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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Don King Teams With RNC Campaigns For Bush; New Tapes Suggest Enron Defrauded Utility Customers; Defense opening statement today in Peterson trial

Aired June 02, 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.


ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening. I'm Anderson Cooper.
Taking the case for war against terrorists on the road; 360 starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): President Bush sells his vision of the Iraq War but will voters buy it?

The Saudis say they're cracking down on terror charities but are they for real is this a public relations stunt?

A California court hears Scott Peterson's side of the story. Can the defense convince jurors Peterson's just a normal guy?

A Colorado reporter obsessed with revenge arrested for stalking his alleged attacker. Did he take pay back too far?

Meet the GOP's odd couple. Ed Gillespie teams up with Don King. What exactly are they trying to achieve?

And, is there anyone out there? Some scientists think so. Our series "Paranormal Mysteries" continues, do you believe?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Live from New York this is ANDERSON COOPER 360.

COOPER: On the eve of his overseas trip, President Bush laid out his vision for the war against terrorism doing so by reaching back to the past, comparing the war in Iraq and against terror to World War II.

The tough talk came as the commander-in-chief saluted graduates in a 45-minute commencement address at the U.S. Air Force Academy, and it came just one day before the president heads to Europe hoping to persuade a previously skeptical audience that his way of fighting terrorism is the right way.

White House Correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At a commencement speech before the U.S. Air Force Academy, President Bush previewed the message he'll deliver at the 60th D-Day anniversary in Normandy later this week, likening the ideology that fueled Nazi Germany in Stalin's reign to that of al Qaeda's brand of terror.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Like other totalitarian movements, the terrorists seek to impose a grim vision in which the (unintelligible) is crushed and every man and woman must think and live in colorless conformity.

MALVEAUX: Mr. Bush, intent on convincing world leaders and these potential future military ones his preemptive policy is the right one, offered this justification.

BUSH: If America were not fighting terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere what would these thousands of killers do, suddenly begin leading productive lives of service and charity?

MALVEAUX: Thursday, Mr. Bush will leave for Italy and France where he will meet with key allies to seek support for a new U.N. Security Council resolution on Iraq and next week he'll host the annual G8 Summit in Georgia where he will continue to push his Middle East initiative to western and Arab leaders.

BUSH: In the short term, we will work with every government in the Middle East dedicated to destroying the terrorist networks. In the longer term, we will expect a higher standard of reform and democracy from our friends in the region.

MALVEAUX: In both meetings, the Bush administration is expected to take on a much more conciliatory tone to make Iraq a broader multinational mission.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Now while the White House is eager to show that the strains between the president and some of his European counterparts has waned, White House aides do acknowledge that this is a politically risky trip as well, that he has to show that he has not lost the credibility and the good will of the international community -- Anderson.

COOPER: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House thanks Suzanne.

An interesting news note, President Bush today quoted from Dwight Eisenhower's message to allied troops before D-Day but the president deleted one key line of Eisenhower's and I quote: "You are about to embark upon the great crusade." The word crusade, of course, is considered inflammatory by many Muslims.

In Iraq, the first full day at work for the new interim government, here's a quick snapshot of what happened. Five people were killed, 37 others wounded when an empty car packed with explosives blew up on a busy Baghdad street. Farther north at a U.S. Air Base in Kirkuk an ammo storage area caught fire from some type of explosion nearby, no injuries reported there. U.S. soldiers less than 90 days from deploying to Iraq or Afghanistan can't leave the service. The Pentagon is expanding its so-called stop/loss plan. Thousands of soldiers will have to stay in uniform until their tour of duty is up, in some cases as long as one year.

And sources tell CNN that Pentagon friend-turned-foe Ahmed Chalabi gave Iran highly classified information, specifically that the U.S. has cracked Iran's intelligence codes. The FBI is trying to figure out who leaked the information to Chalabi. In Iraq, Chalabi calls the charges, and I quote, "stupid and false."

Well, still reeling from the weekend's attacks in Khobar that killed 22, Saudi Arabia today said it was taking bold action against al Qaeda. With U.S. State Department officials by their side, Saudi officials said they will dissolve all Saudi charities that do business overseas and form a single government sponsored entity.

Al Qaeda has been known to use the charities in the past to funnel money to their efforts. It was a very public pronouncement, no doubt about it, but many are still wondering if the kingdom is doing enough to crack down on terror.

Justice Correspondent Kelli Arena reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The weekend attacks in Khobar are a painful reminder Saudi Arabia has a very real stake in the war on terror.

ADEL AL-JUBEIR, SAUDI FOREIGN POLICY ADVISER: The actions of al Qaeda that we see in the kingdom have grown more desperate. They have gone from targeting hard targets and high value targets to targeting the innocent but as they grow more desperate our resolve grows stronger.

ARENA: U.S. officials say that resolve and a new level of cooperation actually date back to May of last year when terrorists bombed Riyadh. The latest move on the terror financing front bears witness.

JUAN ZARATE, DEPUTY ASST. TREASURY SECRETARY: Once again, the United States and Saudi Arabia have joined forces to identify and choke off additional channels of terrorist financing.

ARENA: Officials say Saudi Arabia's willingness to move against its biggest charities, such as Al Haramain, is significant. So, too, is the investigation into Al Haramain's former head Aqeel Al-Aqil. Experts say the outcome could be critical.

MATT LEVITT, FORMER FBI ANALYST: Perhaps the key, the most critical issue that has not yet happened in Saudi Arabia is that no single member of the Saudi elite has been held accountable for their actions to date, not a single individual. ARENA: What the Saudis have done, according to the royal embassy, is arrest more than 600 individuals in the wake of September 11, dismantle a number of al Qaeda cells and seized large quantities of arms caches. While applauding those actions, some say what the Saudis really need to do is move away from what they call a culture of intolerance and hatred.

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R), MAINE: Until the Saudis commit to changing their schools, their curriculum, their culture, they are still going to be a breeding ground for terrorists like Osama bin Laden.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ARENA: The Saudis say they are working closely with educators and imams to make sure there is no place for incitement and intolerance and to bring a message of peace -- Anderson.

COOPER: Kelli thanks very much from Washington.

If you think it couldn't get any worse for the United Nations, still reeling from the Iraqi Oil-for-Food scandal, you may be wrong. A controversial new book called "Emergency Sex and Other Desperate Measures, a True Story from Hell on Earth" is about to hit stores.

With a look at the accusations against the U.N. contained in it, here's CNN's Deborah Feyerick.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.N. officials are denouncing the new book, filled with stories of wild parties, rampant drinking and drug use and sex fueled by fear or boredom, what the authors call emergency sex.

FRED ECKHARD, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL SPOKESMAN: Frankly, we found it a sensational and selective account of peacekeeping.

FEYERICK: U.N. officials say it's just a few bad apples but a former insider says these are open secrets.

SUSAN MANUEL, U.N. SPOKESWOMAN: People do have a good time. Your libido may be aroused. I never personally went to an orgy or even heard about an orgy but it just wouldn't -- it wouldn't sell books and that's fine. We all know that compassion doesn't sell books.

FEYERICK: The stories are firsthand accounts by three U.N. staffers. For nearly a decade they worked in hotspots like Cambodia, Somalia and Rwanda. Among the strongest allegations in the book that some U.N. officials demanded local workers hand over 15 percent of their salaries and that Bulgaria freed prison inmates to serve as peacekeepers in Cambodia.

One of the authors describing the Bulgarians as "a battalion of criminal lunatics, they're drunk as sailors, rape vulnerable Cambodian women and crash their U.N. Land Cruisers with remarkable frequency." The Bulgarian government tells CNN the accusations are outrageous but for reporters who follow the U.N. finding out what's actually true is difficult.

JAMES BONE, NEW YORK CORRESPONDENT "THE TIMES OF LONDON": A lot of these things are at the level of rumor and despite their having spent two years working on the book they remain at the level of rumor.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Two of the three authors still work at the United Nations. Senior U.N. officials reviewed the manuscript but did not give permission to publish as the rules require. The authors did it anyway and now they face disciplinary action and, though they can't be fired, it will certainly be harder for them to get a promotion -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right, Deborah Feyerick interesting thanks very much.

Here's a "Fast Fact" for you about the United Nations. The U.N. has conducted 57 peacekeeping operations since 1948. Fourteen are going on right now with more than 54,000 troops and 96 countries participating.

John Kerry says a bioterror attack is only a matter of time. His campaign warning tops our look at stories right now "Cross Country."

In Tampa, Florida, Kerry claims the Bush administration's efforts to fight bioterror are significantly lacking. He says, if elected, he'll name someone to coordinate a national strategy to prevent such an attack.

In Los Angeles, police say they will not seek charges against Michael Jackson on allegations he molested a child in Los Angeles in the late 1980s. They saw a two-month investigation found no evidence to support those allegations.

Philadelphia, brotherly love, for the first time a television ad hits the airwaves promoting the city as a gay destination, part of a three year million dollar program using the slogan, "Philadelphia, get your history straight and your nightlife gay."

In Dallas, the weather messes with Texas. Storms leave more than half a million people without power, the biggest blackout in the Dallas/Fort Worth area in a decade, nasty weather there.

In Hawaii, nature's lava lamp, take a look. A steady flow of glowing lava from Kilauea volcano pours into the Pacific Ocean. Scientists have also detected a few small earthquakes from the volcano summit, amazing pictures.

That is a look at stories right now "Cross Country."

360 next, Scott Peterson's defense, his lawyers go on the offensive calling their own client a cad but not a murderer. We'll take you live to the courthouse.

Also tonight, the search for extraterrestrial life, fact or science fiction, we'll ask the woman who inspired the movie "Contact," part of our special series "Paranormal Mysteries, do you believe?"

Plus the GOP going after African American voters and to help sell their message they've turned to none other than Don King. Is this about real policy or raw politics, all that ahead.

First, your picks, the most popular stories right now on cnn.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Five hundred reporters covering it, unbelievable. The defense had two words for the prosecution's case against Scott Peterson today, flimsy and circumstantial.

