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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
9/11 Commission's Report Released; Is Missing Utah Woman's Husband Telling the Truth?; Interview With Graham Norton
Aired July 22, 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 from New York. I'm Anderson Cooper.
The facts are in. America's leaders, Republicans and Democrats, failed to grasp the danger terrorists posed before September 11.
360 starts now.
The report is in. Better communications could have unraveled the September 11 terrorist plot. But should they have pointed more fingers and named some names?
The plot thickens in the search for the missing Utah jogger. Is her husband telling the truth?
A second woman claims she also dated Scott Peterson while he was married.
Outrageous and unpredictable. Graham Norton stops by to talk TV, celebrities, and how he gets them to say those naughty things.
And in our special series the Star Treatment, healing in Hollywood. Cupping, crystals, hot stones, celebrities love them, but do any of these trendy treatments really work?
ANNOUNCER: Live from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is ANDERSON COOPER 360.
COOPER: Good evening.
It's hard to boil down the horror and shock Americans felt on September 11 to cold print, but that's what the commission looking into the attacks has done. In 570 pages, 14 chapters in all, a detailed account of missed warnings, missed opportunities, and a failure to imagine the capabilities of the terrorists and the depths of their hatred.
We'll have two reports tonight, John King on what went wrong, and on what should be done to fix it, we'll hear from Kelli Arena.
We begin with John King in Washington.
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, a great level of detail in this report about what went wrong, a much more cautious approach about who is to blame. The 9/11 commission does not point the finger at any one leader or any one government agency, but it does say that a great number of leaders, including President Bush, President Clinton, and the Congress, all share responsibility
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KING (voice-over): Could it have been prevented? The 9/11 commission report did not answer that nagging question with certainty. But its account of what went wrong details stunning failures.
THOMAS KEAN (R), 9/11 COMMISSION CHAIR: This was a failure of policy, management, capability, and, above all, a failure of imagination.
KING:. December 1998, President Clinton received a highly classified briefing with this headline, "Bin Laden Preparing to Hijack U.S. Aircraft and Other Attacks." The commission concludes had that warning been shared across the government, it might is have brought more attention to the need for permanent changes in domestic airport and airline security procedures.
Many of the mistakes are well known now. Two of the hijackers were suspected terrorists but were not placed on watch lists that would have barred them from entering the United States. The FBI knew Zacarias Moussaoui was in the States for flight training and suspected a possible hijacking. The CIA knew al Qaeda planned a spectacular attack soon, possibly involving airplanes. But the FBI didn't pass on all it knew. The dots never connected.
LEE HAMILTON (D), 9/11 COMMISSION VICE CHAIR: Could that have prevented 9/11? We don't know, but that failure is there.
KING: All the more striking, because in 1999, worried about millennium attacks, the government had (UNINTELLIGIBLE) al Qaeda threats. Information about terrorism flowed widely and abundantly. The flow from the FBI was particularly remarkable, because the FBI at other times shared almost no information.
(UNINTELLIGIBLE) "the government relaxed. Counterterrorism went back to being a secret preserve." So secret, the commission says, Presidents Clinton and Bush were not given the full picture of al Qaeda's capabilities and hatred.
BOB KERREY, 9/11 COMMISSION MEMBER: How in God's name are you supposed to imagine a threat if the facts are being withheld from you?
KING: In the summer of 2001, CIA director George Tenet warned the system was blinking red. Al Qaeda was posed to strike.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: But the report also notes that some in the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) administration did not act when George Tenet said the system was blinking red. The acting FBI director, for example, had a national conference call but did not task the field offices around the country to go out and look at the possibility that al Qaeda could strike here in the United States.
And while the head of the CIA thought urgent attacks were coming, not everyone in the Clinton -- in the Bush White House, excuse me, agreed. The report says the deputy secretary of defense, Paul Wolfowitz, quote, "questioned that reporting," Anderson.
COOPER: All right. John King in the White -- in Washington. Thanks very much, John.
Beyond what went wrong, the big question is whether it could happen again, and what can be done to prevent it. With that, here's CNN's Kelli Arena.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The message from the commission is clear, the U.S. cannot afford to wait to make changes.
KEAN: Every expert with whom we spoke told us an attack of even greater magnitude is now possible and even probable. We do not have the luxury of time.
ARENA: The 9/11 report calls for significant reform, covering everything from the way the U.S. deals with Muslim nations to putting together response plans in the case of another attack.
HAMILTON: There is no silver bullet or decisive blow that can defeat Islamist terrorism. It will take unity of effort...
ARENA: The commission recommends creating a new counterterrorism center to coordinate more than a dozen intelligence agencies. In charge would be a new national intelligence director, reporting to the president, confirmed by the Senate.
The director would have control over intelligence budgets and the ability to hire and fire deputies, including the CIA director and top intelligence officials at the FBI, Homeland Security, and Defense Departments.
The commission did not endorse the creation of a new domestic intelligence agency, but it did back the FBI's move toward a new intelligence service within the bureau.
The report also calls for a reworking of congressional committees to provide stronger oversight.
HAMILTON: The intelligence community needs a shift in mindset and organization.
ARENA: The FBI embraced many of the recommendations and says it will look closely at others. Senior CIA officials say they want to proceed carefully. "We are in the middle of a war," one said, "and do not want to disrupt that activity." The president called the report constructive but made no commitments. GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I look forward to studying their recommendations and look forward to working with responsible parties within my administration to move forward on those recommendations.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA: Commission members say even though their charter expires, they will not go out of business. They promise to come back in a year with a report card judging what, if any, progress has been made, Anderson.
COOPER: All right, Kelli Arena in Washington, thanks, Kelli.
We're joined now in Washington by 9/11 commission member Timothy Roemer, who's also one of the authors of the report we were discussing.
Thanks very much for being with us, Mr. Roemer, appreciate it.
TIMOTHY ROEMER, 9/11 COMMISSION MEMBER: Nice to be with you, Anderson.
COOPER: Mr. Roemer, let me start off with this. One of the main recommendations, really, is the creation of a head of intelligence, a national intelligence director or czar, if you will. A lot of people in the administration have come out against that. Why is that so necessary? The criticism is, it just adds another layer of bureaucracy.
ROEMER: The biggest reason to support this, and we did in a bipartisan, unanimous way -- and by the way, Anderson, we're not the first to do it, the Scowcroft commission decided to do it. There are bills in the Senate and the House by Senator Feinstein and Congressman Harmon to do it. This is not a brand-new idea. It wouldn't take a lot of time to implement this, and (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
COOPER: But, I mean, other, Tom Ridge is against it, as you know.
ROEMER: Well, but it make a great deal of sense in today's threat environment, Anderson. Listen, when we looked at this report, and talked to people who are experts in this area, and know the al Qaeda threat, we looked back and saw problems of the FBI and the CIA failing to communicate, not sharing intelligence from overseas to the domestic threat. We saw people not analyzing what al Qaeda was and thinking that Osama bin Laden was a financier up until about 1998.
We need one person in charge, one person with accountability, one person with responsibility and the president's ear to be able to manage, hire dire, have an appropriation budget, and direct the activities of the 15 different agencies that now comprise the intelligence community...
COOPER: You know, you... ROEMER: ... right now, Anderson. Well, I mean, just let me finish. Right now, we have a czar, which is not a very good term for the CIA director. They only have control over the CIA and not over the other 15 different agencies out there. They can't fire and hire, they can't really task authority, they can't really have a budget. DOD has most of that budget. So that is ineffectual right now in today's environment with al Qaeda clawed on our shoulders ready to attack again.
COOPER: You say they're ready to attack again, and this bipartisan report, you say significant reform is needed. We heard Governor Kean saying, you know, there's no time to wait. And yet House Speaker Dennis Hastert says it's unlikely Congress is going to really look at any major changes this year. Is that acceptable to you?
ROEMER: We know that al Qaeda doesn't have a schedule for the summertime to go on vacation. Al Qaeda doesn't have an election schedule. Al Qaeda's going to try to strike America and kill Americans whenever, whenever they can.
And I think, again, Anderson, we could do some of this reform. We've suggested that the FBI form a service within a service, could be directed by executive order of the president of the United States. Lot of bills have been floating around on the director of national intelligence. We could do that in a matter of months. We've got Senator McCain and Senator Lieberman that have endorsed these recommendations, and they're going to have a bill pending.
We need action. We don't have time to wait and the luxury to wait and see when al Qaeda might strike us and kill more people.
COOPER: It's been a long process for you, and I know the process is not over. As you said, you're going to do an update, a report in six to 12 months. We'll be watching that closely. Commissioner Tim Roemer, thanks for being with us.
ROEMER: Thanks for having me.
COOPER: It's the kind of story you hope you never become numb to, kidnapped civilians in Iraq. And we have new details about the latest held hostage. Three are from Kenya, three from India, and one Egyptian. The militant group released this dark, grainy video today of the men. The group's threatening to behead them unless their employer, a Kuwaiti trucking firm, shuts down operations in Iraq.
Meanwhile, the Bulgarian government confirms a headless body found in Iraq last week has been identified as one of the two kidnapped Bulgarian truck drivers. And Iraqi police say they've found another beheaded body in the same area. No word yet on whether it's the other Bulgarian man.
All of this, of course, comes against a backdrop of even more deadly clashes in Iraq. With that, here's CNN's Michael Holmes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fierce clashes after insurgents ambushed a Marine convoy in the often-violent town of Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad. The initial attack, a roadside bomb. Then what the military calls a barrage of small-arms fire and RPGs.
