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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

New Drug Could Help Women's Sexual Desire; Cat Stevens Denied Entry Into U.S; Elections Heats Up, Kerry, Bush Remain On Offensive

Aired September 22, 2004 - 19:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: Good evening, I'm Anderson Cooper from New York.
Political fighting over Iraq, life-and-death fighting in Iraq.

360 starts now.

Dick Cheney talks tough, and John Kerry draws a clearer line. Has the senator finally found his voice on Iraq?

Cat Stevens, entry denied. Why is the singer on a terror watch list? Is he really too dangerous to enter America?

Televangelist in trouble. One of the world's most famous TV preachers accused by a former male employee of sex, lies, and chaos.

Chucky's back. An alligator on the loose, tonight meet the man who wrestled the 1,000-pound 'gator.

And the new patch that could save your sex life. How it works, and how it might work for you.

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

COOPER: Well, good evening.

On the campaign trail today, the talk was about Iraq, how well things are going there, how badly things are going there, how necessary the war was, what a mistake it was.

Disparate views, in other words, and some particularly sharp words too. As always, we'll tell you all sides, all angles.

First, the Republicans. Vice President Dick Cheney came out of a meeting with GOP leaders on the Capitol, and essentially said that a Kerry presidency would take the country back to a, quote, "pre-9/11 mindset." Clearly attack was the order of the day, as it is most days these days.

Senior White House correspondent John King has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One golden rule of politics, to stay on offense. GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The way to secure Iraq and bring our troops home as quickly as possible is not to wilt or waver or send mixed signals to the enemy.

KING: Another is repetition. If you want an attack to stick, say it again.

BUSH: My opponent is saying mixed signals.

KING: And again.

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He has demonstrated throughout the course of this campaign that he lacks the clarity of vision and purpose necessary to lead our country during extraordinary times.

KING: And over the airwaves, again and again and again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS, BUSH-CHENEY ADS)

ANNOUNCER: Which direction would John Kerry lead?

ANNOUNCER: Kerry voted for the Iraq war. Opposed it. Supported it. And now opposes it again.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

KING: It is hardball politics designed to protect the edge Mr. Bush now has when voters are asked which candidate is the stronger leader or which could better handle Iraq. Most think it is too late, but senior Bush aides concede Senator Kerry has been more focused in recent days, calling Iraq a war of choice, not necessity, and saying the president who made that choice should be held accountable for the chaos.

Mr. Bush has no choice but to respond to the attacks and the grim news from Iraq, insisting progress is being made and calling the beheadings of American hostages and other violence desperate efforts to block democracy.

BUSH: They're trying to convince the Iraqis freedom is not worth it. They're trying to convince the American people that we will not succeed. That's they're -- that's the only weapon they have.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: Now, sticking to the script, the vice president delivered that harsh attack today and then refused to take a question on the ongoing violence in Iraq. But Anderson, it is a subject certain to come up here at the White House tomorrow when President Bush welcomes Iraq's interim prime minister.

COOPER: John, President Bush on the trail, I mean, on, in stump speeches, does he go into details about what the plan is in Iraq, what the situation on the ground really is? KING: In recent days, the president has offered a more sober assessment, especially today, in reaction to the two beheadings over the past two days. The president has talked more about the ongoing violence.

As for a plan, what the president says is, stay until the job is done, and he at times criticizes Senator Kerry for saying he would try to bring the troops home beginning next year. The president says the plan is, get Iraq into a stable democracy and then bring the troops home, no timetable at all. The president says it would be irresponsible to set one.

COOPER: All right. John King, thanks for that from the White House.

With one side on offense, you would think the other side would be on defense. But then in politics, unlike football, the two sides can attack simultaneously, and they usually do.

Senior political correspondent Candy Crowley is with the Kerry campaign.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With newly aggressive rhetoric and a response team cranked up to hyperrapid, John Kerry flew threw Florida, pounding the president on Iraq for the third straight day. He suggested things are so out of control, a second Bush term might see reinstatement of the military draft.

SEN. JOHN KERRY, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: If George Bush were to be reelected, given the way he has gone about this war, and given his avoidance of responsibility in North Korea and Iran and other places, it is possible. I can't tell you.

CROWLEY: As the Democratic nominee assaulted the Bush record, the Kerry campaign staff was on defense, beating back the latest Bush- Cheney ad, called "Windsurfing."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, BUSH-CHENEY AD)

ANNOUNCER: In which direction would John Kerry lead?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: It uses the Democrats' least favorite image of Kerry to accuse the candidate of changing positions on everything from Iraq to Medicare.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, BUSH-CHENEY AD)

ANNOUNCER: John Kerry, whichever way the wind blows.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: Quicker than you can say, Where is John Edwards? He popped up in Miami to protest.

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS, DEMOCRATIC VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Over 1,000 Americans have lost their lives. Americans are being beheaded. Iraq is a mess. And they think this is a joke.

CROWLEY: Edwards was being serious about Bush being frivolous at about the same time Kerry was being frivolous about Bush's grip on reality.

KERRY: Yesterday I was at Orlando, right next to Fantasyland. And the difference between George Bush and me is, I drove by it, he lives in it.

CROWLEY: In the meantime, and while all this was going on, Camp Kerry was putting together an ad of its own, notable for its fast turnaround and use of the Q-word.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, KERRY-EDWARDS AD)

ANNOUNCER: In the face of the Iraq quagmire, George Bush's answer is to run a juvenile and tasteless attack ad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: The election is 41 days away.

Candy Crowley, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, today, on an Islamic Web site, a video appeared of the beheading of Jack Hensley, the American engineer whose killing was announced yesterday. As you may know, on 360, we choose not to show you these videos. We feel showing them plays into the strategy of terrorists, and that we simply won't do.