In his opening statement, defense attorney Mark Geragos laid out the reasons why he says Peterson didn't kill his wife and unborn child, all the while admitting his client wasn't exactly a model husband, with "Justice Served" now, CNN's David Mattingly.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Scott Peterson's mother, showing her gratitude with a hug.

JACKIE PETERSON, SCOTT PETERSON'S MOTHER: I'm a fan.

MATTINGLY: After Mark Geragos gave a bold finish to opening statements proclaiming Scott Peterson is not only innocent but stone cold innocent. In less than three hours, Geragos showed the jury maps, pinpointing multiple Laci Peterson sightings the day of her disappearance, autopsy photos of the baby the family called Conner, saying the baby was born alive after Laci disappeared.

And he pointed out how detailed searches of the Peterson house and warehouse produced no evidence of murder, zip he said, nothing, nada, not a thing. Geragos also revealed that he will take the jury to the Berkeley Marina where Scott Peterson went fishing.

Geragos rejected the prosecution's claims that his client bought a boat in a premeditated plan to dispose of Laci Peterson's body. Instead, he said Scott Peterson was a lifelong and avid fisherman and that his boat was too small to conceal the body of a woman eight months pregnant.

PETERSON: We knew the truth. It was nice to hear it publicly.

MATTINGLY: For the Peterson family it was a day of satisfaction, as Geragos disputed much of the prosecution's characterization of Scott as a deceptive adulterer capable of murder.

The suspicious picture of the bleach-blonde Peterson arrested in April, for example, according to Geragos is actually a snapshot of a man hounded by media and desperate for privacy. (END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: There is no dispute, however, of the portrait of a cheating husband. Geragos said you can call Scott Peterson a cad and you can call his behavior boorish but, he said, the evidence will not show that he is a murderer -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right, David Mattingly thanks.

The golden days at Enron were driven by its high-flying traders who made a killing on dealing, among other things, energy futures. Today, we got an interesting glimpse into that world as audio recordings of some Enron traders were released as part of a lawsuit brought against the company.

Here's CNN's Jen Rogers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEN ROGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Back in 2000 when Enron was the largest electricity trader on the West Coast, Enron traders fought back the laughs as California fought rolling blackouts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Oh, the best thing that could happen is if (EXPLETIVE DELETED) an earthquake, let that thing float out to the Pacific and put 'em (EXPLETIVE DELETED) candles."

ROGERS: Joking about natural disasters didn't stop at quakes. Traders also cheered a wildfire that impacted supplies and boosted prices.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Burn baby burn.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a beautiful saying."

ROGERS: The language and attitude of Enron traders isn't rare on trading floors where million dollar decisions are made by the minute often impacting the energy rates paid by consumers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "They're (EXPLETIVE DELETED) taking all the money back from you guys? All the money you guys stole from those poor grandmothers in California?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, Grandma Millie man. But she's the one who couldn't figure out how to (EXPLETIVE DELETED) vote on the butterfly ballot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, now she wants her (EXPLETIVE DELETED) money back for all the power you've charged right up jammed right up her (EXPLETIVE DELETED)."

ROGERS: Grandma Millie isn't the only one who wants her money back. These tapes were made public by the Snohomish Public Utility in Washington State which, along with other utilities, is suing trying to recover some of Enron's profits from the California power crisis. ERIC CHRISTENSEN, ASST. GENERAL COUNSEL SNOHOMISH PUBLIC UTILITY: The main significance of this is that we now have on tape in the words of Enron's own traders that they were engaged in criminal conspiracy to defraud electric rate payers all across the western United States.

ROGERS: Enron declined to comment on the tapes, other than to say it is cooperating with all investigations. Two former Enron energy traders have pled guilty to charges of manipulating the California energy market and another faces eleven counts of fraud.

Jen Rogers, CNN Financial News, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, aide workers killed in Afghanistan, that story tops our look at what's going on around the world in the "Up Link."

Badghis, Afghanistan, five people working for the group Doctors Without Borders were killed when unknown assailants opened fire on their car. The victims were Belgian, Dutch, Swiss as well as Afghans.

In Moscow, news anchor fired, this man. A Russian news program has been taken off the air, the man fired, the anchor, after the show tried to broadcast an interview with the widow of a slain Chechen separatist leader.

Athens, Greece, the journey begins. The Olympic flame starts its trip. It will pass through 33 cities around the world before returning to Athens for the August 13 opening ceremony of the Summer Games.

In London, a royal wedding, the former Archbishop of Canterbury says Prince Charles should marry Camilla Parker Bowles, telling "The London Times" that marriage is "the natural thing."

Middlesex, England, the underdog prevails, an 8-year-old greyhound beats out a 6-year-old race horse by little more than one second in a race. Bookies had favored the horse.

And that is tonight's "Up Link."

360 next, the search for extraterrestrial life, is there anybody out there? Meet the scientists who've made it their life's work to find out, part of our special series "Paranormal Mysteries."

Also tonight, Don King recruiting African American voters for the GOP, what's up with that? He and RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie explain.

Also a little later tonight, Howard Stern and Don Imus, find out why they both think their days are numbered.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's great. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Aren't you too promising a scientist to be wasting your gifts on this nonsense?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Look, I don't consider what could potentially be the most important discovery of the human race nonsense, OK. There's 400 (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are two probabilities, one there is intelligent life out there but it's so far away you'll never contact it in your lifetime and, two...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're making a decision.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two, there's nothing out there but noble gases and carbon compounds and you're wasting your time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, that's the 1997 sci-fi movie "Contact" starring Jodi Foster. A little nugget of trivia for you, the inspiration for her character is Jill Tarter a real life astronomer who for more than 25 years has been trying to answer the question many of us ask as we look to the stars. Is anyone out there? In a moment I'll talk with Jill Tarter about her search for extraterrestrial life.

But first a behind-the-scenes look at her research institute and the fascination with seeking the truth, part of our special series "Paranormal Mysteries, do you believe?"

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): You can't miss this planet's fascination with aliens, unidentified flying objects and things that glow in the night. A Gallup poll two years ago found that 33 percent of Americans believe extraterrestrial beings had visited earth sometime in the past. Scientists dismiss this as pure fiction but that doesn't stop some of them from looking to the stars and listening.

JILL TARTER, DIRECTOR, SETI INSTITUTE: It's seen a detection here.

COOPER: The privately funded SETI Institute, begun in 1984, uses radio telescopes like this one in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, the world's largest, to eavesdrop on the heavens.

TARTER: Where are they? Well that's the question we're trying to answer, is someone out there?

COOPER: SETI stands for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, the signal they're listening for is some kind of evidence of other worldly technology and so far not a peep.

TARTER: This cosmic haystack in which there might be this needle of a signal hidden is -- is nine dimensional at least and we've barely to search. COOPER: On the horizon is SETI's Allen (ph) telescope array part funded by Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen. When completed, it will include 350 radio telescopes in northern California all working in concert.

NASA meanwhile is planning the Kepler (ph) and Terrestrial Planet Finder missions to look for other earth-like planets.

TARTER: It's quite possible that there is -- there are many places where life could exist in the universe.

COOPER: Skeptics say we shouldn't get our hopes up. The living conditions of cosmic real estate are so extreme we may not get a call from ET anytime soon.

PETER WARD, PROF. OF EARTH & SPACE SCIENCES, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON: While there could be other intelligences, I suspect the majority of life out there would be no more complex than a bacterium, so lots of microbes and not a lot of Vulcans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, Jill Tarter ignores some of those skeptical thoughts. As director of SETI Institute she's published numerous scientific articles, earned a lot of rewards. In fact, back in April she was selected by the editors of "Time" magazine as one of the world's 100 most influential and powerful people. Tonight, Tarter joins me from San Francisco, California. Jill, thanks for being on the program.

TARTER: Oh, you're very welcome.

COOPER: How certain are you that there is life somewhere out there?

TARTER: I'm not certain at all. I think it's a marvelous question humans have been asking themselves forever and we now have some tools, some telescopes to try and do an experiment to see if we can answer that old question.

COOPER: How deep can you look? I mean how far away can you look?

TARTER: Right now we're searching stars that are nearer the sun, so our local neighborhood of the Milky Way Galaxy. But the Allen telescope array will expand that search by factors of many hundreds as we can search farther and faster.

COOPER: What do you think are some of the myths about extraterrestrial life that you hear a lot that you can just bust here right now?

TARTER: Well, that they are -- that they are here, that they're abducting Aunt Alice for salacious medical experiments on their spaceships. I think that that's nothing but myth and money making and there is no (unintelligible). COOPER: And the idea of UFO's you don't buy at all?

TARTER: I think there are unexplained phenomena. I don't think they have anything to do with spacecraft visiting the earth or, at least, I've seen no data, no evidence.

COOPER: Because the likelihood of extraterrestrials actually making contact in that way, I mean why?

TARTER: It takes a lot of energy to move mass across that distances between the stars. Photons, light waves, radio waves that have no mass are much more economical and energetically feasible.

COOPER: Do you think people sort of anthropomorphize the idea of life on other planets? I mean often you see those pictures of sort of a big headed creature.

TARTER: Right. They're -- we used to fantasize about angels and ghosts and now they're grey aliens. Yes, in fact, we can't get out of our human skins and we put a human face on those things.

COOPER: Now, what you are searching for though is some sort of technology of someone trying to make an effort to contact the United States. I mean things like microbes, bacteria, which would be life is not something the SETI can see.

TARTER: No, in fact, and finding microbes somewhere else, finding a second genesis, an independent evolution of life somewhere else would be fantastic, a really important scientific discovery. We happen to be looking for that kind of life that can build some sort of a transmitter to attract our attention.

COOPER: Why do you think it is important to keep trying to do this? I mean because you really -- you haven't -- there haven't been any close calls. There haven't been any signals that really got you excited, have there?

TARTER: Well, we've had a couple of false positives that kept us going for a few hours but nothing that we weren't able in the end to show was our own technology.

