Return to Transcripts main page
Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Iran Harboring al Qaeda? Missing Marine speaks out, How presidential candidates are targeting TV viewers, Kobe Bryant accuser considering dropping case?
Aired July 19, 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, HOST: Good evening, I'm Anderson Cooper.
Questions about terror connections in the Mideast, not in Iraq, but Iran.
360 starts now.
The president says Iran has been harboring al Qaeda. Is there a Tehran-9/11 connection?
A Marine breaks his silence. Corporal Wassef Hassoun insists he was kidnapped, but the Pentagon's not so sure. We'll have the latest.
The raw politics of TV. Are you a "Judge Judy" or "Law and Order" voter? An inside look at how the candidates are targeting TV viewers for votes.
Will the woman accusing Kobe Bryant of rape drop her case? Her attorney tells the court she is considering it.
A Texas town on edge after a polygamous sect secretly purchases land. What's really happening deep in the heart of Texas.
And our special series, Star Treatment. See what A-list celebrities are doing to stay fit.
ANNOUNCER: Live from New York, this is ANDERSON COOPER 360.
COOPER: Well, the last time the president of the United States accused another country of having been involved in the events of 9/11, there were very serious consequences, consequences that dominate the headlines to this day.
So when the president talks, as he did today, about the possibility that Iran may have been involved in 9/11, that itself is a big and perhaps a very consequential headline.
From the White House, here's CNN's Suzanne Malveaux.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eight of the 19 hijackers who attacked the U.S. on September 11 safely passed through Iran. The details of how that unfolded will be released by the 9/11 commission in its final report on Thursday.
Emerging from an Oval Office meeting, President Bush was asked whether there was a link between Iran and the 9/11 attacks.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As to direct connections with September the 11th, you know, we, we're digging into the facts to determine if there was one.
MALVEAUX: Mr. Bush's comment follows statements made over the weekend by the CIA's acting director that while Iran was used as a frequent route for traveling al Qaeda, it did not support the terrorist attacks.
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: There's no evidence that there was any official involvement between Iran and the September 11 attacks.
MALVEAUX: In fact, privately, administration officials say there is no new information that has emerged from the 9/11 commission's investigation that would suggest otherwise.
BUSH: I have long expressed my concerns about Iran...
MALVEAUX: From his 2000 State of the Union address, Mr. Bush declared Iran, along with Iraq and North Korea.
BUSH: ... an axis of evil arming to threaten the peace of the world.
MALVEAUX: The Bush administration has designated Iran a state sponsor of terror, accused of pursuing nuclear weapons, supporting Hezbollah, and harboring al Qaeda.
On Thursday, the 9/11 commission is expected to release a critical report of the administration's handling of the terrorist attacks. And it will address any aid offered to the 9/11 hijackers by Iran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Now, some Democrats and Bush critics argue that this information about Iran simply supports their case that President Bush's policy to go into Iraq was not the right one, Anderson.
COOPER: All right, Suzanne Malveaux at the White House, thanks very much, Suzanne.
Today's buzz question is this. What do you think? Do you think Iran was involved in the 9/11 attacks? Log onto CNN.com/360, cast your vote. We'll have results at the end of the program.
We mentioned the long-lasting consequences of 9/11. In Iraq, the day's news was full of them. A suicide bomber set off a truck full of explosives near a police station in the southern district of Baghdad, leaving a 10-foot deep crater. Eight Iraqis dead, perhaps 60 more wounded. Meantime, the Philippines completed the pullout of its small peacekeeping force as demanded by militants who had taken a Filipino man hostage. No word at this hour, though, on the status of this man, who was supposed to be freed when his country's soldiers left Iraq.
Another hostage, an Egyptian, was freed today after the Saudi company for which he worked acceded to the demands of his captors that the company pull all its employees out of Iraq. Muhammed al-Garabawi (ph) said he was beaten and threatened during the first few days, but thereafter not mistreated during his two-week captivity.
If the strange story of Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun was one of those black-and-white mysteries from the 1940s, we'd be in the last reel by now, where all the loose ends are tied up and everything finally makes sense.
Well, Corporal Hassoun did make a statement for the first time today. The question is, does everything finally make sense?
CNN's senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Marines say that Corporal Wassef Hassoun is upset that some official statements and some unofficial leaks portrayed him as a suspected deserter who may have staged his own kidnapping. So Hassoun asked to make a public statement to put what he has told the Marines privately on the record.
CORPORAL WASSEF HASSOUN, U.S. MARINE CORPS: I did not desert my post. I was captured and held against my will by anticoalition forces for 19 days. This was a very difficult and challenging time for me.
MCINTYRE: The Marines say Hassoun has been joined by his brother Mohammed (ph) at the Quantico Marine base and will soon be returned to his home base of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
While the investigation into his claimed abduction has begun, criminal investigators have yet to question Hassoun directly, nor has he been charged with any wrongdoing, or told he needs an attorney, something legal experts say could make his statements inadmissible in court if he should be charged in the future.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If he hasn't been afforded his right to counsel, he would have a right at that point to have those statements and any evidence attributable to those statements suppressed as evidence.
MCINTYRE: Sources say investigators want an explanation for why it appears Hassoun left his base in Fallujah, Iraq, voluntarily, and Pentagon officials say they also are concerned about what information Hassoun may have shared with his alleged captors, because, as an Arabic speaker, he helped interpret as the U.S. gathered intelligence from helpful Iraqis who could now be in danger. LT. COL. DAVID LAPAN, U.S. MARINE CORPS SPOKESMAN: We're not in the position at this point to make a judgment either way. We are still gathering facts and information.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE: Hassoun also appeared to indirectly deny the claim made on an Islamic Web site that he agreed to leave the Marines as a condition of his release. He said, quote, "Once a Marine, always a Marine," and then said, "Semper fi," the Marine Corps motto for "always faithful," Anderson.
COOPER: So Jamie, any sense of a timeline of when these questions might get answered?
MCINTYRE: Well, it looks like they're wrapping up this repatriation phase, and we're told that within probably days, he'll begin to face some of those tough questions from criminal investigators.
COOPER: OK, Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon. Thanks, Jamie.
A raging wildfire with a bizarre beginning tops off our look at what's happening right now cross-country. Santa Clarita, California, firefighters are trying to contain this wildfire. But you're not going to believe how it started. According to a state forestry official, a hawk flew into a power line, was electrocuted, and its flaming feathers fell onto dry brush. How they know this for sure, I have no idea. But this is what they say.
The fire has spread to over 5,700 acres and is one of several burning across the state right now.
Sacramento, California, apologies wanted after Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger calls some state lawmakers "girlie men" for not approving his overdue state budget. Yes, Schwarzenegger used the lingo from that "Saturday Night Live" skit about him. Life imitating art, or at least sketch comedy. Democratic lawmakers are not laughing, however. A spokesman says the governor has nothing to apologize for.
Washington, lobbying the Supreme Court, former president Jimmy Carter, former president -- Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, and the American Medical Association and 48 nations are asking the justices to end the death penalty for juvenile killers. They say it is unhumane. This fall, the Supreme Court will consider if such executions are constitutional.
And Sonoma, California, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., out of the hospital. That's him there in the flames. One day after this unbelievably fiery crash, a friend of his tells CNN that Earnhardt will be back in his number 8 car for a race in New Hampshire on Sunday, despite the second-degree burns to his leg and his face.
And in Las Vegas, Nevada, singer Linda Ronstadt booed and given the boot over the weekend. She apparently outraged some people during a performance at the Aladdin Hotel when she praised filmmaker Michael Moore and his movie "Fahrenheit 9/11." Afterward, the casino didn't allow Ronstadt back into her suite and escorted her off the property.
That's a quick look at stories cross-country right now.
360 next, Kobe Bryant's accuser says she fears for her life. Find out why her lawyer says she almost dropped the case twice.
Plus, genocide in slow motion. Rape as a weapon of war. A stunning picture of the unraveling crisis in Sudan.
Also tonight, the star treatment. Find out the skinny on celebrity diets from the trendy to the downright bizarre. Why are some celebrities swearing off cooked food? Is this actually a diet plan that might work for you? We'll take a closer look, part of our special series, Star Treatment.
Plus, all that ahead, plus your picks. Right now, the most popular stories on CNN.com right now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: The attorney for the woman accusing Kobe Bryant of rape said today that her client has received death threats, and that, quote, "She and her family are under the impression the court won't protect her." That very court decided today how much we'll get to know about the accuser and how much we won't.
Gary Tuchman has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): By all accounts, the woman who has accused Kobe Bryant of sexual assault is actively involved in pursuing the case.
But shortly after arriving in court on Monday with the accuser's mother and father, her attorney, John Cloon (ph), said the (UNINTELLIGIBLE)-year-old had, quote, "considered removing herself from this case" when her name was accidentally put on a court Web site last September, and last month, when a court employee inadvertently sent reporters confidential transcripts about her sexual past.
CRAIG SILVERMAN COLORADO ATTORNEY: It was a remarkable accusation by John Cloon, saying it's not those people who have threatened her life, it's not the legal analysts, it's not the media that have caused this woman problems. It's you, your honor, and your court. Your mistakes are the things that have led her to almost drop this case.
TUCHMAN: But the case continues, with the woman receiving welcome legal news regarding those secret transcripts, the Colorado Supreme Court ruling that despite news media charges that it's a prior restraint, the information from the transcripts cannot be reported for now. Sexual assault advocates were heartened by the four-to-three decision. CYNTHIA STONE, COLORADO COALITION AGAINST SEXUAL ASSAULT: We need to protect victims of sexual assault from undue embarrassing, humiliating, irrelevant fishing expeditions into their prior sexual history.