Today, also a tape was released showing the remaining British hostage, Kenneth Bigley, pleading for his life, another video we won't show. The scenes, terribly familiar, and make it appalling clear what an unsettled place Iraq still is.

CNN's Walter Rodgers is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALTER RODGERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The Army calls this, quote, "a joint operation in eastern Baghdad, targeting insurgents." For the soldiers of the U.S. 1st Armored Cavalry, it was as if the gates of hell had opened and the dogs of war loosed.

It is but another reminder that the rebellious Shi'ite neighborhood in Baghdad known as Sadr City is far from subdued. And until the Mahdi Army rebellion of Muqtada al-Sadr is defeated, U.S. dreams of rebuilding Iraq's poorest neighborhoods remain unfulfilled. Even with total control of the sky, it appears it will take bloody slogging by infantry to quash Iraqi insurgents, who, despite heavy casualties, show no sign of capitulating.

Elsewhere in Baghdad, the war was waged by car bombs, this one targeting a police recruiting center and an ice cream parlor where recruits gather. At least a dozen dead, more than 50 wounded.

Later, a suicide car bomb attack on a U.S. military convoy in Baghdad, killing one soldier and wounding four.

Some Iraqi government officials recommended paroling Mrs. Rihab Taha (ph), who allegedly worked on Iraq's biological weapons program. But later, the U.S. embassy politely reminded the Iraqis Taha is in American legal custody, not Iraq's, and her release is not imminent.

(on camera): That does not bode well for Kenneth John Bigley, the remaining British hostage. The Islamist militants have warned he too will be killed unless all Iraqi female prisoners are freed.

Walter Rodgers, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, spy charges dropped against a translator at Gitmo. That story tops our look at news cross-country tonight.

Senior airman Ahmed al-Halabi (ph) was accused of espionage, you may remember, a crime punishable, of course, by death. In a plea deal, Halabi pled guilty to four minor infractions for taking two photos of Gitmo and then lying about it. That's it. The government's third -- this is the government's third spy case at Gitmo that has just fallen apart.

Washington, D.C., the FCC fines CBS $550,000 for that wardrobe malfunction at the Super Bowl. We're so sick of seeing that Janet Jackson video. This is our reenactment of it. We just -- we can't bear to look at the actual video of Janet Jackson's bare breast again. Anyway, that's our policy. Twenty CBS-owned stations were fined for violating decency regulations.

New York from the Big House to your house. Get ready for Martha Stewart reality TV. Not kidding about this. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia has inked a deal with "Survivor" creator Mark Burnett to develop a new TV series. Homemaker first has to serve out a five- month prison term for obstruction of justice. Apparently it won't be a jail series.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, evangelist Jimmy Swaggart is apologizing again. That's the old apology there. Swaggart said in a televised worship service last week that he would kill any gay man who looked at him romantically. He now says he was joking. Tearful Swaggart apologized once before, of course, right there, yes, yes, he sinned against you, in 1987, for, that was for being with a prostitute.

All right, Chicago, Illinois, now. Those winners in Oprah's car giveaway may have another reason to scream. Let's watch them scream just for a second, though. All right. Well, now they may be screaming about their tax bills. Two hundred seventy-six audience members, they received free Pontiacs. We all know that. They're going to have to pay about $7,000 each in taxes. Still, some say $7,000 car not all that shabby.

That's a look at stories cross-country tonight.

360 next, a man formerly known as Cat Stevens denied entry into the U.S. and sent promptly back to Britain. Find out how he ended up on a terrorist list. Why he is on the list? We'll tell you ahead.

A Christian empire and allegations of sexual impropriety. Is the leader of the world's largest religious broadcasting system a victim of extortion for covering up an indiscretion? We're going to take a closer look at that.

And he ran free during the hurricane, but Chucky is back. That's right. The alligator, back behind bars. We're going to talk to the man who rassled him.

All that ahead.

First, let's take a look, the most popular stories right now on CNN.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

CAT STEVENS (singing): Oh, baby, baby, it's a wild world.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

COOPER: Little Cat Stevens there. Passengers aboard United Airlines flight 919 probably had no idea the man responsible for diverting the 747 yesterday helped shape the soundtrack for a generation. In the late '60s and early '70s, Cat Stevens sold millions of records, with earthy songs like "Wild World," which you just heard, and "Morning Has Broken."

That was before he changed his name, converted to Islam, and traded rhymes for rhetoric. Tonight, the man who once ruled the pop charts finds himself on an FBI chart that keeps him out of the U.S. and at this hour, right now, now back on a plane heading to England.

Justice correspondent Kelli Arena has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVENS (singing): (UNINTELLIGIBLE) on the peace train...

(END VIDEO CLIP) KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): His supporters say he's known for advocating peace. But U.S. officials say recent information suggests Yusef Islam has knowingly financed terrorists through Muslim charities and has knowingly associated with potential terrorists.

But officials would provide no specifics.

TOM RIDGE, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Celebrity or an unknown, our job within Homeland Security is to act on information that others have given us. In this instance, there was some relationship between the name and terrorist activity that let this individual's name be on that no-fly list. And the appropriate action was taken.

ARENA: Islam, who is a British citizen, was not stopped before boarding the London-to-Washington flight. Instead, the plane was forced to land in Maine. The reason, sources say his name, which was recently added to the watch list, was misspelled.

