Return to Transcripts main page

Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Top Bush Campaign Lawyer Resigns; Former Senator Max Cleland Visits Crawford Touting Anti-Ad Letter; No Answers Yet In Russian Twin Plane Crash

Aired August 25, 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: A presidential race supposed to be about the issues today seems anything but.
360 starts now.

A top Bush campaign lawyer resigns because of work he did for the swift boat vets. Is this proof of a White House connection?

Former senator Max Cleland makes a house call to President Bush in Crawford. The message, denounce the ad. Does Kerry now want to keep the controversy alive?

New evidence in the killing of two Christian camp counselors. Photos found on the beach with the bodies. Do they provide the clues the police are seeking?

The crash sites of two Russian jets are located. But was it an accident or a terror attack? Investigators hope the black boxes may hold the answers.

A convicted rapist who served more than 17 years behind bars gets caught in a new attack, captured on tape.

And a dramatic rescue off the Gulf of Mexico. The harrowing story of survival and sacrifice.

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

COOPER: And good evening to you.

If you thought the fight over swift boats and ads and laws was winding down, you thought wrong. Both sides are running the spin cycle overtime, accusing each other of breaking laws and issuing challenges for the other side to end the firestorm.

Today, there was no shortage of new fuel or people to fan the flames.

CNN's White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joins us from Washington. Suzanne?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, Republican observers say this was not a good day for the White House. Earlier today Ben Ginsberg, he was the top lawyer of the Bush campaign, resigned, saying that he admitted that he was working advising the Bush campaign but also that controversial group the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. They have been very critical of Kerry.

But he says he was aboveboard, he did not break the law, that he kept those two elements, that work separate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN GINSBERG, FORMER BUSH CAMPAIGN COUNSEL: The way the laws of coordination are written, that is perfectly appropriate. It's as appropriate as my Democratic colleagues on the other side doing precisely the same thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Now, the Kerry camp accuses. They say that Ginsberg is just another example of the connections that they say are made between the Bush campaign and this controversial swift boat group. This was a message that Max Cleland also brought to the Crawford ranch. This, of course, is the Vietnam veteran, the triple amputee, a Kerry supporter, who went to deliver a letter to the president, asking him essentially to denounce those ads criticizing Kerry's service.

He did not meet with the president, the president instead putting out another Vietnam veteran, a local Bush supporter, Jerry Patterson, to receive Cleland's letter, but also to give him a note in return, essentially written by the Bush campaign, signed by them, saying that they believe that they are condemning him -- Kerry, they believe, condemning him for not supporting those troops.

But Cleland says that he believes that the president is complicit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAX CLELAND (D), FORMER SENATOR: The question is, where is George Bush's honor? The question is, where is his shame? To attack a fellow veteran who has distinguished himself in combat, regardless of the political combat involved, is disgraceful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Now, the Bush campaign, as well as the White House, say that Senator Kerry's comments asking that they put all of this behind is disingenuous. They are calling all of this today, Anderson, political theater.

COOPER: Well, now, Ben Ginsberg, this lawyer who resigned, is it illegal for -- what he did?

MALVEAUX: Well, so far it is not illegal for what he did. I mean, the law simply states that they are allowed -- there's a loophole in the campaign finance law that allows these advisers to work on their campaigns but also to go ahead and give advice to these particular groups. This is something that the Bush campaign says that Democratic advisers are doing as well. This is something that the Bush campaign also says that they want to call an end to all around.

COOPER: All right. Suzanne Malveaux, thanks very much for that.

In Russia tonight, the cleanup and the questions continue. What happened to two planes which fell from the sky nearly 450 miles apart? The second jet crashed just three minutes after the first.

Tonight, we know everyone aboard both planes, all 89 passengers and crew, perished. What we don't know, and what Russian authorities, from the president on down to recovery crews searching through the wreckage are trying to determine, is, was this a tragic accident, or a precisely timed act of terror?

CNN's Ryan Chilcote has the latest on the investigation from Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is what remains of the first of two Russian passenger planes to disappear from radar screens. A half-hour after it took off, it crashed into the Russian countryside just outside of Moscow, taking all on board to their graves.

Nearby villagers say they heard it coming, even before it hit the ground.

"I heard the roar of a plane that sounded as if it was really low," he says, "then an explosion, like the sound of thunder. Then there was silence, and more explosions.

Then, another plane, hundreds of miles away from the first, vanishes just minutes after the first one. On board it, 46 people, mostly vacationers who were going to spend the last week of the Russian summer on the beach before school starts.

There are unconfirmed reports that the second plane's crew was attacked, and that a hijacking signal was sent from the plane and picked up by air traffic control.

The Russian federal security service, Russia's successor to the Soviet KGB, leads the investigation. A spokesman says there is no evidence yet that the two crashes were caused by terrorism, saying they are checking the quality of the fuel in the planes and the possibility of mechanical failure.

The Russian president returns to the capital for an emergency meeting at the Kremlin, leaving the working vacation in the same resort town the plane with the tourists was destined for.

Russia's chief prosecutor says there are many possible causes for the crashes, including terrorism.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CHILCOTE: Anderson, it's been 28 hours since those two planes went down, as you said, almost simultaneously, hundreds of miles apart. Analysts say this is very -- all very fishy, and looks like it might be terrorism. But so far, the Russian official sources are saying that they just don't know, they're not ruling out anything yet. They're looking at everything from terrorism, to mechanical failure, to even human error in all of this.

What we do know is, they have a massive investigation under way, and they've probably been gathering quite a bit of evidence. They may already know what happened to those two planes. They're just not sharing that with the general public yet, Anderson.

COOPER: Ryan Chilcote in Moscow. Thanks, Ryan.

In California, the investigation continues into the murder of two young Christian camp counselors. In what may have been their final roll of film, the couple are doing something their families probably hope to remember them doing. They're smiling. For the friends of the young couple, murdered execution-style on a barren beach, the snapshots may bring back happier moments.

For the police, however, they could help unravel a horrific crime.

CNN's Miguel Marquez has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pictures of Jason Allen and Lindsay Cutshall on a California vacation, the last pictures of the couple, who were on their way to marriage next month. The pictures are from a roll of undeveloped film found by sheriff's investigators when their bodies were discovered on a remote beach north of Jenner, California. Investigators say they were found still in their sleeping bags, both shot in their heads.

KATHY CUTSHALL, MOTHER: I'm a mother. This is a mother's heart. If you would have told me a week ago that this was going to happen, you know, I wouldn't feel -- think I could handle it.

MARQUEZ: Lindsay, who was 23, and Jason, 26, were youth ministers working at a Christian camp in Del Norte County, California. Investigators believe they were shot on Sunday the 15th or Monday the 16th. Their bodies were discovered last Wednesday.

For now, Lindsay's family is holding tightly to their faith, only hoping that the killer is caught before killing again.

CHRIS CUTSHALL, FATHER: What we're concerned about him getting off in the streets or beaches, or whatever, for the protection of the community of wherever he's at.

MARQUEZ: Investigators appear to have cleared 21-year-old drifter Nicholas Scarseth of any wrongdoing. Scarseth turned himself into authorities in Humboldt County, California. The sheriff's office there says Scarseth admitted he was in Jenner around the time the bodies were found and that he cooperated with authorities, and then was released.

For the Cutshalls, it's now time to plan for a different ceremony, a burial for both victims in Lindsay's hometown of Fresno, Ohio.

KATHY CUTSHALL: How do you replace people as special as Lindsay and Jason? You don't. You just miss them. But we do have the hope that we'll see them again someday.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: Now, we are in a live press conference by the Sonoma County sheriff's office. The big news out of this press conference is that a $10,000 reward has been established for anyone giving information that will solve this crime. The lieutenant up here talking about the fact that it's very difficult for them to solve this one, because they have no clear motive in this case, and they're hoping that tips from the public will help bring a killer into their custody, Anderson.

COOPER: Miguel Marquez, thanks very much. Miguel.

A good Samaritan risks his life to save a man who drives off a bridge. That story tops our look at what's going on cross-country tonight.

Columbia, South Carolina, the operator of a cement-mixing truck loses control, plunges into a river. Now, a driver who witnessed the crash, he jumped into the water, helped pull the operator to safety. Both men are doing all right.

Chicago, the Dave Matthews band caught in a mess, literally. The band's accused of emptying the contents of its tour bus's septic tank while crossing a bridge, showering a boat sailing the Chicago River below. Illinois wants the band to pay $70,000 in fines. Criminal charges are a possibility.

And in Las Vegas, Nevada, Siegfried and Roy in a catfight with the Agriculture Department. The famed magic show is refusing to turn over a videotape of the tiger attack that nearly killed Roy Horn. Federal law allows the USDA to investigate the treatment of animals, in this case, the 300-pound white tiger.

That's a quick look at what's going on cross-country tonight.

360 next, a son killed in Iraq, and a father driven over the edge by grief. He takes it out on the Marines who've come to tell him of his son's death. One tragedy led to another.

Plus, a rapist set free attacks again. His attack this time caught on tape. And the community is outraged. How did it happen?

Also, a fishing trip disaster. A dramatic tale of death, survival, and rescue on the seas. All that ahead. First, let's take a look at your picks, the most popular stories right now on CNN.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: when a service member dies in a war zone, the military comes to tell the family in person. Every family's reaction, of course, is different. Today, when Marines went to deliver the news to a family in Florida, the reaction they got was like nothing they'd ever seen before.

Reporter Art Barron of WFOR has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ART BARRON, REPORTER, WFOR-TV (voice-over): Just moments after getting the tragic news that his son had died in combat in Najaf, Iraq, 44-year-old Carlos Arredondo breaks down in an emotional tantrum and torches this U.S. government van, the van three U.S. Marines drove in to tell him his son was dead.

MELIDA ARREDONDO, VICTIM'S STEPMOTHER: And my husband did not take the news well.