U.S. Marines say they killed 25 insurgents, wounded 17, captured 25 during the fighting. Fourteen U.S. servicemen were wounded, none of the injuries said to be life-threatening.
Fighting in Baghdad too, running street battles early Thursday around Haifa Street. Weeks in planning, Iraqi police, Iraqi national guard, and U.S. forces carrying out joint raids, which included the use of U.S. tanks and helicopters.
There were sporadic but heavy exchanges of fire in the predawn hours. The interior ministry says five Iraqis were wounded, 270 arrested, including what was described as several non-Iraqi Arabs, as well as what the ministry said were insurgents and criminal gangs.
Disturbing pictures obtained by the Arabic-language network Al Jazeera showing what's said to be insurgent attacks inside Iraq by a previously unknown group, the Tabuk (ph) Missile Squadron. On the tape provided to Al Jazeera television, the group is heard threatening Iraqi leaders and police.
Michael Holmes, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: A quick news now on that Philippine hostage whose life was spared by militants in Iraq. Forty-six-year-old Angelo de la Cruz returned home, as you see, to hugs, his eight children, and a hero's welcome. The president of the Philippines agreed to withdraw 51 troops from Iraq one month earlier to save de la Cruz's life.
New fallout from a security lapse at Los Alamos Nuclear Weapons Lab. That story tops our look at what's happening cross-country right now. Fifteen employees have been put on leave at the lab amid a probe into what happened to two missing computer disks holding classified data. Government says it hasn't seen any evidence the disappearance has endangered national security.
Providence, Rhode Island, nightclub fire lawsuit. Remember this? A year and a half after the fire that killed 100 people during a performance by the rock band Great White, there is new legal action. Today, lawyers representing the biggest group of plaintiffs yet filed suit against dozens of defendants, including the club owners and the state of Rhode Island. The key charge, negligence.
Lansing, Michigan, now. A big victory for DaimlerChrysler. Michigan Supreme Court has overturned a $21 million sexual harassment verdict against the automaker. The court said the dollar amount of the award was excessive.
And New York City, John Gotti, Jr., slapped with new racketeering charges. Charges were unsealed today against the son of the late organized crime boss. Gotti Jr. is already serving a sentence for racketeering due to a 1999 case. He is due out of prison in September. If convicted on the new charges, Gotti could go back to jail for the rest of his life, just like his dad.
That's a look at stories cross-country tonight.
360 next, a missing pregnant jogger and a husband caught in a lie. But does it have anything to do with the case? A closer look at the mystery in Utah.
Plus, a high-speed train crash, dozens dead in a devastating maiden journey.
Also tonight, a 12-foot alligator attack. Police pull a woman from his -- the alligator's jaws. A deadly struggle ahead.
First, your picks, the most popular stories on CNN.com right now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: So what happened to Lori Hacking? The pregnant Salt Lake City woman was last seen going for a morning jog. And it is part of her daily routine. Since her disappearance, though, for her family and friends, nothing has been routine, including new questions about her husband.
CNN's Kimberly Osias has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): To friends, 27- year-old Lori Hacking seemed to have it all, a business career of her own, a baby on the way, and a loving husband who said he was following family footsteps and heading to medical school.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She had no idea. We had no idea. It's just -- it's so hard to believe that. How could he pull that off for all this time?
OSIAS: Lori's best friend, Rebecca Carroll (ph), says Mark Hacking told Lori that he had graduated from college and was going on to med school. But all of that was lie after lie. She says the pair even visited several North Carolina campuses.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Along 11th Avenue. Eleventh Ave. is, you know, the jogging route that goes down...
OSIAS: Carroll and dozens of other volunteers continue to search today where Lori was last seen heading out for a run just before dawn Monday. Police have seized both of the couple's cars, as well as a dumpster and some bedding. At this point, there are no suspects in the case, but police are calling Mark Hacking a person of interest and have questioned him several times.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do we have to look at everything he's told us with some speculation? But, you know, we want to reserve judgment at this point.
OSIAS: As for Mark Hacking's whereabouts, family members say he's under a doctor's care in a local psychiatric hospital.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He wishes he could be out here going door to door, beating the brush and whatever he could do. He's just so incapacitated with his grieving that he's just not able to be here.
OSIAS: They say he would never do anything to hurt his now- missing wife.
Kimberly Osias, CNN, Salt Lake City.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, a massive train derailment in Turkey tops our look at what is happening around the world in the uplink. Northwestern Turkey, at least 36 people were killed and 60 injured when a high- speed passenger train traveling from Istanbul to the Turkish capital, Ankara, crashed. A mechanical problem is believed to have caused the accident.
Ho Chi Minh City via the friendly skies. United Airlines says today it plans to begin daily flights from San Francisco in December. It will be the first commercial airline in decades to serve Vietnam, first American commercial airline. The Vietnamese government still needs to sign off on the plan.
Northern Yemen, deadly explosion, at least 16 people were killed after dynamite exploded in a three-story apartment building, leveling it. Police say the explosion was an accident.
Athens, Greece, now, Olympic Village opens. It's home to nearly 3,000 apartments for the world's athletes. First-time athletes will have training centers actually where they live. The Olympics, of course, start August 13.
That's a quick look at the uplink.
360 next, the politics of 9/11. With no one to blame, will anyone in Washington actually make the hard choices for change? The "CROSSFIRE" guys weigh in.
Plus, high-end healing to magnets to cupping. Celebrities turning to alternative treatments for better health. Find out if they actually work. Part of our special series the Star Treatment.
And a little later, Scott Peterson's other other woman. Find out what secrets he may have revealed to her.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Well, in Hollywood, when it comes to celebrities and healing, just about anything goes, crystals, massage therapy, hot rocks. But does any of this stuff really work? In a moment, I'll talk with renowned (UNINTELLIGIBLE), integrative medicine expert and bestselling author Dr. Andrew Weil.
But first, a look at the great lengths celebrities go to to nurture inner beauty and peace, part of our special series, the Star Treatment.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Good, a full-time job for celebrities, their passion for alternative therapies, like the mysterious red circles on Gwyneth Paltrow's back, curiosity. Paltrow was seeking pain relief from cupping, a ancient form of acupuncture said to heal.
J. Lo and Courtney Cox have been given possession protectors made of stones meant to maintain good spirits. At Susan Ciminelli's upscale New York City salon, she offers crystal therapy. Eighteen years ago a skeptic, until she found they helped her painful skin condition.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Crystals vibrate. They have a frequency, and we can't see it. The human eye is not trained to see that. But they have a frequency that resonates with your body's own natural frequency.
UDOJI: Richard Gere and Sharon Stone are said to believe. For Britney Spears, demands of the stage reportedly call for volcanic rock therapy or hot stone massage.
Celebrity or not, a National Institutes for Health survey found 36 percent of Americans use alternative therapies.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that people in general are drawn to a more holistic approach, if they don't have to pop an aspirin or if they can do something else that feels more natural.
UDOJI: There are few scientific studies on whether they work.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sting is supposedly a body treatment junkie.
UDOJI: But many therapies, like Reiki at Equinox, have thrived for centuries, even if the famous are just discovering them now.
Adaora Udoji, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: So are the stars on to something? Joining me now from San Diego, Dr. Andrew Weil, internationally recognized integrative medicine expert. He's the founder and director of the program in integrative medicine at the University of Arizona's Health Sciences Center, plus he's written eight books, including the bestseller "Eight Weeks to Optimum Health."
Dr. Weil, thanks for being with us.
DR. ANDREW WEIL, INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE EXPERT: Hi.
COOPER: Let's talk about cupping, let's talk about these hot rock therapy. When people say it draws out pain, discomfort, any truth to any of this?
WEIL: Well, cupping is an ancient technique. It was used in Islamic medicine in the Middle Ages. It's still used in traditional Chinese medicine. The heating of the cup creates a partial vacuum. When you put it on the skin, it draws the skin up and draws blood to the area So it's a form of local stimulation which can be used on acupuncture points.
I could imagine it might make a musculoskeletal problem feel better temporarily. I don't think there's any research on it as a healing technique in general. It can't do any harm.
COOPER: A lot of these people say sort of they increase energy, circulation, they help body circulation, and they make the people feel better. I mean, could there be a placebo effect to all of this?
WEIL: I'm sure with any treatment, including those that we use in regular medicine, there are placebo effects. Belief is a very powerful influence on treatment.
I think with -- when you talk about energy, and this is a major belief of Chinese medicine, the difficulty you run off is that in Western medicine and Western science, we don't really recognize the energy body or energy flows around the body. This all sounds completely mystical to scientists in our part of the world.
COOPER: Well, especially, I mean, I heard that woman in that piece talking about the crystals giving off some sort of frequency that our eyes simply aren't trained to see. I mean, you know, I'm not trained at all, but that doesn't sound all that realistic to me.
WEIL: You know, crystals are highly ordered bits of matter. Possibly they interact with the human body. There's no scientific evidence for this.
I think what, you know, what I get from watching this is that people really want magic in our culture, and that there's a lot of seeking of magical cures.
COOPER: Well, you know, people want cures. They want something to help change their lifestyle. What do you recommend, you know, for people who are looking into something different, perhaps?
WEIL: You know, there's a lot out there in the world of alternative medicine that I think is very sensible and useful, and that if we brought it into mainstream medicine, it would not only improve health but lower costs. And that includes things like dietary change and proper physical activity and mind-body methods of stress reduction, use of dietary supplements in an appropriate way. I mean, all that, there's a lot of science behind, I think you can make a reasonable case for.
COOPER: But...
WEIL: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
COOPER: ... there are no, there are no pretty rocks in all those things you mentioned.