TUCHMAN: Judge Terry Rockregal (ph) still has to decide how much, if any, of the woman's sexual past will be allowed to be discussed at trial. He also has to decide if it will be televised. One of Kobe Bryant's attorneys argued against cameras in court, saying it would be a, quote, "titillating, salacious televised experience."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN: But news media attorneys say it will be responsibly done with a one-hour time delay to edit out any offensive words, and/or the alleged victim's name. It's not clear when the judge will make his decision about the cameras. What we do know from the court is that the judge is preparing his decision about the relevancy of the woman's sexual past, and that decision could come sometime this week, Anderson.
COOPER: All right. Gary Tuchman live in Eagle, Eagle, thanks, Gary.
Kobe Bryant spent five hours in court today, that is 300 minutes. Want to put that time, that court time, in perspective. Last week, he signed a seven-year contract with the L.A Lakers, reportedly worth $136 million. Works out to about $230,000 per game, which breaks down to nearly $7,000 per minute on the basketball court. We don't know what his lawyer makes per minute.
A war of words escalates between Israel's prime minister and the president of France. That story tops our look at global stories in the uplink. Israel's prime minister, Ariel Sharon, is not welcome in France until he explains his appeal to French Jews to leave that country. Says who? Says French President Jacques Chirac today, that's who. Over the weekend, Sharon said French Jews should consider emigrating to Israel because of a rise in anti-Semitic incidents in France.
In Japan now, alleged U.S. Army deserter Charles Jenkins looked weak when he got off a plane on Sunday. He apparently needs urgent care following abdominal surgery in North Korea. The U.S. says it will let doctors treat Jenkins before seeking custody of him. Jenkins could face a military court-martial for allegedly deserting the U.S. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Army nearly 40 years ago to defect to North Korea.
In India, the supreme court orders millions of dollars to go to the victims of the Bhopal gas leak, which killed nearly 4,000 people back in 1984. Union Carbide, which owned the Bhopal plant, said paid out nearly half a billion dollars, but one-third of that has actually gotten to the victims, only one-third, because of disagreements over the categorization of victims.
Geneva, Switzerland, now, a friendly soccer match between a Portuguese and Swiss team turns violent. Security officers beat up a fan who interrupted the game by waving a protest banner, and then spectators beat up security officers. Believe it or not, after all this, no one was seriously hurt.
And that's a quick look at stories in the uplink.
Yad Vashem is the Israeli memorial to the Holocaust. The people who run it are warning of a new holocaust in the making in the Darfur region of Sudan and asking the world to step in before it's too late.
Nearly 30,000 people are believed dead in attacks by Arab militants on black villagers, and that may just be the least of it.
CNN's Zain Verjee reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are as young as 8 and as old as 80, and according to Amnesty International, targets of mass rape by ruthless Arab militias known as the Janjaweed.
POLLYANNA TRUSCOTT, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: Women and girls are being killed, raped, gang raped, raped in public, abducted, tortured, and forced into sexual slavery.
VERJEE: A report by the rights group says systematic rape is used as a weapon of war against black woman in Sudan's Darfur region. The group responsible is backed by the Sudanese government. Women are at great risk of HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases, and rape is meant to shatter the social fabric of communities.
The war in Darfur pits Arabs against blacks. Black Darfurians say they want more political rights. In more than a year of war, hundreds of villages have been burned down by Arab militias, and up to 30,000 people are believed to have been slaughtered.
Some of the testimony in the report, "Five to six men would rape us in rounds, one after the other, during six days, every night. My husband could not forgive me after this." "The Janjaweed broke the limbs of women and girls to prevent them from escaping."
ELIZABETH HODGKINS, RESEARCHER: We have no doubt that what has happened is a war crime, and because it happened systematically to a lot -- hundreds of people, it's a crime against humanity.
VERJEE: The Sudanese government says these conclusions are premature, and such a serious judgment cannot be made without gathering the facts first. It says it has cracked down, as promised, on the Janjaweed militia, and has convicted 10 Janjaweed fighters of killing and looting.
(on camera): Amnesty International is calling for an international commission of inquiry into the mass rape to bring to justice those responsible for sexual violence against women in Darfur. It also wants rights groups to have more access in Darfur and put human rights monitors on the ground. Zain Verjee, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: It is hard to believe.
360 next, raw politics. Why the TV show you're watching determines which candidates' ads you'll see. Are you a "Judge Judy" voter, or an "NYPD Blue" voter? Find out ahead.
Also tonight, a polygamous sect moves into a small town in Texas. Find out what goes on inside their compound from one woman who got away.
And a much lighter note, star treatment. Get the skinny on how some celebrities lose weight. We're talking about the ones who don't have personal chefs and personal trainers. Some tricks of the trade that may help you shed some pounds. Part of our special week-long series, the Star Treatment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Well, when the Mormon religion began to expand in the 1840s, perhaps the most controversial belief taught by founder Joseph Smith was that God told him directly that men should have more than one wife. But polygamy was officially renounced by the church in 1890, but some splitter groups who are disavowed by the official Mormon church still practice it.
Florida, Flora Jessop was a member of the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints, a group that is now building a big compound in a small Texas town. Residents are said to be frident (ph).
Flora, Flora escaped when she was 16. She joins us now to talk about this group.
Flora, thanks very much for being with us.
The FLDS...
FLORA JESSOP, FORMER SECT MEMBER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
COOPER: ... I don't think a lot of people ever heard of this group. What is life like for someone inside it?
JESSOP: It is -- it's slavery, slavery of women and children.
COOPER: You were 16 years old when you left. You had two mothers, if I'm right, 27 brothers and sisters. Why did you decide to leave, and how did you get out?
JESSOP: Usually when you decide to leave these groups, it is, you are willing to trade heaven for hell, because the abuse has gotten to a point where it's unbearable. And when I got out, I ran as hard as I could. COOPER: Describe a little bit what it's like growing up with two mothers, with that many brothers and sisters, I mean, in this polygamous atmosphere.
JESSOP: Chaos. You actually don't have a lot of time for family bonding, because there's no time for the mothers to take with their children. There's -- she's either pregnant all the time, or so tired from being pregnant and taking care of all of her children, she doesn't have a chance to bond. There -- it's constantly work, work- work-work, taking care of that many kids.
COOPER: This group, FLDS, has moved into a small town in Texas called El Dorado. And we understand (UNINTELLIGIBLE) some of the local people there are a little bit concerned about what may be going on. Do they have reason to be concerned?
JESSOP: They have very good reason to be concerned, yes.
COOPER: How so?
JESSOP: There's this -- this group is the largest polygamist group in the United States. They have about 12,000 members. They live above God's law, or man's law. They do not abide by the laws of the United States. The stuff that they are teaching their children is absolutely frightening...
COOPER: And, and you say, you...
JESSOP: ... the racism, the hate.
COOPER: ... you say you were sexually abused by your father in this sect.
JESSOP: Yes.
COOPER: And what happened when you...
JESSOP: Yes, I was.
COOPER: Did you tell anyone about it? What happened?
JESSOP: Yes, I did try to get help, and as a result of my speaking out and asking the authorities to protect me, I spent three years in my uncle's home in solitary confinement with him trying to beat Satan out of me.
COOPER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
JESSOP: The victim is always blamed for reporting the abuse.
COOPER: We should say we tried to contact FLDS and invited them to appear on the program, a spokesman. They refused. The attorney for the group, Rod Parker, did give us this statement. I want to read it to you and have you respond. He said, quote, "With regards to Flora Jessop, she's not an appropriate representative for the opponents of polygamy. She is a vigilante, who exploits young girls for publicity. She's insensitive to the needs and wants of young girls and their families." How do you respond?
JESSOP: I respond to that, that the only reason they feel like I exploit the young girls is because we're taking the only steps that we have been able to -- that have been successful in protecting these children.
COOPER: Now, they say...
JESSOP: And that...
COOPER: ... no one, no one's forced to stay there.
JESSOP: I have their actual doctrine that says different.
COOPER: What do you want to see happen to this group?
JESSOP: I want to see the authorities do their job. President Bush guarantees the freedom of women and children in Afghanistan, and yet fails the women and children that are trapped inside of these polygamous cults.
COOPER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
JESSOP: And we need to step in and just uphold the laws.
COOPER: We're going to leave it there. Flora Jessop, thanks for being with us tonight.
JESSOP: Thank you.
COOPER: The raw politics of TV. Are you a "Judge Judy" or "Law and Order" voter? An inside look how the candidates are targeting TV viewers for votes.
Will the woman accusing Kobe Bryant of rape drop her case? Her attorney tells the court she is considering it.
360 continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: 360 next, Kerry and Bush in a dead heat with the conventions looming. Who'll pull ahead? Tucker Carlson and Paul Begala step into the "CROSSFIRE."
First, let's check our top stories in the reset.
In Washington, President Bush says the U.S. is trying to figure out just what Iran knew about the 9/11 plot, and whether it is now harboring al Qaeda fugitives. There are reports that at least eight of the 9/11 hijackers traveled through Iran before attacking the United States.
In New York, the Halliburton Corporation said it has received a subpoena from a federal grand jury. The grand jury wants documents from the company's Cayman Islands subsidiary, which has operations in Iran. There are specific legal restrictions on American companies operating in Iran.
In Norfolk, Virginia, relatives of the sailors who were killed in the terror attack on the USS Cole four years ago have filed suit in federal court against the government of Sudan. They're accusing the African nation of harboring al Qaeda operatives.
In Los Alamos, New Mexico, the news just gets worse. Already at a standstill while security investigators look for misclassified computer disks. The lab has now suspended virtually all of its operations after a serious accident with a laser harmed the sight of an intern at the lab.
In Philadelphia, a year-long study into the Gulf War Syndrome has concluded that antibiotics do nothing to help those afflicted with the debilitating illness. Researchers had hoped they could identify the cause of the sickness. It often leaves people with debilitating fatigue, memory problems, muscle spasms and depression.
That's a quick look at top stories in the "Reset."