BARRON: The stepmother of the U.S. Marine who died, on the phone with his brother, who lives with his mom in Maine.

MELIDA ARREDONDO (on phone): Carlos freaked out. And he hurt himself more than anybody. He's got major burns all over his body.

BARRON: The father, Carlos Arredondo, is quickly taken to Memorial Regional Hospital, suffering second-degree burns to his arms and legs. His son, 20-year-old Lance Corporal Alexander Arredondo, was based in the 1st Marine Division in Camp Pendleton, California, and was killed during combat yesterday in Najaf. Three U.S. Marines notified his father and grandmother around 2:00 today.

MAJOR SCOTT MAC, U.S. MARINE CORPS: I don't think any of us are qualified to go into the depths of the mind and truly anticipate how somebody's going to react.

BARRON: But the news was too painful to bear after three uniformed Marines knocked on the front door.

CAPT. TONY RODE, HOLLYWOOD POLICE DEPARTMENT: At one point he actually goes into the garage, picks up a can of gasoline and/or a propane tank, runs towards the vehicle, smashes the vehicle window, and sets the U.S. governmental vehicle on fire. He's still inside the vehicle as it's fully engulfed in flames.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BARRON: The father is now in the burn unit at a local hospital right here in south Florida. We understand he is listed in serious condition. Now, police tell me that he could be charged, among other things, with arson and destruction of U.S. government property, but they're going to evaluate this whole case and consider his emotional state.

And Anderson, today is the father's 44th birthday. The last thing he'd ever expect was to find out that his son died in combat overseas.

COOPER: A terrible story. Art Baron, thanks very much for that.

A powerful typhoon batters Taiwan. That tops our look at what's going on around the world in the uplink tonight.

Taipei, Taiwan, Typhoon Aere packed heavy winds and drenching rains, triggering severe flooding and mud slides that buried people and homes. At least 16 are dead across Asia. Dozens are missing right now.

Cape Town, South Africa. Mark Thatcher, son of Britain's former prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, is under arrest. He's accused of taking part in a plot to overthrow the government of Equatorial Guinea, a small, oil-rich nation on the western African coast.

Toronto, Ontario, now, an early-morning hostage drama ends as an armed suspect is shot, killed by a police sharpshooter. The suspect roughed up one woman before grabbing a second victim and holding her at gunpoint in front of a busy railroad station.

Tehran, Iran, the Islamic republic has a new queen, who sings "Bohemian Rhapsody." An album of greatest hits by the rock band Queen is now on sale in Iran with the blessing of the ruling mullahs. Queen's lead singer, Freddie Mercury, was proud of his Iranian heritage, proud of being gay as well. Word is, some of the group's love songs are not on the album, however.

That's a quick look at what's happening around the world in the uplink.

New York Fire Department is two firefighters short today, one fired and one suspended, the disciplinary action coming as an investigation is focusing on a woman's claims that she was raped in a firehouse not once but many times. Now, several news reports suggest she may have been involved in sexual encounters at other firehouses.

CNN's Adaora Udoji reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Firefighters proudly call the station embroiled in the sex scandal Animal House. That was before last Friday's incident.

Police say a 34-year-old woman told them she had been raped there, but then recanted, calling it consensual sex with at least two veteran firemen, one of whom she met on the Internet and later called. NICHOLAS SCOPETTA, FIRE COMMISSIONER: Anyone who was involved in sexual activity at this firehouse will be fired. Anyone who has violated any of our rules with respect to drugs or drinking faces termination as well.

UDOJI: Department officials say they suspended three firemen without pay. Twelve others, including a battalion chief, were reassigned. The woman involved reportedly told police she had had sex with 200 to 300 firemen since September 11.

DR. N. G. BERILL, FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGIST: After 9/11, you know, both firefighters and police officers in New York City, and rightfully so, were hailed as heroes. And I think that attracts an awful lot of attention, perhaps even this phenomenon of almost groupies cropping up.

UDOJI (on camera): The sex scandal's the latest in a string of embarrassing incidents for the department this year. In May, federal investigators charged a firefighter with soliciting a minor for sex. Another is accused of dealing steroids.

(voice-over): In January, prosecutors charged one with assault after he allegedly smashed a colleague in the head with a chair after they'd been drinking. That's still only a handful in a department of 11,500.

SCOPETTA: It's not part of the department culture. They, we can't let the activities of a few firefighters taint the entire reputation of this department.

UDOJI: The commissioner says he'll follow the investigation wherever it leads. That includes sanctioning supervisors if necessary.

Adaora Udoji, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, 360 next, incriminating behavior. Secret audiotapes of Scott Peterson. Was he a little too quick to put his house on the market?

Also tonight, a fishing trip disaster. Rescue and survival on the high seas.

And the fight over Vietnam service comes close to President Bush's front door. That is raw politics ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Some late developments in a high-profile legal case. Two days to go before jury selection begins in the rape case against the basketball star Kobe Bryant. Prosecutors today asked the judge for a crucial last-minute hearing.

Now, the issue, which goes to the heart of the defendant's case, concerns DNA testing, and whether it may have been tainted and mishandled by an expert hired by Bryant.

Covering the case in justice served for us, 360 legal analyst Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom.

Good to see you, Kimberly.

KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE NEWSOM, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: You as well, Anderson.

COOPER: This is the same DNA evidence which the defense claims shows that this young lady had sex with somebody else prior to having sex, prior to relations with Kobe Bryant.

NEWSOM: Well, again, this is also really key evidence, because the defense has suggested in earlier hearings, that when they had an expert testify, that this woman, the accuser, had sex with someone after Kobe Bryant, and prior to the examination at the hospital. So this is very key. It would definitely undermine her credibility.

Now, the prosecution's coming in at the 11th hour with something that appears to be credible, an argument about the reliability of these test results, suggesting that there is contamination. We know there's contamination in a control sample. What's key is whether or not the sample provided to them, to this lab, is contaminated that has the evidence from this case.

But if they can undermine the integrity of this lab, chosen by the defense, it will go a long way towards helping their case.

COOPER: So was the entire DNA sample given to this lab, or was it a piece of it? And are they saying that piece may have been contaminated, or are they saying the entire...

NEWSOM: They're saying that there's questions about this lab, saying this lab, we can't trust the reliability, this is such a key issue in this case. All along, you have to understand, the prosecution and the accuser and her attorney have said she never had sexual relations with anyone after Kobe Bryant.

Kobe's defense is saying no, we can prove that she did due, to DNA found by who they're calling Mr. X, an (UNINTELLIGIBLE), (UNINTELLIGIBLE), unidentified person, and it's on her panties and on her person.

COOPER: But this comes after a lot of sort of movements by the prosecution which might indicate -- and by the young woman, which might indicate that the whole case might go away altogether. I mean, there are those who are saying this is just a delaying tactic before actually just dropping the whole case.

NEWSOM: Without a doubt, this should have been done, this should have been handled ahead of time. But guess what? Maybe the prosecution wasn't really thinking they were going to trial, and going to proceed because of all the issues and concerns about the accuser not cooperating. Now it appears we're ready to go, this is on the eve of trial. The judge has to deal with it, of course, prior to even selecting this jury, which is supposed to happen on Friday. This could prevent things from going forward on a timely basis, because it must be resolved before the court case starts.

COOPER: And jury selection was to begin on Friday.

NEWSOM: That's correct. And they have -- what's interesting in this case, it will be so tough to pick a jury, given his enormous popularity, Kobe Bryant, and the widespread coverage of this case.

And they have one of the best. This is the best advantage the prosecution has in this case. They have one of the top experts, Jo Ellen Dimitrius, who picked the jury in O.J. Simpson. She picked the defense jury as well in the Jayson Williams case, with a very favorable result for the defense, and in the Scott Peterson case. For once she's on the prosecution's side. It may be their best bet.

COOPER: All right, Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom, thanks.

NEWSOM: Thank you.

COOPER: Scott Peterson says he went fishing the day his wife disappeared back in 2002. He even pinpoints the time he left home. But the prosecution tried to punch holes through the accused killer's alibi today with more phone calls, and it's not just what Peterson says that matters, it's when he said it.

CNN's Ted Rowlands has a wrap-up of this day in court.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Modesto's lead wiretap investigator, Steve Jacobson, spent the entire day on the witness stand, playing dozens of recorded phone calls, documenting more lies from Scott Peterson.

Jacobson testified Peterson was in Berkeley the day investigators recovered what they thought was a body from San Francisco Bay. It turned out to be an anchor. Peterson tells a number of people he's in Bakersfield, including his mother, his father, and his missing wife's mother, Sharon Rocha.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

SCOTT PETERSON (on phone): Well, I'm actually down in Bakersfield.

SHARON ROCHA, LACI PETERSON'S MOTHER (on phone): Oh, are you? OK.

SCOTT PETERSON: Yes, I had to finish up some work stuff here today, and I'm...

ROCHA: OK, OK. SCOTT PETERSON: ... we're just getting done. And I passed out flyers on my way home, so...

ROCHA: OK.

SCOTT PETERSON: ... I won't be home until five or so.

ROCHA: OK.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

ROWLANDS: A number of the calls revolved around a possible sighting of Laci Peterson in Longview, Washington. Friends and family were calling Peterson about the tip, and he tells them that he's been talking to police there. Jacobson testified at the time there was no record of any calls from Peterson to police in Washington state.

Here, he appears to be lying to his mother about it.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

JACKIE PETERSON, SCOTT PETERSON'S MOTHER (on phone): Why don't you hop on a plane?

SCOTT PETERSON (on phone): Well, I'll definitely -- you know, I called up there and talked to one of them.

JACKIE PETERSON: Oh, good for you. Good for you.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

ROWLANDS: Eventually, Peterson did call Longview police.