WEIL: Well, you can have the pretty rocks too. They are not going to hurt you. Either that hot rock therapy is mostly a spa technique. My personal taste is to have hands on me rather than rocks. But again, it's not going to do any harm. If it makes people feel good, that's fine.
COOPER: All right, Dr. Andrew Weil, thanks very much. Good talking to you.
Our special series Star Treatment wraps up tomorrow night with the pampered life, a behind-the-scenes look at the glam squad, the posse that help a star shine.
A second woman claims she also dated Scott Peterson while he was married.
And outrageous and unpredictable. Graham Norton stops by to talk TV, celebrities, and how he gets them to say those naughty things.
360 continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: After months of hearings, hundreds of thousands of documents and a 570-page report, what we all want to know is what is going to be done to prevent September 11 from happening again?
In fairness, a lot has already been done. No doubt about it. It only takes a trip through an airport to see that. But the 9/11 commission says that a lot more still needs to be done. The question is, will it? It's a tough presidential election year and will politicians in Washington really do anything?
I spoke earlier about the 9/11's commission final report with Tucker Carlson and James Carville, part of CNN's "CROSSFIRE" gang.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: So, James, you have President Bush coming out saying that the threat still exists. You have Senator Roberts saying that the report's conclusions need some change, that things need to change. And yet you have the House Speaker Dennis Hastert saying that it is unlikely they are going to consider any reforms this year. Does that make sense to you?
JAMES CARVILLE, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": No, it doesn't make sense but nothing this Congress does makes any sense. And the report as I understand it was very critical of Congress' role in this. So I'm not surprised. Dennis Hastert is a status quo kind of guy. And they haven't done anything and they are not going to do anything. And I think that, you know, this week you are going to hear John Kerry talk about embracing these recommendations. That a lot of things were contained and Senator Horton, Senator Rudman's recommendations, these things have been around for some time. We need a government that's going to take action on them.
COOPER: Tucker, should they do something this year?
TUCKER CARLSON, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": If by something you mean create the position of intelligence czar and strip all that authority for intelligence from the Pentagon, maybe they should. It's not feasible. Maybe God himself can do it but I'm not sure anybody less powerful could. I mean it's -- you know, on the one hand it may be rearranging deck chairs, anyway.
It seems to me that the salient part of the report explains how we need to take steps to fight the ideology of terrorism, the radical Islam behind the attacks themselves and so no matter how you arrange the federal bureaucracy unless you get to that you're not going to end terrorism. But the fact is there are a lot of structural problems with switching it around. There are. I don't think any president could do it in, you know, in the -- between now and the end of the congressional session. It's not possible.
CARVILLE: No journey ever started without taking the first step. It looks like the Republicans don't want to take the first step. We know that the lead-up to the Iraqi war had some rather uninspired intelligence to be kind about it. So we probably need somebody new that will take action and will kind of rethink this thing in a different and more creative way.
COOPER: How much, Tucker, do you think this plays into politics this year? How much are we going to be hearing about the conclusions of this report in the coming months? How much are we going to be hearing about Iran's role in all of this?
CARLSON: Those are two separate questions. To the first I have trouble believing that there's a great political advantage on either side blaming the other for 9/11. My instinct is and I think polling suggests the same that people don't want to re-examine their conclusions about 9/11. Don't want to relive the experience in that whatever side is seen pointing the finger at the other will probably end up losing.
The Iran connection is really interesting. The report says that eight of the ten muscle figures among the 19 hijackers moved through Iran but they did so because Iranian immigration authorities don't stamp Saudi passports. So it was merely a procedural reason that they did it. But a lot of people have suggested that there are other reasons and that Iran trained a number of these guys in the use of explosives. I think you're going to hear a lot more about it. I wouldn't be surprised if Kerry started hitting on that.
COOPER: James, does any side get an advantage on this?
CARVILLE: I think that people are going to take the substantive recommendations very seriously. I think they are going to look back. I think there will be a sense of things that we could have done better. But I think where the real problem lies is what happened since September 11. The fact that there have been very little of the stuff that was done to get these people talking to each other was in -- could be something. I think it's going to be highly interesting to see what, if anything, that Senator Kerry says about this Thursday night in his acceptance speech.
COOPER: We'll leave it there. James Carville, Tucker Carlson, see you guys up in Boston.
CARLSON: Thanks, Anderson.
CARVILLE: Thanks.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Today's buzz is this. What do you think? "Do you agree with the conclusions of the 9/11 commission?" Log on to CNN.com/360. Cast your vote. Results at the end of the program tonight.
Rarely these days if ever do politicians speak really off the cuff. Every word they say seems to be scripted. For candidates Bush and Kerry each speech has a goal to please the party faithful or make the other guy look bad or convince the uncommitted to give them their support.
So when Mr. Bush who has called himself the war president spoke the other day repeatedly about peace, it looked to some like raw politics.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): Exactly 20 times in the speech Tuesday the president used the "P" word.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This country is a peaceful country. Now we're marching to peace. The world is becoming more peaceful. Free societies are peaceful societies. See, he is a partner in peace. The next four years will be peaceful years.
COOPER: President Bush had uttered the word "peace" before yet it was the first time he publicly labeled himself as...
BUSH: I want to be the peace president.
COOPER: Might sound surprising for a president whose first term has been defined by wars.
BUSH: We're at war. And the war goes on.
COOPER: There was 9/11, Afghanistan, and Iraq. So why the sudden need for peace? Experts say polls show President Bush doesn't have a problem on strength and that is his problem.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: So there is a big peace constituency. It's Democrats but it's also that diminishing number of swing voters out there who are really worried what happens if we reelect President Bush? Are we going to stay at war, are we going to go into another war?
COOPER: A new CNN poll released today shows that when given four choices, 23 percent of all Americans said the war in Iraq is the most important issue in the election.
SCHNEIDER: He's trying to reassure voters, number one, that he's a peaceable guy and number two, that the invasion of Iraq actually will make the world more peaceful.
COOPER: Peace, as President Bush's new war cry. May be heartfelt but it's also raw politics.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: A 12-foot alligator attacks a woman in Florida. Next on 360 the chilling details how the gator actually dragged the victim into a pond. And just an unbelievable story both to try to get her back out and out of the alligator's mouth.
Also, a new twist in the Scott Peterson trial. Police reports tell of yet another woman.
And a little later meet Graham Norton. A huge hit in Britain but will his salty brand of humor make a splash on this side of the Atlantic? We'll find out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Prosecutors say Scott Peterson murdered his wife and unborn child because of another woman. But which one? We know about Amber Frey, but in police transcripts obtained by Court TV, a second woman claims she dated Peterson while he was married. And what she allegedly told police may be troubling news for the defense.
Covering the case for us in "Justice Served" tonight, 360 legal analyst and Court TV anchor Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom. Thanks for being with us.
KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE NEWSOM, 360 LEGAL ANALYST: Hi, Anderson.
COOPER: I want to read to you an excerpt from the police report. Quote, "I asked Janet if her and Peterson talked about having a family." Janice, this other woman, "Peterson told Janet he did not want kids, because they would get in the way of his lifestyle. Janet said Peterson made it clear that kids were not in his future." Is this a good motive for murder for the prosecution?
NEWSOM: Well, think about it. People already agreed that it's not just Amber Frey, but it gets you into Scott Peterson's state of mind. What was he thinking? And jurors are going to want to know why would this man commit this crime, if in fact he did.
This suggests, that perhaps this was a man who want add certain lifestyle. This is consistent with the evidence that maybe the fact that his wife got pregnant pushed him over the edge. And he didn't want that additional burden. That might have been at the end of the day he said that's it, I've got to get out.
COOPER: We know Amber Frey is likely to testify. Could this other woman be called to testify?
NEWSOM: If I am a prosecutor in this case I am fighting tooth and nail to get Janet on the stand, because it makes so much sense, it's consistent with the prosecutions theory. But, of course, the defense is going to say it's too remote in time.
Keep in mind they dated back in 1998 when he was in college and so was she.
COOPER: The thing I don't understand, the police report Laci Peterson knew about the affair with this Janet woman. Why is that important to try to figure out whether or not she did in fact know?
NEWSOM: Well think about it. Because Sharon Rocha and the Rocha family said, if Laci knew about Amber Frey we would know. She didn't know about this.
Because of course Scott Peterson went and told Diane Sawyer that Laci knew about Amber, she had no problem about it so it kind of dismantles the whole motive theory. This suggests Laci knew about this other woman, because this other woman Janet confronted Scott in bed with Laci Peterson.
Clearly she knew about it. She made it clear it was an intimate relationship. So she never told that to her family. So, it makes Scott Peterson's statement even more believable.
COOPER: Interesting. Well, we'll watch. Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom, thanks.
NEWSOM: Thank you.
COOPER: Well here's a scientific term for you: Urban/Wildlands Interface. Sounds pretty dry and dusty I know, until you realize what it means. It's what happens when people, that's the urban part, move into areas where natural predators like mountain lions and alligators live. That's the wildlands part. And often the results are horrifying. That's the interface.
Yesterday in Sanibel, Florida, a gigantic 12-foot alligator attacked a woman who was landscaping a home there. The 54-year-old Jenny Melseck (ph) was trimming a tree when the 'gator attacked her, dragged into into a nearby bond. A neighbor came to the rescue holding her head above the water until lock police officers could respond. They battled the alligator for five minutes in the water, until they could free the woman and get her to shore.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I had one part of her and the alligator had the other part. And we just holding each other like a tug of war, almost.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: As you can imagine, Melseck was badly injured. Her right arm had to be amputated during six hours of surgery. She was also severely bitten on her lower body and her legs. Police killed the alligator with a shot to the head. It took 6 men to pull it out of the water. Melseck, we should point out remains in critical condition tonight.