ARSALAN IFTIKHAR, COUNCIL ON AMERICAN-ISLAMIC RELATIONS: Mr. Islam has always categorically denied the fact that he has ever knowingly given any money or support to any terrorist group. And we are here today to say that if, in fact, these allegations were true by the government, why wasn't Mr. Islam arrested?

ARENA: Formerly known as Cat Stevens, Islam became Muslim in 1977 and founded a Muslim school in London. But this is not the first time he's been accused of financing terrorists. He was denied entry into Israel at least twice for allegedly supporting Hamas.

Still, his supporters describe him as a moderate and point to his official Web site, on which he has consistently opposed terrorist acts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVENS (singing): Peace train sounding louder...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARENA: He even donated some music royalties to September 11 families.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ARENA: But good deeds do not get you off watch lists. And U.S. officials say they're confident the information that put Islam on one is credible, Anderson.

COOPER: Kelli Arena, thanks you for that.

Our next guest believes the FBI had every reason to remove the artist formerly known as Cat from the airplane and deny him entry to the U.S. He also has some pretty tough words for how airlines are dealing with security right now. Joining me from Philadelphia, radio talk show host, CNN contributor, Michael Smerconish, author of the book "Flying Blind: How Political Correctness Continues to Compromise Airline Safety Post- 9/11."

Michael, good to see you.

Briefly on Cat Stevens, you think it was good that he got rejected from the U.S.?

MICHAEL SMERCONISH, AUTHOR, "FLYING BLIND": I think it was the right call. I mean, imagine if you were on that plane, and all of a sudden they have knowledge of the fact that somebody who is Muslim and on a terrorism watch list is on board as well. Do you want that plane to enter the airspace over New York City and Washington, D.C. where it was headed? The answer to that is no.

COOPER: But Michael, your book is pretty controversial. You're basically (UNINTELLIGIBLE) advocating what you call terrorist profiling. But frankly, it sounds an awful lot to a lot of people like racial profiling.

SMERCONISH: Anderson, you know, profiling is not a dirty word to me. The bottom line is that on September 11, 19 individuals who had a lot of common denominators, race, religion, gender, ethnicity, and, yes, appearance, they are the ones who perpetrated that attack. And my view is that we ought to be taking those characteristics into account. I mean, look at the mug shots.

COOPER: So how does it work? (UNINTELLIGIBLE) any young Muslim male who shows up to ride on a plane gets pulled aside? I mean, (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

SMERCONISH: No, it ought, it ought to...

COOPER: ... (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?

SMERCONISH: it ought to be a tiebreaker, in my view. I'm not advocating that there be one line for Arab males and another for suburban white guys. I'm saying, let's take a page out of the book of the Israelis, and stop looking only for bombs and begin looking for bombers.

COOPER: So, like, the Israelis do, I mean, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) they -- the security officer asks everybody, and they sort of quickly identify those who they think, you know, may warrant further inspection. You're talking about something like that?

SMERCONISH: Yes, I am. And I'm thinking that we're wasting a lot of time, to quote John Lehman of the 9/11 commission, with 85- year-old women with aluminum walkers and kids like my 8-year-old son, who was twice stopped on a routine flight to Florida, because, I guess, somebody found his Pokemon backpack to be threatening.

COOPER: You know, Michael, we...

SMERCONISH: I mean, that's insanity.

COOPER: ...we like to look at all sides on this program. So let me just argue the counterside, which is that, you know, the terrorists are trying to get anyone they can and know about these watch lists, so they're recruiting people who don't look like the, the, you know, the central casting version of a terrorist.

SMERCONISH: I know. And Anderson, Tom Ridge is often quoted as saying that al Qaeda is changing its face. But every time there is an apprehension made of al Qaeda, most recently when they apprehended that fellow with the computer hard drive in Pakistan, they are all similar. And, you know, frankly...

COOPER: Yes, but what about, like, Timothy McVeigh? I mean, your argument, then, after Timothy McVeigh blew up the plane, you know, should they pulled off every blond-haired white guy?

SMERCONISH: But Timothy McVeigh didn't blow up a plane, and he's not a part of radical Islam. And that's who we're fighting against. Unfortunately, there was crime before September 11. There will be crime after September 11. But right now, we're involved in a war against radical Islam, and we need to face that fact.

COOPER: Michael, appreciate you joining us.

SMERCONISH: Thank you.

COOPER: Thanks very much.

Today's buzz is this. What do you guys think? Should Cat Stevens have been allowed into the United States? Log onto CNN.com/360, cast your vote. We will have results at the end of the program tonight.

And coming up next on 360, televangelist, sex scandal. I don't think we've said that since, like, the mid-'80s. The head of the world's largest religious broadcast network accused, and we're just saying accused here, of pressuring a man into sex. Question is, is it extortion or a coverup?

Also tonight, Dick Cheney unplugged. He blasts Kerry on terror from Capitol Hill. Did he cross the line? We'll take both campaigns 360.

Also a little later, Jane Fonda as bait on the trail. That is definitely raw politics.

Covering all the angles. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL CROUCH: I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Hi, there, welcome to a brand-new place, for Jan and me, at least, the United States Virgin Islands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, that's Paul Crouch and his wife, Jan. May not be familiar with them. But tens of millions of people are. You know, with most of television -- television evangelists just sort of pop up on Sunday mornings on TV. Paul Crouch is seen around the world every single day. He and his wife are founders of the Trinity Broadcasting Network, which is now a global empire.

Tonight, Crouch's reputation, however, may be on the line. A former male employee is making some pretty shocking allegations involving sex, lies, and hush money.