Jacobson also played a recorded conversation between Peterson and Brian Argaye, a friend and local real estate agent, about selling he and Laci's Modesto home. This call was recorded less than a month after Laci Peterson was reported missing.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

SCOTT PETERSON (on phone): Kind of keep it quiet, all right?

BRIAN ARGAYE (on phone): Oh, I will. I'm not going to say a word to anybody, don't worry about that.

SCOTT PETERSON: OK, it's all furnished, I mean...

(END AUDIO CLIP)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS: Later, it was determined, in another phone call by Peterson, that he couldn't sell that house without a court order. On cross-examination, Steve Jacobson, the investigator, admitted that in the 3,000 calls they listened in on, Peterson never made an admission or a confession, Anderson. COOPER: Ted Rowlands from Redwood. Thanks very much, Ted.

Former senator Max Cleland makes a house call to President Bush in Crawford. The message, denounce the ad. Does Kerry now want to keep the controversy alive?

A convicted rapist who served more than 17 years behind bars gets caught in a new attack, captured on tape.

And a dramatic rescue off the Gulf of Mexico. The harrowing story of survival and sacrifice.

360 continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: "360" next, Max Cleland goes to Crawford for John Kerry. The swiftboat fight gets nastier. First our top stories in tonight's "Reset."

An Australian man pleaded not guilty today to charges he fought for the Taliban in Afghanistan. David Hicks was captured in Afghanistan, brought to Gitmo in January 2002. The U.S. military commission trying him could sentence Hicks to life in prison. Deliberations are set to begin in January.

The tide of red delegates that will sweep over New York City next week for the Republican Convention may also leave the city in the red financially. The city's controller office says business closures, added security, and traffic and commuter delays will cost the big apple more than $300 million. That's more than the estimated $265 million pumped into the city's economy during the four-day convention.

Danny Glover, was arrested today on the steps of Sudan's Embassy in Washington. The actor was protesting the Sudanese government's alleged role in the Darfur crisis. Government-backed Arab militia have been terrorizing the local population. The United Nations has set an end of the month deadline for the Sudanese government to disarm the militias.

Doctors say it is only a matter of time before the next big flu epidemic kills hundreds of thousands of Americans. A new response plan calls for closing schools, restricting travel, and rationing scarce medications until a new vaccine can be put together. That could take months.

Well, tonight we look at the spin cycle. It is going full blast at this hour. As we told you earlier, a political casualty today in the controversy surrounding the swiftboat ads. First President Bush's campaign attorney, Benjamin Ginsburg (ph) resigned after he admitted to advising a veterans group that's been attacking Democratic challenger John Kerry's Vietnam war record. Ginsburg didn't break the law, but the Democrats say it's evidence of a connection between the president's campaign and the swiftboat vets. Republicans repeatedly deny any connection exists. At the same time the former U.S. senator, Max Cleland, attempted to deliver a letter to President Bush at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. Cleland, who lost both his legs and part of an arm during the Vietnam war, blasted Bush for not doing enough to condemn the swiftboat ad on Kerry. And then he went one step further in his comments against Bush.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAX CLELAND (D), FORMER U.S. SENATOR: He went after John McCain when he got behind, when McCain won the New Hampshire primary. And came south to South Carolina. The slime machine got cranked up. The smear campaign started. And McCain actually went on television and asked the president to stop it. He did not. And then when the president came after me in Georgia in 2002, Chuck Hagel asked him to stop putting me up there on the television with Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein, and they did not.

And now nine members of the Senate and millions of Americans around the country are asking George Bush to make one phone call, to his friends here in Texas, and say stop this insanity. This country does not need this at a time when we all need to be united against real terrorists abroad and a real threat to our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: It seems no one is at a loss for words in this ugly war of words. Earlier "CROSSFIRE's" Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson weighed in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Paul, the Kerry campaign had been saying they wanted this swiftboat issue to go away, and then Max Cleland pops up today in Crawford, Texas, and it's front and center in the headlines again.

Is this part of this strategy?

Do they want this thing really to go away?

PAUL BEGALA, "CROSSFIRE": They say they do, Anderson. But I can't argue with your logic. If you want it to go away, you don't put on a bit of political theater like we had today. I think that they believe that Senator Kerry has been aggrieved that there have been untrue -- and I believe there were untrue attacks made about his war record. And I think that they believe this is ricocheting against President Bush. I have to say my preference is to actually talk about jobs and the economy and healthcare. And that to his credit Kerry, actually did do that today, but the Cleland event just overwhelmed Kerry's substantive message.

COOPER: Tucker, do you think it's ricocheting against the president?

They're alleging, the Kerry campaign is basically alleging that Bush is, you know, colluding with and running these ads.

TUCKER CARLSON, "CROSSFIRE": Obviously the Kerry people have some evidence that it works I guess or they wouldn't do it. One supposes they focus group this stuff before they do it. Their calculation may be that anytime people are talking about Vietnam it helps John Kerry. I do think they've got to be careful of Max Cleland, who is a great speaker when he's under control. There are a lot of things that are admirable about him. But sometimes he's not under control, and if you read what he says when he's on the road acting as a surrogate for John Kerry, it's over the top.

BEGALA: He was willing to go and meet with the president of the United States. I have to say I think President Bush looks gutless in not going out and meeting with Max. The president's a nice guy, he's an engaging guy, he's a decent guy. I think he would have done very well politically if he had sat down with Senator Cleland and tried to talk this through. It probably wouldn't have come to an agreement, but it would have defused the political theater that Kerry believes he benefits from.

Instead Bush hid in the house and he sent out some right-wing whack job, I guy I know from Texas days, Jerry Patterson, who the state land commissioner, who back in the day in the state Senate introduced the bill to allow Texans to carry guns in church.

CARLSON: Just step back. I know it's the news of the moment and it's hard to get any perspective on it, but Max Cleland, a former senator from Georgia, flew to Waco, Texas today, a day after the Kerry campaign said they don't want to talk about it, to present a letter to the president?

I mean, that is the kind of thing that happens at Lafayette Park across the street from the White House.

COOPER: Paul, very quickly, Ben Ginsburg, an attorney for the Bush campaign, resigned today because of connections he was working for the swiftboat veterans several months ago. The Kerry people say look, this is yet more evidence of a connection.

Do you believe there's an actual connection?

BEGALA: I haven't seen enough evidence, no. Ben Ginsburg is a good guy. He's a good lawyer. Big Republican, obviously. But I don't have a problem with an attorney representing two different clients and...

COOPER: It's legal.

BEGALA: ... right wing special interest group. Certainly, it's legal. I have a law degree, I never practiced, but it's clearly legal. I'm curious as to why, Ben, resigned, then. I don't have a problem with what he did. It's clear that Bush is benefiting from these ads.

CARLSON: I don't think the Bush campaign thinks that they're benefiting from this. They're clearly on the defensive. I don't think they ought to be at all. I think it's legitimate for -- other veterans have other views about John Kerry's behavior in Vietnam. But the Bush campaign does feel differently, they think they're going to get bit by this, and that's why they made Ginsburg resign. They clearly have some evidence that it's hurting them or they wouldn't have done it.

COOPER: We're going to have to leave it there. Tucker Carlson, Paul Begala, thanks.

CARLSON: Thanks.

BEGALA: Thanks.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Max Cleland's trip to Texas certainly made a good photo op, something all political campaigns strive for.

But sometimes the pictures aren't necessarily interpret in the "Raw Politics" of the stunt.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): Call it Mr. Cleland goes to Crawford. The former senator, who lost both legs and his right arm in Vietnam, calling on the commander-in-chief to stop televised attacks against one of Cleland's comrades, Senator John Kerry. At his side, Jim Rassmann, the man who Kerry rescued from a Vietnam river more than 30- years-ago.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a man here who works for the president, where did he go?

COOPER: The scene had all the elements of great political theater. The wounded hero attempting to plead his buddy's case before the most powerful man in the land. The problem with political theater is it doesn't always play. Some cases in point. September 1988, a tank plant near Detroit. Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis tried to shed his soft on national defense image by taking a ride atop a tank.

As anyone will remember, his commitment to building better fighting machines, no. But we all remember that huge helmet and the geeky grin.

May 2003, 30 miles off the San Diego coast. President George W. Bush lands, on an S3B Viking jet on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln, then struts around in a flight suit beneath a banner that declared "the mission accomplished" in Iraq. It must have seemed like a good idea at the time.

July 2004, Cape Canaveral, candidate John Kerry shows support for the space program and puts on an anti-contamination suit that makes him look like -- well, Republicans call it a bunny suit. The Kerry camp can only say the photos were leaked to the press.

Sometimes stunts designed to build an image work. Sometimes they can end up battering that image. It just may pay to remember not every picture is perfect when it's staged for "Raw Politics."

(END VIDEOTAPE) COOPER: In New York City nervous energy is considered a natural resource. Certainly no room for calm and relaxed. Next week, when the Republican National Convention is in town, the tension will be even higher than usual and so will the security.

CNN's homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Days before conventioneers congregate, New York City Police are already putting on a show of force intended to intimidate and deter. If security was high at the Democratic Convention in Boston, in New York it will be sky-high. A corporate blimp will be used to conduct high-tech long- term surveillance.

TOM RIDGE, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Five boroughs, 8 million people. You don't have one airport you're particularly concerned about, you have several international airports. You still have the waterways.

MESERVE: The biggest security player by far, the NYPD. 37,000 strong, experienced with big events and big demonstrations. While demonstrators in Boston numbered in the hundreds, here there is a potential for hundreds of thousands.

RAY KELLY, NEW YORK POLICE COMMISSIONER: It's going to have the potential for being more volatile and having, you know, more disruption or attempted disruption.

MESERVE: And Kelly's department has plenty of other things to do. Among the other events it must handle next week, the U.S. Open Tennis tournament plus Mets and Yankees games.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Break. Thomas Brown, traffic. Go ahead.