Depending where you live, there is either a presidential race that you can't escape or one you can't find. If you live in a so- called battleground state, you probably can't go anywhere without stumbling over a candidate. so why can't anyone gain an advantage? Earlier I spoke to "CROSSFIRE" hosts Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Tucker, the race overall seems to be pretty close if you believe the polls but in a number of the battleground states where Bush won, Kerry seems to be doing pretty well or the race is close. In particular, Florida, West Virginia, Ohio and New Hampshire. What does it look like in those states?
TUCKER CARLSON, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": He's doing pretty well. I'm surprised he's not doing better. If you think as I do that this election is about Iraq and you look just at the polling on Iraq it looks bad for the president. People are less supportive of the effort there than they've ever been. The news out of there, as you know, isn't great. Whether or not that reflects reality is another question. Given that, I would think Bush would be getting pounded particularly since Kerry just picked a pretty popular running mate, you'd think he would have gotten a bigger bounce out of it. Bush is doing slightly better than I thought he was going to be doing.
PAUL BEGALA, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": This week is so important for Kerry. He's going to campaign around the country starting in Colorado where he was born, going through a series of swing states just coincidentally and then winding up up here in the northeast down in Boston. That's going to be really important because when he makes that first impression which for about 30 million Americans it will be the first time they've seen John Kerry, that's going to decide this race. He has a chance actually next week to break this thing open and win by more than 5 percent. I think he can take that chance and I think he's going to do well. COOPER: Paul, Tucker says the race is about Iraq. Do you agree?
BEGALA: It's also about the economy. A whole lot of it is about the president, in other words. The war in Iraq is very much George Bush's war. It was a war of choice. The president was asked about that. He didn't seem to understand the question. But it was. He chose to go to war there, I think in good faith but I think he was wrong and I do think he misled us and tried to hype the intelligence and arguments going into it. It's all about George Bush. And a surprising number of people, given that we're at war believe that we need a change. That's the problem he has. He's settled in on a strategy of trashing John Kerry which is a very risky strategy. That's what Jimmy Carter did when he was an embattled incumbent against Ronald Reagan. He just trashed Reagan and we see how that worked for Carter who lost in a landslide.
CARLSON: I don't know, though. I mean, John Kerry's counterstrategy or at least the tactics that he's displayed so far strike me as less strong than I imagined they would be. Rather than attacking Bush directly on Iraq and saying where we are right now is not where we need to be and here's where we need to be and here's how I'll take us there which is the classic way a challenger would approach the question, he instead beats up on Bush personally and then talks about himself, his biography, his admittedly honorable service in Vietnam. I think that's what this convention is going to be very much about. John Kerry, the man. His biography, things you didn't know about him. Is that enough, though? Those aren't ideas really. It's more just like a biographical definition spot. It doesn't seem like a strong way to go about it. I'll be surprised if it works.
BEGALA: I think Tucker's right. Those are two words I don't think I want to say very often, Tucker's right. It can't just be about Kerry's bio. I think Vice President Gore, I think former President Clinton, former President Carter, there are some big guns in my party, Senator Clinton from New York, they're going to help Kerry carry that lift of both the biography but also the issues. If they can get up there and tell America that if you get John Kerry you'll have an economy, economy policy based on better paying jobs, a healthcare policy based on controlling costs, and an energy policy based on energy independence from the Middle East, then you've got something, some issues and ideas to wed to that persona of the Vietnam hero. He's got to do both this coming week.
COOPER: And Tucker, how big a bounce do you think we should look for out of this convention?
CARLSON: I don't know. I mean, now that they're not letting Hillary do more than an intro for her husband, I wouldn't be too optimistic. If the networks are only taking three hours of it, people always talk about this a fabled bounce out of the convention. Maybe we'll see a huge bounce. It's very hard to believe. I think this election is going to be determined by facts, by things that actually happen between now and November 2. Good things and unfortunately perhaps some bad things. That's what I think you're going to determine it eventually.
COOPER: Tucker, you should know by now. The networks are dinosaurs. Cable's where it's at.
CARLSON: I totally agree with that. Amen.
BEGALA: Amen.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: No disrespect intended but the truth is that selling a candidate through television advertising is a lot like selling soap or any other product for that matter. Just ask the ad guys. You figure out your target demographic and then find out what programs they watch and with $200 million already spent on this year's presidential race it's not too hard to figure out who each candidate really wants to reach. That is the stuff of raw politics.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): If you live in or around Cleveland, Ohio from March 4 to June 20, you're likely to have seen ads for President Bush 97 times. Ads for John Kerry 83 times. And ads from Democratic independent organizations 101 times. All during your favorite programs. This election year so far Democrats and Republicans together have spent an estimated $200 million in ads. But not everybody gets to see them equally reveals a study from the University of Wisconsin.
KEN GOLDSTEIN, DIR., UNIV. OF WISCONSIN AD PROJECT: 40 percent of the nation, 19, 20 battleground states are seeing all the presidential advertising this time around. Fully 60 percent of the country isn't seeing any political advertising spots.
COOPER: During what programs do the Bush and Kerry programs advertise?
First and foremost during local news.
Also morning shows like NBC's "The Today Show" and "Good Morning America." They also like syndicated heads like Oprah and Dr. Phil.
Television advertising can be a window into the planning of the two campaigns. And although both are sharing a brain as one could say, when it comes to which states to target, when it comes to the markets within the states, there are some interesting differences.
COOPER: It turns out the Bush campaign is advertising more in rural markets. The Kerry campaign is choosing larger urban centers. The Bush campaign is going after male and more conservative audience by heavily advertising on shows like "Law and Order" and "NYPD Blue." The Kerry campaign has chosen to target older and single women by advertising on "The Ellen Degeneres Show" and "Judge Judy." And if late at night you're watching him...
JAY LENO, "THE TONIGHT SHOW": Be right back, folks.
COOPER: You're more likely to see this ad.
AD ANNOUNCER: Mr. Kerry. No.
COOPER: But if you're watching the other guy.
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "DAVID LETTERMAN SHOW": We'll be right back, folks.
COOPER: You'll likely see the other guy.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I love this country and I think it's going in the wrong direction.
COOPER: In the world of raw politics, they're watching what you're watching.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Coming up next on 360, the Kobe Bryant case. Why the alleged victim says she fears for her life in "Justice Served" ahead.
Also tonight, the strange tale of Bobo the tiger shot last week. This week, the tale gets stranger.
Plus, the star treatment. Celebrity diets from the trendy to the bizarre. Do they work? Part of our special series. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Tonight in "Justice Served," Kobe Bryant's accuser says she fears for her life. At today's pretrial hearing, the lawyer for Bryant's alleged victim revealed that his client nearly dropped her case after the basketball star after her name appeared on a court Web site last fall.
Covering the case for us today, 360 legal analyst Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom. Good to see you, Kimberly.
KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE NEWSOM, 360 LEGAL ANALYST: Good to be here, Anderson.
COOPER: Is this for real, or is this just sort of a lawyer trying to make a point?
NEWSOM: Look, I'll tell you, there's 136 million reasons why Kobe Bryant wishes it was true. But we've reached the point of no return. She's not going to back out at this point of this case. But you can imagine the frustration, the humiliation, where she feels that she's turned to the system for protection. Her name has been posted on the Internet.
COOPER: How did that happen? That was a mistake by the judge.
NEWSOM: It was a mistake. One mistake after the next. It also makes you start to wonder, this is a system that's supposed to be protecting, you know, accusers, people who have alleged this kind of sexual assault against them, and also transcripts of her sexual past and history were also released to seven media organizations. That really has got to undermine your belief in your -- in the system.
COOPER: So the message that the lawyer is trying to send is, shape up, court, I mean?
NEWSOM: Shape up. And he's asked the judge to stop posting things on the Internet of hearings and proceedings of the court. And you can't blame him. I've met John Clune before, and he's very concerned for his client. I'm sure there was emotional moments where she thought, is this all worth it? I'm being humiliated and victimized over and over again in this case. But she really doesn't have the power to drop the case. That's up to the prosecution. But of course, it would make their case next to impossible to proceed, because they don't have her testimony from the preliminary hearing.
COOPER: You talk about 136 million reasons why Kobe Bryant would like this case dropped. There has been some talk about a possible plea deal. I mean, tomorrow is I guess the deadline for some sort of plea agreement. That seems highly unlikely.
NEWSOM: Again, we haven't seen it happen up to this point. I think the judge, they're always trying to move toward some kind of reconciliation of the issues and of the case. But given what he's charged with, anything that would even suggest some kind of factual basis of a sexual assault occurring would require him to register, lifetime, as a sex offender.
In order for it to work, they would have to circumvent the law, go around it and say, OK, plead to a misdemeanor that's something else entirely, some kind of simple battery, and kind of do a legal fiction to get around the law, because you're not allowed to plead down a sexual assault case like that. And I don't think that's going to happen, because, you know, Kobe Bryant is not going to allow -- he has too much riding on this besides that seven-year contract, his reputation, his endorsement deals, and he believes he's been wrongly accused. And Pamela Mackey and Hal Haddon aren't going to stand by and let his reputation continue to be besmirched.
COOPER: What kind of a message do you think this new contract sends to a potential jury?
NEWSOM: Wow, isn't it unbelievable. A smart move by Kobe Bryant to get this nailed down before the court, before anything comes out else in this case that could make him, quote/unquote, look bad. But I think it sends the message that they are 100 percent confident in the outcome of this case and in their client's innocence.
COOPER: Interesting. All right, Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom, thanks very much.
NEWSOM: Thank you.
COOPER: Well, a bizarre postscript tonight to the tragic tale of Bobo the tiger. In case you missed it, last week, Bobo, seen here in happier times with his owner Steve Sipek, was killed by wildlife officers in a shooting Sipek called a murder. Wildlife officers said it was self-defense. A memorial was held for the 600-pound tiger, who spent 24 hours as a fugitive after escaping from Sipek's home 50 miles north of Miami.