CNN's Adaora Udoji looks at all sides of the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROUCH: ... a construction permit for...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Televangelist Paul Crouch built a multibillion-dollar empire selling Christian values.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROUCH: ... will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Hi, there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UDOJI: But a former employee, Enoch Ford, claims the minister has a secret. In a story reported by "The Los Angeles Times," Ford alleges Crouch sexually assaulted him in 1996. In an interview with "The Times," Ford is quoted as describing a sexual encounter in a California mountain cabin, explaining, quote, "I did it because I didn't want to lose my job. I was going to be in trouble if I said no."

According to "The Times," the allegations first surfaced in a lawsuit Ford threatened to file against the minister after TBN released him in 1998. The case never went to trial. Ford and the network settled out of court, TBN paying $425,000 and requiring him to sign a confidentiality agreement.

"The Times" also reports Ford had written a book, which the network blocked from publication by enforcing the confidentiality agreement. But now Ford is accusing TBN of violating the agreement, when it responded to the "Los Angeles Times" reporting. TBN came out swinging.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The accuser is a convicted felon and longtime drug abuser who has been in prison for years for serious crimes...

UDOJI: But while denying the sexual allegations, a TBN spokesman confirmed the financial settlement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the consensus viewpoint was that it would be better for TBN and Dr. Crouch to reach a financial settlement, rather than to fight the accuser in court.

UDOJI: Ford acknowledges past indiscretions, but stands by his story. "The L.A. Times" quotes him as saying, "There were times that I didn't make the right decision. This is all true. But this man is using my mistakes to get away with this," and adding, "I'll take a lie detector test on national TV. Paul Crouch needs to be exposed, and the truth needs to get out."

Now both sides are back in court, and TBN is trying to keep the book from ever reaching stores, a book that Ford's attorney said in court documents obtained by "The L.A. Times," his client would gladly shelve for the right price.

Adaora Udoji, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: A lot of unanswered questions with that.

There are a lot of people praying in Haiti tonight, hoping to see their loved ones alive as the death toll from tropical storm Jeanne tops 1,000. That tops our uplink tonight.

In Gonaives (ph), aid workers are scrambling to try to get relief out to flood victims. The nightmare is not over. In addition to the more than 1,000 people confirmed dead, another 1,000 are missing. Jeanne is now a hurricane, and it passed north of Haiti during the weekend.

In Jerusalem, a suicide bomber strikes. An 18-year-old woman blew herself up near a crowded bus stop, killed two border policemen who tried to stop her. Israel (UNINTELLIGIBLE) retaliated a little bit more than an hour ago with a missile strike in a town in the Gaza Strip.

Kabul, Afghanistan, now. Freed Gitmo prisoners return home. There they are, the 11 men held on suspicion of links to the Taliban were released at the request from Afghan interim President Hamid Karzai. They say they were wrongly imprisoned and should be compensated, but add that they were not mistreated at Gitmo.

Western Sky, Scotland, a scary moment indeed. Take a look at this. A veterinarian trying to save a cow on a cliff -- yikes, ouch -- plunged down the rocks into the rough water below. He suffered head and facial injuries, as you can kind of tell. He was airlifted to a local hospital, though. He's in stable condition. The cow was fine, could not be reached for comment, however.

That's a quick look at tonight's uplink. They got him out of the water there. He's doing all right.

Dick Cheney talks tough, and John Kerry draws a clearer line. Has the senator finally found his voice on Iraq?

Chucky is back, an alligator on the loose. Tonight, meet the man who wrestled the 1,000-pound 'gator.

And the new patch that could save your sex life. How it works, and how it might work for you.

360 continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: 360 next, political heat over Iraq and terror, but this time the real fires is coming from Cheney and Edwards. We'll take you inside the campaign play book.

Fist, a look at the top stories in "The Reset."

U.S. has a new spy chief, Florida Republican Porter Goss confirmed by the Senate today as the next director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The Senate voted on President Bush's nominee, 77-17 in case you're keeping score. Lawmakers voted against him expressed fears that Congressman would inject partisanship into the director's office. He says he won't.

CBS News is launching its own investigation into Dan Rather's document gate. Some are calling it. The network has named a former U.S. Attorney general, Dick Thornburgh and a retired CEO of the Associated Press to looking into the reporting on President Bush's military service. Both the network and Rather apologized for using documents in a "60 Minutes" report that they could not authenticate.

A woman arrested after disrupting a speech by first lady Laura Bush. Do you remember here, she was on our program. She's know being investigated by the Secret Service. Federal officials say that Sue Needer (ph) made threatening comment in interviews posted on a Web site back in May. Needer says she was just upset about her son's death in Iraq and she says she has no desire to harm the president.

A quick look at the top stories in "The Reset."

You know, the beginning of the fourth quarter of a football game, the players hold four fingers in the air acknowledging the game is entering its final critical moments, well, that's where we are in the race for the White House. And every day the candidates are reading from and rewriting their campaign play books.

Here's CNN political editor, John Mecurio.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN MECURIO, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: In the trenches today, social security and wind surfing. John Kerry's campaign play book sent him back to Florida today, the super bowl of all battleground states. Kerry probably can't win the White House without Florida and can't win the state without recruiting one key group of voters on to his team. That's right, grandmothers and grandfathers too. And you can't recruit them if you don't talk about social security. Kerry played offense all morning in West Palm beach. His headline, George Bush's plan for social security reform is very bad, a rip-off in fact. Mine, however, is very good.

George Bush's play book had his own headline today, one playing in a new TV ad mocking his athletic opponent for his sport of choice, wind surfing. Dick Cheney played fullback for team Bush, digging deeper into the flip-flop line of attack.

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: His multiple positions are not well known. Yesterday he said he had one position, which I think now makes his ninth position.