MESERVE: The Coast Guard will be among the contributing federal agencies. It will track ship activity around Manhattan with the cameras that captured a dramatic barge refueling accident in 2003. The federal, state, and local entities involved in security will coordinate at a New York command center, and in Washington the Department of Homeland Security will monitor and provide a coordinated federal response if events require one.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: There is no specific intelligence that terrorists are targeting the Republican National Convention, but officials are concerned that terrorists may strike before the election, and given New York's history and symbolism, they are doing their utmost to make sure it doesn't happen here -- Anderson.

COOPER: It will be interesting to see how big the demonstrations actually end up being, how many protesters actually do show up.

MESERVE: And the police will not give you an estimate. COOPER: Jeanne Meserve, good to have you here in New York. Welcome.

MESERVE: Thanks.

COOPER: So did surveillance video capture a convicted rapist ready to strike again? Next on 360, were the warning signs about a known sexual predator ignored by a jury? That story just ahead.

Also tonight, the Coast Guard to the rescue. The life and death mission to save lives at sea. We'll tell you about a dramatic rescue.

Also a little later, the tables are turned. Instead of asking the questions, I'm answering them to Charlie rose. What's that about? 360 next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: When Curtis Thompson, a man convicted of committing four rapes in 1985, was eligible for release this past fall, prosecutors asked a jury to keep him confined. He was still a risk, they said. The jury ignored that. For the first time not listening to prosecutors' advice in Washington, they set Curtis Thompson free. This Monday Thompson was arrested again. Two women say he chased them into an elevator. One was hit, the other forced to disrobe. You're seeing some of the surveillance tapes here. She says she thought she was about to be raped. The crime has outraged many in Seattle.

From the Seattle Police Department tonight, Captain Neil Low joins us to talk about what happened. We're also joined by Marcia Powell. She was attacked by Curtis Thompson back in 1985.

Both of you, I appreciate you being on the program. Marcia, let me start off with you. What happened to you back on that night, June, 1985. What did Curtis Thompson do?

MARCIA POWELL, THOMPSON RAPE VICTIM: He entered my apartment in the middle of the night, broke in, and attacked me in my bed. He tied me up. He raped me. He bit me. He cut me with a knife and threatened to kill me. And robbed me.

COOPER: Now, he served time for that along with three other rapes that he committed in 1985. You testified in front of a jury back in the fall. You told them probably the story you just told us now.

POWELL: Yes.

COOPER: They didn't listen to you.

POWELL: Well, if they listened, it didn't have enough impact for them to believe that he would do this again, obviously.

COOPER: And prosecutors were telling them that he was still a risk. POWELL: Yes, they were. And they apparently chose to believe that since he had not acted out while in prison in a very controlled environment that he would likely be OK in greater society.

COOPER: Captain Low, when the jury released him, were you surprised?

CAPT. NEIL LOW, SEATTLE POLICE DEPT.: Yes, we were. There was a lot of outrage in our office. But we don't like to second-guess what another part of the criminal justice system does. We think they acted the best they could with the evidence they had in front of them. It was just up to us to step up and notify the community that there was a danger coming from the criminal justice system.

COOPER: Because you felt this man was a danger? I mean, regardless of what this jury felt, you felt he was a continued risk?

LOW: That's correct. Our best experts rated him a level 3, which is the highest level, most likely to offend, with a high level of danger involved.

COOPER: Why did he do well in prison? I mean, why did someone like this -- I mean, do well. I don't know really what that means. But what did the jury see that the prosecutors, you know, didn't?

LOW: I think they had heard that he had done well in a controlled environment, like Marcia was saying. Apparently, some individuals do well in that. It's structured. It's less threatening. When he was released, it was probably more unsettling for him because he had us checking on him once a month and then more often sometimes. He had us notifying his neighbors that he was at risk. His employers knew that he was at risk. And the school he tried to go to also knew he was at risk. The outside was probably very difficult for him.

COOPER: Marcia, when you heard, you know, that the jury had released him, that he was back out there, how do you deal with that?

POWELL: Well, fortunately, I'm not in San Diego anymore. So for me personally, it's not a risk that I feel. But I did feel a fear that he would try to reoffend and a fear for the women in the community in Seattle, and I just prayed that he would be OK enough. It was unfortunate that the jury decided what they did then, because he would have been able to be in a psychiatric care, whereas now, you know, that's not an option.

COOPER: He's once again been arrested. He will face these charges. And I know, Marcia, you are hoping he gets convicted of these charges.

POWELL: Yes, I definitely am.

COOPER: Marcia Powell, I appreciate you being on. I know it's a tough thing to do, and we do appreciate it. As well as Captain Low. Thank you very much.

POWELL: Thank you. LOW: You're welcome.

COOPER: Today's buzz is this, what do you think? "Do you think sex offenders can be rehabilitated?" Log on to CNN.com/360. Cast your vote. Results at the end of the program.

And coming up, a remarkable story. A Coast Guard rescue. The mission to save the lives of fishermen stranded at sea.

Also tonight -- a much lighter note. Charlie Rose's interview of me. Yes. Me. See if I break the world's record for most "ums" in a sentence. 360 next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: In this time of heightened homeland security the U.S. Coast Guard has become a cornerstone of America's defense. Still, old-fashioned search and rescue remains one of the oldest missions of the Coast Guard, and for survivors hanging on to anything that will float waiting for helicopters or boats to appear on the horizon, search and rescue is the Guard's most important mission. CNN's David Mattingly has an example of just how important.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): By the time their rescue was captured on video by the U.S. Coast Guard, the survivors of a weekend fishing trip disaster knew they couldn't have held on much longer.

MIKE JACKSON, SURVIVOR: The whole time it was just hang on.

KEVIN SMITH, SURVIVOR: You could look against the skyline and see the big waves coming. I mean, they were -- they were very big.

MATTINGLY: Battered by waves, bitten and bloodied by fish, sun burned, dehydrated, and utterly exhausted, Mike Jackson, Keith Smith, and Jake Fish staggered on deck to safety after more than two full days and nights fighting for their lives in the Gulf of Mexico.

JACKSON: When you're out there, you don't think about these things, but your whole body system is taking a beating, and it's stress, it's exhaustion.

MATTINGLY: All of them avid fishermen from Monticello, Georgia. They'd been to the Gulf many times, but this time they found themselves clinging for dear life to the sides of their boat after it flipped over in rough seas off the coast of Florida. The boat's owner, Jake's son John Fish, immediately took steps to save the lives of his friends.

JACKSON: I mean, he was -- he was just constantly worried about us.

MATTINGLY: After being adrift for more than a full day, in a desperate move to keep the boat afloat it was just John who swam below to empty the gas tanks and fill them with air. It was an act that cost him his life.

JACKSON: He was in the gas actually.

SMITH: Yes. And probably got some in his lungs and swallowed some too.

MATTINGLY: Dehydrated and poisoned by the gas, John struggled. In his final hours he carved a message in the bow of his boat to his wife and daughter.

MARY DELL FISH, WIFE OF JOHN: It said, "to my loving wife and daughter, I love you. "

MATTINGLY: John Fish died just after dark that day. His body was swept away in a storm. And the ordeal for his father and friends wasn't over. They weren't rescued until 20 hours later.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They kept together with the boat. They donned their life preservers. And they just -- you know, they kept each other going.

MATTINGLY: Now more than two weeks after that rescue the cuts from the nylon ropes and the wounds inflicted by biting fish continue to heal. And the mourning goes on for a father, husband, and friend lost at sea. David Mattingly, CNN, Monticello, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Remarkable.

Inside the box tonight. Seeing ourselves as others see us. The great Scottish poet Robby Burns once wrote that it can be a real eye opener, a gift he called it. Sometimes we see it in a simple photograph which speaks to us in a thousand words, give or take. In my case it took a visit to Charlie Rose.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHARLIE ROSE, HOST: I am pleased to have Anderson Cooper here for the very first time. Welcome.

COOPER (voice-over): On "The Charlie Rose Show" last night I was asked to come on and talk about 360 and my career, such as it is, in journalism.

ROSE: So I just learned one thing, which is not 360 degrees. It's 360.

COOPER: The kids call it 360.

ROSE: When we say kids, what are we talking about?

COOPER: Hey, listen, for basic cable anyone below 65 is a kid now.

(voice-over): The interview went well, and Charlie Rose is a real pro. But what I kept noticing is how bad I am at answering questions. In particular, how many times I say useless words.

(on camera): Right, right, right, right. yes.

(voice-over): Sometimes, in fact, I don't even use real words.

(on camera): Um, um, um, um, um.

(voice-over): We counted. In an interview that lasted 20 minutes or so I said "um" at least 37 times.

And Charlie Rose didn't say it at all. Proof positive that sometimes it's easier asking the questions than answering them inside the box.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

What can I say? Tomorrow on 360 -- I'm working on it. Tomorrow on 360, Paul Hamm's roller coaster ride at the Olympics from gold to silver. All that controversy at the games. We're going to talk to Paul and his brother Morgan. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: The "Buzz." We asked you, "do you think sex offenders can be rehabilitated?" 24 percent of you said yes. 76 percent no. Not a scientific poll but it is your buzz. Thanks for voting.

Tonight, taking a lifetime to the Nth Degree. There were celebrations today in France to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Paris, the long Nazi occupation of which ended on the 25th of August, 1944. Look around at the world then.

Barely a single lifetime ago, and notice this. Everything was different. Everything. No lasers, no computers, no cell phones, no jetliners. Never mind the unionification of Germany, the division of Germany was still in the future. As was the whole Cold War and not just the collapse of the Soviet Union but also its rise. There was no television except experimentally. The Nuclear Age had not yet begun, not really. Digits were just numbers then or fingers, not the building blocks of an entire alternate reality. No MP3s, no CDs, no DVDs, no liquid crystal displays, plasma screens, genetic engineering. Human beings were still looking up at the moon, not down from it. Just a single lifetime ago there were Nazis in Paris. A lifetime from now how will we see what's happening today? I'm Anderson Cooper. Thanks for watching 360.