COOPER: So, why keep going? I mean you started SETI in 1984 I think.

TARTER: Oh, well SETI got started in 1960. But in fact there's a huge universe out there. It's an old question. Humans really want to know where we fit into this large cosmos and this is just the first steps. We may not succeed in my lifetime or we may succeed as soon as we turn the Allen telescope array on. There's no way to know except to do the experiment.

COOPER: Do you ever get discouraged?

TARTER: No. Actually, I've got the best job in the entire world. We get to develop new technology. We get to learn things about life and stars and planets that we didn't know a decade ago. It's a fascinating job.

COOPER: Jill Tarter, we'll leave it there. Thank you very much for being on the program.

TARTER: You're very welcome.

COOPER: Today's "Buzz" is this. What do you think? Do you believe that extraterrestrial life exists? Log onto cnn.com/360, cast your vote. We'll have results at the end of the program tonight.

Our series "Paranormal Mysteries, do you believe" continues tomorrow with a look inside the world of psychics and how, well, even the CIA has turned to some of them for help.

Then on Friday, you've heard of pet psychics. We're going to put one of them to the test with my own dog and find out if there really is a message behind all her barking.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): A Colorado reporter obsessed with revenge arrested for stalking his alleged attacker. Did he take pay back too far?

And meet the GOP's odd couple. Ed Gillespie teams up with Don King, what exactly are they trying to achieve, 360 continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: 360 next, the political odd couple out swinging for the GOP: Don King and Ed Gillespie search for Black voters. We'll talk to both.

Plus, Howard Stern and Don Imus, they rarely agree on anything, but they both think their days may be numbered. Found out why. First, tonight's "Reset."

In Washington: a turn in the new CIA leak case. President Bush has spoken to an outside lawyer for advice regarding the grand jury investigation into who revealed the name of a covert operative to columnist Robert Novak. White House officials quote the president as saying, everyone should cooperate in this matter including himself.

Laredo, Texas: recovered. The 2 stolen propane trucks loaded with fuel that we told you about last evening were found alongside a highway today. They were taken from a San Antonio gas company over the weekend. Authorities do not now suspect terrorism.

McAlister, Oklahoma: jury shake up in the sentencing phase of the Terry Nichols trial. Two jurors, including the foreman, were dismissed today. No reason given. They were replaced by the remaining 2 alternate jurors. Nichols, convicted in the Oklahoma City bombing, now faces life in prison or the death penalty.

In New York: charges of fraud against Paxil. The state's attorney general is suing the makers of the antidepressant. Eliot Spitzer accuses GlaxoSmithKline withholding negative information on Paxil concerning its safety for teens and kids.

And finally, the corporate jet is heading to space, sort of. The first private sector manned spaceflight from the U.S. was announced today. Scaled Composites, that's the company, will launch the civilian craft from the Mojave Desert on June 21. A pilot will fly it 62 miles above ground.

Well in presidential campaigns, most themes have broad appeal: terrorism, economy, education, but with a tight race expected, the vote of specific groups will likely be crucial. Last time around, President Bush got less than 10 percent of the African-American vote, Gore, 90 percent. It is a black and white issue. But is it real policy or raw politics.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): In this tight election, both the Kerry and Bush campaigns are heavily courting African-Americans. John Kerry will start running ads on Black Entertainment Television, part of his new $ 18 million ad blitz. And President Bush has pulled out his new weapon: boxing promoter Don King, who's embarked on an outreach tour in black urban neighborhoods.

DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: It's important that both political campaigns reach out to African-Americans, because they make up a large percentage of the undecided voters in some of the battle ground states, as well as they're key in terms of winning the south.

COOPER: The Bush camp hopes to do better than the mere 8 percent of the black vote they got in 2000 by tapping into black evangelical Christians, a group which have been receptive to his message on abortion and same sex marriage. And what some pollsters call buppies: the fast growing African-American middle class who Republicans hope will vote the same way many white yuppies do.

Yet experts say it may be a tough sell. After all, unemployment rates among African-Americans have gone up three percentage points since 2000. It's now double the rate for whites.

For Kerry, the issue is more about turn-out. If he energizes the black vote in key states like Louisiana, Florida, Georgia and Virginia that could sway the election, experts say..

BRAZILE: Three things matter for John Kerry. One, to increase the level of participation of African-Americans. Put more blacks on the voter registration roll. Two, to educate those citizens to ensure that they can go to polls and navigate the political system. And to turn them out on election day.

COOPER: Heavy courting African-Americans is a priority for both parties in the not so color-blind world of raw politics.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, as part of that effort, Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie and boxing promoter Don King are traveling together on what they call the African-American Empowerment Tour trying to get more African-American voters to select Bush. I talked to both men earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: All right, so you guys are like the oddest couple since Felix moved in with Oscar. I know you're teamed up to try to sell the Republican message. Is this really going to work? Why team up with Don King?

ED GILLESPIE, GNC CHAIRMAN: Well, I think it is going to work. In fact, we're already seeing gains amongst African-American voters for the party and for the president. And Don King, why Don King? Because Don King is one of the best marketers in America. And he came to me a while ago, had some advise. I took it and we're taking our message in places that, as a party, we haven't done in awhile.

COOPER: Don King, you may be a great marketer, controversial, but are you really a Republican? I mean, you supported Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun, Dick Gephardt you gave money to. When did you become a Republican?

DON KING, BOXING PROMOTER: Well, I'm a Republicrat. I support America.

COOPER: A Republicrat?

KING: Yes, a Republicrat. He serves what's best for America. George Walker Bush is best for America now. And so I'm going to support George Walker Bush, because he's concerned about the American people. He loves the American people, he cares about them, he gives them homeland security.

COOPER: But has George Bush really been good for the African- American community? I mean, Democrats will point out, they say, unemployment for African-Americans is now very high, nearly 10 percent, double that of whites, it's grown under the Bush administration. How do you sell that one?

GILLESPIE: First, let's set some facts straight. Remember, when George Bush took office he inherited a recession. It was his policies that turned it around. A year ago in April the unemployment rate amongst African-American's was a 10.8 percent. Last April, the most recent month which data are available, it was 9.7 percent. It's still too high, but it came down from 10.2 to 9.7 in one month alone. It's heading in the right direction.

COOPER: But you will both amidst, it's a tough sell. If you at look how many African-Americans have come out to vote Republican for George Bush.

KING: It's not a tough sell.

COOPER: Let me just finish. For George Bush in the last election 8 percent of African-Americans came out, that's the lowest percentage since I think Barry Goldwater in 1960 -- almost 9 percent -- still since, I think, Barry Goldwater got 6 percent in '64.

KING: But you have to understand something, George Bush is reaching out for them. No other one reached out for them. The Republican Party, when you say the GOP is for inclusion, it was just an illusion before George Bush came in. George Bush is demonstrating diversity in appointing Colin Powell Secretary of State. Condoleezza Rice security.

COOPER: Democrats come back and say, look, the number of African-Americans living in poverty has risen, the number of African- Americans without health insurance has risen under George Bush.

KING: We have to make that change, though. We've got to make that change. Don't forget that Martin Luther King said both parties use us as a political football. They promise us everything, they give us nothing. At least George Bush is keeping his promise, he means what he says, he says what he means.

It's a major difference. He's decisive, he's bold, he's audacious, he's trustworthy, he's honest and he fights for this country. So, I think there's a lot there that we can get into there, to make a ground swell of support, of just dubiousness and doubt as to why we should just cast our vote one way without knowing whether we're casting for anything or not.

GILLESPIE: I was just going say, look, the fact is I know as chairman of the Republican Party, it is not in my interest for 90 percent of African-American voters to vote for the Democrat every election.

But more important, it's not in the interest of African-Americans 90 percent to vote for the Democrat every election. That's the message that we're carrying, talking about our policies, talking about the president's strong and principled leadership. And I've got to tell you, it's resonating. And Democrats are scared about it. They should be.

COOPER: Final question, does working with Don King, and I hope you don't take offense with this, cut both ways? I mean, does his reputation, controversial, he's been sued by more people than I even know. Does it cut both ways?

GILLESPIE: It doesn't cut both ways at all. Don and I have become friends in this process. I admire him immensely. This is someone who believes deeply in the future of this country. Is out there trying to create jobs.

In this city alone, Don King donated an $800,000 fire engine in the aftermath of September 11 to the firehouse here in Harlem. He is someone who cares deeply about his fellow citizens. I'm proud to stand next to him at these events.

COOPER: We'll leave it there. Ed Gillespie, thanks very much. Don King, always good to talk to you.

KING; Oh, Anderson. Oh, I'm just so happy to hear you say that. But you know what, this is the greatest nation in the world. I'm proud to be with George Walker Bush four more years, for George Walker Bush four more years for George Walker Bush. We're going to plan for a better America black-and-white alike. And there ain't no stopping us now, we're on the move.

COOPER: I can see why you teamed up. Thanks very much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: There you go.

Oversees, a shoot-out in Saudi Arabia may be linked to this weekend's deadly attack on an oil workers compound. Saudi officials say that 2 suspected militants thought to be connected to the ambush have been killed in a gunfight with Saudi forces. Not clear if the 2 men killed are among the 3 who were allowed to flee the scene of the crime over the weekend.

That attack, of course, sent oil prices to record highs before retreating slightly amid concerns the Saudi government cannot protect its oil. Remember, 26 percent of the world's oil reserves are in Saudi Arabia. The fear the terrorists could shut down the kingdom's entire oil production is our mid-week crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): This giant complex called Abqaiq processes two-thirds of the crude oil pumped from Saudi soil. For terrorists who've already killed foreign oil workers, could Abqaiq be the next target? Former CIA officer Bob Baer says the intelligence community and oil industry call this a nightmare scenario, one that would cripple oil production.

BOB BAER, FMR. CIA OFFICER: If someone took an airplane and flew it into Abqaiq, you could take out 7 million barrels in the long term.