360 next: can an impish, Irish comedian be the next big thing in America? Meet Graham Norton. He's made them laugh in Europe, but will his racy, saucy blend of humor work here? Don't get saucy with me.
Also tonight: Bobo's revenge, the tiger is gone, but his bite lives on. We'll take that to the "Nth Degree."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRAHAM NORTON, COMEDIAN: Have you seen this?
CHER, SINGER: No!
NORTON: Isn't that the maddest thing. It's a promotional thing for mermaids.
CHER: How great that is.
NORTON: Well, I'm sure you can have it, if you want it. I mean, it's just -- what would you do with it?
CHER: Well, I don't know, there's no holes in it, so you can't do much...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Yikes! At a time when American entertainers are being forced to clean up their acts, an Irish funny man is bringing his brand of raunchy, saucy humor across the pond. Graham Norton hosted a wily successful chat show in Britain for 6 years, now he's taking on some American audiences with his new television show, "The Graham Norton Effect," which is on Comedy Central.
The question is, will U.S. audience play along? Let's find out. Tonight as we go "Inside the Box."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): With his impish, Irish look and outrageous outlooks, Graham Norton is asking American audiences to come out and play.
NORTON: Everyone stand up, please. Everyone stand up. OK. OK. Stay standing. Stay standing. If you have ever been caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.
COOPER: And audiences seem happy to oblige.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was having sex in my...
NORTON: No! You couldn't get in that top, could you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was on an airplane flight it was -- no, no, no. No sex involved. Going cross country.
COOPER; After brief tries at acting and stand-up comedy, Norton host add wildly successful British talk show, it was called "So, Graham Norton." He did it for six years. It's now set for release on DVD.
That's where he honed his talent for getting stars to tell if not all than more than they intended.
DOLLY PARTON, SINGER: I dressed like a boy for you.
COOPER: And the price they pay for hyping their latest film is participation in one of the show's strange stunts or impromptu phone calls.
NORTON: Cher the singer?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cher?
NORTON: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
CHER: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, god.
COOPER; While he conspires with his audience and his guests to make mischief, he points his double entendres at some of Hollywood's hottest stars.
NORTON: Here comes a great white.
COOPER: Now he's brought his act across the Atlantic. And he hopes the audience and the guests will get the joke.
SANDRA BERNHARDT, ACTRESS: First of all, the fact there were not properly cellophaned wrapped is highly suspicious.
NORTON: Sandra, we both had worse things in our mouth.
COOPER: Norton is naughty, the question is will his brand of humor play well inside the box in these sanitized television times.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, god!
(END VIDEOTAPE) COOPER: Earlier, I spoke to Graham Norton about his naughty, bawdy new show.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: I appreciate you dressing up for being on my program tonight. What's up with that? You're not even wearing...
GRAHAM NORTON, HOST, "THE GRAHAM NORTON EFFECT": I'm not even wearing shoes.
(CROSSTALK)
NORTON: I thought CNN, surely a desk. But no.
COOPER: We figure you didn't warrant the desk. We figured free- floating barstools.
NORTON: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). But my feet are clean.
COOPER: We do appreciate that. At CNN, we like clean feet -- which is the new tagline for CNN.
How is being in America different -- because you have got a show in Britain that has been wildly, wildly successful. But the Brits are easy to make laugh.
NORTON: Well, you know, we have been doing the show there for about six years, and what is interesting coming here, because everyone asks, what's the difference between British humor and American humor, blah, blah, blah -- and actually...
COOPER: You're saying I am asking you a question that's been asked a million times.
NORTON: Well, no. It's an intelligent, bright question, yeah...
(CROSSTALK)
NORTON: Because the road is littered with failure. You know, lots of British things have tried to come here, and, you know, died a death.
COOPER: Right. "Coupling" would be number one on my list.
NORTON: Yes. "Coupling." There's loads of them. But I think what might help us is that our humor isn't really British or American. It's just really childish. It's really sort of...
(CROSSTALK)
NORTON: It's gutter humor. So, you know, we're trolling a very low path. So I think that's kind of universal.
COOPER: Well, you do a lot of trolling the Internet on your program. NORTON: Yes.
COOPER: And you make the celebrities look at these things on the Internet, which they pretend they have never seen before. Which I always find amusing.
NORTON: Well, tonight, now, Sharon Stone is on. And she's on a site -- there is a site where people will do anything for money. But like really random things, like come around to your house and pretend to be a badger for $5 an hour.
COOPER: A badger?
NORTON: Yeah, a badger. They will even soil themselves and pretend to be frightened.
COOPER: I don't think -- we're on early on. I don't think you can say that sort of thing.
NORTON: OK, I won't. And there is a guy on there who for 10 bucks I think will sing to Sharon Stone. So we got him to sing to Sharon Stone. It's rather lovely.
COOPER: And do -- I mean, do you ever have celebrities who just refuse to play along? Because they kind of know what they are getting into when they come on your show, don't they?
NORTON: Yeah. The good thing is we've been on long enough now that they, you know, they know what they are getting into and the publicists know what they're getting into.
We don't really do pre-interviews or anything, I just (UNINTELLIGIBLE) beforehand, and say, look, you know, nothing bad is going to happen to you.
COOPER: Right.
NORTON: Terrible things may happen to audience members, or people on the phone, but you are safe. And then they kind of I think hopefully relax and just enjoy it, because there is a sort of safety element.
COOPER: Have there been sort of disasters, I mean, early on maybe, when you were doing the show, people who just did not play along? You probably don't even want to name who they were.
NORTON: No, I mean, people who haven't had a good time on the show, you know, and there's no reason why you should like the show, Harvey Keitel didn't have a very good time.
COOPER: Oh, really?
NORTON: No.
COOPER: Well, I can imagine that. NORTON: Yeah. He didn't. But then, we had great success with people like Dustin Hoffman and Dennis Hopper, who really enjoyed it. So we got (UNINTELLIGIBLE), oh well, you know, maybe these kind of, you know, these sort of serious actors...
COOPER: Now, Harvey Keitel didn't hit you or anything?
NORTON: No, he didn't hit me. So that was quite good. Yes. On that level, it was a huge success.
COOPER: You know, it's funny, you say it is sort of salacious and gutter humor. It's not a great time to be launching a show in America, you know, with gutter humor. I mean, there doesn't seem to be a lot of people laughing these days at sort of people revealing nipples and stuff on the air.
NORTON: No, but I think obviously there's a need for our show, because you won't find it anywhere else. So, you know, it's sort of niche marketing. It's, you know, it's like gutter niche. We have gone for it.
COOPER: Welcome to our shores and good luck here in America.
NORTON: Well, thank you very much. Thanks for having me.
COOPER: Time to check on some pop news in tonight's "Current." Let's take a look.
The list is out for the sexiest vegetarians on the planet. OutKast's Andre 3000 came in number one with the most votes. Alicia Silverstone was a close second, though for truly sexy vegetarians, our vote goes to Gavin McLeod (ph).
About 1,500 homing pigeons, famous for finding their way home, are still missing following a race in Sweden. They were supposed to fly 93 miles, but organizers say they have no idea where they are now. Organizers are also wondering whatever happened to Flock of Seagulls.
Police in Tennessee arrested a naked man who was allegedly running down the street covered in melted cheese. Authorities do not know yet what he was running from, but someone did report seeing a large bag of Doritos in hot pursuit.
And attention air guitar wizards. A company is holding a contest looking for the hands-down best guitar faces out there, whether a grimace, open-mouthed, or a sniff many are trying out, including some of our own 360 crew guys, who showed off their best facial riffs, to licks of "Sweet Child O'Mine."
What was that Greg was doing? Did anyone figure that one out?
Anyway, 360 next, the curse of Bobo the tiger, shot to death in Florida. We take the curse to "The Nth Degree."
Plus, tomorrow, we wrap up our special series, "Star Treatment," with a look at the pampered life, with a behind the scene look at the glam squad, the posses, the hangers-on that help a star shine.
First, today's "Buzz." What do you think? Do you agree with the conclusions of the 9/11 Commission? Log on to cnn.com/360, cast your votes. We'll have results in just a moment when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Time now for the "Buzz." Earlier we asked you, do you agree with the conclusions of the 9/11 Commission? More than 6,000 of you voted. Sixty-six percent of you said yes; 34 percent of you said no. Not a scientific poll, certainly, but it is your buzz. We appreciate you voting.
Tonight, taking unintended consequences to "The Nth Degree."
OK, this is getting spooky. First there was the poor tiger itself. Bobo got away from his owner, a long-ago B-movie Tarzan, and instead of having a merry romp around the Florida neighborhood, the tiger got himself shot and killed.
Then a helpful woman who showed up with a live pig while Bobo was still on the loose, thinking the squealing of the pig would draw the tiger out of hiding, found herself in trouble with the authorities. Ran afoul of Florida's famously strict no pigs in car trunks law.
All right, it's actually a cruelty charge.
Then there was a fire at the home of poor dead Bobo's owner, a blaze firefighters had trouble getting to because the electrified fence around the property meant to keep the retired Tarzan's other big cats out of trouble. Are you still with me? Not that it worked on Bobo.
Then the animal control officers who did Bobo in were told that maybe they ought to not go around in uniform for a while, maybe plain clothes would be better, so they can't be identified and harassed by roving pro-Bobo bands.
Where will all this end? We have only one thing to say to anyone even remotely involved in the sad business, and we mean it, too. Beware of the curse of Bobo.