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 August 25, 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: A presidential race supposed to be about the issues today seems anything but.
360 starts now.

A top Bush campaign lawyer resigns because of work he did for the swift boat vets. Is this proof of a White House connection?

Former senator Max Cleland makes a house call to President Bush in Crawford. The message, denounce the ad. Does Kerry now want to keep the controversy alive?

New evidence in the killing of two Christian camp counselors. Photos found on the beach with the bodies. Do they provide the clues the police are seeking?

The crash sites of two Russian jets are located. But was it an accident or a terror attack? Investigators hope the black boxes may hold the answers.

A convicted rapist who served more than 17 years behind bars gets caught in a new attack, captured on tape.

And a dramatic rescue off the Gulf of Mexico. The harrowing story of survival and sacrifice.

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

COOPER: And good evening to you.

If you thought the fight over swift boats and ads and laws was winding down, you thought wrong. Both sides are running the spin cycle overtime, accusing each other of breaking laws and issuing challenges for the other side to end the firestorm.

Today, there was no shortage of new fuel or people to fan the flames.

CNN's White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joins us from Washington. Suzanne?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, Republican observers say this was not a good day for the White House. Earlier today Ben Ginsberg, he was the top lawyer of the Bush campaign, resigned, saying that he admitted that he was working advising the Bush campaign but also that controversial group the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. They have been very critical of Kerry.

But he says he was aboveboard, he did not break the law, that he kept those two elements, that work separate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN GINSBERG, FORMER BUSH CAMPAIGN COUNSEL: The way the laws of coordination are written, that is perfectly appropriate. It's as appropriate as my Democratic colleagues on the other side doing precisely the same thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Now, the Kerry camp accuses. They say that Ginsberg is just another example of the connections that they say are made between the Bush campaign and this controversial swift boat group. This was a message that Max Cleland also brought to the Crawford ranch. This, of course, is the Vietnam veteran, the triple amputee, a Kerry supporter, who went to deliver a letter to the president, asking him essentially to denounce those ads criticizing Kerry's service.

He did not meet with the president, the president instead putting out another Vietnam veteran, a local Bush supporter, Jerry Patterson, to receive Cleland's letter, but also to give him a note in return, essentially written by the Bush campaign, signed by them, saying that they believe that they are condemning him -- Kerry, they believe, condemning him for not supporting those troops.

But Cleland says that he believes that the president is complicit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAX CLELAND (D), FORMER SENATOR: The question is, where is George Bush's honor? The question is, where is his shame? To attack a fellow veteran who has distinguished himself in combat, regardless of the political combat involved, is disgraceful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Now, the Bush campaign, as well as the White House, say that Senator Kerry's comments asking that they put all of this behind is disingenuous. They are calling all of this today, Anderson, political theater.

COOPER: Well, now, Ben Ginsberg, this lawyer who resigned, is it illegal for -- what he did?

MALVEAUX: Well, so far it is not illegal for what he did. I mean, the law simply states that they are allowed -- there's a loophole in the campaign finance law that allows these advisers to work on their campaigns but also to go ahead and give advice to these particular groups. This is something that the Bush campaign says that Democratic advisers are doing as well. This is something that the Bush campaign also says that they want to call an end to all around.

COOPER: All right. Suzanne Malveaux, thanks very much for that.

In Russia tonight, the cleanup and the questions continue. What happened to two planes which fell from the sky nearly 450 miles apart? The second jet crashed just three minutes after the first.

Tonight, we know everyone aboard both planes, all 89 passengers and crew, perished. What we don't know, and what Russian authorities, from the president on down to recovery crews searching through the wreckage are trying to determine, is, was this a tragic accident, or a precisely timed act of terror?

CNN's Ryan Chilcote has the latest on the investigation from Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is what remains of the first of two Russian passenger planes to disappear from radar screens. A half-hour after it took off, it crashed into the Russian countryside just outside of Moscow, taking all on board to their graves.

Nearby villagers say they heard it coming, even before it hit the ground.

"I heard the roar of a plane that sounded as if it was really low," he says, "then an explosion, like the sound of thunder. Then there was silence, and more explosions.

Then, another plane, hundreds of miles away from the first, vanishes just minutes after the first one. On board it, 46 people, mostly vacationers who were going to spend the last week of the Russian summer on the beach before school starts.

There are unconfirmed reports that the second plane's crew was attacked, and that a hijacking signal was sent from the plane and picked up by air traffic control.

The Russian federal security service, Russia's successor to the Soviet KGB, leads the investigation. A spokesman says there is no evidence yet that the two crashes were caused by terrorism, saying they are checking the quality of the fuel in the planes and the possibility of mechanical failure.

The Russian president returns to the capital for an emergency meeting at the Kremlin, leaving the working vacation in the same resort town the plane with the tourists was destined for.

Russia's chief prosecutor says there are many possible causes for the crashes, including terrorism.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CHILCOTE: Anderson, it's been 28 hours since those two planes went down, as you said, almost simultaneously, hundreds of miles apart. Analysts say this is very -- all very fishy, and looks like it might be terrorism. But so far, the Russian official sources are saying that they just don't know, they're not ruling out anything yet. They're looking at everything from terrorism, to mechanical failure, to even human error in all of this.

What we do know is, they have a massive investigation under way, and they've probably been gathering quite a bit of evidence. They may already know what happened to those two planes. They're just not sharing that with the general public yet, Anderson.

COOPER: Ryan Chilcote in Moscow. Thanks, Ryan.

In California, the investigation continues into the murder of two young Christian camp counselors. In what may have been their final roll of film, the couple are doing something their families probably hope to remember them doing. They're smiling. For the friends of the young couple, murdered execution-style on a barren beach, the snapshots may bring back happier moments.

For the police, however, they could help unravel a horrific crime.

CNN's Miguel Marquez has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pictures of Jason Allen and Lindsay Cutshall on a California vacation, the last pictures of the couple, who were on their way to marriage next month. The pictures are from a roll of undeveloped film found by sheriff's investigators when their bodies were discovered on a remote beach north of Jenner, California. Investigators say they were found still in their sleeping bags, both shot in their heads.

KATHY CUTSHALL, MOTHER: I'm a mother. This is a mother's heart. If you would have told me a week ago that this was going to happen, you know, I wouldn't feel -- think I could handle it.

MARQUEZ: Lindsay, who was 23, and Jason, 26, were youth ministers working at a Christian camp in Del Norte County, California. Investigators believe they were shot on Sunday the 15th or Monday the 16th. Their bodies were discovered last Wednesday.

For now, Lindsay's family is holding tightly to their faith, only hoping that the killer is caught before killing again.

CHRIS CUTSHALL, FATHER: What we're concerned about him getting off in the streets or beaches, or whatever, for the protection of the community of wherever he's at.

MARQUEZ: Investigators appear to have cleared 21-year-old drifter Nicholas Scarseth of any wrongdoing. Scarseth turned himself into authorities in Humboldt County, California. The sheriff's office there says Scarseth admitted he was in Jenner around the time the bodies were found and that he cooperated with authorities, and then was released.

For the Cutshalls, it's now time to plan for a different ceremony, a burial for both victims in Lindsay's hometown of Fresno, Ohio.

KATHY CUTSHALL: How do you replace people as special as Lindsay and Jason? You don't. You just miss them. But we do have the hope that we'll see them again someday.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: Now, we are in a live press conference by the Sonoma County sheriff's office. The big news out of this press conference is that a $10,000 reward has been established for anyone giving information that will solve this crime. The lieutenant up here talking about the fact that it's very difficult for them to solve this one, because they have no clear motive in this case, and they're hoping that tips from the public will help bring a killer into their custody, Anderson.

COOPER: Miguel Marquez, thanks very much. Miguel.

A good Samaritan risks his life to save a man who drives off a bridge. That story tops our look at what's going on cross-country tonight.

Columbia, South Carolina, the operator of a cement-mixing truck loses control, plunges into a river. Now, a driver who witnessed the crash, he jumped into the water, helped pull the operator to safety. Both men are doing all right.

Chicago, the Dave Matthews band caught in a mess, literally. The band's accused of emptying the contents of its tour bus's septic tank while crossing a bridge, showering a boat sailing the Chicago River below. Illinois wants the band to pay $70,000 in fines. Criminal charges are a possibility.

And in Las Vegas, Nevada, Siegfried and Roy in a catfight with the Agriculture Department. The famed magic show is refusing to turn over a videotape of the tiger attack that nearly killed Roy Horn. Federal law allows the USDA to investigate the treatment of animals, in this case, the 300-pound white tiger.

That's a quick look at what's going on cross-country tonight.

360 next, a son killed in Iraq, and a father driven over the edge by grief. He takes it out on the Marines who've come to tell him of his son's death. One tragedy led to another.

Plus, a rapist set free attacks again. His attack this time caught on tape. And the community is outraged. How did it happen?

Also, a fishing trip disaster. A dramatic tale of death, survival, and rescue on the seas. All that ahead. First, let's take a look at your picks, the most popular stories right now on CNN.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: when a service member dies in a war zone, the military comes to tell the family in person. Every family's reaction, of course, is different. Today, when Marines went to deliver the news to a family in Florida, the reaction they got was like nothing they'd ever seen before.

Reporter Art Barron of WFOR has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ART BARRON, REPORTER, WFOR-TV (voice-over): Just moments after getting the tragic news that his son had died in combat in Najaf, Iraq, 44-year-old Carlos Arredondo breaks down in an emotional tantrum and torches this U.S. government van, the van three U.S. Marines drove in to tell him his son was dead.

MELIDA ARREDONDO, VICTIM'S STEPMOTHER: And my husband did not take the news well.

BARRON: The stepmother of the U.S. Marine who died, on the phone with his brother, who lives with his mom in Maine.

