had been worried about being in the delivery room with his wife who's seven months pregnant. He doesn't worry about that anymore but he's somewhat haunted by what happened, a life that was lost and another he helped save.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: Sassoon and her newborn son are in stable condition. She did have a chance to talk to her good Samaritan and she thanked him for what he did and told him her baby is doing just fine, certainly a little bit of good news there.

COOPER: Unbelievable story. Thanks very much Jason.

A promise about Olympic security tops our look at stories around the globe right now. Let's check the "Up Link."

Athens, Greece, Greece says it won't allow Olympic national teams to bring armed security to the games. Officials say Greece already has a comprehensive security plan and that foreign armed forces would be a coordination nightmare.

Madrid, Spain, new prime minister, parliament voted today to endorse Socialist Party Leader Jose Luis Rodriguez for the top spot. That's nearly five weeks after the surprise Socialist Party victory after the Madrid train bombings.

Johannesburg, South Africa, landslide victory as expected, the African National Congress won Wednesday's election easily assured a two-thirds vote in parliament. The South African president promised to fight the chronic poverty in Africa's richest nation.

Central Bangladesh, devastating tornado that tore through a region of poor villages Wednesday evening killing 69 people injuring about 1,000. The tornado has destroyed 3,000 tin roof huts and left 15,000 people homeless.

Bournemouth, England, revenge doesn't pay. A man on bicycle on a revenge spree after a car splashed him, slashes tires on nearly 2,000 cars. He was sentenced today to 16 months in jail. His 10-day campaign caused more than $400,00 in damage. Coming up the American held hostage in Iraq, his captors play to the media but how will this new tactic of terror play out? We'll talk to a journalist who was released from captivity just a short time ago.

Also tonight, jury duty pushed to the limits, why private investigators are put on the tail of those called to serve. We'll talk to one of them.

And "Indecent Crackdown," adult toy stores being targeted for obscenity, are some police going too far, all that ahead stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, a developing story we're closely watching tonight, a U.S. soldier held hostage in Iraq. This disturbing video aired by the Al-Jazeera network late this afternoon. On the tape a man, as you can see, surrounded by masked gunmen. He identifies himself as Keith Maupin, soldier, listed as missing since last week when his convoy came under attack near Baghdad. We're watching this story very closely bringing more details coming up.

Back at home in Jackson, Mississippi, adult bookstores have been ordered to stop selling sex toys and merchants are outraged. The crackdown comes after the state Supreme Court upheld a law banning their sale.

Our special series, "Indecent Crackdown," wraps up tonight. In a moment you're going to meet a woman awaiting trial for selling sex toys to undercover police but first here's CNN's Adaora Udoji.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Out of this adult bookstore in Jackson, Mississippi, authorities confiscated bags of what they allege are illegal sex toys.

SHERIFF RONNIE PINKINGTON: With the new Supreme Court ruling on this being sold and advertised for sale we knew it was time to take action on it.

UDOJI: The Mississippi Supreme Court upheld a law banning the sale or display of sex toys. It's a hot issue in several states.

In Texas, Joanne Webb is fighting a similar law. The former schoolteacher who held passion parties for adult women modeled on Tupperware parties faces up to a year in jail and a $4,500 fine for selling sex toys and explaining how they work.

Like Mississippi and Texas, Georgia also bans the sales but courts have struck down the law in other states, such as Louisiana, Colorado and Kansas. In Kansas, though, legal experts say authorities are using other obscenity laws to go after adult businesses. One shop faces more than two dozen charges for selling "obscene devices."

At a boutique in New York City, its co-owner says these laws will come and go. She had no concern the laws are a growing trend that will affect her business.

CLAIRE CAVANAN, CO-OWNER, TOYS IN BABELAND: We sell a lot of toys on the Web site to different places all over the country and all over the world and we don't believe we're doing anything wrong.

UDOJI: Back in Jackson, the sheriff expresses the opinion of many on the other side.

PINKINGTON: I just hope that, you know, we can curb this right now and put a stop to it. We don't need it.

UDOJI: Even in Mississippi, though, the debate is far from over.

Adaora Udoji, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, you just saw Joanne Webb in Adaora's report. She started selling sex toys to boost her family's income. By some estimates the adult toy industry is a billion dollar business. Joanne joins us live now from Houston. Thanks very much for being on the program Joanne.

JOANNE WEBB, OWNER, PARTIES BY JOANNE: You bet, Anderson. Thank you.

COOPER: Let me ask you. A representative from Mississippi stated and I quote that sex toys in the state that cracking down on them was "protecting public physical and mental health and supporting public morality." What do you think of that?

WEBB: I think that's wrong. I think that what they're doing is they're trying to keep women from enjoying their sexual relationship whether with their partner or by themselves. Obviously if a man can have Viagra it's a blessing for him. Why can't women have something to enjoy their sex life too?

COOPER: Now, you were selling these sex toys in the privacy of people's homes to adults, correct?

WEBB: Yes. Yes, I'm invited into their homes. We have parties just like Tupperware and the women who come are invited. They know what they're getting into when they come and so they are obviously there to purchase these kinds of products.

COOPER: And I know you can't talk about the details of your arrest but from what I understand, from what I've read basically undercover police staged a sting operation. They came in. They bought a sex toy from you and then they came back and arrested you. When do you go to trial?

WEBB: It's supposed to go to trial this summer.

COOPER: And what do you think about your chances?

WEBB: Well, we do have a federal case. My lawyer has filed in Dallas on behalf of eight other passion parties consultants and hopefully that will help overturn the law (unintelligible) before I go to trial. We'll see what happens.

COOPER: Do you see this as a trend, I mean, nationwide? I mean I guess there have been crackdowns in Mississippi, Texas and Missouri.

WEBB: Right. Yes, I do. I do and I'm not sure why. I think that there might be some kind of a movement out there to obviously make women feel that their sensuality is a dirty thing that it's a gross thing that it's something that they shouldn't be proud of, they shouldn't be in touch with, they shouldn't know about. I believe honestly that from a young age we should be able to know and be able to be educated on how our bodies were created to work.

COOPER: Now, I heard and I don't know if this is true, correct me, Passion Parties, this company that you work for that you sell these things for, they actually have their second highest level of sales in the state of Mississippi?

WEBB: In the state of Mississippi, exactly, and we have just -- I think that they were just starting to boom here in Texas and my business, Parties by Joanne, had only been going for about four months before they sent in the undercover detectives.

COOPER: All right, Joanne Webb thanks for being on the program. We'll follow the case in July.

WEBB: You bet.

COOPER: Thank you very much.

WEBB: Great. Thank you.

COOPER: Here's a quick "Fast Fact" for you, 40 percent of Americans say they have tried a sex toy and employers beware, the most popular time of day to actually buy a sex toy, according to a survey, is the lunch hour.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): Another hostage is freed, tonight a journalist just released tells of his harrowing five days in captivity.

And what are you going to do this weekend, watch a Kung Fu fighting bride or comic book superhero? We'll have some other ideas in the "Weekender," 360 continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Let's get caught up on some of our top stories in the "Reset." Iraq: al Jazeera airs a videotape of an apparent hostage in a U.S. uniform as five men hold guns on him. The man says he is Keith Matthew Maupin. Central Command confirms that is the name of one of two U.S. soldiers missing since a fuel convoy attack last Friday. Washington, D.C.: British Prime Minister Tony Blair pledges to keep supporting President Bush on Iraq boosting the president's international standing as conflicts in the region increase. Blair says the U.N. and the international community may also play a larger role in Iraq in the future.