MERCURIO: Kerry made a solid play for elderly voters in Florida. We think he fumbled when he went wind surfing in Nantucket last month. Bush's use of surrogates on attack is nothing new, so we can't give him the plan of the day. Feels like both sides punted.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: That's today's "Campaign Playbook." Later this afternoon, Senator Kerry's running mate, Senator John Edwards responded to Vice President Cheney's comments. Not long after that the Bush camp offered statements criticizing Edwards for criticizing Cheney, you get the idea. All this back and forth in one day can make your head spin. Here at 360 we're going to try to sort through all the banter and give you comprehensive looks at the size of the campaign.

To do that, we're joined by spokespersons for Kerry and Bush.

Chad Clanton, he's at the Kerry headquarters in Washington.

And Jennifer Millerwise, is at the Bush headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.

Good to see both of you again.

Jennifer, let me start off with you tonight. So Dick Cheney basicly comes out today, goes back on the flip-flop attack against John Kerry. I get why he does that. It certainly seems to work. It is working in the polls. But at some point doesn't President Bush and Vice president Cheney have to talk more about specifics on the ground in Iraq what is really going on?

JENNIFER MILLERWISE, BUSH CAMPAIGN SPOKESWOMAN: The president does every day. He has events where he talks about his plans and his strategy for Iraq. It involves making sure that we're supporting the Iraqi government, making sure that we're helping to train a security force, that elections are happening in January.

COOPER: The criticism is that he presents a rosy upbeat picture, he's not talking about Fallujah, he's not talking about no go areas, not really getting to the nitty-gritty.

MILLERWISE: The president presents a picture of steady decisive leadership, which stands in stark contrast to John Kerry who is continually vacillating his indecision.

COOPER: You can't talk about the president's policies without doing the flip-flop thing, can you?

MILLERWISE: It is hard to talk about this election without talking about the choice that voters have between President Bush's decision and John Kerry who literally picks up the paper every morning to determine whether or not he's for or against something. The headlines are bad, he's against it, if they're good, he's for it.

COOPER: Chad is probably chomping at the bit. I want to bring, Chad.

Chad, so now that John Edwards is becoming more aggressive. He responded to Dick Cheney. I want to read out to the audience who didn't see it. What he said, he said "It is the height of absurdity for Dick Cheney, a chief architect of the Iraq quagmire, to talk about the leadership needed to fix the mess in Iraq that he created. This is the same guy who sent out troops into Iraq without a real coalition, without a plan for the peace and without proper equipment."

How specifically does Kerry's plan differ from President Bush's, specifically?

CHAD CLANTON, KERRY CAMPAIGN SPOKESMAN: It starts with leveling with the American people. George Bush has not done that. It continues with John Kerry, bringing our allies on board. There are several undisputed...

COOPER: President Bush said the same thing. Wants to bring the allies on board.

CLANTON: Well, John Kerry can because he has the credibility and George Bush cannot. A couple of undisputed facts here, and maybe Jennifer can clear it up.

Is it true or not that after we went into the war in Iraq we have more terrorists on the ground there?

Is it true or not we're bearing 90 percent of the costs in casualty in the war over there because we went in alone.

COOPER: OK, before we get to that, though. He's going to huddle with world leaders, is there anything else specific that he is recommending that President Bush isn't?

CLANTON: He has a reconstruction plan that would do something tangible for the Iraqi people. Not just for American contractors like Halliburton. We need the Iraqis to have a stake in their own reconstruction. Get them jobs and meaningful...

COOPER: OK, Jennifer, I want you to be able to respond to this. MILLERWISE: What Chad doesn't talk about is the fact that John -- you know what, when you're the president there is not a weather vane on the White House. You don't get to change your position based on the latest news, the latest polls, or that your latest advisers that you happened to have hire. The fact is you have to show resolve. This president is showing that. If you want...

CLANTON: You notice she doesn't talk about the president. They always want to talk about the -- if relitigating the past could save one of those 1,000 U.S. Troops that have lost their lives, we would do it. We can't change that.

COOPER: Jennifer, is there concern that strategicly at some point got to at some point talk more about what is really going on in Iraq as opposed to -- I know the polls so that the flip-flop thing works against Kerry. It makes Bush look like a decisive leader, it's makes John Kerry look like a waffler. But is there some concern that you go too far with it?

MILLERWISE: The president talks about his plans in Iraq every day. And from day one this president has said this is going to be a very tough, long fight. But it is a fight we have to win. And that is why this president is standing with their troops. He's making sure they have the resources they need.

CLANTON: Why does say we're making progress than, Jennifer?

MILLERWISE: You know, Chad, we are making progress. The fact that your candidate refuses to acknowledge that...

CLANTON: It doesn't look like it. It doesn't look like it.

MILLERWISE: ...and continues to talk down -- we have Prime Minister Allawi in this country. This president, he has faith in Prime Minister Allawi. He thinks we're better off with him here than Saddam Hussein.

CLANTON: You know what else Prime Minister Allawi said?

MILLERWISE: Now what we have seen from senator -- senator...

CLANTON: He said that terrorist camps have expanded since we went in alone in Iraq.

COOPER: All right. All right. I think the both gave you about equal time. We're going to have to wrap it up for tonight. But appreciate you guys joining us. We'll talk to you again. Chad Clanton, Jennifer Millerwise, thanks very much.

CLANTON: Thank you.

COOPER: It is remarkable, you think about it, the 30 years after fighting ends in Vietnam, the war is still so alive on the campaign trail. Those well funded so called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, I think that's what they're calling themselves still have come up with a new ad with an old star. Jane Fonda, whose name has often been used in the bare knuckles world of "Raw Politics." Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): You may ask what is this 1972 video of Jane Fonda in Hanoi have to do with the 2004 presidential elections?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jane Fonda apologized for her activities, but John Kerry refuses to.