MELIDA ARREDONDO (on phone): Carlos freaked out. And he hurt himself more than anybody. He's got major burns all over his body.

BARRON: The father, Carlos Arredondo, is quickly taken to Memorial Regional Hospital, suffering second-degree burns to his arms and legs. His son, 20-year-old Lance Corporal Alexander Arredondo, was based in the 1st Marine Division in Camp Pendleton, California, and was killed during combat yesterday in Najaf. Three U.S. Marines notified his father and grandmother around 2:00 today.

MAJOR SCOTT MAC, U.S. MARINE CORPS: I don't think any of us are qualified to go into the depths of the mind and truly anticipate how somebody's going to react.

BARRON: But the news was too painful to bear after three uniformed Marines knocked on the front door.

CAPT. TONY RODE, HOLLYWOOD POLICE DEPARTMENT: At one point he actually goes into the garage, picks up a can of gasoline and/or a propane tank, runs towards the vehicle, smashes the vehicle window, and sets the U.S. governmental vehicle on fire. He's still inside the vehicle as it's fully engulfed in flames.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BARRON: The father is now in the burn unit at a local hospital right here in south Florida. We understand he is listed in serious condition. Now, police tell me that he could be charged, among other things, with arson and destruction of U.S. government property, but they're going to evaluate this whole case and consider his emotional state.

And Anderson, today is the father's 44th birthday. The last thing he'd ever expect was to find out that his son died in combat overseas.

COOPER: A terrible story. Art Baron, thanks very much for that.

A powerful typhoon batters Taiwan. That tops our look at what's going on around the world in the uplink tonight.

Taipei, Taiwan, Typhoon Aere packed heavy winds and drenching rains, triggering severe flooding and mud slides that buried people and homes. At least 16 are dead across Asia. Dozens are missing right now.

Cape Town, South Africa. Mark Thatcher, son of Britain's former prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, is under arrest. He's accused of taking part in a plot to overthrow the government of Equatorial Guinea, a small, oil-rich nation on the western African coast.

Toronto, Ontario, now, an early-morning hostage drama ends as an armed suspect is shot, killed by a police sharpshooter. The suspect roughed up one woman before grabbing a second victim and holding her at gunpoint in front of a busy railroad station.

Tehran, Iran, the Islamic republic has a new queen, who sings "Bohemian Rhapsody." An album of greatest hits by the rock band Queen is now on sale in Iran with the blessing of the ruling mullahs. Queen's lead singer, Freddie Mercury, was proud of his Iranian heritage, proud of being gay as well. Word is, some of the group's love songs are not on the album, however.

That's a quick look at what's happening around the world in the uplink.

New York Fire Department is two firefighters short today, one fired and one suspended, the disciplinary action coming as an investigation is focusing on a woman's claims that she was raped in a firehouse not once but many times. Now, several news reports suggest she may have been involved in sexual encounters at other firehouses.

CNN's Adaora Udoji reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Firefighters proudly call the station embroiled in the sex scandal Animal House. That was before last Friday's incident.

Police say a 34-year-old woman told them she had been raped there, but then recanted, calling it consensual sex with at least two veteran firemen, one of whom she met on the Internet and later called. NICHOLAS SCOPETTA, FIRE COMMISSIONER: Anyone who was involved in sexual activity at this firehouse will be fired. Anyone who has violated any of our rules with respect to drugs or drinking faces termination as well.

UDOJI: Department officials say they suspended three firemen without pay. Twelve others, including a battalion chief, were reassigned. The woman involved reportedly told police she had had sex with 200 to 300 firemen since September 11.

DR. N. G. BERILL, FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGIST: After 9/11, you know, both firefighters and police officers in New York City, and rightfully so, were hailed as heroes. And I think that attracts an awful lot of attention, perhaps even this phenomenon of almost groupies cropping up.

UDOJI (on camera): The sex scandal's the latest in a string of embarrassing incidents for the department this year. In May, federal investigators charged a firefighter with soliciting a minor for sex. Another is accused of dealing steroids.

(voice-over): In January, prosecutors charged one with assault after he allegedly smashed a colleague in the head with a chair after they'd been drinking. That's still only a handful in a department of 11,500.

SCOPETTA: It's not part of the department culture. They, we can't let the activities of a few firefighters taint the entire reputation of this department.

UDOJI: The commissioner says he'll follow the investigation wherever it leads. That includes sanctioning supervisors if necessary.

Adaora Udoji, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, 360 next, incriminating behavior. Secret audiotapes of Scott Peterson. Was he a little too quick to put his house on the market?

Also tonight, a fishing trip disaster. Rescue and survival on the high seas.

And the fight over Vietnam service comes close to President Bush's front door. That is raw politics ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Some late developments in a high-profile legal case. Two days to go before jury selection begins in the rape case against the basketball star Kobe Bryant. Prosecutors today asked the judge for a crucial last-minute hearing.

Now, the issue, which goes to the heart of the defendant's case, concerns DNA testing, and whether it may have been tainted and mishandled by an expert hired by Bryant.

Covering the case in justice served for us, 360 legal analyst Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom.

Good to see you, Kimberly.

KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE NEWSOM, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: You as well, Anderson.

COOPER: This is the same DNA evidence which the defense claims shows that this young lady had sex with somebody else prior to having sex, prior to relations with Kobe Bryant.

NEWSOM: Well, again, this is also really key evidence, because the defense has suggested in earlier hearings, that when they had an expert testify, that this woman, the accuser, had sex with someone after Kobe Bryant, and prior to the examination at the hospital. So this is very key. It would definitely undermine her credibility.

Now, the prosecution's coming in at the 11th hour with something that appears to be credible, an argument about the reliability of these test results, suggesting that there is contamination. We know there's contamination in a control sample. What's key is whether or not the sample provided to them, to this lab, is contaminated that has the evidence from this case.

But if they can undermine the integrity of this lab, chosen by the defense, it will go a long way towards helping their case.

COOPER: So was the entire DNA sample given to this lab, or was it a piece of it? And are they saying that piece may have been contaminated, or are they saying the entire...

NEWSOM: They're saying that there's questions about this lab, saying this lab, we can't trust the reliability, this is such a key issue in this case. All along, you have to understand, the prosecution and the accuser and her attorney have said she never had sexual relations with anyone after Kobe Bryant.

Kobe's defense is saying no, we can prove that she did due, to DNA found by who they're calling Mr. X, an (UNINTELLIGIBLE), (UNINTELLIGIBLE), unidentified person, and it's on her panties and on her person.

COOPER: But this comes after a lot of sort of movements by the prosecution which might indicate -- and by the young woman, which might indicate that the whole case might go away altogether. I mean, there are those who are saying this is just a delaying tactic before actually just dropping the whole case.

NEWSOM: Without a doubt, this should have been done, this should have been handled ahead of time. But guess what? Maybe the prosecution wasn't really thinking they were going to trial, and going to proceed because of all the issues and concerns about the accuser not cooperating. Now it appears we're ready to go, this is on the eve of trial. The judge has to deal with it, of course, prior to even selecting this jury, which is supposed to happen on Friday. This could prevent things from going forward on a timely basis, because it must be resolved before the court case starts.

COOPER: And jury selection was to begin on Friday.

NEWSOM: That's correct. And they have -- what's interesting in this case, it will be so tough to pick a jury, given his enormous popularity, Kobe Bryant, and the widespread coverage of this case.

And they have one of the best. This is the best advantage the prosecution has in this case. They have one of the top experts, Jo Ellen Dimitrius, who picked the jury in O.J. Simpson. She picked the defense jury as well in the Jayson Williams case, with a very favorable result for the defense, and in the Scott Peterson case. For once she's on the prosecution's side. It may be their best bet.

COOPER: All right, Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom, thanks.

NEWSOM: Thank you.

COOPER: Scott Peterson says he went fishing the day his wife disappeared back in 2002. He even pinpoints the time he left home. But the prosecution tried to punch holes through the accused killer's alibi today with more phone calls, and it's not just what Peterson says that matters, it's when he said it.

CNN's Ted Rowlands has a wrap-up of this day in court.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Modesto's lead wiretap investigator, Steve Jacobson, spent the entire day on the witness stand, playing dozens of recorded phone calls, documenting more lies from Scott Peterson.

Jacobson testified Peterson was in Berkeley the day investigators recovered what they thought was a body from San Francisco Bay. It turned out to be an anchor. Peterson tells a number of people he's in Bakersfield, including his mother, his father, and his missing wife's mother, Sharon Rocha.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

SCOTT PETERSON (on phone): Well, I'm actually down in Bakersfield.

SHARON ROCHA, LACI PETERSON'S MOTHER (on phone): Oh, are you? OK.

SCOTT PETERSON: Yes, I had to finish up some work stuff here today, and I'm...

ROCHA: OK, OK. SCOTT PETERSON: ... we're just getting done. And I passed out flyers on my way home, so...

ROCHA: OK.

SCOTT PETERSON: ... I won't be home until five or so.

ROCHA: OK.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

ROWLANDS: A number of the calls revolved around a possible sighting of Laci Peterson in Longview, Washington. Friends and family were calling Peterson about the tip, and he tells them that he's been talking to police there. Jacobson testified at the time there was no record of any calls from Peterson to police in Washington state.

Here, he appears to be lying to his mother about it.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

JACKIE PETERSON, SCOTT PETERSON'S MOTHER (on phone): Why don't you hop on a plane?

SCOTT PETERSON (on phone): Well, I'll definitely -- you know, I called up there and talked to one of them.

JACKIE PETERSON: Oh, good for you. Good for you.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

ROWLANDS: Eventually, Peterson did call Longview police.

Jacobson also played a recorded conversation between Peterson and Brian Argaye, a friend and local real estate agent, about selling he and Laci's Modesto home. This call was recorded less than a month after Laci Peterson was reported missing.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

SCOTT PETERSON (on phone): Kind of keep it quiet, all right?