Also in Washington: talk of assignment incentive pay. Soldiers who just got extended tours of duty will have extra cash to show for it. $1,000 a month bonus. With some tours extended up the 3 months, those soldiers could get up to $4,000 extra tax free.

Washington: the U.S. Supreme Court next week will hear two appeals on the constitutionality of the Guantanamo Bay military detentions and whether U.S. courts have jurisdiction over that area in Cuba.

And the president's the top political adviser now says he'd rather that the mission accomplished banner should never have been the backdrop for the president's aircraft carrier speech. Karl Rove acknowledges the banner has become one of those convenient symbols that people always reference for better or worse.

Clearwater, Florida: murder suspect caught. This afternoon, Timothy Lee Humphrey was caught less than two miles from the jail where he escaped. Earlier today, Humphrey managed to get out of the van that was transferring him from one jail to another.

Those stories in "The Reset" now.

The video of a U.S. soldier in captivity was dropped off at the U.S. embassy in Duha, Qatar, then turned over to U.S. Central Command. The fate of the soldier is unknown right now. And at this hour, at least 8 civilians are being held hostage in Iraq. Clearly, hostage taking is part of a new strategy by Iraqi insurgents.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): The images are agonizing.

KEITH MAUPIN, U.S. ARMY: My name is Keith Matthew Maupin.

COOPER: A 20-year-old American Keith Matthew Maupin, surrounded by masked men. The young hostage, a soldier, missing since last week, paraded in front of a video camera. Equipment now used as a weapon by Iraqi insurgents.

Earlier in the week, there was this tape of Thomas Hamill, an American contractor from Macon, Mississippi. His status is still unknown. A video camera took these images of Febrissio Catrocci (ph), an Italian security guard. Later his murder was recorded, as well.

The grainy images of helpless captives are designed to demoralize and weaken the resolve of coalition countries. The tactic may be new in Iraq, but we've seen it elsewhere before.

In 1980, 52 Americans were held hostage at the U.S. embassy for 444 days, paraded before the media. In Lebanon in the 1980's dozens of western civilians were kidnapped, one of them, Terry Anderson, was kept for more than six years.

In Pakistan in 2002 "Wall Street Journal" reporter, Daniel Pearl, was kidnapped and then executed. The full recording of his death has never been shown on TV.

Each time the message is the same. Give in or we will kill them.

Hostage taking may be a weapon of the weak, but now because of the video camera, the impact is stronger than ever.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well more than 40 foreigners have been held hostage in Iraq. Thankfully, most of them have been released. Just today, in fact, 3 men who work for the Czech National Television were set free after being held captive for five days. They were captured when traveling from Baghdad to Imon, Jordan, five days ago. Earlier, I spoke to one of the freed men, reporter Michal Kubal.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: So you were driving down the road, it was the wrong road, it was the road towards Fallujah, you saw a road block, what happened at the road block?

MICHAL KUBAL, FORMER HOSTAGE: We stopped there, there were several GMCs, but the Iraqis were in them. And then they didn't have any problem, but one armed man came to us and he saw that there were some white men civilians and he ordered us to get out of the car and then one car came, we were transferred to another place in which there was a crowd gathering or something and from that place we were already taken like blinded and our hands tied up and to another place in which there was first round of investigation of who we were, what passport do we have, if Czech Republic does have any soldiers over here and so on. We spent some five days in this place. It was a small, hot, inside a desert. And some seven times transported us if not more.

COOPER: How were they treating you during this time? I mean, they took you out of this vehicle, they at some point, blindfolded you. What were they like to you?

KUBAL: They were quite friendly. I have to admit they were quite friendly. We didn't have any problems with physical assaults or something like that. But there was a lot of psychological pressure, nobody told us what is going, or what will happen to us. When it went from one day to another day and all the time they tomorrow (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

COOPER: What goes through your mind? Five days you're in this strange place and not getting any word of what's going on? What kind of thoughts do you have?

KUBAL: I was thinking, me and my two friends were thinking about what really going on out if somebody knows about us or if we are only one of hundreds of kidnapped people in Iraq, which could be stopped somewhere to be used later. We could spend some years over there. They could kill us at any time.

COOPER: How organized was the group that took you and did it seem as if they were coordinating with other people outside of where you were?

KUBAL: I think it was only 1 cell of this opposition or resistance against American forces around Fallujah and it really didn't look like they were really coordinated. There were some people coming to us and they were saying, we are simply protecting our homes, we don't want nothing more than to get Americans out of this country.

COOPER: Were you terrified?

KUBAL: Definitely, we were. As I already mentioned, this is the situation you couldn't predict what would happen in the next minute any time anybody could come and do and say anything. What seemed to me there were several groups who were like bargaining for us who we are really belonging to and I think we were quite lucky that the martyr group simply released us before the stronger group came and put ransom for us.

COOPER: Can you describe what it is like to be free after suddenly being held captive this this week?

KUBAL: At the last moment, I couldn't believe we were completely free because we were promised so many times that we would go to Baghdad, we were be in our embassy, but when we were dropped out in one of the suburbs in Baghdad and we were offered a taxi, which could take us to our embassy. Then we believe that we are free finally. And, I'm lucky, I have to say. I'm very lucky.

COOPER: Are you going to go back to the Czech Republic and do you plan to return to Iraq ever again?

KUBAL: Well, I think I will return to Iraq. This is my job, you know.

COOPER: I certainly do and you do it very well.

Michal Kubal, appreciate you being on the program. Thank you very much. Congratulations. It's very nice to see you alive and well.

KUBAL: OK, thank you, thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, today's "Buzz" is this -- should images of hostages in Iraq be broadcast on television? What do you think? Log on to cnn.com/360 right now to vote. We'll have results at the end of the program.

Coming up, there's a new twist to jury duty. If you step into the jury box, you can actually be on trial, as well. Your past, your current lifestyle, all under scrutiny. We're going to talk with a private investigator all about it.

Also tonight, revenge never looked so sweet. Uma Thurman returns in "Kill Bill Volume 2." A look ahead at what's playing in the multiplex this weekend.

And a little later on "The Current," can it be "Passion of the Christ" on TV? All ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ricky Coleman (ph), 36 years of age, her husband is a Baptist minister. She's a card-carrying member of the Sierra Club and a registered Democrat.

GENE HACKMAN, ACTOR: I hate Baptists almost as much as I hate Democrats. What else have you got?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She had an abortion two years ago.

HACKMAN: And?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And the guy holding her hand at the clinic, not the Baptist minister.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: In the movie "Runaway Jury," Gene Hackman played a ruthless consultant who's paid to learn everything about prospective jurors, pick which ones will help his client and even blackmail them to voting his way. But how much of the movie was simply Hollywood and how much really happens? With jurors from the Martha Stewart and the Tyco trials making front page news, the question takes on new insurgency. How far do investigators really go?

Let's talk with one of them in "Justice Served." L.A. private investigator Keith Rohman, a man who has investigated (AUDIO GAP). From "Runaway Jury," obviously, that's, you know, John Grisham, Hollywood. But how deep do you go into investigating juries?