NAWAF OBAID, SAUDI NATL. SECURITY CONSULTANT: This would be highly unlikely.

COOPER: Nawaf Obaid is a Saudi national security consultant. He doesn't buy the nightmare scenario.

OBAID: Saudi Arabia has, approximately, at any given time, securing the oil fields, around 30,000 men.

COOPER: And a security budget that's (UNINTELLIGIBLE) $5 billion and growing. Obaid says what you don't see at places like Abqaiq include anti-missile defenses and air patrols. Paul Eedle who shot these pictures in Saudi Arabia just before the recent attack says al Qaeda and its supporters have made it clear they're targeting Saudi Arabia's most lucrative industry and the foreign workers who help run it.

PAUL EEDLE, BRITISH JOURNALIST: What al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia has said it wants to hit, western oil companies which it says are stealing the wealth of Muslims in Iraq. COOPER: Fred is a South African, one of thousands of these expatriates enjoying the comforts of a western lifestyle in Saudi Arabia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You meet so many people, it's fun.

COOPER: That interview was done right before the attacks. Fred made it clear afterwards he and his family weren't pulling out, a sentiment echoed by other expats as they're called.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: 360 next. A reporter out for revenge on his alleged rapist. The bizarre story of a journalist arrested, accused of stalking the man he says sodomized him 25 years ago.

Also tonight, with Howard Stern's chief supporter stepping down at Viacom, will the shock jock himself be signing off for good?

Also a little later tonight, presto, one of Harry Houdini's greatest tricks may soon be revealed. We'll take the magic to the Nth Degree.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Alarming statistics. He had the gun, he had the silencer, it was going to be murder revenge on the man he says raped him when he was a small boy. That was the plan of a man named David Holthouse, a reporter who, two months ago, published his plot on the front page of "The Westword," a weekly Denver newspaper. But Holthouse says he changed his mind, insisting he was no longer out for revenge. Yet police arrested him, charging him with stalking his alleged rapist.

Holthouse will appear in court July 1 as he was arrested merely for thinking about criminal acts. Joining us from Baltimore to talk more about this disturbing case, Dr. Fred Berlin, founder of the Johns Hopkins Sexual Disorder Clinic. Dr. Berlin, thanks for being on the program again.

DR. FRED BERLIN, JOHNS HOPKINS SEXUAL DISORDER CLINIC: Thank you.

COOPER: Statistics show that a child is more likely to be attacked, molested by someone they know. A family member, a neighbor, a friend. In this case, really, it was the case. It was a neighbor of this man, allegedly. Is it harder, in a way, to get over it, if it is someone you know?

BERLIN: I think it is. It's somebody you trust, it's a betrayal of trust. You may be afraid to tell others because others know the person and may not believe what you have to say. I think it is a more difficult circumstance.

COOPER: I want to read you a quote from the article that this reporter wrote. He said, quote, "my plan was to walk up, say you raped me when I was 7 and then pop one slug to the crotch, let him writhe, kick him over, hold him down with my foot, then pop, pop, pop, three to the back of the head, lights out."

Obviously, a desire for revenge, a very extreme desire. How common is that and what are sort of more appropriate ways for people to try to deal with the aftermath of something like this?

BERLIN: Again, apparently, when this fellow was 7 he was raped by this other fellow, who at the time, I think was around 14. It's an understandable human emotion to want revenge when one's been brutalized and one's been mistreated.

On the other hand, we still all have the responsibility to deal with those feelings in a constructive and law abiding fashion. I can empathize with his feelings, I see them as completely understandable. But nonetheless, we can't all go out and take the law into our own hands. If he needs help in terms of his build-up rage that exists within him then he needs to go and get it.

COOPER: He also wrote about a fear of fatherhood, of having his own children, a fear that he couldn't protect them from abuse. I think a lot of people who have been abused have fear that they are going to perpetuate the abuse.

BERLIN: I think they do. We all have fears about our children and nothing hits closer to the heart than when we feel that perhaps we've become damaged in a way we might ourselves be a threat. That's extremely painful. I might point out though that there were two competing emotions in this story. One was this tremendous sense of rage and pent-up anger and hatred, but the other one when he actually met this guy after all these years of such strong feelings was the sense of having some compassion, and a feeling of the humanity of this guy and that seemed to have prevailed. So in a sense, although this is a story about initially wanting vengeance and pent-up hatred, it really does, in a sense, have a happier ending.

COOPER: Do men react differently to sexual abuse than women?

BERLIN: I think they do. Again, in each case it's an awful experience to go through. I don't want to generalize because the victims are a group of people who react in their own ways. There can be tremendous differences. Men often have the sense that they were more supposed to be able to protect themselves. There's this kind of image of I should have been tough enough to deal with it, a sense that they're not so quick to talk because they're worried it may seem like they're complaining. So I don't want to minimize the trauma of the women experience but it's a different kind of reaction in some ways difficult because of that difference for men in a unique fashion.

COOPER: It's a strange case. Dr. Fred Berlin, appreciate you being on the program. Thank you.

It's, of course, not always easy to recognize the signs of child molestation. Here's a quick news note for you on what to watch for. If you notice changes in a child's behavior, fearfulness, withdrawal, bedwetting, nightmares, other sleeping disturbances, if they act -- inappropriate sexual behavior, act out, or are suddenly aggressive, rebellious or if you notice any changes in toilet training habits or if they're suddenly afraid of certain people, places, activities, these behaviors, of course, could have other explanations. As always, it's important to talk to your kids.

Moving on, Howard Stern and Don Imus, host different radio shows, no doubt about that, but they wholeheartedly agree about one thing, their former boss. Now that he is out of Viacom, are they going with him? Try to take a look at that, coming up.

Also tonight. A magician never reveals his tricks and dead men tell no tales so how is one of Houdini's secrets getting out? We'll take that to the Nth Degree.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Instead of his usual shock jock fare, Howard Sterns started off yesterday's morning show with some other shocking news about the industry in which he works, news his boss has resigned. A development that could have implications for Stern and fellow Don Imus.

CNN's, Adaora Udoji, picks up the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fiery radio host Howard Stern and Don Imus don't agree on much, but both have strong affection for their newly departed Viacom boss, Mel Karmazin.

HOWARD STERN, TALK SHOW HOST: I would have to think my days are number here. I can't imagine the company will be as loyal to me as they where when Mel was here.

UDOJI: Several major papers are asking do they love him enough to leave with him.

DON IMUS, TALK SHOW HOST: I said, you know, I love Mel. There's no way to describe my loyalty to him. But Mel would be the first to remind me Viacom is sending me a check.

UDOJI: It's warm and kind of fuzzy for the prickly stars but do consider the money. Twenty-years-ago Karmazin picked up Stern's show. Today, it rakes in 10s of millions, probably hundreds of millions of dollars annually say analysts. Imus brings in 10s of millions. But both stars fierce loyalty comes from more, Karmazin, fought off their critics tooth and nail, especially for controversy magnet Stern. It meant the shock jock was not alone from taking on repeated federal indecency fines. This year the FCC slapped a half million fine against a station carrying the show. That station dropped him, Karmazin filed to fight the fines.

MICHAEL HARRISON, TALKERS MAGAZINE: I don't think there's any sentimentality or personal feelings being bruised or nostalgia going on in terms of their relationship, and it's all business. And if in fact Stern remains viable for Viacom, he'll stay. (END VIDEOTAPE)

UDOJI: Andy says this talk about jumping ship is simply attention getting rhetoric. Practically speaking both radio hosts are still under contract, Anderson. Everyone wants a paycheck.

COOPER: That's certainly true. All right, Adaora, thanks very much.

Time to check on some pop news in tonight's "Current."

Lets take a look at what's going on in the world of celebrities.

Motley Crew's Vince Neil will undergo a radical makeover for an MTV reality show. He'll have plastic surgery to give himself a new look. We hear it's going to be extreme. Neil's going in as a heavy metal rocker, of course we hope he will comes out as Celine Dion.

A-Rod is going to be dad. Alex Rodriguez and his wife are expecting their first child. The Yankee celebrity is beaming with the news, so is George Steinbrenner who's no doubtingly already signed the baby to a three year multimillion dollar contract.

And Australia's Jennifer Hawkins was chosen Miss Universe last night. I don't need tell Adaora that, she was watching. The world is rejoicing, of course, in the news, but not everyone in the galaxy is happy. Judy Jetson, says she wasn't considered for the Miss Universe Pageant.

Magic, of course, never revealed. But abracadabra, one of Houdini's tricks -- well, it's not such a secret anymore. We're going to take that to "the Nth Degree" ahead.

And tomorrow look inside the world of psychics and how even the CIA has at one point turned to them for help. Part of a week long series,"Paranormal Mysteries," do you believe?

And today's "Buzz," you still have a few moments to weigh in on it, do you believe extraterrestrial life exists?

Log into cnn.com/360. Cast your vote, results when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Time now for "The Buzz."

Earlier, we asked you do you believe extraterrestrial life exists?

The e-mails are pouring in on this one.

Seventy seven percent of you said, yes, 23 percent of you said, no. No scientific poll, but it is your "Buzz," and we appreciate you voting.

Tonight, taking magic to "The Nth Degree." In Appleton, Wisconsin, today, the biggest controversy in magic since David Blaine, hovered over the Thames for 44 days. Appleton is the birth place of Harry Houdini and home of the Houdini Historical Center. Folks at the center, as part of a new exhibit, decided that they would reveal the secret behind one of Houdini's most famous tricks, metamorphosis it's called. The trick itself, basicly involves having one person put in a bag and then locked in the trunk. A second person, usually the attractive assistant, stands atop the trunk and raises a curtain. Abracadabra, the curtain drops and the two switch places, just like magic. The Houdini Historical Center, say they are revealing the trick because it's already pretty well-known how it's done. And the exhibit is more about Houdini himself rather than magic.

For our part, we prefer to keep the mystery, after all, we are not tell you all our secrets. That's 360 for tonight. I'm Anderson Cooper, thanks for watching.