COOPER: Well, it is the central theme of a new anti-Kerry ad by the same group responsible for the swiftboat attack ads. They call it friends. The message, Kerry is a Jane Fonda liberal.

JULIAN EPSTEIN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: When this ad attempts to do in a way that is fundamentally dishonest and it is consistent with the past smear ads of this swift boat veterans is to morph John Kerry with Jane Fonda and to imply kind of imply he's part of a left wing elitist Hollywood establishment that would go abroad to criticize U.S. foreign policy.

JANE FONDA: Full circles now. Up and back.

COOPER: Call it the Jane Fonda kiss of political death. For more than 30 years now, Republicans have tried to use Fonda as a tactic. Democrats are scared of the association.

EPSTEIN: These attacks work very effectively if they're not responded to, and they raise doubts about the candidate's character. And unless those doubts are responded to and rebutted, they can be fatal to a campaign.

COOPER: Doesn't always work. Like in 1992, Republicans tried and failed to link Jane Fonda to Bill Clinton.

RICH BOND, FMR. GOP NATIONAL CHAIRMAN: I for one do not want Jane Fonda sleeping in Abraham Lincoln's bed.

COOPER: Earlier this year, some conservatives attempted to associate John Kerry with Hanoi Jane. In a picture surfaced showing both attending an anti-war rally in the '70s, never mind they didn't know each other. Then there was this picture, in which they shared a podium. Turns out to was fabricated. Fonda also denies any connection with Kerry.

JANE FONDA, ACTRESS: The American people have had it with the big lie. Any attempts to link Kerry to me and make him look bad...

COOPER: Playing the Hanoi Jane blame game? That's fundamentally raw politics.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: 360 next, man against beast. You've been asking us whatever happened to Chucky, the 1,000-pound alligator on the loose after Hurricane Ivan. We certainly have an update. And a man who knows him quite well up close and personal. Also a little later tonight, tough times in your love life, in the marriage? The female sex patch could be just what you need to spice up your relationship, I'm told. Part of our special series, "State of the Union."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: I'm all suited up and dry now. But one week ago tonight I was in Mobile, Alabama, bracing for Hurricane Ivan with its 130- mile-per-hour winds. It made landfall later that night near Gulf Shores, Alabama. I was there the next day reporting on the damage. And there was a lot of flooding.

An alligator named Chucky disappeared from the zoo there. Chucky escaped from Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo after Ivan destroyed it. Since then we have been flooded with e-mails asking what happened to Chucky. Now you're seeing it. He was caught last night by the self-proclaimed dean of 'gator wrestling or is it wrastling (ph), I'm not sure, Tim Williams. Williams joining me live from Mobile with details. Hey, Tim, good to see you.

So you go into Gulf Shores, you're hunting for about three hours and one of the guys you work with, Flabio (ph), he's bending down and what did he see?

TIM WILLIAMS, GATORLAND ALLIGATOR RESCUE EXPERT: Well, Flabio is a great guy. He's one of the best 'gator guys around and Ronnie, our other catcher. Flabio, I guess, gets a little bored and decides -- he see this frog and he wants to catch this leopard frog and he reaches down to grab the frog and Chucky's head is sitting there...

COOPER: Yikes.

WILLIAMS: And -- yes, it was pretty -- we'd all split a little bit and it was really a bad swamp back there with all hurricane damage and stuff but a lot of hollering and screaming and swimming across the creek, and got there, and Chucky went underwater.

So we were using some prods, some poles and stuff, trying to prod him up. And Ronnie and Flabio had gone to the other side of the creek with Wayne from Alligator Alley who was helping us. And I was sitting on the other side by myself with a catch bowl and next thing you know, Flabio says, there he is. And I'm like, where, I'm watching them. And he's right by my feet so I got the noose on him and brought him up.

COOPER: Is it as easy as that? You get the noose on him? Is there wrestling involved? Is it a battle? What is it like?

WILLIAMS: Oh, yes, it is. He's big. He's a big 'gator. He's 11 feet. Probably weighs between 800 and 1,000 pounds and he was much more than I could handle by myself. Once I got the noose on him, Ronnie and Flabio dove in this ditch and swam across and got over there to me. And once they got there, we were able to pull him out and have a lot of fun with him. COOPER: We're seeing the video of you guys loading him into a -- you know, a 'gator this big, I'm not familiar with 'gators too much, what are they capable of? I mean, they're really dangerous, obviously.

WILLIAMS: Oh, my gosh, yes. As big as he is, if he had grabbed someone and spun or rolled around with them, he could very easily have taken off an arm or a leg and if he'd have gotten -- somebody got him in the water, he could have drowned them. He is a big, powerful 'gator. But I have to say once we got him out there, we didn't know what to do. We had this big animal and there's four of us so we got some extra ropes on him, and called Patty over at the zoo and Patty said, I'll rally the troops. She couldn't believe it. She thought we were joking.

COOPER: Well, she must have been thrilled.

WILLIAMS: And she called -- oh, she was ecstatic. We were covered in mud. We were all nasty, smelly. It was horrible. And Patty called and got a hold of the police department. And they rallied the troops and I don't know how many officers were there. There were 20, 25 police officers, federal officers, state officers, people from out of the state.

COOPER: We were down there last week and they were searching and searching. I'm glad Chucky -- I'm not sure that's the right name. I think maybe Chucky needs to get renamed. But Tim, we appreciate you joining us. You did great work. You and Flabio and the other guys. Thank you very much.