KEITH ROHMAN, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR: Well, the thing that's sort askew about the clip is that the investigation is happening before the jury is selected, and not that much investigation goes on of jurors before they're selected, because there just isn't really the time or the money, really, to get that work done.

COOPER: So you're investigating a jury at the request of, let's say, a defense attorney because some -- they've lost, and they want to find out if there is anything they can call from the background of the jurors to overturn the case, is that right?

ROHMAN: Well, there's two things you investigate after a trial. One is the conduct of the jurors during the trial. Did they do anything that violated the rules they agreed to? And two, did they say anything before they were picked for the jury that turns out not to have been true? That's the situation, I think, we're confronting in the Martha Stewart case, did the juror in that case say something before he was picked that turned out not to be the case?

COOPER: So how do you go about doing this? I mean, you go interview people, you go interview their friends, their family?

ROHMAN: Well, mostly what you do when you're investigating a jury is you talk to the people who were on the jury at the time. You approach them, you introduce yourself as working for one side or the other, and you ask them questions about what happened in the deliberations? What did people say? What did you learn about your fellow jurors? That's the main approach that gets you (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

COOPER: But if you're also looking to find stuff that they may have lied about on their original jury application, I imagine you go into their personal lives. I mean, in the Martha Stewart case, they're trying to find out, you know, they say this -- one of the jurors was taking cocaine, that he had abused somebody. You, obviously, do try to find some information, I suppose.

ROHMAN: Sure. And most of that work involves -- you use the public record, that's the place you start. You're looking for court cases, litigation they were involved in, did they pick up a traffic ticket and they didn't talk about it? The stuff that you can find quickly.

The Martha Stewart case is an unusual situation, obviously. You have got a case in which a client has got an extraordinary amount of resources, so that they may have gone an extra step, I don't really know what process they went through to find their way to the witness that they're using.

COOPER: Your advice to jurors?

ROHMAN: Tell the truth when you're selected for a jury. That's the key thing. What the Martha Stewart juror is getting in trouble for is potentially having misrepresented something about his past or background. You know, we all hear family, friends, everybody talking about, well, what should I say when I'm picked for the jury? I tell the people, tell the truth and things will go a little more smoothly.

COOPER: All right, Keith Rohman from L.A. Thanks very much, Keith.

Another day, another superhero hits the big screen. Coming up, "The Punisher" is out for revenge and he's not the only one. We take a look at the new movies in "The Weekender."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: In California tonight, an AIDS scare is rocking the adult film industry. Two porn stars have tested positive for HIV, dozens more fear they have been exposed and some movie companies have stopped production. CNN's Ted Rowlands has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Industry experts say there are over 1,200 regular actors in the southern California-based porn business. Late last week one of them, an established male actor was diagnosed with HIV after a routine blood test. The testing organization says he could have infected as many as 16 different partners, one actress has already tested positive. Health experts say their partners and their partners's partners could be in danger. Still, most actresses like Kay Lani Lei say they are worried.

KAY LANI LEI, ADULT FILM ACTRESS: Have you worked with this person? Are there any links to this person, are there links to this person from you and, of course, check your own health.

ROWLANDS: Many production companies are shutting down until June 8, giving all high-risk partners time to show two clean tests. According to Sharon Mitchell, director of the Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation, most regular porn actors are tested monthly.

SHARON MITCHELL, CLINICAL SEXOLOGIST: These are two isolated cases. This is not an epidemic. We have all the people that were exposed on quarantine.

ROWLANDS: Mitchell says that frequent testing is an important part of keeping situations like this under control. Others in the industry say the best way to stop the spread of AIDS is to require everybody to use condoms.

Peter Rogers runs a San Francisco-based production company and he believes that regulation may be needed in the industry to make sure that people are safe.

PETER RODGERS, CYBERNET: I think that would level the playing field. Everybody plays with the same rules. I don't see a problem with it.

ROWLANDS: It is a multibillion dollar industry that hasn't seen a significant HIV outbreak since 1998 when a male actor infected five women. This time some major porn production companies say people are overreacting and they plan to keep making movies. Ted Rowlands, CNN, San Francisco.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: On a far lighter note, let's look at what's going on in the pop culture "Current." The first edition of the words of Homer were sold in auction this week. The winning bidder paid $161,000 for the collection, which includes Homer's Illiad (ph), the Odyssey (ph), but not his personal stash of Duff (ph) beer.

There's word Mel Gibson is already looking for a TV deal for "The Passion of the Christ." All four major networks have been pitched the movie. To avoid any problems with TV censors, however, the violent scenes might be replaced with Spongebob's square pants.

"Daily News" says William Shatner photographed a "Playboy" playmate for its website. Shatner reportedly said he, quote, "wanted to capture parts of her body that say something to him. The texture of her skin, the curve of the body." End quote. Somebody please set phasers on stun (ph).

Quentin Tarantino may be planning on making another "Kill Bill" movie. The director says a third film won't be out for 15 years giving the prop department almost enough time to make the amount of fake blood that they'll need. And if you can't wait for that, there's always "Kill Bill Volume 2." It opens nationwide today, just one of several new movies and other noteworthy events we check out in "The Weekender."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am better than Annie Oakley and I have you right in my sight.

COOPER (voice-over): But don't expect any singing in "Kill Bill Volume 2." Uma Thurman returns as the vengeful bride in Quentin Tarantino's homage to spaghetti westerns and 70s Kung Fu flicks.

She's on a mission to destroy her enemies, tracking them down one by one until she finally comes face to face with Bill. And we know what she wants to do with him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Call me the punisher.

COOPER: Vengeance is also the name of the game in "The Punisher." Tom Jane is the comic book superhero without super powers seeking revenge on the man who wiped out his family, John Travolta. He seems to love playing the bad guy.

If drag queens are more your style, try "Connie and Carla" about a couple of women playing men who play women seeking stardom and perhaps a good therapist.

CHRIS ROCK, COMEDIAN: The government hates rap.

COOPER: On TV Chris Rock returns to HBO Saturday night for "Never Scared," the comedian's stand-up special. Expect Rock to, as usual, deliver rapid fire riffs on just about everything to make you think and roll with laughter.

New on DVD, the "Pink Panther" film collection. Peter Sellers is fumbling, bumbling Inspector Clouseau. This DVD collection includes all the movies, two documentaries and commentary from Blake Edwards.

In concert this weekend, Phish and Phish-heads jamming their way to Las Vegas tonight and tomorrow and in Oviedo, Florida Saturday the 15th annual RajunCajun Crawfish Festival. Good food, good music guaranteed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, rivalry for the ages. Ahead on the Nth Degree, the Yankees head to Boston to take on their bitter rivals the Red Sox. Can't they all just get along?

First, today's buzz. Should images of hostages in Iraq be broadcast on television? What do you think? Still have a few more moments to vote. Log on to CNN.com/360. Cast your vote and results when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Time now for the buzz. Earlier we asked should images of hostages in Iraq be broadcast on television? More than 18,000 of you voted. 57 percent said yes, 43 percent said no. Not a scientific poll, just your buzz. We appreciate it.