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 June 2, 2004 - 19:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening. I'm Anderson Cooper.
Taking the case for war against terrorists on the road; 360 starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): President Bush sells his vision of the Iraq War but will voters buy it?

The Saudis say they're cracking down on terror charities but are they for real is this a public relations stunt?

A California court hears Scott Peterson's side of the story. Can the defense convince jurors Peterson's just a normal guy?

A Colorado reporter obsessed with revenge arrested for stalking his alleged attacker. Did he take pay back too far?

Meet the GOP's odd couple. Ed Gillespie teams up with Don King. What exactly are they trying to achieve?

And, is there anyone out there? Some scientists think so. Our series "Paranormal Mysteries" continues, do you believe?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Live from New York this is ANDERSON COOPER 360.

COOPER: On the eve of his overseas trip, President Bush laid out his vision for the war against terrorism doing so by reaching back to the past, comparing the war in Iraq and against terror to World War II.

The tough talk came as the commander-in-chief saluted graduates in a 45-minute commencement address at the U.S. Air Force Academy, and it came just one day before the president heads to Europe hoping to persuade a previously skeptical audience that his way of fighting terrorism is the right way.

White House Correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At a commencement speech before the U.S. Air Force Academy, President Bush previewed the message he'll deliver at the 60th D-Day anniversary in Normandy later this week, likening the ideology that fueled Nazi Germany in Stalin's reign to that of al Qaeda's brand of terror.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Like other totalitarian movements, the terrorists seek to impose a grim vision in which the (unintelligible) is crushed and every man and woman must think and live in colorless conformity.

MALVEAUX: Mr. Bush, intent on convincing world leaders and these potential future military ones his preemptive policy is the right one, offered this justification.

BUSH: If America were not fighting terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere what would these thousands of killers do, suddenly begin leading productive lives of service and charity?

MALVEAUX: Thursday, Mr. Bush will leave for Italy and France where he will meet with key allies to seek support for a new U.N. Security Council resolution on Iraq and next week he'll host the annual G8 Summit in Georgia where he will continue to push his Middle East initiative to western and Arab leaders.

BUSH: In the short term, we will work with every government in the Middle East dedicated to destroying the terrorist networks. In the longer term, we will expect a higher standard of reform and democracy from our friends in the region.

MALVEAUX: In both meetings, the Bush administration is expected to take on a much more conciliatory tone to make Iraq a broader multinational mission.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Now while the White House is eager to show that the strains between the president and some of his European counterparts has waned, White House aides do acknowledge that this is a politically risky trip as well, that he has to show that he has not lost the credibility and the good will of the international community -- Anderson.

COOPER: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House thanks Suzanne.

An interesting news note, President Bush today quoted from Dwight Eisenhower's message to allied troops before D-Day but the president deleted one key line of Eisenhower's and I quote: "You are about to embark upon the great crusade." The word crusade, of course, is considered inflammatory by many Muslims.

In Iraq, the first full day at work for the new interim government, here's a quick snapshot of what happened. Five people were killed, 37 others wounded when an empty car packed with explosives blew up on a busy Baghdad street. Farther north at a U.S. Air Base in Kirkuk an ammo storage area caught fire from some type of explosion nearby, no injuries reported there. U.S. soldiers less than 90 days from deploying to Iraq or Afghanistan can't leave the service. The Pentagon is expanding its so-called stop/loss plan. Thousands of soldiers will have to stay in uniform until their tour of duty is up, in some cases as long as one year.

And sources tell CNN that Pentagon friend-turned-foe Ahmed Chalabi gave Iran highly classified information, specifically that the U.S. has cracked Iran's intelligence codes. The FBI is trying to figure out who leaked the information to Chalabi. In Iraq, Chalabi calls the charges, and I quote, "stupid and false."

Well, still reeling from the weekend's attacks in Khobar that killed 22, Saudi Arabia today said it was taking bold action against al Qaeda. With U.S. State Department officials by their side, Saudi officials said they will dissolve all Saudi charities that do business overseas and form a single government sponsored entity.

Al Qaeda has been known to use the charities in the past to funnel money to their efforts. It was a very public pronouncement, no doubt about it, but many are still wondering if the kingdom is doing enough to crack down on terror.

Justice Correspondent Kelli Arena reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The weekend attacks in Khobar are a painful reminder Saudi Arabia has a very real stake in the war on terror.

ADEL AL-JUBEIR, SAUDI FOREIGN POLICY ADVISER: The actions of al Qaeda that we see in the kingdom have grown more desperate. They have gone from targeting hard targets and high value targets to targeting the innocent but as they grow more desperate our resolve grows stronger.

ARENA: U.S. officials say that resolve and a new level of cooperation actually date back to May of last year when terrorists bombed Riyadh. The latest move on the terror financing front bears witness.

JUAN ZARATE, DEPUTY ASST. TREASURY SECRETARY: Once again, the United States and Saudi Arabia have joined forces to identify and choke off additional channels of terrorist financing.

ARENA: Officials say Saudi Arabia's willingness to move against its biggest charities, such as Al Haramain, is significant. So, too, is the investigation into Al Haramain's former head Aqeel Al-Aqil. Experts say the outcome could be critical.

MATT LEVITT, FORMER FBI ANALYST: Perhaps the key, the most critical issue that has not yet happened in Saudi Arabia is that no single member of the Saudi elite has been held accountable for their actions to date, not a single individual. ARENA: What the Saudis have done, according to the royal embassy, is arrest more than 600 individuals in the wake of September 11, dismantle a number of al Qaeda cells and seized large quantities of arms caches. While applauding those actions, some say what the Saudis really need to do is move away from what they call a culture of intolerance and hatred.

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R), MAINE: Until the Saudis commit to changing their schools, their curriculum, their culture, they are still going to be a breeding ground for terrorists like Osama bin Laden.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ARENA: The Saudis say they are working closely with educators and imams to make sure there is no place for incitement and intolerance and to bring a message of peace -- Anderson.

COOPER: Kelli thanks very much from Washington.

If you think it couldn't get any worse for the United Nations, still reeling from the Iraqi Oil-for-Food scandal, you may be wrong. A controversial new book called "Emergency Sex and Other Desperate Measures, a True Story from Hell on Earth" is about to hit stores.

With a look at the accusations against the U.N. contained in it, here's CNN's Deborah Feyerick.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.N. officials are denouncing the new book, filled with stories of wild parties, rampant drinking and drug use and sex fueled by fear or boredom, what the authors call emergency sex.

FRED ECKHARD, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL SPOKESMAN: Frankly, we found it a sensational and selective account of peacekeeping.

FEYERICK: U.N. officials say it's just a few bad apples but a former insider says these are open secrets.

SUSAN MANUEL, U.N. SPOKESWOMAN: People do have a good time. Your libido may be aroused. I never personally went to an orgy or even heard about an orgy but it just wouldn't -- it wouldn't sell books and that's fine. We all know that compassion doesn't sell books.

FEYERICK: The stories are firsthand accounts by three U.N. staffers. For nearly a decade they worked in hotspots like Cambodia, Somalia and Rwanda. Among the strongest allegations in the book that some U.N. officials demanded local workers hand over 15 percent of their salaries and that Bulgaria freed prison inmates to serve as peacekeepers in Cambodia.

One of the authors describing the Bulgarians as "a battalion of criminal lunatics, they're drunk as sailors, rape vulnerable Cambodian women and crash their U.N. Land Cruisers with remarkable frequency." The Bulgarian government tells CNN the accusations are outrageous but for reporters who follow the U.N. finding out what's actually true is difficult.

JAMES BONE, NEW YORK CORRESPONDENT "THE TIMES OF LONDON": A lot of these things are at the level of rumor and despite their having spent two years working on the book they remain at the level of rumor.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Two of the three authors still work at the United Nations. Senior U.N. officials reviewed the manuscript but did not give permission to publish as the rules require. The authors did it anyway and now they face disciplinary action and, though they can't be fired, it will certainly be harder for them to get a promotion -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right, Deborah Feyerick interesting thanks very much.

Here's a "Fast Fact" for you about the United Nations. The U.N. has conducted 57 peacekeeping operations since 1948. Fourteen are going on right now with more than 54,000 troops and 96 countries participating.

John Kerry says a bioterror attack is only a matter of time. His campaign warning tops our look at stories right now "Cross Country."

In Tampa, Florida, Kerry claims the Bush administration's efforts to fight bioterror are significantly lacking. He says, if elected, he'll name someone to coordinate a national strategy to prevent such an attack.

In Los Angeles, police say they will not seek charges against Michael Jackson on allegations he molested a child in Los Angeles in the late 1980s. They saw a two-month investigation found no evidence to support those allegations.

Philadelphia, brotherly love, for the first time a television ad hits the airwaves promoting the city as a gay destination, part of a three year million dollar program using the slogan, "Philadelphia, get your history straight and your nightlife gay."

In Dallas, the weather messes with Texas. Storms leave more than half a million people without power, the biggest blackout in the Dallas/Fort Worth area in a decade, nasty weather there.

In Hawaii, nature's lava lamp, take a look. A steady flow of glowing lava from Kilauea volcano pours into the Pacific Ocean. Scientists have also detected a few small earthquakes from the volcano summit, amazing pictures.

That is a look at stories right now "Cross Country."

360 next, Scott Peterson's defense, his lawyers go on the offensive calling their own client a cad but not a murderer. We'll take you live to the courthouse.

Also tonight, the search for extraterrestrial life, fact or science fiction, we'll ask the woman who inspired the movie "Contact," part of our special series "Paranormal Mysteries, do you believe?"

Plus the GOP going after African American voters and to help sell their message they've turned to none other than Don King. Is this about real policy or raw politics, all that ahead.

First, your picks, the most popular stories right now on cnn.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Five hundred reporters covering it, unbelievable. The defense had two words for the prosecution's case against Scott Peterson today, flimsy and circumstantial.