WILLIAMS: Thank you. And everybody remember the zoo. They need a lot of help. They had a lot of trouble.

COOPER: Yes, sure do. At Gulf Shores. Thanks very much, Tim. Appreciate it.

As you well know by now TV news is obsessed with animals. Escaped alligators, dancing pandas, cute monkeys, whatever. Do you ever wonder though why we in the news business seem so animal obsessed? The answer, dear viewers, lies not in the stars but inside the box.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): We first became acquainted with Chucky, all 12 feet and half a ton of him, in the wake of Hurricane Ivan. Chucky became something of a media darling.

LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Tony Perkins, what is this about Chucky the alligator?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Hello. Is my cameraman here?

KING: I think Chucky just got him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chucky on the loose. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chucky somewhere on the loose.

COOPER: Chucky wasn't the only animal we talked about in the hurricane. There was also that bird.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This bird here, we think it is a turn (ph). It is still alive. It is clearly injured.

COOPER: Boy, did we get e-mails about that. Save the bird, they said. Sadly we couldn't. But the point is TV news loves animal stories. And the reason is simple. Because you love animal stories. Remember Bobo (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to give you ten minutes. Ten minutes to put a chain on him or I'll shoot him. That's what he said to me.

COOPER: Viewers loved watching when animals escape or when they attack. But especially when they do tricks. A skateboarding dog is a surefire way to make viewers feel good on a down news day. So are bears on a trampoline or kickboxing orangutans and then of course there's pandas. People can't get enough of them. That's why if a panda even burps, it is guaranteed to get a lot of play inside the box.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: What was that panda on the trampoline. I didn't even see that. Man.

Anyway, 360 next, revving up the sex drive. The female sex patch, could it help in your relationship? Part of our special series, "State of the Union."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: All this week on 360, we're looking at the state of the union: "Marriage and Divorce in America." Tonight we're talking about sex. A majority of married couples think that good sex, of course is part of a good marriage. But according to one study, Americans are having less sex these days, once or twice a month, if you believe one recent survey.

Men, of course, have Viagra. Sales are over a billion dollars a year. Soon there may actually be some help for women as well. A new female sex patch called Intrinsa is on the fast track to FDA approval.

Now, it was developed by Procter & Gamble. It's a patch. It contains the male hormone testosterone. It is said to significantly boost sexual desire in women.

Once approved, it's going to be marketed specifically to menopausal women, but the question is what about others with sexual dysfunction? Could this be the way to go?

Joining me now from Chicago, sex therapist Dr. Laura Berman. Does this patch work?

DR. LAURA BERMAN, SEX THERAPIST: Well, the initial studies have shown it has promising effects on low libido, on genital arousal, on energy and general sense of well being. Testosterone isn't just a male hormone, it is a female hormone as well and it's something that women need, in particular for their libido. So, their initial studies showed very promising.

COOPER: So, it's not just for women with testosterone deficiency.

BERMAN: No. It is. You to be deficient in testosterone. And that's a good point, because most women who have low libido or other sexual dysfunction complaints may have low testosterone and don't realize it. In fact, at the Berman Center, we're offering women free testing, at least through November, so they can find out if they have a problem, whether their testosterone or any other hormones are out of whack. And even encouraging women who are happy with their sex lives to take their hormonal fingerprint of sorts to find out what their hormone levels ideally should be, so if things start to change later, they know what their goal is.

COOPER: What are some of the side effects, though, of this patch.

BERMAN: Well, testosterone in general has been prescribed by physicians as an off label prescription for women for years. It is approved for men. The potential side effects are weight gain, oily skin, hair growth in places you don't want it, deepening of the voice. Usually those side effects don't happen if the hormones are kept in a normal range, which is why this kind of patch could be a really promising system, because it is designed for women. It is a very low dose.

COOPER: Are there ways for women to improve their libidos or strengthen their libidos without resulting to hormones?

BERMAN: If they don't have adequate levels of testosterone, then nothing is really going to compensate for its absence. And there are probably going to need to replace it in order to see the results if they're able to. If it is not medically contra indicated. But there are other factors that play a role in a woman's interest in sex other than just hormones. Certainly how she feels about her partner, her relationship, how she feels about herself, even her sexual response if she's no longer responding sexually, as she used to, or she's having pain, she's not going to be interested.

So, there are lots of things, even just the way we are in our life and how busy women are today, sleep is the sex of the century. So women, you know, there are lots of reasons why women struggle with low desire beyond just hormones. But hormones really do play a part.

COOPER: I'm going to look at sleep with a whole new eye tonight. Dr. Laura Berman, good to talk to you. Thanks very much.

BERMAN: Happy to be here. COOPER: Says fast track FDA approval, we'll be following it.

360 next, Twinkies, the beloved snack cake. No more? Say it ain't so. We'll take that to the Nth Degree.

First, today's buzz, "Should Cat Stevens been allowed into the United States?" What do you think? You can log on to CNN.com/360, cast your vote. Results when you come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Time for the Buzz. Earlier we asked you, "Should Cat Stevens been allowed into the United States?" More than 16,000 of you voted. 46 percent of you said yes, 54 no. Not a scientific poll, but it is the Buzz. We appreciate you voting.

Tonight, taking Twinkies to the Nth Degree. This really is too much. If only huge-hearted Walt Whitman were still alive, he would know how to mourn such a loss. Oh, Twinkie, my Twinkie, he would write, our fearful trip is done. Yes it true. The maker of Hostess cupcakes, the cup cake with the surprise inside, and Wonder Bread, helps build strong bodies 12 ways, and most of all, the beloved Twinkie, that long beige speed bump of pure cream filled delight, the maker of all those and more, Interstate Bakeries has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The country's largest wholesale baker has liquidity problems. It's shares are plummeting, it's sales declining. And now the Twinkie, that light as a feather icon of childhood, is struggling to stay afloat.