Tonight taking rivalry to the Nth Degree. Tonight the Yankees and the Red Sox face each other for the first time this season. Now for sheer emotion there's no better or bitter rivalry in baseball. Today's papers are playing it up big time.

"May the curse be with you." "Welcome to the jungle." "Let the war begin." Sounds almost apocalyptic. It has been this way for 85 years, but maybe, just maybe, it is time to end the feuding. After all both cities do share in common a few things worth celebrating. We both have insanely dedicated baseball fans. They scream, they shout No. 1, baby or does that single finger mean something else? What about clam chowder. Sure, one's red, the other's white, but, hey, they're both pretty good. Both cities also have world-class marathons and let's not forget high-priced athletes making millions of dollars to keep fans talking about rivalries. I'm Anderson Cooper. Have a great weekend. 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


Aired April 16, 2004 - 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, CNN ANCHOR: New Al-Jazeera video confirms a family's worst fears, a U.S. soldier missing since last week now a hostage. We'll have the latest.

Another hostage is freed. Tonight, a journalist just released tells of his harrowing five days in captivity.

First, O'Neill then Clarke, now Woodward, get ready for the next bombshell book about the Bush administration's war plan.

Bush and Blair, common goals, same visions, the president's partner comes to the White House. Can they hold the coalition together?

A baby born in the back of a car survives a fatal crash thanks to a heroic passerby.

And the crackdown on indecency is it coming to an adult store near you?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

COOPER: And good evening.

We begin with an American soldier held hostage in Iraq. This video aired by the Al-Jazeera network late this afternoon, on the tape a man surrounded by masked gunmen. He identifies himself as Keith Maupin a soldier listed as missing since last week this on a day where the White House, President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair pledged to stand firm on Iraq, a lot to cover ahead.

At the Pentagon Jamie McIntyre and in Washington White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux, we begin at the Pentagon. Jamie, what's the latest on this young American hostage?

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, the latest is the Pentagon is still not officially confirming his identity but there's no reason to think it's not on of the soldiers who has been missing since an April 9 attack.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE (voice-over): On the tape aired by Al-Jazeera, the man in a U.S. military uniform identifies himself as one of the two soldiers currently missing in Iraq.

PFC KEITH MAUPIN, U.S. SOLDIER: My name is Keith Matthew Maupin.

MCINTYRE: The military won't confirm it's him but 20-year-old Private First Class Keith Maupin has been missing an April 9 attack on a convoy of fuel trucks outside Baghdad.

Also missing after the same incident is 40-year-old Sergeant Elmer Krause and several American contractors who work for the Halliburton subsidiary KBR, including Thomas Hamill who was seen on video shot by Australian television.

On the tape, the hostage takers say their captive is in good health and being treated based on the tenets of Islamic law for the treatment of soldiers taken hostage. Their only hint of demands: "We will keep him until we trade him for our prisoners in the custody of the U.S. enemy." The U.S. insists it won't deal.

DAN SENIOR, COALITION SPOKESMAN: We are putting everything behind trying to rescue these hostages. We will not negotiate with the terrorists who have engaged in the hostage taking but we are putting everything behind their release both from an intelligence statement, from a military standpoint and other resources we have at our disposal.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE: At this point, the U.S. says it has no idea for sure who is behind these hostage takings and it's still working to identify four bodies found near the scene of that attack to try to confirm if those are four of the people still missing -- Anderson.

COOPER: Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon thanks.

If terrorism is theater there is no quicker way to get an audience than with a hostage. It's a tactic Dan Byman knows very well. He's an assistant professor at Georgetown University, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. He joins us from Washington. Dan, how effective a strategy is this by insurgents?

DAN BYMAN, BROOKINGS INSTITUTE: Insurgents are taking advantage of a time honored tactic that has worked again and again for terrorist groups. In many ways, kidnapping they can get a lot more attention, a lot more drama than by killing people.

COOPER: You say worked in what sense?

BYMAN: It grabs attention for their cause. It grabs attention to them at a local level in Iraq and it forces the United States, it forces the world to pay attention to them.

COOPER: It's also designed to demoralize whoever they oppose. BYMAN: Certainly. It creates a sense of failure. It is hard for any government spokesman to say things are going very well when there is a kidnapping drama going on and, even though this may only be a few individuals, the horror of it, the drama of it compels the government to respond and makes it very difficult to put a good face on this.

COOPER: Dozens of hostages taken in this past week alone in Iraq what do you make of that? Are these coordinated?

BYMAN: It's difficult to say. There could be a coordinated order saying go forth. Take hostages of different groups, but we've seen different parts of Iraq have hostage incidents.

We've seen different groups in Iraq take hostages. What may be happening is that groups are simply learning from one another that they see this, they see the media coverage, they see the attention given and they decide to take hostages on their own.

COOPER: And the best way to deal with a hostage situation?

BYMAN: The best way to deal with hostage situations, unfortunately, is not to negotiate. It creates a very dangerous precedent that only makes them more hostage taking.

This is very bad news, of course, for the families of those involved and the individuals involved but the goal is to keep this to a minimum to show that's a tactic that will not work, not one that will be rewarded.

COOPER: Dan Byman from Georgetown and Brookings thanks very much.

A quick news note now on the hostage situation in Iraq, so far more than 40 foreigners have been kidnapped, most have been released but earlier this week an Italian was killed by his captors who are still threatening to kill the three other Italians they're holding. Those hostage takers are demanding Italy withdraw its troops from Iraq.

Well, amid the threats there is hope. Today three Czech reporters were released by their captors in Iraq, just ahead my exclusive interview with one of the reporters now free and you're going to hear firsthand what it's like to be held hostage in Iraq.

At the White House today, a united front on Iraq, President Bush and his closest ally, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, holding talks once again and pledging to stand fast.

Here is White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: With the rising death toll in Iraq and the June 30 deadline for Iraqi sovereignty fast approaching, President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair vowed to stay the course.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This transfer will demonstrate to the Iraqi people that our coalition has no interest in occupation.

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We will not back down in the face of attacks either on us or on defenseless civilians.

MALVEAUX: Their oval office meeting comes at a critical time for both leaders. Blair, who is facing growing criticism for supporting the Iraq War, has privately been pushing Mr. Bush to allow for a greater U.N. role in Iraq's future and Mr. Bush who has seen renewed violence there acknowledged the U.S. needs more help.

BUSH: We welcome the proposals presented by the U.N. Special Envoy Brahimi. He's identified a way forward to establishing an interim government that is broadly acceptable to the Iraqi people.

MALVEAUX: The two leaders also presented a united front to support Israel's controversial new plan to withdraw from Gaza but keep some West Bank settlements.

While both argued it would jump-start the road map's stalled Israeli-Palestinian talks, Blair's pushing for more aid to the Palestinian Authority, an organization the U.S. refuses to deal with under the leadership of Yasser Arafat.

BLAIR: We want the quartet to meet as soon as possible to discuss how it can support the Palestinian Authority in particular economically, politically and in respective security to respond to that offer.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Now, wrapping up a week of meetings with the leaders of Egypt, Israel and Britain. Next week President Bush meets with Jordan's King Abdullah to try to button up support for his Middle East Iraq initiatives -- Anderson.

COOPER: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House thanks very much.

We want to take you live right now to a rally that is going on in Batavia, Ohio with family, friends and supporters of Private First Class Keith Maupin, a rally in support of him tonight.