In his opening statement, defense attorney Mark Geragos laid out the reasons why he says Peterson didn't kill his wife and unborn child, all the while admitting his client wasn't exactly a model husband, with "Justice Served" now, CNN's David Mattingly.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Scott Peterson's mother, showing her gratitude with a hug.

JACKIE PETERSON, SCOTT PETERSON'S MOTHER: I'm a fan.

MATTINGLY: After Mark Geragos gave a bold finish to opening statements proclaiming Scott Peterson is not only innocent but stone cold innocent. In less than three hours, Geragos showed the jury maps, pinpointing multiple Laci Peterson sightings the day of her disappearance, autopsy photos of the baby the family called Conner, saying the baby was born alive after Laci disappeared.

And he pointed out how detailed searches of the Peterson house and warehouse produced no evidence of murder, zip he said, nothing, nada, not a thing. Geragos also revealed that he will take the jury to the Berkeley Marina where Scott Peterson went fishing.

Geragos rejected the prosecution's claims that his client bought a boat in a premeditated plan to dispose of Laci Peterson's body. Instead, he said Scott Peterson was a lifelong and avid fisherman and that his boat was too small to conceal the body of a woman eight months pregnant.

PETERSON: We knew the truth. It was nice to hear it publicly.

MATTINGLY: For the Peterson family it was a day of satisfaction, as Geragos disputed much of the prosecution's characterization of Scott as a deceptive adulterer capable of murder.

The suspicious picture of the bleach-blonde Peterson arrested in April, for example, according to Geragos is actually a snapshot of a man hounded by media and desperate for privacy. (END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: There is no dispute, however, of the portrait of a cheating husband. Geragos said you can call Scott Peterson a cad and you can call his behavior boorish but, he said, the evidence will not show that he is a murderer -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right, David Mattingly thanks.

The golden days at Enron were driven by its high-flying traders who made a killing on dealing, among other things, energy futures. Today, we got an interesting glimpse into that world as audio recordings of some Enron traders were released as part of a lawsuit brought against the company.

Here's CNN's Jen Rogers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEN ROGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Back in 2000 when Enron was the largest electricity trader on the West Coast, Enron traders fought back the laughs as California fought rolling blackouts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Oh, the best thing that could happen is if (EXPLETIVE DELETED) an earthquake, let that thing float out to the Pacific and put 'em (EXPLETIVE DELETED) candles."

ROGERS: Joking about natural disasters didn't stop at quakes. Traders also cheered a wildfire that impacted supplies and boosted prices.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Burn baby burn.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a beautiful saying."

ROGERS: The language and attitude of Enron traders isn't rare on trading floors where million dollar decisions are made by the minute often impacting the energy rates paid by consumers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "They're (EXPLETIVE DELETED) taking all the money back from you guys? All the money you guys stole from those poor grandmothers in California?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, Grandma Millie man. But she's the one who couldn't figure out how to (EXPLETIVE DELETED) vote on the butterfly ballot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, now she wants her (EXPLETIVE DELETED) money back for all the power you've charged right up jammed right up her (EXPLETIVE DELETED)."

ROGERS: Grandma Millie isn't the only one who wants her money back. These tapes were made public by the Snohomish Public Utility in Washington State which, along with other utilities, is suing trying to recover some of Enron's profits from the California power crisis. ERIC CHRISTENSEN, ASST. GENERAL COUNSEL SNOHOMISH PUBLIC UTILITY: The main significance of this is that we now have on tape in the words of Enron's own traders that they were engaged in criminal conspiracy to defraud electric rate payers all across the western United States.

ROGERS: Enron declined to comment on the tapes, other than to say it is cooperating with all investigations. Two former Enron energy traders have pled guilty to charges of manipulating the California energy market and another faces eleven counts of fraud.

Jen Rogers, CNN Financial News, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, aide workers killed in Afghanistan, that story tops our look at what's going on around the world in the "Up Link."

Badghis, Afghanistan, five people working for the group Doctors Without Borders were killed when unknown assailants opened fire on their car. The victims were Belgian, Dutch, Swiss as well as Afghans.

In Moscow, news anchor fired, this man. A Russian news program has been taken off the air, the man fired, the anchor, after the show tried to broadcast an interview with the widow of a slain Chechen separatist leader.

Athens, Greece, the journey begins. The Olympic flame starts its trip. It will pass through 33 cities around the world before returning to Athens for the August 13 opening ceremony of the Summer Games.

In London, a royal wedding, the former Archbishop of Canterbury says Prince Charles should marry Camilla Parker Bowles, telling "The London Times" that marriage is "the natural thing."

Middlesex, England, the underdog prevails, an 8-year-old greyhound beats out a 6-year-old race horse by little more than one second in a race. Bookies had favored the horse.

And that is tonight's "Up Link."

360 next, the search for extraterrestrial life, is there anybody out there? Meet the scientists who've made it their life's work to find out, part of our special series "Paranormal Mysteries."

Also tonight, Don King recruiting African American voters for the GOP, what's up with that? He and RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie explain.

Also a little later tonight, Howard Stern and Don Imus, find out why they both think their days are numbered.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's great. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Aren't you too promising a scientist to be wasting your gifts on this nonsense?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Look, I don't consider what could potentially be the most important discovery of the human race nonsense, OK. There's 400 (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are two probabilities, one there is intelligent life out there but it's so far away you'll never contact it in your lifetime and, two...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're making a decision.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two, there's nothing out there but noble gases and carbon compounds and you're wasting your time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, that's the 1997 sci-fi movie "Contact" starring Jodi Foster. A little nugget of trivia for you, the inspiration for her character is Jill Tarter a real life astronomer who for more than 25 years has been trying to answer the question many of us ask as we look to the stars. Is anyone out there? In a moment I'll talk with Jill Tarter about her search for extraterrestrial life.

But first a behind-the-scenes look at her research institute and the fascination with seeking the truth, part of our special series "Paranormal Mysteries, do you believe?"

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): You can't miss this planet's fascination with aliens, unidentified flying objects and things that glow in the night. A Gallup poll two years ago found that 33 percent of Americans believe extraterrestrial beings had visited earth sometime in the past. Scientists dismiss this as pure fiction but that doesn't stop some of them from looking to the stars and listening.

JILL TARTER, DIRECTOR, SETI INSTITUTE: It's seen a detection here.

COOPER: The privately funded SETI Institute, begun in 1984, uses radio telescopes like this one in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, the world's largest, to eavesdrop on the heavens.

TARTER: Where are they? Well that's the question we're trying to answer, is someone out there?

COOPER: SETI stands for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, the signal they're listening for is some kind of evidence of other worldly technology and so far not a peep.

TARTER: This cosmic haystack in which there might be this needle of a signal hidden is -- is nine dimensional at least and we've barely to search. COOPER: On the horizon is SETI's Allen (ph) telescope array part funded by Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen. When completed, it will include 350 radio telescopes in northern California all working in concert.

NASA meanwhile is planning the Kepler (ph) and Terrestrial Planet Finder missions to look for other earth-like planets.

TARTER: It's quite possible that there is -- there are many places where life could exist in the universe.

COOPER: Skeptics say we shouldn't get our hopes up. The living conditions of cosmic real estate are so extreme we may not get a call from ET anytime soon.

PETER WARD, PROF. OF EARTH & SPACE SCIENCES, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON: While there could be other intelligences, I suspect the majority of life out there would be no more complex than a bacterium, so lots of microbes and not a lot of Vulcans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, Jill Tarter ignores some of those skeptical thoughts. As director of SETI Institute she's published numerous scientific articles, earned a lot of rewards. In fact, back in April she was selected by the editors of "Time" magazine as one of the world's 100 most influential and powerful people. Tonight, Tarter joins me from San Francisco, California. Jill, thanks for being on the program.

TARTER: Oh, you're very welcome.

COOPER: How certain are you that there is life somewhere out there?

TARTER: I'm not certain at all. I think it's a marvelous question humans have been asking themselves forever and we now have some tools, some telescopes to try and do an experiment to see if we can answer that old question.

COOPER: How deep can you look? I mean how far away can you look?

TARTER: Right now we're searching stars that are nearer the sun, so our local neighborhood of the Milky Way Galaxy. But the Allen telescope array will expand that search by factors of many hundreds as we can search farther and faster.

COOPER: What do you think are some of the myths about extraterrestrial life that you hear a lot that you can just bust here right now?

TARTER: Well, that they are -- that they are here, that they're abducting Aunt Alice for salacious medical experiments on their spaceships. I think that that's nothing but myth and money making and there is no (unintelligible). COOPER: And the idea of UFO's you don't buy at all?

TARTER: I think there are unexplained phenomena. I don't think they have anything to do with spacecraft visiting the earth or, at least, I've seen no data, no evidence.

COOPER: Because the likelihood of extraterrestrials actually making contact in that way, I mean why?

TARTER: It takes a lot of energy to move mass across that distances between the stars. Photons, light waves, radio waves that have no mass are much more economical and energetically feasible.

COOPER: Do you think people sort of anthropomorphize the idea of life on other planets? I mean often you see those pictures of sort of a big headed creature.

TARTER: Right. They're -- we used to fantasize about angels and ghosts and now they're grey aliens. Yes, in fact, we can't get out of our human skins and we put a human face on those things.

COOPER: Now, what you are searching for though is some sort of technology of someone trying to make an effort to contact the United States. I mean things like microbes, bacteria, which would be life is not something the SETI can see.

TARTER: No, in fact, and finding microbes somewhere else, finding a second genesis, an independent evolution of life somewhere else would be fantastic, a really important scientific discovery. We happen to be looking for that kind of life that can build some sort of a transmitter to attract our attention.

COOPER: Why do you think it is important to keep trying to do this? I mean because you really -- you haven't -- there haven't been any close calls. There haven't been any signals that really got you excited, have there?

TARTER: Well, we've had a couple of false positives that kept us going for a few hours but nothing that we weren't able in the end to show was our own technology.

COOPER: So, why keep going? I mean you started SETI in 1984 I think.