Here's where the story gets really weird. Turns out this woman, Linda Meredith, offered her big as bait to entice Bobo back home. Apparently she hoped a pig's squeal might have lured Bobo out of hiding. You can't make this stuff up. But a local newspaper says that Meredith is now facing charges of animal cruelty for putting the pig in the trunk of her car. Meredith says the car's trunk was air- conditioned, and she was just trying to help.
Well, we'll keep you updated on that one.
"360" next. Celebrity diets in the battle to get fit. Are you tempted to maybe follow the lead of some Hollywood stars? Would you give up your cooking, maybe cooking your food for some raw food? Mmm, raw food. Is that the way to go? Find out in our special series, "Star Treatment," ahead.
Also tonight, Arnold Schwarzenegger talking tough with two words, "girlie men." We'll take that to "The Nth Degree."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SELMA HAYEK, ACTRESS: Thank you, (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Oh, no, thanks, I'm watching my figure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: That was actress Selma Hayek with some little diet humor in a TV ad.
For celebrities, looking good it part of their job description, along with complaining about paparazzi and getting married multiple times. Hollywood, of course, is a town obsessed with appearances, filled with personal chefs and personal trainers. But if you don't have wads of cash to spend on such luxuries, you might be tempted to try a celebrity diet. As part of our week-long series, "The Star Treatment," CNN's senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, takes a look at some celebrity diets that may actually work for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): So who cares how Hollywood keeps in shape? A lot of us, apparently.
BONNIE TAUB-DIX, NUTRITIONIST: If someone says, oh, I drink milk every day, then all of a sudden it could become the milk diet. If it's someone who is really, you know, hot in the media.
GUPTA: A milk diet may be a stretch, but celebrities are usually the first to jump on the hottest weight loss craze. The latest on the bandwagon, colonics, which flush several liters of water into the intestines, then draw it out, along with waste. The We Care spa in California says it treats droves of celebrity clients who indulge in detoxification regimen, including daily colonics.
Colonic critics say you may lose too much water in the process and set your body chemistry off balance.
How about a quick fix for fat, called mesotherapy? Dr. Marion Shapiro says mesotherapy can melt away fat cells, and that her practice sees its own fair share of celebrities. A cocktail of herbs, vitamins and medications is injected into the middle layer of the skin, where fat resides.
DR. MARION SHAPIRO, MESOTHERAPIST: It's a noninvasive way of reducing their bodies, without any obvious tell-tale signs.
GUPTA: But many doctors are skeptical. There are no long-term studies suggesting mesotherapy is safe or effective.
Another hot trend, according to chef Sarmamelan Gallas (ph), raw food, with no meat, no dairy, no cooking.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's something very sexy about it. So I think that that's part of the appeal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a very fashionable crowd and a very fashionable movement.
GUPTA: Model Carol Alt is writing a book advocating the raw food diet. Raw food has proclaimed benefits, such as reducing allergies and extending life. They say cooking leaches vital nutrients. But...
TAUB-DIX: There could be a lack of vitamin B-12, vitamin D, because they don't encourage dairy products.
GUPTA: But with so little research to support them, why do these weight loss plans have such celebrity appeal?
TAUB-DIX: Celebrities are no different than the rest of us, and everybody basically wants a quick fix.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Celebrities are different, I'm sorry.
So the question is, could celebrities really be on to something here? David Wolfe is considered a leading authority on this raw food nutrition. He wrote the book, "Eating for Beauty." We spoke earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: So, David, what's the premise behind the raw food diet? I guess it's more of a lifestyle for you. DAVID WOLFE, AUTHOR: Yeah, the basic idea is that when we showed up on the planet, we didn't have fire, we didn't have shoes, how did we live? Well, it's easier to sneak up on lettuce than it is a rabbit. So we probably ate mostly raw plants. And that's the basic idea or premise behind the raw food approach.
COOPER: But fire and shoes are largely considered as progress. Isn't sort of cooking, being able to cook things sort of progress?
WOLFE: Well, that's an assumption, and I've been on a raw food diet now 10 years, and I thought, well, this makes sense. Every creature in nature eats raw food, and so let me try this.
Well, I've been amazed. I've been amazed. And actually the assumption that cooking makes food better or improves things is just that. It's an assumption, and actually the scientific research in the area is actually proving otherwise. And...
COOPER: What's bad about cooking food in your opinion?
WOLFE: Well, the major thing it's lost its water. And this is why we have this eight to 10 glasses of water idea out there in the health world, because most people are dehydrated. And that's because we're eating food that has no water in it.
Other things that are involved are the loss of enzymes. And enzymes are catalytic factors that allow food to be digested easier, and other things like fiber. Fiber is much easier to accommodate in its raw form. When we steam things or cook them, then we break down the fiber and we don't have that good peristaltic action moving through our intestines the way that we should.
COOPER: Let me read to you what the American Dietetic Association says about raw food diet. Quote, "The raw food diet may be high in fiber, low in total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and calories. However, because it restricts many important foods, it becomes a challenge to get all the nutrients the body needs." In your opinion, what are some of the dangers of the raw food diet, or at least converting to a complete raw food diet?
WOLFE: Yeah, well, this is a very important thing. I don't really recommend a complete raw food diet for most people. And I think the ADA is correct on that.
I think what we need to do is get to raw, organic food for 80 percent of our diet. And once we're there, that last 20 percent can be whatever we love, all those great foods that we love.
And you know, what I found for myself doing that kind of a diet for about a year and a half, two years, I didn't even want that 20 percent anymore. I really enjoyed drinking vegetable juice and wheat grass juice more than having big dinners. And I enjoy being lighter, because I think what's happening in our country is we eat way too much, and when you raw organic food and you have food that has minerals in it, your appetite is decreased substantially. This food is very cleansing. I mean, it's -- well, we call it sometimes liquid plumber. Stuff just moves through you very fast. And it may be unpleasant, because -- we've got to work, we have to get through our work day and we have to have something that's fun too, and we don't want to be in what we call this detoxification process too much. And we just start out slow. We start building at fruits and vegetables.
COOPER: Why do you think it is we hear so much about celebrities doing, you know, diets likes this? They seem to be, I guess some would say, in the forefront of these kinds of diets.
WOLFE: Well, I work with a lot of celebrities behind the scenes, and screenwriters in Hollywood. And I think what's happening is there's a buzz in Hollywood about raw food. And why is that? Because your skin glows. You feel great. You feel light. You don't have all the intestinal discomfort. So that's really important when you're in Hollywood, because you've got to have that edge.
I met with Angela Bassett the other day. What a beautiful woman. She's been on a raw food diet now I think about two years. I thought she looked 30 years younger than she is. I couldn't believe it. I was like, that's you? It was incredible.
COOPER: And you say losing weight is quite easy on this?
WOLFE: It's, you know, I've had seminars that I've done. I've done about 700 seminars over the last 10 years in America, and I've had seminars like I was in Richmond, Virginia, and there were five women in the front row, each had lost over 100 pounds, two of whom had lost over 150 pounds eating raw food for 90 to 95 percent of their diet.
And as much as they want. Avocados, fruit and vegetables, having nuts and seeds, having herbs, wheat grass, different things that we don't hear about often in the mainstream media but are very important. Things like spirolina and bee pollen, which are more oriented towards the health food world, but I think need to come out into mainstream society more.
COOPER: Well, it's a fascinating subject. I didn't know anything about it. David Wolfe, thanks.
WOLFE: Thank you so much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: I'm going to outlaw this on my show. Doing this, no more.
There's another reason to eat your veggies. A quick news note for you: A new federally funded study suggests that green, leafy vegetables like spinach and broccoli may slow the rate of dementia in older women. The study didn't include men, but researchers say that positive effect would probably be the same. The research was discussed today at the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders in Philadelphia.
Our special series, Star Treatment," continues tomorrow night with water worship, the big business of designer water. Madonna, Sting, Britney, all drink it, but come on, is it really worth the money? It's water.
Wednesday, Hollywood beauty secrets. A facelift in an hour? A jar of moisturizing cream for $1,200? What works and what doesn't. That cream better work.
Thursday, Hollywood healing. Stars seeking to heal the body, soul and mind. Some cop (ph), some burn candles, some wear magnets. Are these just celebrity trends?
And on Friday, the pampered life. Celebrities who get freebies the rest of us can only dream about. Designer jewels, first class trips. What really happens behind the scenes, and why can't they just pay for it?
360 next, Arnold Schwarzenegger and his "girlie men" comment, lost in translation perhaps. We're going to take that to "The Nth Degree."
But first, today's "Buzz." Do you think Iran was involved in the 9/11 attacks? Log onto cnn.com/360. Cast your vote. Results when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Some breaking news to report. The Associated Press is just reporting that President Clinton's national security adviser, Sandy Berger, is under criminal investigation. The AP says that Berger admitted removing highly classified documents on terrorism from a secure reading room during preparations for the September 11 commission hearings.
Time now for quick buzz. Earlier we asked you, do you think Iran was involved in the 9/11 attacks? Forty-seven percent of you said yes, 53 percent of you said no. Not a scientific poll, but it is your buzz. Thanks for voting.
Tonight, taking flexibility to "The Nth Degree."
Here is a surprise. At the age of 57, even after decades of pumping iron, Arnold Schwarzenegger turns out not to be in the least musclebound. Indeed, the governor of California is still so limber that he can easily put his foot in his mouth, which is what he did in a speech over the weekend when he called legislators in his state "girlie men." Wimps, in other words, for failing to stand up to various special interests.
The use of "girlie" to mean weak would surely come as a surprise to, oh, Tonya Harding, say, or Marion Jones or the Williams sisters or Mia Hamm, just to name a few. Be interesting to see the Governator go up against them in their respective sports. He might come out looking a little girlie, to use his term. You know what, though? English is not the Governator's first language. As it happens, the word "grel (ph)" in German, which is mighty close to our word "girl" means "flashy," as in sharp. Probably the governor meant to call those legislators "sharp guys." As he might say himself, in the area of American idioms, "we really ought to cut them some slacks."