Happening right now this is Keith's hometown, Batavia, Ohio, the suburbs of Cincinnati at the steps of the Claremont County Courthouse. This rally was actually scheduled before the videotape was broadcast today. Let's look. We'll check in with the rally later on.

Details today leaking about another book that examines the Bush administration's timing for waging war in Iraq, this book is by veteran investigative reporter Bob Woodward and already Washington is bracing for fallout.

Here's CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): According to the Associated Press, which obtained a copy of Woodward's new book "Plan of Attack," the book says the president pulled Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld aside on November 21, 2001, less than two months into the war in Afghanistan, and asked him what kind of war plan Rumsfeld had for Iraq.

AP's account of the book says Rumsfeld told the president the plan was outdated and Mr. Bush responded that Rumsfeld should get started on a new plan. Bob Woodward has yet to comment on his soon to be released book.

The "Washington Post" Web site says Woodward's book describe Vice President Dick Cheney as "a powerful steamrolling force behind the idea of an Iraq War" and describes the relationship between Cheney and Secretary of State Colin Powell becoming so strained over the war that they're barely on speaking terms.

Contacted by CNN, an official in Cheney's office said the vice president and his spokesman are traveling back from Asia and would not be in a position to respond to our question before our deadline.

The State Department spokesman had this to say.

RICHARD BOUCHER, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: I think that's not true.

TODD: According to the "Post's" reporting of the book, the president had made up his mind to take military action in Iraq by early January, 2003. Quoting the president: "I am prepared to risk my presidency to do what I think is right. I was going to act and, if it could cost the presidency, I fully realize that."

Bush was reportedly asked by Woodward how history would judge the war and replied "history, we don't know. We'll all be dead."

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Tonight, the search for Osama bin Laden has intensified after the release of the latest audio tape yesterday. In Khowst, Afghanistan tracking the manhunt CNN's Nic Robertson, Nic any new leads on bin Laden?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Anderson there doesn't appear to be any new leads. Every piece of information here is being very, very hard won. One of the tactics being employed by troops here is to get into remote areas of Afghanistan, perhaps within a few days walk of the Pakistan border.

Get into those tiny villages, understand the villages, try and help the villagers, find out if they need schools, if they need health care, what services and facilities those villagers need, built trust in those villages in the hope that those villages will then pass on critical information about al Qaeda, if they are hiding there, if they have any associates there, if they pass through those areas.

Now the troops I'm talking to at this base here that I've been out on missions with in that area say they are winning that hearts and minds campaign, if you will. They are denying al Qaeda an area but they do say as well impossible this time to know where Osama bin Laden could be. They say there are so many remote houses. He could be in one of them and they just could walk right by it -- Anderson.

COOPER: And what level of cooperation do they say they are getting from these villagers?

ROBERTSON: Well, what I've seen is that villagers are telling them they're very happy to have the improved security. They're happy that the coalition is trying to help them. They're happy that the coalition is trying to put in place the new government in Afghanistan and broaden and extend its authority and they say that they will pass over information.

Indeed one area we went to the tribal leaders in that area had agreed that if anyone if their villages helped al Qaeda their house would be burned down, the rest of their lands taken away. They'd be given a several hundred dollar fine, very big in terms of these communities.

So, it does appear at least as if they are winning support in those areas but the key here is this is a community that's been in a state of war for over 20 years and the assessment is that they don't want war anymore that they would rather now work with the coalition.

But, of course, when you walk away from these communities it is so difficult to know what they think when they go inside those houses and close the doors -- Anderson.

COOPER: A whole different story then. All right, Nic Robertson thanks very much from Khowst.

Possible new security measures at Disney World. That story tops our look at news "Cross Country."

Orlando, Florida, a TV stations says Disney World may tighten security by installing metal detectors and will soon test them after hours to see if they're practical. Right now patrons are subject to purse and handbag searches on their way into the park.

Vancouver, Washington now, bogus address, police issue a new warrant for the freed sex offender we told you about just last night Edward Harvey Stokes who is supposed to tell authorities where he'd be living but now they say he lied about his address and they will try to arrest him for perjury.

Clearwater, Florida, murder suspect on the loose. Somehow Timothy Lee Humphrey managed to get out of the van that was transferring him from one jail to another. He is bald, stands about 6'1" and weighs about 225 pounds. Police are looking for him right now.

In Fort Bragg, North Carolina, a Tiger salute to the military. The world's top golfer wraps up a three day visit to the Army base with his clinic for kids. Woods says meeting military families put his vocation in perspective and called their sacrifice "the ultimate dedication."

Well, we are going to update you on the American hostage in Iraq and talk with another hostage just released today who tells us what it's like to be held captive. That is ahead.

Also tonight a bizarre car crash and a dramatic rescue, a woman becomes a mother and a widow within seconds, an incredible story you will not want to miss.

Plus, state authorities cracking down on adult stores. Is the government going too far, part of our weeklong series "Indecent Crackdown."

And fear in the porn industry, production comes to a grinding halt in Southern California because of HIV concerns, is enough being done to protect actors, all that ahead.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well this next story is one that is simply hard to believe. Two young expectant parents rushing to the hospital but the baby comes too soon. Then on a slick road the unthinkable happens.

CNN's Jason Carroll picks up the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Patrick Schlagenhaft remembers every detail of what happened on this highway in New Jersey.

PATRICK SCHLAGENHAFT, SAVED NEWBORN BOY: I stopped my truck in the middle of the street and I saw the car sitting here.

CARROLL: This is where Atara Sassoon (ph) and her husband Binyamin crashed early Wednesday morning. They were headed to the hospital when Sassoon suddenly gave birth in their car. Shortly after her husband lost control of their vehicle. He was killed. She was ejected but survived and yelled for help.

SCHLAGENHAFT: She said I need you to help me. My husband is knocked out and my infant is in the car.

CARROLL: Schlagenhaft found the newborn and knew he had to act fast.

SCHLAGENHAFT: He was laying in a fetal position, knees to his chest with his head buried in his hands, kind of struggling to get a good breath. That's what it looked like.

CARROLL: A 911 operator guided him through the next crucial steps over his cell phone.

911 Operator: OK, what I want you to do, the baby's breathing?

SCHLAGENHAFT: The baby, I could hear it, I heard it making some noise.

911 Operator: I want you to check the baby, make sure it's not hemorrhaging from where the cord is.

SCHLAGENHAFT: No, I wouldn't think it is. I see a car. I can see him crying.

CARROLL: For months, Schlagenhaft had been worried about being in the delivery room with his wife who's seven months pregnant. He doesn't worry about that anymore but he's somewhat haunted by what happened, a life that was lost and another he helped save.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: Sassoon and her newborn son are in stable condition. She did have a chance to talk to her good Samaritan and she thanked him for what he did and told him her baby is doing just fine, certainly a little bit of good news there.

COOPER: Unbelievable story. Thanks very much Jason.

A promise about Olympic security tops our look at stories around the globe right now. Let's check the "Up Link."

Athens, Greece, Greece says it won't allow Olympic national teams to bring armed security to the games. Officials say Greece already has a comprehensive security plan and that foreign armed forces would be a coordination nightmare.