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 22, 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 from New York. I'm Anderson Cooper.
The facts are in. America's leaders, Republicans and Democrats, failed to grasp the danger terrorists posed before September 11.
360 starts now.
The report is in. Better communications could have unraveled the September 11 terrorist plot. But should they have pointed more fingers and named some names?
The plot thickens in the search for the missing Utah jogger. Is her husband telling the truth?
A second woman claims she also dated Scott Peterson while he was married.
Outrageous and unpredictable. Graham Norton stops by to talk TV, celebrities, and how he gets them to say those naughty things.
And in our special series the Star Treatment, healing in Hollywood. Cupping, crystals, hot stones, celebrities love them, but do any of these trendy treatments really work?
ANNOUNCER: Live from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is ANDERSON COOPER 360.
COOPER: Good evening.
It's hard to boil down the horror and shock Americans felt on September 11 to cold print, but that's what the commission looking into the attacks has done. In 570 pages, 14 chapters in all, a detailed account of missed warnings, missed opportunities, and a failure to imagine the capabilities of the terrorists and the depths of their hatred.
We'll have two reports tonight, John King on what went wrong, and on what should be done to fix it, we'll hear from Kelli Arena.
We begin with John King in Washington.
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, a great level of detail in this report about what went wrong, a much more cautious approach about who is to blame. The 9/11 commission does not point the finger at any one leader or any one government agency, but it does say that a great number of leaders, including President Bush, President Clinton, and the Congress, all share responsibility
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KING (voice-over): Could it have been prevented? The 9/11 commission report did not answer that nagging question with certainty. But its account of what went wrong details stunning failures.
THOMAS KEAN (R), 9/11 COMMISSION CHAIR: This was a failure of policy, management, capability, and, above all, a failure of imagination.
KING:. December 1998, President Clinton received a highly classified briefing with this headline, "Bin Laden Preparing to Hijack U.S. Aircraft and Other Attacks." The commission concludes had that warning been shared across the government, it might is have brought more attention to the need for permanent changes in domestic airport and airline security procedures.
Many of the mistakes are well known now. Two of the hijackers were suspected terrorists but were not placed on watch lists that would have barred them from entering the United States. The FBI knew Zacarias Moussaoui was in the States for flight training and suspected a possible hijacking. The CIA knew al Qaeda planned a spectacular attack soon, possibly involving airplanes. But the FBI didn't pass on all it knew. The dots never connected.
LEE HAMILTON (D), 9/11 COMMISSION VICE CHAIR: Could that have prevented 9/11? We don't know, but that failure is there.
KING: All the more striking, because in 1999, worried about millennium attacks, the government had (UNINTELLIGIBLE) al Qaeda threats. Information about terrorism flowed widely and abundantly. The flow from the FBI was particularly remarkable, because the FBI at other times shared almost no information.
(UNINTELLIGIBLE) "the government relaxed. Counterterrorism went back to being a secret preserve." So secret, the commission says, Presidents Clinton and Bush were not given the full picture of al Qaeda's capabilities and hatred.
BOB KERREY, 9/11 COMMISSION MEMBER: How in God's name are you supposed to imagine a threat if the facts are being withheld from you?
KING: In the summer of 2001, CIA director George Tenet warned the system was blinking red. Al Qaeda was posed to strike.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: But the report also notes that some in the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) administration did not act when George Tenet said the system was blinking red. The acting FBI director, for example, had a national conference call but did not task the field offices around the country to go out and look at the possibility that al Qaeda could strike here in the United States.
And while the head of the CIA thought urgent attacks were coming, not everyone in the Clinton -- in the Bush White House, excuse me, agreed. The report says the deputy secretary of defense, Paul Wolfowitz, quote, "questioned that reporting," Anderson.
COOPER: All right. John King in the White -- in Washington. Thanks very much, John.
Beyond what went wrong, the big question is whether it could happen again, and what can be done to prevent it. With that, here's CNN's Kelli Arena.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The message from the commission is clear, the U.S. cannot afford to wait to make changes.
KEAN: Every expert with whom we spoke told us an attack of even greater magnitude is now possible and even probable. We do not have the luxury of time.
ARENA: The 9/11 report calls for significant reform, covering everything from the way the U.S. deals with Muslim nations to putting together response plans in the case of another attack.
HAMILTON: There is no silver bullet or decisive blow that can defeat Islamist terrorism. It will take unity of effort...
ARENA: The commission recommends creating a new counterterrorism center to coordinate more than a dozen intelligence agencies. In charge would be a new national intelligence director, reporting to the president, confirmed by the Senate.
The director would have control over intelligence budgets and the ability to hire and fire deputies, including the CIA director and top intelligence officials at the FBI, Homeland Security, and Defense Departments.
The commission did not endorse the creation of a new domestic intelligence agency, but it did back the FBI's move toward a new intelligence service within the bureau.
The report also calls for a reworking of congressional committees to provide stronger oversight.
HAMILTON: The intelligence community needs a shift in mindset and organization.
ARENA: The FBI embraced many of the recommendations and says it will look closely at others. Senior CIA officials say they want to proceed carefully. "We are in the middle of a war," one said, "and do not want to disrupt that activity." The president called the report constructive but made no commitments. GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I look forward to studying their recommendations and look forward to working with responsible parties within my administration to move forward on those recommendations.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA: Commission members say even though their charter expires, they will not go out of business. They promise to come back in a year with a report card judging what, if any, progress has been made, Anderson.
COOPER: All right, Kelli Arena in Washington, thanks, Kelli.
We're joined now in Washington by 9/11 commission member Timothy Roemer, who's also one of the authors of the report we were discussing.
Thanks very much for being with us, Mr. Roemer, appreciate it.
TIMOTHY ROEMER, 9/11 COMMISSION MEMBER: Nice to be with you, Anderson.
COOPER: Mr. Roemer, let me start off with this. One of the main recommendations, really, is the creation of a head of intelligence, a national intelligence director or czar, if you will. A lot of people in the administration have come out against that. Why is that so necessary? The criticism is, it just adds another layer of bureaucracy.
ROEMER: The biggest reason to support this, and we did in a bipartisan, unanimous way -- and by the way, Anderson, we're not the first to do it, the Scowcroft commission decided to do it. There are bills in the Senate and the House by Senator Feinstein and Congressman Harmon to do it. This is not a brand-new idea. It wouldn't take a lot of time to implement this, and (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
COOPER: But, I mean, other, Tom Ridge is against it, as you know.
ROEMER: Well, but it make a great deal of sense in today's threat environment, Anderson. Listen, when we looked at this report, and talked to people who are experts in this area, and know the al Qaeda threat, we looked back and saw problems of the FBI and the CIA failing to communicate, not sharing intelligence from overseas to the domestic threat. We saw people not analyzing what al Qaeda was and thinking that Osama bin Laden was a financier up until about 1998.
We need one person in charge, one person with accountability, one person with responsibility and the president's ear to be able to manage, hire dire, have an appropriation budget, and direct the activities of the 15 different agencies that now comprise the intelligence community...
COOPER: You know, you... ROEMER: ... right now, Anderson. Well, I mean, just let me finish. Right now, we have a czar, which is not a very good term for the CIA director. They only have control over the CIA and not over the other 15 different agencies out there. They can't fire and hire, they can't really task authority, they can't really have a budget. DOD has most of that budget. So that is ineffectual right now in today's environment with al Qaeda clawed on our shoulders ready to attack again.
COOPER: You say they're ready to attack again, and this bipartisan report, you say significant reform is needed. We heard Governor Kean saying, you know, there's no time to wait. And yet House Speaker Dennis Hastert says it's unlikely Congress is going to really look at any major changes this year. Is that acceptable to you?
ROEMER: We know that al Qaeda doesn't have a schedule for the summertime to go on vacation. Al Qaeda doesn't have an election schedule. Al Qaeda's going to try to strike America and kill Americans whenever, whenever they can.
And I think, again, Anderson, we could do some of this reform. We've suggested that the FBI form a service within a service, could be directed by executive order of the president of the United States. Lot of bills have been floating around on the director of national intelligence. We could do that in a matter of months. We've got Senator McCain and Senator Lieberman that have endorsed these recommendations, and they're going to have a bill pending.
We need action. We don't have time to wait and the luxury to wait and see when al Qaeda might strike us and kill more people.
COOPER: It's been a long process for you, and I know the process is not over. As you said, you're going to do an update, a report in six to 12 months. We'll be watching that closely. Commissioner Tim Roemer, thanks for being with us.
ROEMER: Thanks for having me.
COOPER: It's the kind of story you hope you never become numb to, kidnapped civilians in Iraq. And we have new details about the latest held hostage. Three are from Kenya, three from India, and one Egyptian. The militant group released this dark, grainy video today of the men. The group's threatening to behead them unless their employer, a Kuwaiti trucking firm, shuts down operations in Iraq.
Meanwhile, the Bulgarian government confirms a headless body found in Iraq last week has been identified as one of the two kidnapped Bulgarian truck drivers. And Iraqi police say they've found another beheaded body in the same area. No word yet on whether it's the other Bulgarian man.
All of this, of course, comes against a backdrop of even more deadly clashes in Iraq. With that, here's CNN's Michael Holmes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fierce clashes after insurgents ambushed a Marine convoy in the often-violent town of Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad. The initial attack, a roadside bomb. Then what the military calls a barrage of small-arms fire and RPGs.
U.S. Marines say they killed 25 insurgents, wounded 17, captured 25 during the fighting. Fourteen U.S. servicemen were wounded, none of the injuries said to be life-threatening.