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 July 19, 2004 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: Good evening, I'm Anderson Cooper.
Questions about terror connections in the Mideast, not in Iraq, but Iran.
360 starts now.
The president says Iran has been harboring al Qaeda. Is there a Tehran-9/11 connection?
A Marine breaks his silence. Corporal Wassef Hassoun insists he was kidnapped, but the Pentagon's not so sure. We'll have the latest.
The raw politics of TV. Are you a "Judge Judy" or "Law and Order" voter? An inside look at how the candidates are targeting TV viewers for votes.
Will the woman accusing Kobe Bryant of rape drop her case? Her attorney tells the court she is considering it.
A Texas town on edge after a polygamous sect secretly purchases land. What's really happening deep in the heart of Texas.
And our special series, Star Treatment. See what A-list celebrities are doing to stay fit.
ANNOUNCER: Live from New York, this is ANDERSON COOPER 360.
COOPER: Well, the last time the president of the United States accused another country of having been involved in the events of 9/11, there were very serious consequences, consequences that dominate the headlines to this day.
So when the president talks, as he did today, about the possibility that Iran may have been involved in 9/11, that itself is a big and perhaps a very consequential headline.
From the White House, here's CNN's Suzanne Malveaux.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eight of the 19 hijackers who attacked the U.S. on September 11 safely passed through Iran. The details of how that unfolded will be released by the 9/11 commission in its final report on Thursday.
Emerging from an Oval Office meeting, President Bush was asked whether there was a link between Iran and the 9/11 attacks.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As to direct connections with September the 11th, you know, we, we're digging into the facts to determine if there was one.
MALVEAUX: Mr. Bush's comment follows statements made over the weekend by the CIA's acting director that while Iran was used as a frequent route for traveling al Qaeda, it did not support the terrorist attacks.
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: There's no evidence that there was any official involvement between Iran and the September 11 attacks.
MALVEAUX: In fact, privately, administration officials say there is no new information that has emerged from the 9/11 commission's investigation that would suggest otherwise.
BUSH: I have long expressed my concerns about Iran...
MALVEAUX: From his 2000 State of the Union address, Mr. Bush declared Iran, along with Iraq and North Korea.
BUSH: ... an axis of evil arming to threaten the peace of the world.
MALVEAUX: The Bush administration has designated Iran a state sponsor of terror, accused of pursuing nuclear weapons, supporting Hezbollah, and harboring al Qaeda.
On Thursday, the 9/11 commission is expected to release a critical report of the administration's handling of the terrorist attacks. And it will address any aid offered to the 9/11 hijackers by Iran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Now, some Democrats and Bush critics argue that this information about Iran simply supports their case that President Bush's policy to go into Iraq was not the right one, Anderson.
COOPER: All right, Suzanne Malveaux at the White House, thanks very much, Suzanne.
Today's buzz question is this. What do you think? Do you think Iran was involved in the 9/11 attacks? Log onto CNN.com/360, cast your vote. We'll have results at the end of the program.
We mentioned the long-lasting consequences of 9/11. In Iraq, the day's news was full of them. A suicide bomber set off a truck full of explosives near a police station in the southern district of Baghdad, leaving a 10-foot deep crater. Eight Iraqis dead, perhaps 60 more wounded. Meantime, the Philippines completed the pullout of its small peacekeeping force as demanded by militants who had taken a Filipino man hostage. No word at this hour, though, on the status of this man, who was supposed to be freed when his country's soldiers left Iraq.
Another hostage, an Egyptian, was freed today after the Saudi company for which he worked acceded to the demands of his captors that the company pull all its employees out of Iraq. Muhammed al-Garabawi (ph) said he was beaten and threatened during the first few days, but thereafter not mistreated during his two-week captivity.
If the strange story of Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun was one of those black-and-white mysteries from the 1940s, we'd be in the last reel by now, where all the loose ends are tied up and everything finally makes sense.
Well, Corporal Hassoun did make a statement for the first time today. The question is, does everything finally make sense?
CNN's senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Marines say that Corporal Wassef Hassoun is upset that some official statements and some unofficial leaks portrayed him as a suspected deserter who may have staged his own kidnapping. So Hassoun asked to make a public statement to put what he has told the Marines privately on the record.
CORPORAL WASSEF HASSOUN, U.S. MARINE CORPS: I did not desert my post. I was captured and held against my will by anticoalition forces for 19 days. This was a very difficult and challenging time for me.
MCINTYRE: The Marines say Hassoun has been joined by his brother Mohammed (ph) at the Quantico Marine base and will soon be returned to his home base of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
While the investigation into his claimed abduction has begun, criminal investigators have yet to question Hassoun directly, nor has he been charged with any wrongdoing, or told he needs an attorney, something legal experts say could make his statements inadmissible in court if he should be charged in the future.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If he hasn't been afforded his right to counsel, he would have a right at that point to have those statements and any evidence attributable to those statements suppressed as evidence.
MCINTYRE: Sources say investigators want an explanation for why it appears Hassoun left his base in Fallujah, Iraq, voluntarily, and Pentagon officials say they also are concerned about what information Hassoun may have shared with his alleged captors, because, as an Arabic speaker, he helped interpret as the U.S. gathered intelligence from helpful Iraqis who could now be in danger. LT. COL. DAVID LAPAN, U.S. MARINE CORPS SPOKESMAN: We're not in the position at this point to make a judgment either way. We are still gathering facts and information.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE: Hassoun also appeared to indirectly deny the claim made on an Islamic Web site that he agreed to leave the Marines as a condition of his release. He said, quote, "Once a Marine, always a Marine," and then said, "Semper fi," the Marine Corps motto for "always faithful," Anderson.
COOPER: So Jamie, any sense of a timeline of when these questions might get answered?
MCINTYRE: Well, it looks like they're wrapping up this repatriation phase, and we're told that within probably days, he'll begin to face some of those tough questions from criminal investigators.
COOPER: OK, Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon. Thanks, Jamie.
A raging wildfire with a bizarre beginning tops off our look at what's happening right now cross-country. Santa Clarita, California, firefighters are trying to contain this wildfire. But you're not going to believe how it started. According to a state forestry official, a hawk flew into a power line, was electrocuted, and its flaming feathers fell onto dry brush. How they know this for sure, I have no idea. But this is what they say.
The fire has spread to over 5,700 acres and is one of several burning across the state right now.
Sacramento, California, apologies wanted after Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger calls some state lawmakers "girlie men" for not approving his overdue state budget. Yes, Schwarzenegger used the lingo from that "Saturday Night Live" skit about him. Life imitating art, or at least sketch comedy. Democratic lawmakers are not laughing, however. A spokesman says the governor has nothing to apologize for.
Washington, lobbying the Supreme Court, former president Jimmy Carter, former president -- Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, and the American Medical Association and 48 nations are asking the justices to end the death penalty for juvenile killers. They say it is unhumane. This fall, the Supreme Court will consider if such executions are constitutional.
And Sonoma, California, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., out of the hospital. That's him there in the flames. One day after this unbelievably fiery crash, a friend of his tells CNN that Earnhardt will be back in his number 8 car for a race in New Hampshire on Sunday, despite the second-degree burns to his leg and his face.
And in Las Vegas, Nevada, singer Linda Ronstadt booed and given the boot over the weekend. She apparently outraged some people during a performance at the Aladdin Hotel when she praised filmmaker Michael Moore and his movie "Fahrenheit 9/11." Afterward, the casino didn't allow Ronstadt back into her suite and escorted her off the property.
That's a quick look at stories cross-country right now.
360 next, Kobe Bryant's accuser says she fears for her life. Find out why her lawyer says she almost dropped the case twice.
Plus, genocide in slow motion. Rape as a weapon of war. A stunning picture of the unraveling crisis in Sudan.
Also tonight, the star treatment. Find out the skinny on celebrity diets from the trendy to the downright bizarre. Why are some celebrities swearing off cooked food? Is this actually a diet plan that might work for you? We'll take a closer look, part of our special series, Star Treatment.
Plus, all that ahead, plus your picks. Right now, the most popular stories on CNN.com right now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: The attorney for the woman accusing Kobe Bryant of rape said today that her client has received death threats, and that, quote, "She and her family are under the impression the court won't protect her." That very court decided today how much we'll get to know about the accuser and how much we won't.
Gary Tuchman has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): By all accounts, the woman who has accused Kobe Bryant of sexual assault is actively involved in pursuing the case.
But shortly after arriving in court on Monday with the accuser's mother and father, her attorney, John Cloon (ph), said the (UNINTELLIGIBLE)-year-old had, quote, "considered removing herself from this case" when her name was accidentally put on a court Web site last September, and last month, when a court employee inadvertently sent reporters confidential transcripts about her sexual past.
CRAIG SILVERMAN COLORADO ATTORNEY: It was a remarkable accusation by John Cloon, saying it's not those people who have threatened her life, it's not the legal analysts, it's not the media that have caused this woman problems. It's you, your honor, and your court. Your mistakes are the things that have led her to almost drop this case.
TUCHMAN: But the case continues, with the woman receiving welcome legal news regarding those secret transcripts, the Colorado Supreme Court ruling that despite news media charges that it's a prior restraint, the information from the transcripts cannot be reported for now. Sexual assault advocates were heartened by the four-to-three decision. CYNTHIA STONE, COLORADO COALITION AGAINST SEXUAL ASSAULT: We need to protect victims of sexual assault from undue embarrassing, humiliating, irrelevant fishing expeditions into their prior sexual history.
TUCHMAN: Judge Terry Rockregal (ph) still has to decide how much, if any, of the woman's sexual past will be allowed to be discussed at trial. He also has to decide if it will be televised. One of Kobe Bryant's attorneys argued against cameras in court, saying it would be a, quote, "titillating, salacious televised experience."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN: But news media attorneys say it will be responsibly done with a one-hour time delay to edit out any offensive words, and/or the alleged victim's name. It's not clear when the judge will make his decision about the cameras. What we do know from the court is that the judge is preparing his decision about the relevancy of the woman's sexual past, and that decision could come sometime this week, Anderson.