Madrid, Spain, new prime minister, parliament voted today to endorse Socialist Party Leader Jose Luis Rodriguez for the top spot. That's nearly five weeks after the surprise Socialist Party victory after the Madrid train bombings.

Johannesburg, South Africa, landslide victory as expected, the African National Congress won Wednesday's election easily assured a two-thirds vote in parliament. The South African president promised to fight the chronic poverty in Africa's richest nation.

Central Bangladesh, devastating tornado that tore through a region of poor villages Wednesday evening killing 69 people injuring about 1,000. The tornado has destroyed 3,000 tin roof huts and left 15,000 people homeless.

Bournemouth, England, revenge doesn't pay. A man on bicycle on a revenge spree after a car splashed him, slashes tires on nearly 2,000 cars. He was sentenced today to 16 months in jail. His 10-day campaign caused more than $400,00 in damage. Coming up the American held hostage in Iraq, his captors play to the media but how will this new tactic of terror play out? We'll talk to a journalist who was released from captivity just a short time ago.

Also tonight, jury duty pushed to the limits, why private investigators are put on the tail of those called to serve. We'll talk to one of them.

And "Indecent Crackdown," adult toy stores being targeted for obscenity, are some police going too far, all that ahead stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, a developing story we're closely watching tonight, a U.S. soldier held hostage in Iraq. This disturbing video aired by the Al-Jazeera network late this afternoon. On the tape a man, as you can see, surrounded by masked gunmen. He identifies himself as Keith Maupin, soldier, listed as missing since last week when his convoy came under attack near Baghdad. We're watching this story very closely bringing more details coming up.

Back at home in Jackson, Mississippi, adult bookstores have been ordered to stop selling sex toys and merchants are outraged. The crackdown comes after the state Supreme Court upheld a law banning their sale.

Our special series, "Indecent Crackdown," wraps up tonight. In a moment you're going to meet a woman awaiting trial for selling sex toys to undercover police but first here's CNN's Adaora Udoji.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Out of this adult bookstore in Jackson, Mississippi, authorities confiscated bags of what they allege are illegal sex toys.

SHERIFF RONNIE PINKINGTON: With the new Supreme Court ruling on this being sold and advertised for sale we knew it was time to take action on it.

UDOJI: The Mississippi Supreme Court upheld a law banning the sale or display of sex toys. It's a hot issue in several states.

In Texas, Joanne Webb is fighting a similar law. The former schoolteacher who held passion parties for adult women modeled on Tupperware parties faces up to a year in jail and a $4,500 fine for selling sex toys and explaining how they work.

Like Mississippi and Texas, Georgia also bans the sales but courts have struck down the law in other states, such as Louisiana, Colorado and Kansas. In Kansas, though, legal experts say authorities are using other obscenity laws to go after adult businesses. One shop faces more than two dozen charges for selling "obscene devices."

At a boutique in New York City, its co-owner says these laws will come and go. She had no concern the laws are a growing trend that will affect her business.

CLAIRE CAVANAN, CO-OWNER, TOYS IN BABELAND: We sell a lot of toys on the Web site to different places all over the country and all over the world and we don't believe we're doing anything wrong.

UDOJI: Back in Jackson, the sheriff expresses the opinion of many on the other side.

PINKINGTON: I just hope that, you know, we can curb this right now and put a stop to it. We don't need it.

UDOJI: Even in Mississippi, though, the debate is far from over.

Adaora Udoji, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, you just saw Joanne Webb in Adaora's report. She started selling sex toys to boost her family's income. By some estimates the adult toy industry is a billion dollar business. Joanne joins us live now from Houston. Thanks very much for being on the program Joanne.

JOANNE WEBB, OWNER, PARTIES BY JOANNE: You bet, Anderson. Thank you.

COOPER: Let me ask you. A representative from Mississippi stated and I quote that sex toys in the state that cracking down on them was "protecting public physical and mental health and supporting public morality." What do you think of that?

WEBB: I think that's wrong. I think that what they're doing is they're trying to keep women from enjoying their sexual relationship whether with their partner or by themselves. Obviously if a man can have Viagra it's a blessing for him. Why can't women have something to enjoy their sex life too?

COOPER: Now, you were selling these sex toys in the privacy of people's homes to adults, correct?

WEBB: Yes. Yes, I'm invited into their homes. We have parties just like Tupperware and the women who come are invited. They know what they're getting into when they come and so they are obviously there to purchase these kinds of products.

COOPER: And I know you can't talk about the details of your arrest but from what I understand, from what I've read basically undercover police staged a sting operation. They came in. They bought a sex toy from you and then they came back and arrested you. When do you go to trial?

WEBB: It's supposed to go to trial this summer.

COOPER: And what do you think about your chances?

WEBB: Well, we do have a federal case. My lawyer has filed in Dallas on behalf of eight other passion parties consultants and hopefully that will help overturn the law (unintelligible) before I go to trial. We'll see what happens.

COOPER: Do you see this as a trend, I mean, nationwide? I mean I guess there have been crackdowns in Mississippi, Texas and Missouri.

WEBB: Right. Yes, I do. I do and I'm not sure why. I think that there might be some kind of a movement out there to obviously make women feel that their sensuality is a dirty thing that it's a gross thing that it's something that they shouldn't be proud of, they shouldn't be in touch with, they shouldn't know about. I believe honestly that from a young age we should be able to know and be able to be educated on how our bodies were created to work.

COOPER: Now, I heard and I don't know if this is true, correct me, Passion Parties, this company that you work for that you sell these things for, they actually have their second highest level of sales in the state of Mississippi?

WEBB: In the state of Mississippi, exactly, and we have just -- I think that they were just starting to boom here in Texas and my business, Parties by Joanne, had only been going for about four months before they sent in the undercover detectives.

COOPER: All right, Joanne Webb thanks for being on the program. We'll follow the case in July.

WEBB: You bet.

COOPER: Thank you very much.

WEBB: Great. Thank you.

COOPER: Here's a quick "Fast Fact" for you, 40 percent of Americans say they have tried a sex toy and employers beware, the most popular time of day to actually buy a sex toy, according to a survey, is the lunch hour.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): Another hostage is freed, tonight a journalist just released tells of his harrowing five days in captivity.

And what are you going to do this weekend, watch a Kung Fu fighting bride or comic book superhero? We'll have some other ideas in the "Weekender," 360 continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Let's get caught up on some of our top stories in the "Reset." Iraq: al Jazeera airs a videotape of an apparent hostage in a U.S. uniform as five men hold guns on him. The man says he is Keith Matthew Maupin. Central Command confirms that is the name of one of two U.S. soldiers missing since a fuel convoy attack last Friday. Washington, D.C.: British Prime Minister Tony Blair pledges to keep supporting President Bush on Iraq boosting the president's international standing as conflicts in the region increase. Blair says the U.N. and the international community may also play a larger role in Iraq in the future.

Also in Washington: talk of assignment incentive pay. Soldiers who just got extended tours of duty will have extra cash to show for it. $1,000 a month bonus. With some tours extended up the 3 months, those soldiers could get up to $4,000 extra tax free.

Washington: the U.S. Supreme Court next week will hear two appeals on the constitutionality of the Guantanamo Bay military detentions and whether U.S. courts have jurisdiction over that area in Cuba.