Fighting in Baghdad too, running street battles early Thursday around Haifa Street. Weeks in planning, Iraqi police, Iraqi national guard, and U.S. forces carrying out joint raids, which included the use of U.S. tanks and helicopters.
There were sporadic but heavy exchanges of fire in the predawn hours. The interior ministry says five Iraqis were wounded, 270 arrested, including what was described as several non-Iraqi Arabs, as well as what the ministry said were insurgents and criminal gangs.
Disturbing pictures obtained by the Arabic-language network Al Jazeera showing what's said to be insurgent attacks inside Iraq by a previously unknown group, the Tabuk (ph) Missile Squadron. On the tape provided to Al Jazeera television, the group is heard threatening Iraqi leaders and police.
Michael Holmes, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: A quick news now on that Philippine hostage whose life was spared by militants in Iraq. Forty-six-year-old Angelo de la Cruz returned home, as you see, to hugs, his eight children, and a hero's welcome. The president of the Philippines agreed to withdraw 51 troops from Iraq one month earlier to save de la Cruz's life.
New fallout from a security lapse at Los Alamos Nuclear Weapons Lab. That story tops our look at what's happening cross-country right now. Fifteen employees have been put on leave at the lab amid a probe into what happened to two missing computer disks holding classified data. Government says it hasn't seen any evidence the disappearance has endangered national security.
Providence, Rhode Island, nightclub fire lawsuit. Remember this? A year and a half after the fire that killed 100 people during a performance by the rock band Great White, there is new legal action. Today, lawyers representing the biggest group of plaintiffs yet filed suit against dozens of defendants, including the club owners and the state of Rhode Island. The key charge, negligence.
Lansing, Michigan, now. A big victory for DaimlerChrysler. Michigan Supreme Court has overturned a $21 million sexual harassment verdict against the automaker. The court said the dollar amount of the award was excessive.
And New York City, John Gotti, Jr., slapped with new racketeering charges. Charges were unsealed today against the son of the late organized crime boss. Gotti Jr. is already serving a sentence for racketeering due to a 1999 case. He is due out of prison in September. If convicted on the new charges, Gotti could go back to jail for the rest of his life, just like his dad.
That's a look at stories cross-country tonight.
360 next, a missing pregnant jogger and a husband caught in a lie. But does it have anything to do with the case? A closer look at the mystery in Utah.
Plus, a high-speed train crash, dozens dead in a devastating maiden journey.
Also tonight, a 12-foot alligator attack. Police pull a woman from his -- the alligator's jaws. A deadly struggle ahead.
First, your picks, the most popular stories on CNN.com right now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: So what happened to Lori Hacking? The pregnant Salt Lake City woman was last seen going for a morning jog. And it is part of her daily routine. Since her disappearance, though, for her family and friends, nothing has been routine, including new questions about her husband.
CNN's Kimberly Osias has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): To friends, 27- year-old Lori Hacking seemed to have it all, a business career of her own, a baby on the way, and a loving husband who said he was following family footsteps and heading to medical school.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She had no idea. We had no idea. It's just -- it's so hard to believe that. How could he pull that off for all this time?
OSIAS: Lori's best friend, Rebecca Carroll (ph), says Mark Hacking told Lori that he had graduated from college and was going on to med school. But all of that was lie after lie. She says the pair even visited several North Carolina campuses.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Along 11th Avenue. Eleventh Ave. is, you know, the jogging route that goes down...
OSIAS: Carroll and dozens of other volunteers continue to search today where Lori was last seen heading out for a run just before dawn Monday. Police have seized both of the couple's cars, as well as a dumpster and some bedding. At this point, there are no suspects in the case, but police are calling Mark Hacking a person of interest and have questioned him several times.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do we have to look at everything he's told us with some speculation? But, you know, we want to reserve judgment at this point.
OSIAS: As for Mark Hacking's whereabouts, family members say he's under a doctor's care in a local psychiatric hospital.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He wishes he could be out here going door to door, beating the brush and whatever he could do. He's just so incapacitated with his grieving that he's just not able to be here.
OSIAS: They say he would never do anything to hurt his now- missing wife.
Kimberly Osias, CNN, Salt Lake City.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, a massive train derailment in Turkey tops our look at what is happening around the world in the uplink. Northwestern Turkey, at least 36 people were killed and 60 injured when a high- speed passenger train traveling from Istanbul to the Turkish capital, Ankara, crashed. A mechanical problem is believed to have caused the accident.
Ho Chi Minh City via the friendly skies. United Airlines says today it plans to begin daily flights from San Francisco in December. It will be the first commercial airline in decades to serve Vietnam, first American commercial airline. The Vietnamese government still needs to sign off on the plan.
Northern Yemen, deadly explosion, at least 16 people were killed after dynamite exploded in a three-story apartment building, leveling it. Police say the explosion was an accident.
Athens, Greece, now, Olympic Village opens. It's home to nearly 3,000 apartments for the world's athletes. First-time athletes will have training centers actually where they live. The Olympics, of course, start August 13.
That's a quick look at the uplink.
360 next, the politics of 9/11. With no one to blame, will anyone in Washington actually make the hard choices for change? The "CROSSFIRE" guys weigh in.
Plus, high-end healing to magnets to cupping. Celebrities turning to alternative treatments for better health. Find out if they actually work. Part of our special series the Star Treatment.
And a little later, Scott Peterson's other other woman. Find out what secrets he may have revealed to her.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Well, in Hollywood, when it comes to celebrities and healing, just about anything goes, crystals, massage therapy, hot rocks. But does any of this stuff really work? In a moment, I'll talk with renowned (UNINTELLIGIBLE), integrative medicine expert and bestselling author Dr. Andrew Weil.
But first, a look at the great lengths celebrities go to to nurture inner beauty and peace, part of our special series, the Star Treatment.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Good, a full-time job for celebrities, their passion for alternative therapies, like the mysterious red circles on Gwyneth Paltrow's back, curiosity. Paltrow was seeking pain relief from cupping, a ancient form of acupuncture said to heal.
J. Lo and Courtney Cox have been given possession protectors made of stones meant to maintain good spirits. At Susan Ciminelli's upscale New York City salon, she offers crystal therapy. Eighteen years ago a skeptic, until she found they helped her painful skin condition.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Crystals vibrate. They have a frequency, and we can't see it. The human eye is not trained to see that. But they have a frequency that resonates with your body's own natural frequency.
UDOJI: Richard Gere and Sharon Stone are said to believe. For Britney Spears, demands of the stage reportedly call for volcanic rock therapy or hot stone massage.
Celebrity or not, a National Institutes for Health survey found 36 percent of Americans use alternative therapies.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that people in general are drawn to a more holistic approach, if they don't have to pop an aspirin or if they can do something else that feels more natural.
UDOJI: There are few scientific studies on whether they work.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sting is supposedly a body treatment junkie.
UDOJI: But many therapies, like Reiki at Equinox, have thrived for centuries, even if the famous are just discovering them now.
Adaora Udoji, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: So are the stars on to something? Joining me now from San Diego, Dr. Andrew Weil, internationally recognized integrative medicine expert. He's the founder and director of the program in integrative medicine at the University of Arizona's Health Sciences Center, plus he's written eight books, including the bestseller "Eight Weeks to Optimum Health."
Dr. Weil, thanks for being with us.
DR. ANDREW WEIL, INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE EXPERT: Hi.
COOPER: Let's talk about cupping, let's talk about these hot rock therapy. When people say it draws out pain, discomfort, any truth to any of this?
WEIL: Well, cupping is an ancient technique. It was used in Islamic medicine in the Middle Ages. It's still used in traditional Chinese medicine. The heating of the cup creates a partial vacuum. When you put it on the skin, it draws the skin up and draws blood to the area So it's a form of local stimulation which can be used on acupuncture points.
I could imagine it might make a musculoskeletal problem feel better temporarily. I don't think there's any research on it as a healing technique in general. It can't do any harm.
COOPER: A lot of these people say sort of they increase energy, circulation, they help body circulation, and they make the people feel better. I mean, could there be a placebo effect to all of this?
WEIL: I'm sure with any treatment, including those that we use in regular medicine, there are placebo effects. Belief is a very powerful influence on treatment.
I think with -- when you talk about energy, and this is a major belief of Chinese medicine, the difficulty you run off is that in Western medicine and Western science, we don't really recognize the energy body or energy flows around the body. This all sounds completely mystical to scientists in our part of the world.
COOPER: Well, especially, I mean, I heard that woman in that piece talking about the crystals giving off some sort of frequency that our eyes simply aren't trained to see. I mean, you know, I'm not trained at all, but that doesn't sound all that realistic to me.
WEIL: You know, crystals are highly ordered bits of matter. Possibly they interact with the human body. There's no scientific evidence for this.
I think what, you know, what I get from watching this is that people really want magic in our culture, and that there's a lot of seeking of magical cures.
COOPER: Well, you know, people want cures. They want something to help change their lifestyle. What do you recommend, you know, for people who are looking into something different, perhaps?
WEIL: You know, there's a lot out there in the world of alternative medicine that I think is very sensible and useful, and that if we brought it into mainstream medicine, it would not only improve health but lower costs. And that includes things like dietary change and proper physical activity and mind-body methods of stress reduction, use of dietary supplements in an appropriate way. I mean, all that, there's a lot of science behind, I think you can make a reasonable case for.
COOPER: But...
WEIL: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
COOPER: ... there are no, there are no pretty rocks in all those things you mentioned.
WEIL: Well, you can have the pretty rocks too. They are not going to hurt you. Either that hot rock therapy is mostly a spa technique. My personal taste is to have hands on me rather than rocks. But again, it's not going to do any harm. If it makes people feel good, that's fine.