TARTER: Oh, well SETI got started in 1960. But in fact there's a huge universe out there. It's an old question. Humans really want to know where we fit into this large cosmos and this is just the first steps. We may not succeed in my lifetime or we may succeed as soon as we turn the Allen telescope array on. There's no way to know except to do the experiment.

COOPER: Do you ever get discouraged?

TARTER: No. Actually, I've got the best job in the entire world. We get to develop new technology. We get to learn things about life and stars and planets that we didn't know a decade ago. It's a fascinating job.

COOPER: Jill Tarter, we'll leave it there. Thank you very much for being on the program.

TARTER: You're very welcome.

COOPER: Today's "Buzz" is this. What do you think? Do you believe that extraterrestrial life exists? Log onto cnn.com/360, cast your vote. We'll have results at the end of the program tonight.

Our series "Paranormal Mysteries, do you believe" continues tomorrow with a look inside the world of psychics and how, well, even the CIA has turned to some of them for help.

Then on Friday, you've heard of pet psychics. We're going to put one of them to the test with my own dog and find out if there really is a message behind all her barking.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): A Colorado reporter obsessed with revenge arrested for stalking his alleged attacker. Did he take pay back too far?

And meet the GOP's odd couple. Ed Gillespie teams up with Don King, what exactly are they trying to achieve, 360 continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: 360 next, the political odd couple out swinging for the GOP: Don King and Ed Gillespie search for Black voters. We'll talk to both.

Plus, Howard Stern and Don Imus, they rarely agree on anything, but they both think their days may be numbered. Found out why. First, tonight's "Reset."

In Washington: a turn in the new CIA leak case. President Bush has spoken to an outside lawyer for advice regarding the grand jury investigation into who revealed the name of a covert operative to columnist Robert Novak. White House officials quote the president as saying, everyone should cooperate in this matter including himself.

Laredo, Texas: recovered. The 2 stolen propane trucks loaded with fuel that we told you about last evening were found alongside a highway today. They were taken from a San Antonio gas company over the weekend. Authorities do not now suspect terrorism.

McAlister, Oklahoma: jury shake up in the sentencing phase of the Terry Nichols trial. Two jurors, including the foreman, were dismissed today. No reason given. They were replaced by the remaining 2 alternate jurors. Nichols, convicted in the Oklahoma City bombing, now faces life in prison or the death penalty.

In New York: charges of fraud against Paxil. The state's attorney general is suing the makers of the antidepressant. Eliot Spitzer accuses GlaxoSmithKline withholding negative information on Paxil concerning its safety for teens and kids.

And finally, the corporate jet is heading to space, sort of. The first private sector manned spaceflight from the U.S. was announced today. Scaled Composites, that's the company, will launch the civilian craft from the Mojave Desert on June 21. A pilot will fly it 62 miles above ground.

Well in presidential campaigns, most themes have broad appeal: terrorism, economy, education, but with a tight race expected, the vote of specific groups will likely be crucial. Last time around, President Bush got less than 10 percent of the African-American vote, Gore, 90 percent. It is a black and white issue. But is it real policy or raw politics.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): In this tight election, both the Kerry and Bush campaigns are heavily courting African-Americans. John Kerry will start running ads on Black Entertainment Television, part of his new $ 18 million ad blitz. And President Bush has pulled out his new weapon: boxing promoter Don King, who's embarked on an outreach tour in black urban neighborhoods.

DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: It's important that both political campaigns reach out to African-Americans, because they make up a large percentage of the undecided voters in some of the battle ground states, as well as they're key in terms of winning the south.

COOPER: The Bush camp hopes to do better than the mere 8 percent of the black vote they got in 2000 by tapping into black evangelical Christians, a group which have been receptive to his message on abortion and same sex marriage. And what some pollsters call buppies: the fast growing African-American middle class who Republicans hope will vote the same way many white yuppies do.

Yet experts say it may be a tough sell. After all, unemployment rates among African-Americans have gone up three percentage points since 2000. It's now double the rate for whites.

For Kerry, the issue is more about turn-out. If he energizes the black vote in key states like Louisiana, Florida, Georgia and Virginia that could sway the election, experts say..

BRAZILE: Three things matter for John Kerry. One, to increase the level of participation of African-Americans. Put more blacks on the voter registration roll. Two, to educate those citizens to ensure that they can go to polls and navigate the political system. And to turn them out on election day.

COOPER: Heavy courting African-Americans is a priority for both parties in the not so color-blind world of raw politics.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, as part of that effort, Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie and boxing promoter Don King are traveling together on what they call the African-American Empowerment Tour trying to get more African-American voters to select Bush. I talked to both men earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: All right, so you guys are like the oddest couple since Felix moved in with Oscar. I know you're teamed up to try to sell the Republican message. Is this really going to work? Why team up with Don King?

ED GILLESPIE, GNC CHAIRMAN: Well, I think it is going to work. In fact, we're already seeing gains amongst African-American voters for the party and for the president. And Don King, why Don King? Because Don King is one of the best marketers in America. And he came to me a while ago, had some advise. I took it and we're taking our message in places that, as a party, we haven't done in awhile.

COOPER: Don King, you may be a great marketer, controversial, but are you really a Republican? I mean, you supported Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun, Dick Gephardt you gave money to. When did you become a Republican?

DON KING, BOXING PROMOTER: Well, I'm a Republicrat. I support America.

COOPER: A Republicrat?

KING: Yes, a Republicrat. He serves what's best for America. George Walker Bush is best for America now. And so I'm going to support George Walker Bush, because he's concerned about the American people. He loves the American people, he cares about them, he gives them homeland security.

COOPER: But has George Bush really been good for the African- American community? I mean, Democrats will point out, they say, unemployment for African-Americans is now very high, nearly 10 percent, double that of whites, it's grown under the Bush administration. How do you sell that one?

GILLESPIE: First, let's set some facts straight. Remember, when George Bush took office he inherited a recession. It was his policies that turned it around. A year ago in April the unemployment rate amongst African-American's was a 10.8 percent. Last April, the most recent month which data are available, it was 9.7 percent. It's still too high, but it came down from 10.2 to 9.7 in one month alone. It's heading in the right direction.

COOPER: But you will both amidst, it's a tough sell. If you at look how many African-Americans have come out to vote Republican for George Bush.

KING: It's not a tough sell.

COOPER: Let me just finish. For George Bush in the last election 8 percent of African-Americans came out, that's the lowest percentage since I think Barry Goldwater in 1960 -- almost 9 percent -- still since, I think, Barry Goldwater got 6 percent in '64.

KING: But you have to understand something, George Bush is reaching out for them. No other one reached out for them. The Republican Party, when you say the GOP is for inclusion, it was just an illusion before George Bush came in. George Bush is demonstrating diversity in appointing Colin Powell Secretary of State. Condoleezza Rice security.

COOPER: Democrats come back and say, look, the number of African-Americans living in poverty has risen, the number of African- Americans without health insurance has risen under George Bush.

KING: We have to make that change, though. We've got to make that change. Don't forget that Martin Luther King said both parties use us as a political football. They promise us everything, they give us nothing. At least George Bush is keeping his promise, he means what he says, he says what he means.

It's a major difference. He's decisive, he's bold, he's audacious, he's trustworthy, he's honest and he fights for this country. So, I think there's a lot there that we can get into there, to make a ground swell of support, of just dubiousness and doubt as to why we should just cast our vote one way without knowing whether we're casting for anything or not.

GILLESPIE: I was just going say, look, the fact is I know as chairman of the Republican Party, it is not in my interest for 90 percent of African-American voters to vote for the Democrat every election.

But more important, it's not in the interest of African-Americans 90 percent to vote for the Democrat every election. That's the message that we're carrying, talking about our policies, talking about the president's strong and principled leadership. And I've got to tell you, it's resonating. And Democrats are scared about it. They should be.

COOPER: Final question, does working with Don King, and I hope you don't take offense with this, cut both ways? I mean, does his reputation, controversial, he's been sued by more people than I even know. Does it cut both ways?

GILLESPIE: It doesn't cut both ways at all. Don and I have become friends in this process. I admire him immensely. This is someone who believes deeply in the future of this country. Is out there trying to create jobs.

In this city alone, Don King donated an $800,000 fire engine in the aftermath of September 11 to the firehouse here in Harlem. He is someone who cares deeply about his fellow citizens. I'm proud to stand next to him at these events.

COOPER: We'll leave it there. Ed Gillespie, thanks very much. Don King, always good to talk to you.

KING; Oh, Anderson. Oh, I'm just so happy to hear you say that. But you know what, this is the greatest nation in the world. I'm proud to be with George Walker Bush four more years, for George Walker Bush four more years for George Walker Bush. We're going to plan for a better America black-and-white alike. And there ain't no stopping us now, we're on the move.

COOPER: I can see why you teamed up. Thanks very much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: There you go.

Oversees, a shoot-out in Saudi Arabia may be linked to this weekend's deadly attack on an oil workers compound. Saudi officials say that 2 suspected militants thought to be connected to the ambush have been killed in a gunfight with Saudi forces. Not clear if the 2 men killed are among the 3 who were allowed to flee the scene of the crime over the weekend.

That attack, of course, sent oil prices to record highs before retreating slightly amid concerns the Saudi government cannot protect its oil. Remember, 26 percent of the world's oil reserves are in Saudi Arabia. The fear the terrorists could shut down the kingdom's entire oil production is our mid-week crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): This giant complex called Abqaiq processes two-thirds of the crude oil pumped from Saudi soil. For terrorists who've already killed foreign oil workers, could Abqaiq be the next target? Former CIA officer Bob Baer says the intelligence community and oil industry call this a nightmare scenario, one that would cripple oil production.

BOB BAER, FMR. CIA OFFICER: If someone took an airplane and flew it into Abqaiq, you could take out 7 million barrels in the long term.

NAWAF OBAID, SAUDI NATL. SECURITY CONSULTANT: This would be highly unlikely.