COOPER: All right. Gary Tuchman live in Eagle, Eagle, thanks, Gary.
Kobe Bryant spent five hours in court today, that is 300 minutes. Want to put that time, that court time, in perspective. Last week, he signed a seven-year contract with the L.A Lakers, reportedly worth $136 million. Works out to about $230,000 per game, which breaks down to nearly $7,000 per minute on the basketball court. We don't know what his lawyer makes per minute.
A war of words escalates between Israel's prime minister and the president of France. That story tops our look at global stories in the uplink. Israel's prime minister, Ariel Sharon, is not welcome in France until he explains his appeal to French Jews to leave that country. Says who? Says French President Jacques Chirac today, that's who. Over the weekend, Sharon said French Jews should consider emigrating to Israel because of a rise in anti-Semitic incidents in France.
In Japan now, alleged U.S. Army deserter Charles Jenkins looked weak when he got off a plane on Sunday. He apparently needs urgent care following abdominal surgery in North Korea. The U.S. says it will let doctors treat Jenkins before seeking custody of him. Jenkins could face a military court-martial for allegedly deserting the U.S. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Army nearly 40 years ago to defect to North Korea.
In India, the supreme court orders millions of dollars to go to the victims of the Bhopal gas leak, which killed nearly 4,000 people back in 1984. Union Carbide, which owned the Bhopal plant, said paid out nearly half a billion dollars, but one-third of that has actually gotten to the victims, only one-third, because of disagreements over the categorization of victims.
Geneva, Switzerland, now, a friendly soccer match between a Portuguese and Swiss team turns violent. Security officers beat up a fan who interrupted the game by waving a protest banner, and then spectators beat up security officers. Believe it or not, after all this, no one was seriously hurt.
And that's a quick look at stories in the uplink.
Yad Vashem is the Israeli memorial to the Holocaust. The people who run it are warning of a new holocaust in the making in the Darfur region of Sudan and asking the world to step in before it's too late.
Nearly 30,000 people are believed dead in attacks by Arab militants on black villagers, and that may just be the least of it.
CNN's Zain Verjee reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are as young as 8 and as old as 80, and according to Amnesty International, targets of mass rape by ruthless Arab militias known as the Janjaweed.
POLLYANNA TRUSCOTT, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: Women and girls are being killed, raped, gang raped, raped in public, abducted, tortured, and forced into sexual slavery.
VERJEE: A report by the rights group says systematic rape is used as a weapon of war against black woman in Sudan's Darfur region. The group responsible is backed by the Sudanese government. Women are at great risk of HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases, and rape is meant to shatter the social fabric of communities.
The war in Darfur pits Arabs against blacks. Black Darfurians say they want more political rights. In more than a year of war, hundreds of villages have been burned down by Arab militias, and up to 30,000 people are believed to have been slaughtered.
Some of the testimony in the report, "Five to six men would rape us in rounds, one after the other, during six days, every night. My husband could not forgive me after this." "The Janjaweed broke the limbs of women and girls to prevent them from escaping."
ELIZABETH HODGKINS, RESEARCHER: We have no doubt that what has happened is a war crime, and because it happened systematically to a lot -- hundreds of people, it's a crime against humanity.
VERJEE: The Sudanese government says these conclusions are premature, and such a serious judgment cannot be made without gathering the facts first. It says it has cracked down, as promised, on the Janjaweed militia, and has convicted 10 Janjaweed fighters of killing and looting.
(on camera): Amnesty International is calling for an international commission of inquiry into the mass rape to bring to justice those responsible for sexual violence against women in Darfur. It also wants rights groups to have more access in Darfur and put human rights monitors on the ground. Zain Verjee, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: It is hard to believe.
360 next, raw politics. Why the TV show you're watching determines which candidates' ads you'll see. Are you a "Judge Judy" voter, or an "NYPD Blue" voter? Find out ahead.
Also tonight, a polygamous sect moves into a small town in Texas. Find out what goes on inside their compound from one woman who got away.
And a much lighter note, star treatment. Get the skinny on how some celebrities lose weight. We're talking about the ones who don't have personal chefs and personal trainers. Some tricks of the trade that may help you shed some pounds. Part of our special week-long series, the Star Treatment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Well, when the Mormon religion began to expand in the 1840s, perhaps the most controversial belief taught by founder Joseph Smith was that God told him directly that men should have more than one wife. But polygamy was officially renounced by the church in 1890, but some splitter groups who are disavowed by the official Mormon church still practice it.
Florida, Flora Jessop was a member of the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints, a group that is now building a big compound in a small Texas town. Residents are said to be frident (ph).
Flora, Flora escaped when she was 16. She joins us now to talk about this group.
Flora, thanks very much for being with us.
The FLDS...
FLORA JESSOP, FORMER SECT MEMBER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
COOPER: ... I don't think a lot of people ever heard of this group. What is life like for someone inside it?
JESSOP: It is -- it's slavery, slavery of women and children.
COOPER: You were 16 years old when you left. You had two mothers, if I'm right, 27 brothers and sisters. Why did you decide to leave, and how did you get out?
JESSOP: Usually when you decide to leave these groups, it is, you are willing to trade heaven for hell, because the abuse has gotten to a point where it's unbearable. And when I got out, I ran as hard as I could. COOPER: Describe a little bit what it's like growing up with two mothers, with that many brothers and sisters, I mean, in this polygamous atmosphere.
JESSOP: Chaos. You actually don't have a lot of time for family bonding, because there's no time for the mothers to take with their children. There's -- she's either pregnant all the time, or so tired from being pregnant and taking care of all of her children, she doesn't have a chance to bond. There -- it's constantly work, work- work-work, taking care of that many kids.
COOPER: This group, FLDS, has moved into a small town in Texas called El Dorado. And we understand (UNINTELLIGIBLE) some of the local people there are a little bit concerned about what may be going on. Do they have reason to be concerned?
JESSOP: They have very good reason to be concerned, yes.
COOPER: How so?
JESSOP: There's this -- this group is the largest polygamist group in the United States. They have about 12,000 members. They live above God's law, or man's law. They do not abide by the laws of the United States. The stuff that they are teaching their children is absolutely frightening...
COOPER: And, and you say, you...
JESSOP: ... the racism, the hate.
COOPER: ... you say you were sexually abused by your father in this sect.
JESSOP: Yes.
COOPER: And what happened when you...
JESSOP: Yes, I was.
COOPER: Did you tell anyone about it? What happened?
JESSOP: Yes, I did try to get help, and as a result of my speaking out and asking the authorities to protect me, I spent three years in my uncle's home in solitary confinement with him trying to beat Satan out of me.
COOPER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
JESSOP: The victim is always blamed for reporting the abuse.
COOPER: We should say we tried to contact FLDS and invited them to appear on the program, a spokesman. They refused. The attorney for the group, Rod Parker, did give us this statement. I want to read it to you and have you respond. He said, quote, "With regards to Flora Jessop, she's not an appropriate representative for the opponents of polygamy. She is a vigilante, who exploits young girls for publicity. She's insensitive to the needs and wants of young girls and their families." How do you respond?
JESSOP: I respond to that, that the only reason they feel like I exploit the young girls is because we're taking the only steps that we have been able to -- that have been successful in protecting these children.
COOPER: Now, they say...
JESSOP: And that...
COOPER: ... no one, no one's forced to stay there.
JESSOP: I have their actual doctrine that says different.
COOPER: What do you want to see happen to this group?
JESSOP: I want to see the authorities do their job. President Bush guarantees the freedom of women and children in Afghanistan, and yet fails the women and children that are trapped inside of these polygamous cults.
COOPER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
JESSOP: And we need to step in and just uphold the laws.
COOPER: We're going to leave it there. Flora Jessop, thanks for being with us tonight.
JESSOP: Thank you.
COOPER: The raw politics of TV. Are you a "Judge Judy" or "Law and Order" voter? An inside look how the candidates are targeting TV viewers for votes.
Will the woman accusing Kobe Bryant of rape drop her case? Her attorney tells the court she is considering it.
360 continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: 360 next, Kerry and Bush in a dead heat with the conventions looming. Who'll pull ahead? Tucker Carlson and Paul Begala step into the "CROSSFIRE."
First, let's check our top stories in the reset.
In Washington, President Bush says the U.S. is trying to figure out just what Iran knew about the 9/11 plot, and whether it is now harboring al Qaeda fugitives. There are reports that at least eight of the 9/11 hijackers traveled through Iran before attacking the United States.
In New York, the Halliburton Corporation said it has received a subpoena from a federal grand jury. The grand jury wants documents from the company's Cayman Islands subsidiary, which has operations in Iran. There are specific legal restrictions on American companies operating in Iran.
In Norfolk, Virginia, relatives of the sailors who were killed in the terror attack on the USS Cole four years ago have filed suit in federal court against the government of Sudan. They're accusing the African nation of harboring al Qaeda operatives.
In Los Alamos, New Mexico, the news just gets worse. Already at a standstill while security investigators look for misclassified computer disks. The lab has now suspended virtually all of its operations after a serious accident with a laser harmed the sight of an intern at the lab.
In Philadelphia, a year-long study into the Gulf War Syndrome has concluded that antibiotics do nothing to help those afflicted with the debilitating illness. Researchers had hoped they could identify the cause of the sickness. It often leaves people with debilitating fatigue, memory problems, muscle spasms and depression.
That's a quick look at top stories in the "Reset."