BRIAN ARGAYE (on phone): Oh, I will. I'm not going to say a word to anybody, don't worry about that.

SCOTT PETERSON: OK, it's all furnished, I mean...

(END AUDIO CLIP)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS: Later, it was determined, in another phone call by Peterson, that he couldn't sell that house without a court order. On cross-examination, Steve Jacobson, the investigator, admitted that in the 3,000 calls they listened in on, Peterson never made an admission or a confession, Anderson. COOPER: Ted Rowlands from Redwood. Thanks very much, Ted.

Former senator Max Cleland makes a house call to President Bush in Crawford. The message, denounce the ad. Does Kerry now want to keep the controversy alive?

A convicted rapist who served more than 17 years behind bars gets caught in a new attack, captured on tape.

And a dramatic rescue off the Gulf of Mexico. The harrowing story of survival and sacrifice.

360 continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: "360" next, Max Cleland goes to Crawford for John Kerry. The swiftboat fight gets nastier. First our top stories in tonight's "Reset."

An Australian man pleaded not guilty today to charges he fought for the Taliban in Afghanistan. David Hicks was captured in Afghanistan, brought to Gitmo in January 2002. The U.S. military commission trying him could sentence Hicks to life in prison. Deliberations are set to begin in January.

The tide of red delegates that will sweep over New York City next week for the Republican Convention may also leave the city in the red financially. The city's controller office says business closures, added security, and traffic and commuter delays will cost the big apple more than $300 million. That's more than the estimated $265 million pumped into the city's economy during the four-day convention.

Danny Glover, was arrested today on the steps of Sudan's Embassy in Washington. The actor was protesting the Sudanese government's alleged role in the Darfur crisis. Government-backed Arab militia have been terrorizing the local population. The United Nations has set an end of the month deadline for the Sudanese government to disarm the militias.

Doctors say it is only a matter of time before the next big flu epidemic kills hundreds of thousands of Americans. A new response plan calls for closing schools, restricting travel, and rationing scarce medications until a new vaccine can be put together. That could take months.

Well, tonight we look at the spin cycle. It is going full blast at this hour. As we told you earlier, a political casualty today in the controversy surrounding the swiftboat ads. First President Bush's campaign attorney, Benjamin Ginsburg (ph) resigned after he admitted to advising a veterans group that's been attacking Democratic challenger John Kerry's Vietnam war record. Ginsburg didn't break the law, but the Democrats say it's evidence of a connection between the president's campaign and the swiftboat vets. Republicans repeatedly deny any connection exists. At the same time the former U.S. senator, Max Cleland, attempted to deliver a letter to President Bush at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. Cleland, who lost both his legs and part of an arm during the Vietnam war, blasted Bush for not doing enough to condemn the swiftboat ad on Kerry. And then he went one step further in his comments against Bush.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAX CLELAND (D), FORMER U.S. SENATOR: He went after John McCain when he got behind, when McCain won the New Hampshire primary. And came south to South Carolina. The slime machine got cranked up. The smear campaign started. And McCain actually went on television and asked the president to stop it. He did not. And then when the president came after me in Georgia in 2002, Chuck Hagel asked him to stop putting me up there on the television with Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein, and they did not.

And now nine members of the Senate and millions of Americans around the country are asking George Bush to make one phone call, to his friends here in Texas, and say stop this insanity. This country does not need this at a time when we all need to be united against real terrorists abroad and a real threat to our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: It seems no one is at a loss for words in this ugly war of words. Earlier "CROSSFIRE's" Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson weighed in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Paul, the Kerry campaign had been saying they wanted this swiftboat issue to go away, and then Max Cleland pops up today in Crawford, Texas, and it's front and center in the headlines again.

Is this part of this strategy?

Do they want this thing really to go away?

PAUL BEGALA, "CROSSFIRE": They say they do, Anderson. But I can't argue with your logic. If you want it to go away, you don't put on a bit of political theater like we had today. I think that they believe that Senator Kerry has been aggrieved that there have been untrue -- and I believe there were untrue attacks made about his war record. And I think that they believe this is ricocheting against President Bush. I have to say my preference is to actually talk about jobs and the economy and healthcare. And that to his credit Kerry, actually did do that today, but the Cleland event just overwhelmed Kerry's substantive message.

COOPER: Tucker, do you think it's ricocheting against the president?

They're alleging, the Kerry campaign is basically alleging that Bush is, you know, colluding with and running these ads.

TUCKER CARLSON, "CROSSFIRE": Obviously the Kerry people have some evidence that it works I guess or they wouldn't do it. One supposes they focus group this stuff before they do it. Their calculation may be that anytime people are talking about Vietnam it helps John Kerry. I do think they've got to be careful of Max Cleland, who is a great speaker when he's under control. There are a lot of things that are admirable about him. But sometimes he's not under control, and if you read what he says when he's on the road acting as a surrogate for John Kerry, it's over the top.

BEGALA: He was willing to go and meet with the president of the United States. I have to say I think President Bush looks gutless in not going out and meeting with Max. The president's a nice guy, he's an engaging guy, he's a decent guy. I think he would have done very well politically if he had sat down with Senator Cleland and tried to talk this through. It probably wouldn't have come to an agreement, but it would have defused the political theater that Kerry believes he benefits from.

Instead Bush hid in the house and he sent out some right-wing whack job, I guy I know from Texas days, Jerry Patterson, who the state land commissioner, who back in the day in the state Senate introduced the bill to allow Texans to carry guns in church.

CARLSON: Just step back. I know it's the news of the moment and it's hard to get any perspective on it, but Max Cleland, a former senator from Georgia, flew to Waco, Texas today, a day after the Kerry campaign said they don't want to talk about it, to present a letter to the president?

I mean, that is the kind of thing that happens at Lafayette Park across the street from the White House.

COOPER: Paul, very quickly, Ben Ginsburg, an attorney for the Bush campaign, resigned today because of connections he was working for the swiftboat veterans several months ago. The Kerry people say look, this is yet more evidence of a connection.

Do you believe there's an actual connection?

BEGALA: I haven't seen enough evidence, no. Ben Ginsburg is a good guy. He's a good lawyer. Big Republican, obviously. But I don't have a problem with an attorney representing two different clients and...

COOPER: It's legal.

BEGALA: ... right wing special interest group. Certainly, it's legal. I have a law degree, I never practiced, but it's clearly legal. I'm curious as to why, Ben, resigned, then. I don't have a problem with what he did. It's clear that Bush is benefiting from these ads.

CARLSON: I don't think the Bush campaign thinks that they're benefiting from this. They're clearly on the defensive. I don't think they ought to be at all. I think it's legitimate for -- other veterans have other views about John Kerry's behavior in Vietnam. But the Bush campaign does feel differently, they think they're going to get bit by this, and that's why they made Ginsburg resign. They clearly have some evidence that it's hurting them or they wouldn't have done it.

COOPER: We're going to have to leave it there. Tucker Carlson, Paul Begala, thanks.

CARLSON: Thanks.

BEGALA: Thanks.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Max Cleland's trip to Texas certainly made a good photo op, something all political campaigns strive for.

But sometimes the pictures aren't necessarily interpret in the "Raw Politics" of the stunt.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): Call it Mr. Cleland goes to Crawford. The former senator, who lost both legs and his right arm in Vietnam, calling on the commander-in-chief to stop televised attacks against one of Cleland's comrades, Senator John Kerry. At his side, Jim Rassmann, the man who Kerry rescued from a Vietnam river more than 30- years-ago.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a man here who works for the president, where did he go?

COOPER: The scene had all the elements of great political theater. The wounded hero attempting to plead his buddy's case before the most powerful man in the land. The problem with political theater is it doesn't always play. Some cases in point. September 1988, a tank plant near Detroit. Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis tried to shed his soft on national defense image by taking a ride atop a tank.

As anyone will remember, his commitment to building better fighting machines, no. But we all remember that huge helmet and the geeky grin.

May 2003, 30 miles off the San Diego coast. President George W. Bush lands, on an S3B Viking jet on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln, then struts around in a flight suit beneath a banner that declared "the mission accomplished" in Iraq. It must have seemed like a good idea at the time.

July 2004, Cape Canaveral, candidate John Kerry shows support for the space program and puts on an anti-contamination suit that makes him look like -- well, Republicans call it a bunny suit. The Kerry camp can only say the photos were leaked to the press.

Sometimes stunts designed to build an image work. Sometimes they can end up battering that image. It just may pay to remember not every picture is perfect when it's staged for "Raw Politics."

(END VIDEOTAPE) COOPER: In New York City nervous energy is considered a natural resource. Certainly no room for calm and relaxed. Next week, when the Republican National Convention is in town, the tension will be even higher than usual and so will the security.

CNN's homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Days before conventioneers congregate, New York City Police are already putting on a show of force intended to intimidate and deter. If security was high at the Democratic Convention in Boston, in New York it will be sky-high. A corporate blimp will be used to conduct high-tech long- term surveillance.

TOM RIDGE, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Five boroughs, 8 million people. You don't have one airport you're particularly concerned about, you have several international airports. You still have the waterways.

MESERVE: The biggest security player by far, the NYPD. 37,000 strong, experienced with big events and big demonstrations. While demonstrators in Boston numbered in the hundreds, here there is a potential for hundreds of thousands.

RAY KELLY, NEW YORK POLICE COMMISSIONER: It's going to have the potential for being more volatile and having, you know, more disruption or attempted disruption.

MESERVE: And Kelly's department has plenty of other things to do. Among the other events it must handle next week, the U.S. Open Tennis tournament plus Mets and Yankees games.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Break. Thomas Brown, traffic. Go ahead.