COOPER: Nawaf Obaid is a Saudi national security consultant. He doesn't buy the nightmare scenario.

OBAID: Saudi Arabia has, approximately, at any given time, securing the oil fields, around 30,000 men.

COOPER: And a security budget that's (UNINTELLIGIBLE) $5 billion and growing. Obaid says what you don't see at places like Abqaiq include anti-missile defenses and air patrols. Paul Eedle who shot these pictures in Saudi Arabia just before the recent attack says al Qaeda and its supporters have made it clear they're targeting Saudi Arabia's most lucrative industry and the foreign workers who help run it.

PAUL EEDLE, BRITISH JOURNALIST: What al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia has said it wants to hit, western oil companies which it says are stealing the wealth of Muslims in Iraq. COOPER: Fred is a South African, one of thousands of these expatriates enjoying the comforts of a western lifestyle in Saudi Arabia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You meet so many people, it's fun.

COOPER: That interview was done right before the attacks. Fred made it clear afterwards he and his family weren't pulling out, a sentiment echoed by other expats as they're called.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: 360 next. A reporter out for revenge on his alleged rapist. The bizarre story of a journalist arrested, accused of stalking the man he says sodomized him 25 years ago.

Also tonight, with Howard Stern's chief supporter stepping down at Viacom, will the shock jock himself be signing off for good?

Also a little later tonight, presto, one of Harry Houdini's greatest tricks may soon be revealed. We'll take the magic to the Nth Degree.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Alarming statistics. He had the gun, he had the silencer, it was going to be murder revenge on the man he says raped him when he was a small boy. That was the plan of a man named David Holthouse, a reporter who, two months ago, published his plot on the front page of "The Westword," a weekly Denver newspaper. But Holthouse says he changed his mind, insisting he was no longer out for revenge. Yet police arrested him, charging him with stalking his alleged rapist.

Holthouse will appear in court July 1 as he was arrested merely for thinking about criminal acts. Joining us from Baltimore to talk more about this disturbing case, Dr. Fred Berlin, founder of the Johns Hopkins Sexual Disorder Clinic. Dr. Berlin, thanks for being on the program again.

DR. FRED BERLIN, JOHNS HOPKINS SEXUAL DISORDER CLINIC: Thank you.

COOPER: Statistics show that a child is more likely to be attacked, molested by someone they know. A family member, a neighbor, a friend. In this case, really, it was the case. It was a neighbor of this man, allegedly. Is it harder, in a way, to get over it, if it is someone you know?

BERLIN: I think it is. It's somebody you trust, it's a betrayal of trust. You may be afraid to tell others because others know the person and may not believe what you have to say. I think it is a more difficult circumstance.

COOPER: I want to read you a quote from the article that this reporter wrote. He said, quote, "my plan was to walk up, say you raped me when I was 7 and then pop one slug to the crotch, let him writhe, kick him over, hold him down with my foot, then pop, pop, pop, three to the back of the head, lights out."

Obviously, a desire for revenge, a very extreme desire. How common is that and what are sort of more appropriate ways for people to try to deal with the aftermath of something like this?

BERLIN: Again, apparently, when this fellow was 7 he was raped by this other fellow, who at the time, I think was around 14. It's an understandable human emotion to want revenge when one's been brutalized and one's been mistreated.

On the other hand, we still all have the responsibility to deal with those feelings in a constructive and law abiding fashion. I can empathize with his feelings, I see them as completely understandable. But nonetheless, we can't all go out and take the law into our own hands. If he needs help in terms of his build-up rage that exists within him then he needs to go and get it.

COOPER: He also wrote about a fear of fatherhood, of having his own children, a fear that he couldn't protect them from abuse. I think a lot of people who have been abused have fear that they are going to perpetuate the abuse.

BERLIN: I think they do. We all have fears about our children and nothing hits closer to the heart than when we feel that perhaps we've become damaged in a way we might ourselves be a threat. That's extremely painful. I might point out though that there were two competing emotions in this story. One was this tremendous sense of rage and pent-up anger and hatred, but the other one when he actually met this guy after all these years of such strong feelings was the sense of having some compassion, and a feeling of the humanity of this guy and that seemed to have prevailed. So in a sense, although this is a story about initially wanting vengeance and pent-up hatred, it really does, in a sense, have a happier ending.

COOPER: Do men react differently to sexual abuse than women?

BERLIN: I think they do. Again, in each case it's an awful experience to go through. I don't want to generalize because the victims are a group of people who react in their own ways. There can be tremendous differences. Men often have the sense that they were more supposed to be able to protect themselves. There's this kind of image of I should have been tough enough to deal with it, a sense that they're not so quick to talk because they're worried it may seem like they're complaining. So I don't want to minimize the trauma of the women experience but it's a different kind of reaction in some ways difficult because of that difference for men in a unique fashion.

COOPER: It's a strange case. Dr. Fred Berlin, appreciate you being on the program. Thank you.

It's, of course, not always easy to recognize the signs of child molestation. Here's a quick news note for you on what to watch for. If you notice changes in a child's behavior, fearfulness, withdrawal, bedwetting, nightmares, other sleeping disturbances, if they act -- inappropriate sexual behavior, act out, or are suddenly aggressive, rebellious or if you notice any changes in toilet training habits or if they're suddenly afraid of certain people, places, activities, these behaviors, of course, could have other explanations. As always, it's important to talk to your kids.

Moving on, Howard Stern and Don Imus, host different radio shows, no doubt about that, but they wholeheartedly agree about one thing, their former boss. Now that he is out of Viacom, are they going with him? Try to take a look at that, coming up.

Also tonight. A magician never reveals his tricks and dead men tell no tales so how is one of Houdini's secrets getting out? We'll take that to the Nth Degree.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Instead of his usual shock jock fare, Howard Sterns started off yesterday's morning show with some other shocking news about the industry in which he works, news his boss has resigned. A development that could have implications for Stern and fellow Don Imus.

CNN's, Adaora Udoji, picks up the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fiery radio host Howard Stern and Don Imus don't agree on much, but both have strong affection for their newly departed Viacom boss, Mel Karmazin.

HOWARD STERN, TALK SHOW HOST: I would have to think my days are number here. I can't imagine the company will be as loyal to me as they where when Mel was here.

UDOJI: Several major papers are asking do they love him enough to leave with him.

DON IMUS, TALK SHOW HOST: I said, you know, I love Mel. There's no way to describe my loyalty to him. But Mel would be the first to remind me Viacom is sending me a check.

UDOJI: It's warm and kind of fuzzy for the prickly stars but do consider the money. Twenty-years-ago Karmazin picked up Stern's show. Today, it rakes in 10s of millions, probably hundreds of millions of dollars annually say analysts. Imus brings in 10s of millions. But both stars fierce loyalty comes from more, Karmazin, fought off their critics tooth and nail, especially for controversy magnet Stern. It meant the shock jock was not alone from taking on repeated federal indecency fines. This year the FCC slapped a half million fine against a station carrying the show. That station dropped him, Karmazin filed to fight the fines.

MICHAEL HARRISON, TALKERS MAGAZINE: I don't think there's any sentimentality or personal feelings being bruised or nostalgia going on in terms of their relationship, and it's all business. And if in fact Stern remains viable for Viacom, he'll stay. (END VIDEOTAPE)

UDOJI: Andy says this talk about jumping ship is simply attention getting rhetoric. Practically speaking both radio hosts are still under contract, Anderson. Everyone wants a paycheck.

COOPER: That's certainly true. All right, Adaora, thanks very much.

Time to check on some pop news in tonight's "Current."

Lets take a look at what's going on in the world of celebrities.

Motley Crew's Vince Neil will undergo a radical makeover for an MTV reality show. He'll have plastic surgery to give himself a new look. We hear it's going to be extreme. Neil's going in as a heavy metal rocker, of course we hope he will comes out as Celine Dion.

A-Rod is going to be dad. Alex Rodriguez and his wife are expecting their first child. The Yankee celebrity is beaming with the news, so is George Steinbrenner who's no doubtingly already signed the baby to a three year multimillion dollar contract.

And Australia's Jennifer Hawkins was chosen Miss Universe last night. I don't need tell Adaora that, she was watching. The world is rejoicing, of course, in the news, but not everyone in the galaxy is happy. Judy Jetson, says she wasn't considered for the Miss Universe Pageant.

Magic, of course, never revealed. But abracadabra, one of Houdini's tricks -- well, it's not such a secret anymore. We're going to take that to "the Nth Degree" ahead.

And tomorrow look inside the world of psychics and how even the CIA has at one point turned to them for help. Part of a week long series,"Paranormal Mysteries," do you believe?

And today's "Buzz," you still have a few moments to weigh in on it, do you believe extraterrestrial life exists?

Log into cnn.com/360. Cast your vote, results when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Time now for "The Buzz."

Earlier, we asked you do you believe extraterrestrial life exists?

The e-mails are pouring in on this one.

Seventy seven percent of you said, yes, 23 percent of you said, no. No scientific poll, but it is your "Buzz," and we appreciate you voting.

Tonight, taking magic to "The Nth Degree." In Appleton, Wisconsin, today, the biggest controversy in magic since David Blaine, hovered over the Thames for 44 days. Appleton is the birth place of Harry Houdini and home of the Houdini Historical Center. Folks at the center, as part of a new exhibit, decided that they would reveal the secret behind one of Houdini's most famous tricks, metamorphosis it's called. The trick itself, basicly involves having one person put in a bag and then locked in the trunk. A second person, usually the attractive assistant, stands atop the trunk and raises a curtain. Abracadabra, the curtain drops and the two switch places, just like magic. The Houdini Historical Center, say they are revealing the trick because it's already pretty well-known how it's done. And the exhibit is more about Houdini himself rather than magic.

For our part, we prefer to keep the mystery, after all, we are not tell you all our secrets. That's 360 for tonight. I'm Anderson Cooper, thanks for watching.

Coming up next, "PAULA ZAHN NOW."

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