Depending where you live, there is either a presidential race that you can't escape or one you can't find. If you live in a so- called battleground state, you probably can't go anywhere without stumbling over a candidate. so why can't anyone gain an advantage? Earlier I spoke to "CROSSFIRE" hosts Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Tucker, the race overall seems to be pretty close if you believe the polls but in a number of the battleground states where Bush won, Kerry seems to be doing pretty well or the race is close. In particular, Florida, West Virginia, Ohio and New Hampshire. What does it look like in those states?
TUCKER CARLSON, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": He's doing pretty well. I'm surprised he's not doing better. If you think as I do that this election is about Iraq and you look just at the polling on Iraq it looks bad for the president. People are less supportive of the effort there than they've ever been. The news out of there, as you know, isn't great. Whether or not that reflects reality is another question. Given that, I would think Bush would be getting pounded particularly since Kerry just picked a pretty popular running mate, you'd think he would have gotten a bigger bounce out of it. Bush is doing slightly better than I thought he was going to be doing.
PAUL BEGALA, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": This week is so important for Kerry. He's going to campaign around the country starting in Colorado where he was born, going through a series of swing states just coincidentally and then winding up up here in the northeast down in Boston. That's going to be really important because when he makes that first impression which for about 30 million Americans it will be the first time they've seen John Kerry, that's going to decide this race. He has a chance actually next week to break this thing open and win by more than 5 percent. I think he can take that chance and I think he's going to do well. COOPER: Paul, Tucker says the race is about Iraq. Do you agree?
BEGALA: It's also about the economy. A whole lot of it is about the president, in other words. The war in Iraq is very much George Bush's war. It was a war of choice. The president was asked about that. He didn't seem to understand the question. But it was. He chose to go to war there, I think in good faith but I think he was wrong and I do think he misled us and tried to hype the intelligence and arguments going into it. It's all about George Bush. And a surprising number of people, given that we're at war believe that we need a change. That's the problem he has. He's settled in on a strategy of trashing John Kerry which is a very risky strategy. That's what Jimmy Carter did when he was an embattled incumbent against Ronald Reagan. He just trashed Reagan and we see how that worked for Carter who lost in a landslide.
CARLSON: I don't know, though. I mean, John Kerry's counterstrategy or at least the tactics that he's displayed so far strike me as less strong than I imagined they would be. Rather than attacking Bush directly on Iraq and saying where we are right now is not where we need to be and here's where we need to be and here's how I'll take us there which is the classic way a challenger would approach the question, he instead beats up on Bush personally and then talks about himself, his biography, his admittedly honorable service in Vietnam. I think that's what this convention is going to be very much about. John Kerry, the man. His biography, things you didn't know about him. Is that enough, though? Those aren't ideas really. It's more just like a biographical definition spot. It doesn't seem like a strong way to go about it. I'll be surprised if it works.
BEGALA: I think Tucker's right. Those are two words I don't think I want to say very often, Tucker's right. It can't just be about Kerry's bio. I think Vice President Gore, I think former President Clinton, former President Carter, there are some big guns in my party, Senator Clinton from New York, they're going to help Kerry carry that lift of both the biography but also the issues. If they can get up there and tell America that if you get John Kerry you'll have an economy, economy policy based on better paying jobs, a healthcare policy based on controlling costs, and an energy policy based on energy independence from the Middle East, then you've got something, some issues and ideas to wed to that persona of the Vietnam hero. He's got to do both this coming week.
COOPER: And Tucker, how big a bounce do you think we should look for out of this convention?
CARLSON: I don't know. I mean, now that they're not letting Hillary do more than an intro for her husband, I wouldn't be too optimistic. If the networks are only taking three hours of it, people always talk about this a fabled bounce out of the convention. Maybe we'll see a huge bounce. It's very hard to believe. I think this election is going to be determined by facts, by things that actually happen between now and November 2. Good things and unfortunately perhaps some bad things. That's what I think you're going to determine it eventually.
COOPER: Tucker, you should know by now. The networks are dinosaurs. Cable's where it's at.
CARLSON: I totally agree with that. Amen.
BEGALA: Amen.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: No disrespect intended but the truth is that selling a candidate through television advertising is a lot like selling soap or any other product for that matter. Just ask the ad guys. You figure out your target demographic and then find out what programs they watch and with $200 million already spent on this year's presidential race it's not too hard to figure out who each candidate really wants to reach. That is the stuff of raw politics.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): If you live in or around Cleveland, Ohio from March 4 to June 20, you're likely to have seen ads for President Bush 97 times. Ads for John Kerry 83 times. And ads from Democratic independent organizations 101 times. All during your favorite programs. This election year so far Democrats and Republicans together have spent an estimated $200 million in ads. But not everybody gets to see them equally reveals a study from the University of Wisconsin.
KEN GOLDSTEIN, DIR., UNIV. OF WISCONSIN AD PROJECT: 40 percent of the nation, 19, 20 battleground states are seeing all the presidential advertising this time around. Fully 60 percent of the country isn't seeing any political advertising spots.
COOPER: During what programs do the Bush and Kerry programs advertise?
First and foremost during local news.
Also morning shows like NBC's "The Today Show" and "Good Morning America." They also like syndicated heads like Oprah and Dr. Phil.
Television advertising can be a window into the planning of the two campaigns. And although both are sharing a brain as one could say, when it comes to which states to target, when it comes to the markets within the states, there are some interesting differences.
COOPER: It turns out the Bush campaign is advertising more in rural markets. The Kerry campaign is choosing larger urban centers. The Bush campaign is going after male and more conservative audience by heavily advertising on shows like "Law and Order" and "NYPD Blue." The Kerry campaign has chosen to target older and single women by advertising on "The Ellen Degeneres Show" and "Judge Judy." And if late at night you're watching him...
JAY LENO, "THE TONIGHT SHOW": Be right back, folks.
COOPER: You're more likely to see this ad.
AD ANNOUNCER: Mr. Kerry. No.
COOPER: But if you're watching the other guy.
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "DAVID LETTERMAN SHOW": We'll be right back, folks.
COOPER: You'll likely see the other guy.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I love this country and I think it's going in the wrong direction.
COOPER: In the world of raw politics, they're watching what you're watching.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Coming up next on 360, the Kobe Bryant case. Why the alleged victim says she fears for her life in "Justice Served" ahead.
Also tonight, the strange tale of Bobo the tiger shot last week. This week, the tale gets stranger.
Plus, the star treatment. Celebrity diets from the trendy to the bizarre. Do they work? Part of our special series. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Tonight in "Justice Served," Kobe Bryant's accuser says she fears for her life. At today's pretrial hearing, the lawyer for Bryant's alleged victim revealed that his client nearly dropped her case after the basketball star after her name appeared on a court Web site last fall.
Covering the case for us today, 360 legal analyst Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom. Good to see you, Kimberly.
KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE NEWSOM, 360 LEGAL ANALYST: Good to be here, Anderson.
COOPER: Is this for real, or is this just sort of a lawyer trying to make a point?
NEWSOM: Look, I'll tell you, there's 136 million reasons why Kobe Bryant wishes it was true. But we've reached the point of no return. She's not going to back out at this point of this case. But you can imagine the frustration, the humiliation, where she feels that she's turned to the system for protection. Her name has been posted on the Internet.
COOPER: How did that happen? That was a mistake by the judge.
NEWSOM: It was a mistake. One mistake after the next. It also makes you start to wonder, this is a system that's supposed to be protecting, you know, accusers, people who have alleged this kind of sexual assault against them, and also transcripts of her sexual past and history were also released to seven media organizations. That really has got to undermine your belief in your -- in the system.
COOPER: So the message that the lawyer is trying to send is, shape up, court, I mean?
NEWSOM: Shape up. And he's asked the judge to stop posting things on the Internet of hearings and proceedings of the court. And you can't blame him. I've met John Clune before, and he's very concerned for his client. I'm sure there was emotional moments where she thought, is this all worth it? I'm being humiliated and victimized over and over again in this case. But she really doesn't have the power to drop the case. That's up to the prosecution. But of course, it would make their case next to impossible to proceed, because they don't have her testimony from the preliminary hearing.
COOPER: You talk about 136 million reasons why Kobe Bryant would like this case dropped. There has been some talk about a possible plea deal. I mean, tomorrow is I guess the deadline for some sort of plea agreement. That seems highly unlikely.
NEWSOM: Again, we haven't seen it happen up to this point. I think the judge, they're always trying to move toward some kind of reconciliation of the issues and of the case. But given what he's charged with, anything that would even suggest some kind of factual basis of a sexual assault occurring would require him to register, lifetime, as a sex offender.
In order for it to work, they would have to circumvent the law, go around it and say, OK, plead to a misdemeanor that's something else entirely, some kind of simple battery, and kind of do a legal fiction to get around the law, because you're not allowed to plead down a sexual assault case like that. And I don't think that's going to happen, because, you know, Kobe Bryant is not going to allow -- he has too much riding on this besides that seven-year contract, his reputation, his endorsement deals, and he believes he's been wrongly accused. And Pamela Mackey and Hal Haddon aren't going to stand by and let his reputation continue to be besmirched.
COOPER: What kind of a message do you think this new contract sends to a potential jury?
NEWSOM: Wow, isn't it unbelievable. A smart move by Kobe Bryant to get this nailed down before the court, before anything comes out else in this case that could make him, quote/unquote, look bad. But I think it sends the message that they are 100 percent confident in the outcome of this case and in their client's innocence.
COOPER: Interesting. All right, Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom, thanks very much.
NEWSOM: Thank you.
COOPER: Well, a bizarre postscript tonight to the tragic tale of Bobo the tiger. In case you missed it, last week, Bobo, seen here in happier times with his owner Steve Sipek, was killed by wildlife officers in a shooting Sipek called a murder. Wildlife officers said it was self-defense. A memorial was held for the 600-pound tiger, who spent 24 hours as a fugitive after escaping from Sipek's home 50 miles north of Miami.