COOPER: All right, Dr. Andrew Weil, thanks very much. Good talking to you.
Our special series Star Treatment wraps up tomorrow night with the pampered life, a behind-the-scenes look at the glam squad, the posse that help a star shine.
A second woman claims she also dated Scott Peterson while he was married.
And outrageous and unpredictable. Graham Norton stops by to talk TV, celebrities, and how he gets them to say those naughty things.
360 continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: After months of hearings, hundreds of thousands of documents and a 570-page report, what we all want to know is what is going to be done to prevent September 11 from happening again?
In fairness, a lot has already been done. No doubt about it. It only takes a trip through an airport to see that. But the 9/11 commission says that a lot more still needs to be done. The question is, will it? It's a tough presidential election year and will politicians in Washington really do anything?
I spoke earlier about the 9/11's commission final report with Tucker Carlson and James Carville, part of CNN's "CROSSFIRE" gang.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: So, James, you have President Bush coming out saying that the threat still exists. You have Senator Roberts saying that the report's conclusions need some change, that things need to change. And yet you have the House Speaker Dennis Hastert saying that it is unlikely they are going to consider any reforms this year. Does that make sense to you?
JAMES CARVILLE, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": No, it doesn't make sense but nothing this Congress does makes any sense. And the report as I understand it was very critical of Congress' role in this. So I'm not surprised. Dennis Hastert is a status quo kind of guy. And they haven't done anything and they are not going to do anything. And I think that, you know, this week you are going to hear John Kerry talk about embracing these recommendations. That a lot of things were contained and Senator Horton, Senator Rudman's recommendations, these things have been around for some time. We need a government that's going to take action on them.
COOPER: Tucker, should they do something this year?
TUCKER CARLSON, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": If by something you mean create the position of intelligence czar and strip all that authority for intelligence from the Pentagon, maybe they should. It's not feasible. Maybe God himself can do it but I'm not sure anybody less powerful could. I mean it's -- you know, on the one hand it may be rearranging deck chairs, anyway.
It seems to me that the salient part of the report explains how we need to take steps to fight the ideology of terrorism, the radical Islam behind the attacks themselves and so no matter how you arrange the federal bureaucracy unless you get to that you're not going to end terrorism. But the fact is there are a lot of structural problems with switching it around. There are. I don't think any president could do it in, you know, in the -- between now and the end of the congressional session. It's not possible.
CARVILLE: No journey ever started without taking the first step. It looks like the Republicans don't want to take the first step. We know that the lead-up to the Iraqi war had some rather uninspired intelligence to be kind about it. So we probably need somebody new that will take action and will kind of rethink this thing in a different and more creative way.
COOPER: How much, Tucker, do you think this plays into politics this year? How much are we going to be hearing about the conclusions of this report in the coming months? How much are we going to be hearing about Iran's role in all of this?
CARLSON: Those are two separate questions. To the first I have trouble believing that there's a great political advantage on either side blaming the other for 9/11. My instinct is and I think polling suggests the same that people don't want to re-examine their conclusions about 9/11. Don't want to relive the experience in that whatever side is seen pointing the finger at the other will probably end up losing.
The Iran connection is really interesting. The report says that eight of the ten muscle figures among the 19 hijackers moved through Iran but they did so because Iranian immigration authorities don't stamp Saudi passports. So it was merely a procedural reason that they did it. But a lot of people have suggested that there are other reasons and that Iran trained a number of these guys in the use of explosives. I think you're going to hear a lot more about it. I wouldn't be surprised if Kerry started hitting on that.
COOPER: James, does any side get an advantage on this?
CARVILLE: I think that people are going to take the substantive recommendations very seriously. I think they are going to look back. I think there will be a sense of things that we could have done better. But I think where the real problem lies is what happened since September 11. The fact that there have been very little of the stuff that was done to get these people talking to each other was in -- could be something. I think it's going to be highly interesting to see what, if anything, that Senator Kerry says about this Thursday night in his acceptance speech.
COOPER: We'll leave it there. James Carville, Tucker Carlson, see you guys up in Boston.
CARLSON: Thanks, Anderson.
CARVILLE: Thanks.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Today's buzz is this. What do you think? "Do you agree with the conclusions of the 9/11 commission?" Log on to CNN.com/360. Cast your vote. Results at the end of the program tonight.
Rarely these days if ever do politicians speak really off the cuff. Every word they say seems to be scripted. For candidates Bush and Kerry each speech has a goal to please the party faithful or make the other guy look bad or convince the uncommitted to give them their support.
So when Mr. Bush who has called himself the war president spoke the other day repeatedly about peace, it looked to some like raw politics.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): Exactly 20 times in the speech Tuesday the president used the "P" word.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This country is a peaceful country. Now we're marching to peace. The world is becoming more peaceful. Free societies are peaceful societies. See, he is a partner in peace. The next four years will be peaceful years.
COOPER: President Bush had uttered the word "peace" before yet it was the first time he publicly labeled himself as...
BUSH: I want to be the peace president.
COOPER: Might sound surprising for a president whose first term has been defined by wars.
BUSH: We're at war. And the war goes on.
COOPER: There was 9/11, Afghanistan, and Iraq. So why the sudden need for peace? Experts say polls show President Bush doesn't have a problem on strength and that is his problem.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: So there is a big peace constituency. It's Democrats but it's also that diminishing number of swing voters out there who are really worried what happens if we reelect President Bush? Are we going to stay at war, are we going to go into another war?
COOPER: A new CNN poll released today shows that when given four choices, 23 percent of all Americans said the war in Iraq is the most important issue in the election.
SCHNEIDER: He's trying to reassure voters, number one, that he's a peaceable guy and number two, that the invasion of Iraq actually will make the world more peaceful.
COOPER: Peace, as President Bush's new war cry. May be heartfelt but it's also raw politics.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: A 12-foot alligator attacks a woman in Florida. Next on 360 the chilling details how the gator actually dragged the victim into a pond. And just an unbelievable story both to try to get her back out and out of the alligator's mouth.
Also, a new twist in the Scott Peterson trial. Police reports tell of yet another woman.
And a little later meet Graham Norton. A huge hit in Britain but will his salty brand of humor make a splash on this side of the Atlantic? We'll find out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Prosecutors say Scott Peterson murdered his wife and unborn child because of another woman. But which one? We know about Amber Frey, but in police transcripts obtained by Court TV, a second woman claims she dated Peterson while he was married. And what she allegedly told police may be troubling news for the defense.
Covering the case for us in "Justice Served" tonight, 360 legal analyst and Court TV anchor Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom. Thanks for being with us.
KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE NEWSOM, 360 LEGAL ANALYST: Hi, Anderson.
COOPER: I want to read to you an excerpt from the police report. Quote, "I asked Janet if her and Peterson talked about having a family." Janice, this other woman, "Peterson told Janet he did not want kids, because they would get in the way of his lifestyle. Janet said Peterson made it clear that kids were not in his future." Is this a good motive for murder for the prosecution?
NEWSOM: Well, think about it. People already agreed that it's not just Amber Frey, but it gets you into Scott Peterson's state of mind. What was he thinking? And jurors are going to want to know why would this man commit this crime, if in fact he did.
This suggests, that perhaps this was a man who want add certain lifestyle. This is consistent with the evidence that maybe the fact that his wife got pregnant pushed him over the edge. And he didn't want that additional burden. That might have been at the end of the day he said that's it, I've got to get out.
COOPER: We know Amber Frey is likely to testify. Could this other woman be called to testify?
NEWSOM: If I am a prosecutor in this case I am fighting tooth and nail to get Janet on the stand, because it makes so much sense, it's consistent with the prosecutions theory. But, of course, the defense is going to say it's too remote in time.
Keep in mind they dated back in 1998 when he was in college and so was she.
COOPER: The thing I don't understand, the police report Laci Peterson knew about the affair with this Janet woman. Why is that important to try to figure out whether or not she did in fact know?
NEWSOM: Well think about it. Because Sharon Rocha and the Rocha family said, if Laci knew about Amber Frey we would know. She didn't know about this.
Because of course Scott Peterson went and told Diane Sawyer that Laci knew about Amber, she had no problem about it so it kind of dismantles the whole motive theory. This suggests Laci knew about this other woman, because this other woman Janet confronted Scott in bed with Laci Peterson.
Clearly she knew about it. She made it clear it was an intimate relationship. So she never told that to her family. So, it makes Scott Peterson's statement even more believable.
COOPER: Interesting. Well, we'll watch. Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom, thanks.
NEWSOM: Thank you.
COOPER: Well here's a scientific term for you: Urban/Wildlands Interface. Sounds pretty dry and dusty I know, until you realize what it means. It's what happens when people, that's the urban part, move into areas where natural predators like mountain lions and alligators live. That's the wildlands part. And often the results are horrifying. That's the interface.
Yesterday in Sanibel, Florida, a gigantic 12-foot alligator attacked a woman who was landscaping a home there. The 54-year-old Jenny Melseck (ph) was trimming a tree when the 'gator attacked her, dragged into into a nearby bond. A neighbor came to the rescue holding her head above the water until lock police officers could respond. They battled the alligator for five minutes in the water, until they could free the woman and get her to shore.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I had one part of her and the alligator had the other part. And we just holding each other like a tug of war, almost.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: As you can imagine, Melseck was badly injured. Her right arm had to be amputated during six hours of surgery. She was also severely bitten on her lower body and her legs. Police killed the alligator with a shot to the head. It took 6 men to pull it out of the water. Melseck, we should point out remains in critical condition tonight.