MESERVE: The Coast Guard will be among the contributing federal agencies. It will track ship activity around Manhattan with the cameras that captured a dramatic barge refueling accident in 2003. The federal, state, and local entities involved in security will coordinate at a New York command center, and in Washington the Department of Homeland Security will monitor and provide a coordinated federal response if events require one.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: There is no specific intelligence that terrorists are targeting the Republican National Convention, but officials are concerned that terrorists may strike before the election, and given New York's history and symbolism, they are doing their utmost to make sure it doesn't happen here -- Anderson.

COOPER: It will be interesting to see how big the demonstrations actually end up being, how many protesters actually do show up.

MESERVE: And the police will not give you an estimate. COOPER: Jeanne Meserve, good to have you here in New York. Welcome.

MESERVE: Thanks.

COOPER: So did surveillance video capture a convicted rapist ready to strike again? Next on 360, were the warning signs about a known sexual predator ignored by a jury? That story just ahead.

Also tonight, the Coast Guard to the rescue. The life and death mission to save lives at sea. We'll tell you about a dramatic rescue.

Also a little later, the tables are turned. Instead of asking the questions, I'm answering them to Charlie rose. What's that about? 360 next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: When Curtis Thompson, a man convicted of committing four rapes in 1985, was eligible for release this past fall, prosecutors asked a jury to keep him confined. He was still a risk, they said. The jury ignored that. For the first time not listening to prosecutors' advice in Washington, they set Curtis Thompson free. This Monday Thompson was arrested again. Two women say he chased them into an elevator. One was hit, the other forced to disrobe. You're seeing some of the surveillance tapes here. She says she thought she was about to be raped. The crime has outraged many in Seattle.

From the Seattle Police Department tonight, Captain Neil Low joins us to talk about what happened. We're also joined by Marcia Powell. She was attacked by Curtis Thompson back in 1985.

Both of you, I appreciate you being on the program. Marcia, let me start off with you. What happened to you back on that night, June, 1985. What did Curtis Thompson do?

MARCIA POWELL, THOMPSON RAPE VICTIM: He entered my apartment in the middle of the night, broke in, and attacked me in my bed. He tied me up. He raped me. He bit me. He cut me with a knife and threatened to kill me. And robbed me.

COOPER: Now, he served time for that along with three other rapes that he committed in 1985. You testified in front of a jury back in the fall. You told them probably the story you just told us now.

POWELL: Yes.

COOPER: They didn't listen to you.

POWELL: Well, if they listened, it didn't have enough impact for them to believe that he would do this again, obviously.

COOPER: And prosecutors were telling them that he was still a risk. POWELL: Yes, they were. And they apparently chose to believe that since he had not acted out while in prison in a very controlled environment that he would likely be OK in greater society.

COOPER: Captain Low, when the jury released him, were you surprised?

CAPT. NEIL LOW, SEATTLE POLICE DEPT.: Yes, we were. There was a lot of outrage in our office. But we don't like to second-guess what another part of the criminal justice system does. We think they acted the best they could with the evidence they had in front of them. It was just up to us to step up and notify the community that there was a danger coming from the criminal justice system.

COOPER: Because you felt this man was a danger? I mean, regardless of what this jury felt, you felt he was a continued risk?

LOW: That's correct. Our best experts rated him a level 3, which is the highest level, most likely to offend, with a high level of danger involved.

COOPER: Why did he do well in prison? I mean, why did someone like this -- I mean, do well. I don't know really what that means. But what did the jury see that the prosecutors, you know, didn't?

LOW: I think they had heard that he had done well in a controlled environment, like Marcia was saying. Apparently, some individuals do well in that. It's structured. It's less threatening. When he was released, it was probably more unsettling for him because he had us checking on him once a month and then more often sometimes. He had us notifying his neighbors that he was at risk. His employers knew that he was at risk. And the school he tried to go to also knew he was at risk. The outside was probably very difficult for him.

COOPER: Marcia, when you heard, you know, that the jury had released him, that he was back out there, how do you deal with that?

POWELL: Well, fortunately, I'm not in San Diego anymore. So for me personally, it's not a risk that I feel. But I did feel a fear that he would try to reoffend and a fear for the women in the community in Seattle, and I just prayed that he would be OK enough. It was unfortunate that the jury decided what they did then, because he would have been able to be in a psychiatric care, whereas now, you know, that's not an option.

COOPER: He's once again been arrested. He will face these charges. And I know, Marcia, you are hoping he gets convicted of these charges.

POWELL: Yes, I definitely am.

COOPER: Marcia Powell, I appreciate you being on. I know it's a tough thing to do, and we do appreciate it. As well as Captain Low. Thank you very much.

POWELL: Thank you. LOW: You're welcome.

COOPER: Today's buzz is this, what do you think? "Do you think sex offenders can be rehabilitated?" Log on to CNN.com/360. Cast your vote. Results at the end of the program.

And coming up, a remarkable story. A Coast Guard rescue. The mission to save the lives of fishermen stranded at sea.

Also tonight -- a much lighter note. Charlie Rose's interview of me. Yes. Me. See if I break the world's record for most "ums" in a sentence. 360 next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: In this time of heightened homeland security the U.S. Coast Guard has become a cornerstone of America's defense. Still, old-fashioned search and rescue remains one of the oldest missions of the Coast Guard, and for survivors hanging on to anything that will float waiting for helicopters or boats to appear on the horizon, search and rescue is the Guard's most important mission. CNN's David Mattingly has an example of just how important.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): By the time their rescue was captured on video by the U.S. Coast Guard, the survivors of a weekend fishing trip disaster knew they couldn't have held on much longer.

MIKE JACKSON, SURVIVOR: The whole time it was just hang on.

KEVIN SMITH, SURVIVOR: You could look against the skyline and see the big waves coming. I mean, they were -- they were very big.

MATTINGLY: Battered by waves, bitten and bloodied by fish, sun burned, dehydrated, and utterly exhausted, Mike Jackson, Keith Smith, and Jake Fish staggered on deck to safety after more than two full days and nights fighting for their lives in the Gulf of Mexico.

JACKSON: When you're out there, you don't think about these things, but your whole body system is taking a beating, and it's stress, it's exhaustion.

MATTINGLY: All of them avid fishermen from Monticello, Georgia. They'd been to the Gulf many times, but this time they found themselves clinging for dear life to the sides of their boat after it flipped over in rough seas off the coast of Florida. The boat's owner, Jake's son John Fish, immediately took steps to save the lives of his friends.

JACKSON: I mean, he was -- he was just constantly worried about us.

MATTINGLY: After being adrift for more than a full day, in a desperate move to keep the boat afloat it was just John who swam below to empty the gas tanks and fill them with air. It was an act that cost him his life.

JACKSON: He was in the gas actually.

SMITH: Yes. And probably got some in his lungs and swallowed some too.

MATTINGLY: Dehydrated and poisoned by the gas, John struggled. In his final hours he carved a message in the bow of his boat to his wife and daughter.

MARY DELL FISH, WIFE OF JOHN: It said, "to my loving wife and daughter, I love you. "

MATTINGLY: John Fish died just after dark that day. His body was swept away in a storm. And the ordeal for his father and friends wasn't over. They weren't rescued until 20 hours later.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They kept together with the boat. They donned their life preservers. And they just -- you know, they kept each other going.

MATTINGLY: Now more than two weeks after that rescue the cuts from the nylon ropes and the wounds inflicted by biting fish continue to heal. And the mourning goes on for a father, husband, and friend lost at sea. David Mattingly, CNN, Monticello, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Remarkable.

Inside the box tonight. Seeing ourselves as others see us. The great Scottish poet Robby Burns once wrote that it can be a real eye opener, a gift he called it. Sometimes we see it in a simple photograph which speaks to us in a thousand words, give or take. In my case it took a visit to Charlie Rose.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHARLIE ROSE, HOST: I am pleased to have Anderson Cooper here for the very first time. Welcome.

COOPER (voice-over): On "The Charlie Rose Show" last night I was asked to come on and talk about 360 and my career, such as it is, in journalism.

ROSE: So I just learned one thing, which is not 360 degrees. It's 360.

COOPER: The kids call it 360.

ROSE: When we say kids, what are we talking about?

COOPER: Hey, listen, for basic cable anyone below 65 is a kid now.

(voice-over): The interview went well, and Charlie Rose is a real pro. But what I kept noticing is how bad I am at answering questions. In particular, how many times I say useless words.

(on camera): Right, right, right, right. yes.

(voice-over): Sometimes, in fact, I don't even use real words.

(on camera): Um, um, um, um, um.

(voice-over): We counted. In an interview that lasted 20 minutes or so I said "um" at least 37 times.

And Charlie Rose didn't say it at all. Proof positive that sometimes it's easier asking the questions than answering them inside the box.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

What can I say? Tomorrow on 360 -- I'm working on it. Tomorrow on 360, Paul Hamm's roller coaster ride at the Olympics from gold to silver. All that controversy at the games. We're going to talk to Paul and his brother Morgan. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: The "Buzz." We asked you, "do you think sex offenders can be rehabilitated?" 24 percent of you said yes. 76 percent no. Not a scientific poll but it is your buzz. Thanks for voting.

Tonight, taking a lifetime to the Nth Degree. There were celebrations today in France to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Paris, the long Nazi occupation of which ended on the 25th of August, 1944. Look around at the world then.

Barely a single lifetime ago, and notice this. Everything was different. Everything. No lasers, no computers, no cell phones, no jetliners. Never mind the unionification of Germany, the division of Germany was still in the future. As was the whole Cold War and not just the collapse of the Soviet Union but also its rise. There was no television except experimentally. The Nuclear Age had not yet begun, not really. Digits were just numbers then or fingers, not the building blocks of an entire alternate reality. No MP3s, no CDs, no DVDs, no liquid crystal displays, plasma screens, genetic engineering. Human beings were still looking up at the moon, not down from it. Just a single lifetime ago there were Nazis in Paris. A lifetime from now how will we see what's happening today? I'm Anderson Cooper. Thanks for watching 360.

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