And the president's the top political adviser now says he'd rather that the mission accomplished banner should never have been the backdrop for the president's aircraft carrier speech. Karl Rove acknowledges the banner has become one of those convenient symbols that people always reference for better or worse.

Clearwater, Florida: murder suspect caught. This afternoon, Timothy Lee Humphrey was caught less than two miles from the jail where he escaped. Earlier today, Humphrey managed to get out of the van that was transferring him from one jail to another.

Those stories in "The Reset" now.

The video of a U.S. soldier in captivity was dropped off at the U.S. embassy in Duha, Qatar, then turned over to U.S. Central Command. The fate of the soldier is unknown right now. And at this hour, at least 8 civilians are being held hostage in Iraq. Clearly, hostage taking is part of a new strategy by Iraqi insurgents.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): The images are agonizing.

KEITH MAUPIN, U.S. ARMY: My name is Keith Matthew Maupin.

COOPER: A 20-year-old American Keith Matthew Maupin, surrounded by masked men. The young hostage, a soldier, missing since last week, paraded in front of a video camera. Equipment now used as a weapon by Iraqi insurgents.

Earlier in the week, there was this tape of Thomas Hamill, an American contractor from Macon, Mississippi. His status is still unknown. A video camera took these images of Febrissio Catrocci (ph), an Italian security guard. Later his murder was recorded, as well.

The grainy images of helpless captives are designed to demoralize and weaken the resolve of coalition countries. The tactic may be new in Iraq, but we've seen it elsewhere before.

In 1980, 52 Americans were held hostage at the U.S. embassy for 444 days, paraded before the media. In Lebanon in the 1980's dozens of western civilians were kidnapped, one of them, Terry Anderson, was kept for more than six years.

In Pakistan in 2002 "Wall Street Journal" reporter, Daniel Pearl, was kidnapped and then executed. The full recording of his death has never been shown on TV.

Each time the message is the same. Give in or we will kill them.

Hostage taking may be a weapon of the weak, but now because of the video camera, the impact is stronger than ever.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well more than 40 foreigners have been held hostage in Iraq. Thankfully, most of them have been released. Just today, in fact, 3 men who work for the Czech National Television were set free after being held captive for five days. They were captured when traveling from Baghdad to Imon, Jordan, five days ago. Earlier, I spoke to one of the freed men, reporter Michal Kubal.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: So you were driving down the road, it was the wrong road, it was the road towards Fallujah, you saw a road block, what happened at the road block?

MICHAL KUBAL, FORMER HOSTAGE: We stopped there, there were several GMCs, but the Iraqis were in them. And then they didn't have any problem, but one armed man came to us and he saw that there were some white men civilians and he ordered us to get out of the car and then one car came, we were transferred to another place in which there was a crowd gathering or something and from that place we were already taken like blinded and our hands tied up and to another place in which there was first round of investigation of who we were, what passport do we have, if Czech Republic does have any soldiers over here and so on. We spent some five days in this place. It was a small, hot, inside a desert. And some seven times transported us if not more.

COOPER: How were they treating you during this time? I mean, they took you out of this vehicle, they at some point, blindfolded you. What were they like to you?

KUBAL: They were quite friendly. I have to admit they were quite friendly. We didn't have any problems with physical assaults or something like that. But there was a lot of psychological pressure, nobody told us what is going, or what will happen to us. When it went from one day to another day and all the time they tomorrow (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

COOPER: What goes through your mind? Five days you're in this strange place and not getting any word of what's going on? What kind of thoughts do you have?

KUBAL: I was thinking, me and my two friends were thinking about what really going on out if somebody knows about us or if we are only one of hundreds of kidnapped people in Iraq, which could be stopped somewhere to be used later. We could spend some years over there. They could kill us at any time.

COOPER: How organized was the group that took you and did it seem as if they were coordinating with other people outside of where you were?

KUBAL: I think it was only 1 cell of this opposition or resistance against American forces around Fallujah and it really didn't look like they were really coordinated. There were some people coming to us and they were saying, we are simply protecting our homes, we don't want nothing more than to get Americans out of this country.

COOPER: Were you terrified?

KUBAL: Definitely, we were. As I already mentioned, this is the situation you couldn't predict what would happen in the next minute any time anybody could come and do and say anything. What seemed to me there were several groups who were like bargaining for us who we are really belonging to and I think we were quite lucky that the martyr group simply released us before the stronger group came and put ransom for us.

COOPER: Can you describe what it is like to be free after suddenly being held captive this this week?

KUBAL: At the last moment, I couldn't believe we were completely free because we were promised so many times that we would go to Baghdad, we were be in our embassy, but when we were dropped out in one of the suburbs in Baghdad and we were offered a taxi, which could take us to our embassy. Then we believe that we are free finally. And, I'm lucky, I have to say. I'm very lucky.

COOPER: Are you going to go back to the Czech Republic and do you plan to return to Iraq ever again?

KUBAL: Well, I think I will return to Iraq. This is my job, you know.

COOPER: I certainly do and you do it very well.

Michal Kubal, appreciate you being on the program. Thank you very much. Congratulations. It's very nice to see you alive and well.

KUBAL: OK, thank you, thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, today's "Buzz" is this -- should images of hostages in Iraq be broadcast on television? What do you think? Log on to cnn.com/360 right now to vote. We'll have results at the end of the program.

Coming up, there's a new twist to jury duty. If you step into the jury box, you can actually be on trial, as well. Your past, your current lifestyle, all under scrutiny. We're going to talk with a private investigator all about it.

Also tonight, revenge never looked so sweet. Uma Thurman returns in "Kill Bill Volume 2." A look ahead at what's playing in the multiplex this weekend.

And a little later on "The Current," can it be "Passion of the Christ" on TV? All ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ricky Coleman (ph), 36 years of age, her husband is a Baptist minister. She's a card-carrying member of the Sierra Club and a registered Democrat.

GENE HACKMAN, ACTOR: I hate Baptists almost as much as I hate Democrats. What else have you got?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She had an abortion two years ago.

HACKMAN: And?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And the guy holding her hand at the clinic, not the Baptist minister.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: In the movie "Runaway Jury," Gene Hackman played a ruthless consultant who's paid to learn everything about prospective jurors, pick which ones will help his client and even blackmail them to voting his way. But how much of the movie was simply Hollywood and how much really happens? With jurors from the Martha Stewart and the Tyco trials making front page news, the question takes on new insurgency. How far do investigators really go?

Let's talk with one of them in "Justice Served." L.A. private investigator Keith Rohman, a man who has investigated (AUDIO GAP). From "Runaway Jury," obviously, that's, you know, John Grisham, Hollywood. But how deep do you go into investigating juries?

KEITH ROHMAN, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR: Well, the thing that's sort askew about the clip is that the investigation is happening before the jury is selected, and not that much investigation goes on of jurors before they're selected, because there just isn't really the time or the money, really, to get that work done.

COOPER: So you're investigating a jury at the request of, let's say, a defense attorney because some -- they've lost, and they want to find out if there is anything they can call from the background of the jurors to overturn the case, is that right?

ROHMAN: Well, there's two things you investigate after a trial. One is the conduct of the jurors during the trial. Did they do anything that violated the rules they agreed to? And two, did they say anything before they were picked for the jury that turns out not to have been true? That's the situation, I think, we're confronting in the Martha Stewart case, did the juror in that case say something before he was picked that turned out not to be the case?