360 next: can an impish, Irish comedian be the next big thing in America? Meet Graham Norton. He's made them laugh in Europe, but will his racy, saucy blend of humor work here? Don't get saucy with me.
Also tonight: Bobo's revenge, the tiger is gone, but his bite lives on. We'll take that to the "Nth Degree."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRAHAM NORTON, COMEDIAN: Have you seen this?
CHER, SINGER: No!
NORTON: Isn't that the maddest thing. It's a promotional thing for mermaids.
CHER: How great that is.
NORTON: Well, I'm sure you can have it, if you want it. I mean, it's just -- what would you do with it?
CHER: Well, I don't know, there's no holes in it, so you can't do much...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Yikes! At a time when American entertainers are being forced to clean up their acts, an Irish funny man is bringing his brand of raunchy, saucy humor across the pond. Graham Norton hosted a wily successful chat show in Britain for 6 years, now he's taking on some American audiences with his new television show, "The Graham Norton Effect," which is on Comedy Central.
The question is, will U.S. audience play along? Let's find out. Tonight as we go "Inside the Box."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): With his impish, Irish look and outrageous outlooks, Graham Norton is asking American audiences to come out and play.
NORTON: Everyone stand up, please. Everyone stand up. OK. OK. Stay standing. Stay standing. If you have ever been caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.
COOPER: And audiences seem happy to oblige.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was having sex in my...
NORTON: No! You couldn't get in that top, could you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was on an airplane flight it was -- no, no, no. No sex involved. Going cross country.
COOPER; After brief tries at acting and stand-up comedy, Norton host add wildly successful British talk show, it was called "So, Graham Norton." He did it for six years. It's now set for release on DVD.
That's where he honed his talent for getting stars to tell if not all than more than they intended.
DOLLY PARTON, SINGER: I dressed like a boy for you.
COOPER: And the price they pay for hyping their latest film is participation in one of the show's strange stunts or impromptu phone calls.
NORTON: Cher the singer?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cher?
NORTON: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
CHER: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, god.
COOPER; While he conspires with his audience and his guests to make mischief, he points his double entendres at some of Hollywood's hottest stars.
NORTON: Here comes a great white.
COOPER: Now he's brought his act across the Atlantic. And he hopes the audience and the guests will get the joke.
SANDRA BERNHARDT, ACTRESS: First of all, the fact there were not properly cellophaned wrapped is highly suspicious.
NORTON: Sandra, we both had worse things in our mouth.
COOPER: Norton is naughty, the question is will his brand of humor play well inside the box in these sanitized television times.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, god!
(END VIDEOTAPE) COOPER: Earlier, I spoke to Graham Norton about his naughty, bawdy new show.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: I appreciate you dressing up for being on my program tonight. What's up with that? You're not even wearing...
GRAHAM NORTON, HOST, "THE GRAHAM NORTON EFFECT": I'm not even wearing shoes.
(CROSSTALK)
NORTON: I thought CNN, surely a desk. But no.
COOPER: We figure you didn't warrant the desk. We figured free- floating barstools.
NORTON: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). But my feet are clean.
COOPER: We do appreciate that. At CNN, we like clean feet -- which is the new tagline for CNN.
How is being in America different -- because you have got a show in Britain that has been wildly, wildly successful. But the Brits are easy to make laugh.
NORTON: Well, you know, we have been doing the show there for about six years, and what is interesting coming here, because everyone asks, what's the difference between British humor and American humor, blah, blah, blah -- and actually...
COOPER: You're saying I am asking you a question that's been asked a million times.
NORTON: Well, no. It's an intelligent, bright question, yeah...
(CROSSTALK)
NORTON: Because the road is littered with failure. You know, lots of British things have tried to come here, and, you know, died a death.
COOPER: Right. "Coupling" would be number one on my list.
NORTON: Yes. "Coupling." There's loads of them. But I think what might help us is that our humor isn't really British or American. It's just really childish. It's really sort of...
(CROSSTALK)
NORTON: It's gutter humor. So, you know, we're trolling a very low path. So I think that's kind of universal.
COOPER: Well, you do a lot of trolling the Internet on your program. NORTON: Yes.
COOPER: And you make the celebrities look at these things on the Internet, which they pretend they have never seen before. Which I always find amusing.
NORTON: Well, tonight, now, Sharon Stone is on. And she's on a site -- there is a site where people will do anything for money. But like really random things, like come around to your house and pretend to be a badger for $5 an hour.
COOPER: A badger?
NORTON: Yeah, a badger. They will even soil themselves and pretend to be frightened.
COOPER: I don't think -- we're on early on. I don't think you can say that sort of thing.
NORTON: OK, I won't. And there is a guy on there who for 10 bucks I think will sing to Sharon Stone. So we got him to sing to Sharon Stone. It's rather lovely.
COOPER: And do -- I mean, do you ever have celebrities who just refuse to play along? Because they kind of know what they are getting into when they come on your show, don't they?
NORTON: Yeah. The good thing is we've been on long enough now that they, you know, they know what they are getting into and the publicists know what they're getting into.
We don't really do pre-interviews or anything, I just (UNINTELLIGIBLE) beforehand, and say, look, you know, nothing bad is going to happen to you.
COOPER: Right.
NORTON: Terrible things may happen to audience members, or people on the phone, but you are safe. And then they kind of I think hopefully relax and just enjoy it, because there is a sort of safety element.
COOPER: Have there been sort of disasters, I mean, early on maybe, when you were doing the show, people who just did not play along? You probably don't even want to name who they were.
NORTON: No, I mean, people who haven't had a good time on the show, you know, and there's no reason why you should like the show, Harvey Keitel didn't have a very good time.
COOPER: Oh, really?
NORTON: No.
COOPER: Well, I can imagine that. NORTON: Yeah. He didn't. But then, we had great success with people like Dustin Hoffman and Dennis Hopper, who really enjoyed it. So we got (UNINTELLIGIBLE), oh well, you know, maybe these kind of, you know, these sort of serious actors...
COOPER: Now, Harvey Keitel didn't hit you or anything?
NORTON: No, he didn't hit me. So that was quite good. Yes. On that level, it was a huge success.
COOPER: You know, it's funny, you say it is sort of salacious and gutter humor. It's not a great time to be launching a show in America, you know, with gutter humor. I mean, there doesn't seem to be a lot of people laughing these days at sort of people revealing nipples and stuff on the air.
NORTON: No, but I think obviously there's a need for our show, because you won't find it anywhere else. So, you know, it's sort of niche marketing. It's, you know, it's like gutter niche. We have gone for it.
COOPER: Welcome to our shores and good luck here in America.
NORTON: Well, thank you very much. Thanks for having me.
COOPER: Time to check on some pop news in tonight's "Current." Let's take a look.
The list is out for the sexiest vegetarians on the planet. OutKast's Andre 3000 came in number one with the most votes. Alicia Silverstone was a close second, though for truly sexy vegetarians, our vote goes to Gavin McLeod (ph).
About 1,500 homing pigeons, famous for finding their way home, are still missing following a race in Sweden. They were supposed to fly 93 miles, but organizers say they have no idea where they are now. Organizers are also wondering whatever happened to Flock of Seagulls.
Police in Tennessee arrested a naked man who was allegedly running down the street covered in melted cheese. Authorities do not know yet what he was running from, but someone did report seeing a large bag of Doritos in hot pursuit.
And attention air guitar wizards. A company is holding a contest looking for the hands-down best guitar faces out there, whether a grimace, open-mouthed, or a sniff many are trying out, including some of our own 360 crew guys, who showed off their best facial riffs, to licks of "Sweet Child O'Mine."
What was that Greg was doing? Did anyone figure that one out?
Anyway, 360 next, the curse of Bobo the tiger, shot to death in Florida. We take the curse to "The Nth Degree."
Plus, tomorrow, we wrap up our special series, "Star Treatment," with a look at the pampered life, with a behind the scene look at the glam squad, the posses, the hangers-on that help a star shine.
First, today's "Buzz." What do you think? Do you agree with the conclusions of the 9/11 Commission? Log on to cnn.com/360, cast your votes. We'll have results in just a moment when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Time now for the "Buzz." Earlier we asked you, do you agree with the conclusions of the 9/11 Commission? More than 6,000 of you voted. Sixty-six percent of you said yes; 34 percent of you said no. Not a scientific poll, certainly, but it is your buzz. We appreciate you voting.
Tonight, taking unintended consequences to "The Nth Degree."
OK, this is getting spooky. First there was the poor tiger itself. Bobo got away from his owner, a long-ago B-movie Tarzan, and instead of having a merry romp around the Florida neighborhood, the tiger got himself shot and killed.
Then a helpful woman who showed up with a live pig while Bobo was still on the loose, thinking the squealing of the pig would draw the tiger out of hiding, found herself in trouble with the authorities. Ran afoul of Florida's famously strict no pigs in car trunks law.
All right, it's actually a cruelty charge.
Then there was a fire at the home of poor dead Bobo's owner, a blaze firefighters had trouble getting to because the electrified fence around the property meant to keep the retired Tarzan's other big cats out of trouble. Are you still with me? Not that it worked on Bobo.
Then the animal control officers who did Bobo in were told that maybe they ought to not go around in uniform for a while, maybe plain clothes would be better, so they can't be identified and harassed by roving pro-Bobo bands.
Where will all this end? We have only one thing to say to anyone even remotely involved in the sad business, and we mean it, too. Beware of the curse of Bobo.
I'm Anderson Cooper. Thanks for watching. Coming up next, "PAULA ZAHN NOW."
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