Here's where the story gets really weird. Turns out this woman, Linda Meredith, offered her big as bait to entice Bobo back home. Apparently she hoped a pig's squeal might have lured Bobo out of hiding. You can't make this stuff up. But a local newspaper says that Meredith is now facing charges of animal cruelty for putting the pig in the trunk of her car. Meredith says the car's trunk was air- conditioned, and she was just trying to help.
Well, we'll keep you updated on that one.
"360" next. Celebrity diets in the battle to get fit. Are you tempted to maybe follow the lead of some Hollywood stars? Would you give up your cooking, maybe cooking your food for some raw food? Mmm, raw food. Is that the way to go? Find out in our special series, "Star Treatment," ahead.
Also tonight, Arnold Schwarzenegger talking tough with two words, "girlie men." We'll take that to "The Nth Degree."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SELMA HAYEK, ACTRESS: Thank you, (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Oh, no, thanks, I'm watching my figure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: That was actress Selma Hayek with some little diet humor in a TV ad.
For celebrities, looking good it part of their job description, along with complaining about paparazzi and getting married multiple times. Hollywood, of course, is a town obsessed with appearances, filled with personal chefs and personal trainers. But if you don't have wads of cash to spend on such luxuries, you might be tempted to try a celebrity diet. As part of our week-long series, "The Star Treatment," CNN's senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, takes a look at some celebrity diets that may actually work for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): So who cares how Hollywood keeps in shape? A lot of us, apparently.
BONNIE TAUB-DIX, NUTRITIONIST: If someone says, oh, I drink milk every day, then all of a sudden it could become the milk diet. If it's someone who is really, you know, hot in the media.
GUPTA: A milk diet may be a stretch, but celebrities are usually the first to jump on the hottest weight loss craze. The latest on the bandwagon, colonics, which flush several liters of water into the intestines, then draw it out, along with waste. The We Care spa in California says it treats droves of celebrity clients who indulge in detoxification regimen, including daily colonics.
Colonic critics say you may lose too much water in the process and set your body chemistry off balance.
How about a quick fix for fat, called mesotherapy? Dr. Marion Shapiro says mesotherapy can melt away fat cells, and that her practice sees its own fair share of celebrities. A cocktail of herbs, vitamins and medications is injected into the middle layer of the skin, where fat resides.
DR. MARION SHAPIRO, MESOTHERAPIST: It's a noninvasive way of reducing their bodies, without any obvious tell-tale signs.
GUPTA: But many doctors are skeptical. There are no long-term studies suggesting mesotherapy is safe or effective.
Another hot trend, according to chef Sarmamelan Gallas (ph), raw food, with no meat, no dairy, no cooking.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's something very sexy about it. So I think that that's part of the appeal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a very fashionable crowd and a very fashionable movement.
GUPTA: Model Carol Alt is writing a book advocating the raw food diet. Raw food has proclaimed benefits, such as reducing allergies and extending life. They say cooking leaches vital nutrients. But...
TAUB-DIX: There could be a lack of vitamin B-12, vitamin D, because they don't encourage dairy products.
GUPTA: But with so little research to support them, why do these weight loss plans have such celebrity appeal?
TAUB-DIX: Celebrities are no different than the rest of us, and everybody basically wants a quick fix.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Celebrities are different, I'm sorry.
So the question is, could celebrities really be on to something here? David Wolfe is considered a leading authority on this raw food nutrition. He wrote the book, "Eating for Beauty." We spoke earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: So, David, what's the premise behind the raw food diet? I guess it's more of a lifestyle for you. DAVID WOLFE, AUTHOR: Yeah, the basic idea is that when we showed up on the planet, we didn't have fire, we didn't have shoes, how did we live? Well, it's easier to sneak up on lettuce than it is a rabbit. So we probably ate mostly raw plants. And that's the basic idea or premise behind the raw food approach.
COOPER: But fire and shoes are largely considered as progress. Isn't sort of cooking, being able to cook things sort of progress?
WOLFE: Well, that's an assumption, and I've been on a raw food diet now 10 years, and I thought, well, this makes sense. Every creature in nature eats raw food, and so let me try this.
Well, I've been amazed. I've been amazed. And actually the assumption that cooking makes food better or improves things is just that. It's an assumption, and actually the scientific research in the area is actually proving otherwise. And...
COOPER: What's bad about cooking food in your opinion?
WOLFE: Well, the major thing it's lost its water. And this is why we have this eight to 10 glasses of water idea out there in the health world, because most people are dehydrated. And that's because we're eating food that has no water in it.
Other things that are involved are the loss of enzymes. And enzymes are catalytic factors that allow food to be digested easier, and other things like fiber. Fiber is much easier to accommodate in its raw form. When we steam things or cook them, then we break down the fiber and we don't have that good peristaltic action moving through our intestines the way that we should.
COOPER: Let me read to you what the American Dietetic Association says about raw food diet. Quote, "The raw food diet may be high in fiber, low in total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and calories. However, because it restricts many important foods, it becomes a challenge to get all the nutrients the body needs." In your opinion, what are some of the dangers of the raw food diet, or at least converting to a complete raw food diet?
WOLFE: Yeah, well, this is a very important thing. I don't really recommend a complete raw food diet for most people. And I think the ADA is correct on that.
I think what we need to do is get to raw, organic food for 80 percent of our diet. And once we're there, that last 20 percent can be whatever we love, all those great foods that we love.
And you know, what I found for myself doing that kind of a diet for about a year and a half, two years, I didn't even want that 20 percent anymore. I really enjoyed drinking vegetable juice and wheat grass juice more than having big dinners. And I enjoy being lighter, because I think what's happening in our country is we eat way too much, and when you raw organic food and you have food that has minerals in it, your appetite is decreased substantially. This food is very cleansing. I mean, it's -- well, we call it sometimes liquid plumber. Stuff just moves through you very fast. And it may be unpleasant, because -- we've got to work, we have to get through our work day and we have to have something that's fun too, and we don't want to be in what we call this detoxification process too much. And we just start out slow. We start building at fruits and vegetables.
COOPER: Why do you think it is we hear so much about celebrities doing, you know, diets likes this? They seem to be, I guess some would say, in the forefront of these kinds of diets.
WOLFE: Well, I work with a lot of celebrities behind the scenes, and screenwriters in Hollywood. And I think what's happening is there's a buzz in Hollywood about raw food. And why is that? Because your skin glows. You feel great. You feel light. You don't have all the intestinal discomfort. So that's really important when you're in Hollywood, because you've got to have that edge.
I met with Angela Bassett the other day. What a beautiful woman. She's been on a raw food diet now I think about two years. I thought she looked 30 years younger than she is. I couldn't believe it. I was like, that's you? It was incredible.
COOPER: And you say losing weight is quite easy on this?
WOLFE: It's, you know, I've had seminars that I've done. I've done about 700 seminars over the last 10 years in America, and I've had seminars like I was in Richmond, Virginia, and there were five women in the front row, each had lost over 100 pounds, two of whom had lost over 150 pounds eating raw food for 90 to 95 percent of their diet.
And as much as they want. Avocados, fruit and vegetables, having nuts and seeds, having herbs, wheat grass, different things that we don't hear about often in the mainstream media but are very important. Things like spirolina and bee pollen, which are more oriented towards the health food world, but I think need to come out into mainstream society more.
COOPER: Well, it's a fascinating subject. I didn't know anything about it. David Wolfe, thanks.
WOLFE: Thank you so much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: I'm going to outlaw this on my show. Doing this, no more.
There's another reason to eat your veggies. A quick news note for you: A new federally funded study suggests that green, leafy vegetables like spinach and broccoli may slow the rate of dementia in older women. The study didn't include men, but researchers say that positive effect would probably be the same. The research was discussed today at the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders in Philadelphia.
Our special series, Star Treatment," continues tomorrow night with water worship, the big business of designer water. Madonna, Sting, Britney, all drink it, but come on, is it really worth the money? It's water.
Wednesday, Hollywood beauty secrets. A facelift in an hour? A jar of moisturizing cream for $1,200? What works and what doesn't. That cream better work.
Thursday, Hollywood healing. Stars seeking to heal the body, soul and mind. Some cop (ph), some burn candles, some wear magnets. Are these just celebrity trends?
And on Friday, the pampered life. Celebrities who get freebies the rest of us can only dream about. Designer jewels, first class trips. What really happens behind the scenes, and why can't they just pay for it?
360 next, Arnold Schwarzenegger and his "girlie men" comment, lost in translation perhaps. We're going to take that to "The Nth Degree."
But first, today's "Buzz." Do you think Iran was involved in the 9/11 attacks? Log onto cnn.com/360. Cast your vote. Results when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Some breaking news to report. The Associated Press is just reporting that President Clinton's national security adviser, Sandy Berger, is under criminal investigation. The AP says that Berger admitted removing highly classified documents on terrorism from a secure reading room during preparations for the September 11 commission hearings.
Time now for quick buzz. Earlier we asked you, do you think Iran was involved in the 9/11 attacks? Forty-seven percent of you said yes, 53 percent of you said no. Not a scientific poll, but it is your buzz. Thanks for voting.
Tonight, taking flexibility to "The Nth Degree."
Here is a surprise. At the age of 57, even after decades of pumping iron, Arnold Schwarzenegger turns out not to be in the least musclebound. Indeed, the governor of California is still so limber that he can easily put his foot in his mouth, which is what he did in a speech over the weekend when he called legislators in his state "girlie men." Wimps, in other words, for failing to stand up to various special interests.
The use of "girlie" to mean weak would surely come as a surprise to, oh, Tonya Harding, say, or Marion Jones or the Williams sisters or Mia Hamm, just to name a few. Be interesting to see the Governator go up against them in their respective sports. He might come out looking a little girlie, to use his term. You know what, though? English is not the Governator's first language. As it happens, the word "grel (ph)" in German, which is mighty close to our word "girl" means "flashy," as in sharp. Probably the governor meant to call those legislators "sharp guys." As he might say himself, in the area of American idioms, "we really ought to cut them some slacks."
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