COOPER: So how do you go about doing this? I mean, you go interview people, you go interview their friends, their family?

ROHMAN: Well, mostly what you do when you're investigating a jury is you talk to the people who were on the jury at the time. You approach them, you introduce yourself as working for one side or the other, and you ask them questions about what happened in the deliberations? What did people say? What did you learn about your fellow jurors? That's the main approach that gets you (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

COOPER: But if you're also looking to find stuff that they may have lied about on their original jury application, I imagine you go into their personal lives. I mean, in the Martha Stewart case, they're trying to find out, you know, they say this -- one of the jurors was taking cocaine, that he had abused somebody. You, obviously, do try to find some information, I suppose.

ROHMAN: Sure. And most of that work involves -- you use the public record, that's the place you start. You're looking for court cases, litigation they were involved in, did they pick up a traffic ticket and they didn't talk about it? The stuff that you can find quickly.

The Martha Stewart case is an unusual situation, obviously. You have got a case in which a client has got an extraordinary amount of resources, so that they may have gone an extra step, I don't really know what process they went through to find their way to the witness that they're using.

COOPER: Your advice to jurors?

ROHMAN: Tell the truth when you're selected for a jury. That's the key thing. What the Martha Stewart juror is getting in trouble for is potentially having misrepresented something about his past or background. You know, we all hear family, friends, everybody talking about, well, what should I say when I'm picked for the jury? I tell the people, tell the truth and things will go a little more smoothly.

COOPER: All right, Keith Rohman from L.A. Thanks very much, Keith.

Another day, another superhero hits the big screen. Coming up, "The Punisher" is out for revenge and he's not the only one. We take a look at the new movies in "The Weekender."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: In California tonight, an AIDS scare is rocking the adult film industry. Two porn stars have tested positive for HIV, dozens more fear they have been exposed and some movie companies have stopped production. CNN's Ted Rowlands has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Industry experts say there are over 1,200 regular actors in the southern California-based porn business. Late last week one of them, an established male actor was diagnosed with HIV after a routine blood test. The testing organization says he could have infected as many as 16 different partners, one actress has already tested positive. Health experts say their partners and their partners's partners could be in danger. Still, most actresses like Kay Lani Lei say they are worried.

KAY LANI LEI, ADULT FILM ACTRESS: Have you worked with this person? Are there any links to this person, are there links to this person from you and, of course, check your own health.

ROWLANDS: Many production companies are shutting down until June 8, giving all high-risk partners time to show two clean tests. According to Sharon Mitchell, director of the Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation, most regular porn actors are tested monthly.

SHARON MITCHELL, CLINICAL SEXOLOGIST: These are two isolated cases. This is not an epidemic. We have all the people that were exposed on quarantine.

ROWLANDS: Mitchell says that frequent testing is an important part of keeping situations like this under control. Others in the industry say the best way to stop the spread of AIDS is to require everybody to use condoms.

Peter Rogers runs a San Francisco-based production company and he believes that regulation may be needed in the industry to make sure that people are safe.

PETER RODGERS, CYBERNET: I think that would level the playing field. Everybody plays with the same rules. I don't see a problem with it.

ROWLANDS: It is a multibillion dollar industry that hasn't seen a significant HIV outbreak since 1998 when a male actor infected five women. This time some major porn production companies say people are overreacting and they plan to keep making movies. Ted Rowlands, CNN, San Francisco.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: On a far lighter note, let's look at what's going on in the pop culture "Current." The first edition of the words of Homer were sold in auction this week. The winning bidder paid $161,000 for the collection, which includes Homer's Illiad (ph), the Odyssey (ph), but not his personal stash of Duff (ph) beer.

There's word Mel Gibson is already looking for a TV deal for "The Passion of the Christ." All four major networks have been pitched the movie. To avoid any problems with TV censors, however, the violent scenes might be replaced with Spongebob's square pants.

"Daily News" says William Shatner photographed a "Playboy" playmate for its website. Shatner reportedly said he, quote, "wanted to capture parts of her body that say something to him. The texture of her skin, the curve of the body." End quote. Somebody please set phasers on stun (ph).

Quentin Tarantino may be planning on making another "Kill Bill" movie. The director says a third film won't be out for 15 years giving the prop department almost enough time to make the amount of fake blood that they'll need. And if you can't wait for that, there's always "Kill Bill Volume 2." It opens nationwide today, just one of several new movies and other noteworthy events we check out in "The Weekender."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am better than Annie Oakley and I have you right in my sight.

COOPER (voice-over): But don't expect any singing in "Kill Bill Volume 2." Uma Thurman returns as the vengeful bride in Quentin Tarantino's homage to spaghetti westerns and 70s Kung Fu flicks.

She's on a mission to destroy her enemies, tracking them down one by one until she finally comes face to face with Bill. And we know what she wants to do with him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Call me the punisher.

COOPER: Vengeance is also the name of the game in "The Punisher." Tom Jane is the comic book superhero without super powers seeking revenge on the man who wiped out his family, John Travolta. He seems to love playing the bad guy.

If drag queens are more your style, try "Connie and Carla" about a couple of women playing men who play women seeking stardom and perhaps a good therapist.

CHRIS ROCK, COMEDIAN: The government hates rap.

COOPER: On TV Chris Rock returns to HBO Saturday night for "Never Scared," the comedian's stand-up special. Expect Rock to, as usual, deliver rapid fire riffs on just about everything to make you think and roll with laughter.

New on DVD, the "Pink Panther" film collection. Peter Sellers is fumbling, bumbling Inspector Clouseau. This DVD collection includes all the movies, two documentaries and commentary from Blake Edwards.

In concert this weekend, Phish and Phish-heads jamming their way to Las Vegas tonight and tomorrow and in Oviedo, Florida Saturday the 15th annual RajunCajun Crawfish Festival. Good food, good music guaranteed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, rivalry for the ages. Ahead on the Nth Degree, the Yankees head to Boston to take on their bitter rivals the Red Sox. Can't they all just get along?

First, today's buzz. Should images of hostages in Iraq be broadcast on television? What do you think? Still have a few more moments to vote. Log on to CNN.com/360. Cast your vote and results when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Time now for the buzz. Earlier we asked should images of hostages in Iraq be broadcast on television? More than 18,000 of you voted. 57 percent said yes, 43 percent said no. Not a scientific poll, just your buzz. We appreciate it.

Tonight taking rivalry to the Nth Degree. Tonight the Yankees and the Red Sox face each other for the first time this season. Now for sheer emotion there's no better or bitter rivalry in baseball. Today's papers are playing it up big time.

"May the curse be with you." "Welcome to the jungle." "Let the war begin." Sounds almost apocalyptic. It has been this way for 85 years, but maybe, just maybe, it is time to end the feuding. After all both cities do share in common a few things worth celebrating. We both have insanely dedicated baseball fans. They scream, they shout No. 1, baby or does that single finger mean something else? What about clam chowder. Sure, one's red, the other's white, but, hey, they're both pretty good. Both cities also have world-class marathons and let's not forget high-priced athletes making millions of dollars to keep fans talking about rivalries. I'm Anderson Cooper. Have a great weekend. Coming up next, "PAULA ZAHN NOW."

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