We can't help but notice that exotic foreign pastries and desserts are mostly doing fine, thank you very much. Your creme brulees, your fancy tarts, mousse au chocolat and tiramisu and such. But the Twinkie, that all-American fistfull of a childhood feast may be doomed.

Frankly, we blame you, Dr. Atkins.

I'm Anderson Cooper. Thanks for watching. Coming up next, "PAULA ZAHN NOW."

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired September 22, 2004 - 19:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: Good evening, I'm Anderson Cooper from New York.
Political fighting over Iraq, life-and-death fighting in Iraq.

360 starts now.

Dick Cheney talks tough, and John Kerry draws a clearer line. Has the senator finally found his voice on Iraq?

Cat Stevens, entry denied. Why is the singer on a terror watch list? Is he really too dangerous to enter America?

Televangelist in trouble. One of the world's most famous TV preachers accused by a former male employee of sex, lies, and chaos.

Chucky's back. An alligator on the loose, tonight meet the man who wrestled the 1,000-pound 'gator.

And the new patch that could save your sex life. How it works, and how it might work for you.

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

COOPER: Well, good evening.

On the campaign trail today, the talk was about Iraq, how well things are going there, how badly things are going there, how necessary the war was, what a mistake it was.

Disparate views, in other words, and some particularly sharp words too. As always, we'll tell you all sides, all angles.

First, the Republicans. Vice President Dick Cheney came out of a meeting with GOP leaders on the Capitol, and essentially said that a Kerry presidency would take the country back to a, quote, "pre-9/11 mindset." Clearly attack was the order of the day, as it is most days these days.

Senior White House correspondent John King has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One golden rule of politics, to stay on offense. GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The way to secure Iraq and bring our troops home as quickly as possible is not to wilt or waver or send mixed signals to the enemy.

KING: Another is repetition. If you want an attack to stick, say it again.

BUSH: My opponent is saying mixed signals.

KING: And again.

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He has demonstrated throughout the course of this campaign that he lacks the clarity of vision and purpose necessary to lead our country during extraordinary times.

KING: And over the airwaves, again and again and again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS, BUSH-CHENEY ADS)

ANNOUNCER: Which direction would John Kerry lead?

ANNOUNCER: Kerry voted for the Iraq war. Opposed it. Supported it. And now opposes it again.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

KING: It is hardball politics designed to protect the edge Mr. Bush now has when voters are asked which candidate is the stronger leader or which could better handle Iraq. Most think it is too late, but senior Bush aides concede Senator Kerry has been more focused in recent days, calling Iraq a war of choice, not necessity, and saying the president who made that choice should be held accountable for the chaos.

Mr. Bush has no choice but to respond to the attacks and the grim news from Iraq, insisting progress is being made and calling the beheadings of American hostages and other violence desperate efforts to block democracy.

BUSH: They're trying to convince the Iraqis freedom is not worth it. They're trying to convince the American people that we will not succeed. That's they're -- that's the only weapon they have.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: Now, sticking to the script, the vice president delivered that harsh attack today and then refused to take a question on the ongoing violence in Iraq. But Anderson, it is a subject certain to come up here at the White House tomorrow when President Bush welcomes Iraq's interim prime minister.

COOPER: John, President Bush on the trail, I mean, on, in stump speeches, does he go into details about what the plan is in Iraq, what the situation on the ground really is? KING: In recent days, the president has offered a more sober assessment, especially today, in reaction to the two beheadings over the past two days. The president has talked more about the ongoing violence.

As for a plan, what the president says is, stay until the job is done, and he at times criticizes Senator Kerry for saying he would try to bring the troops home beginning next year. The president says the plan is, get Iraq into a stable democracy and then bring the troops home, no timetable at all. The president says it would be irresponsible to set one.

COOPER: All right. John King, thanks for that from the White House.

With one side on offense, you would think the other side would be on defense. But then in politics, unlike football, the two sides can attack simultaneously, and they usually do.

Senior political correspondent Candy Crowley is with the Kerry campaign.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With newly aggressive rhetoric and a response team cranked up to hyperrapid, John Kerry flew threw Florida, pounding the president on Iraq for the third straight day. He suggested things are so out of control, a second Bush term might see reinstatement of the military draft.

SEN. JOHN KERRY, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: If George Bush were to be reelected, given the way he has gone about this war, and given his avoidance of responsibility in North Korea and Iran and other places, it is possible. I can't tell you.

CROWLEY: As the Democratic nominee assaulted the Bush record, the Kerry campaign staff was on defense, beating back the latest Bush- Cheney ad, called "Windsurfing."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, BUSH-CHENEY AD)

ANNOUNCER: In which direction would John Kerry lead?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: It uses the Democrats' least favorite image of Kerry to accuse the candidate of changing positions on everything from Iraq to Medicare.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, BUSH-CHENEY AD)

ANNOUNCER: John Kerry, whichever way the wind blows.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: Quicker than you can say, Where is John Edwards? He popped up in Miami to protest.

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS, DEMOCRATIC VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Over 1,000 Americans have lost their lives. Americans are being beheaded. Iraq is a mess. And they think this is a joke.

CROWLEY: Edwards was being serious about Bush being frivolous at about the same time Kerry was being frivolous about Bush's grip on reality.

KERRY: Yesterday I was at Orlando, right next to Fantasyland. And the difference between George Bush and me is, I drove by it, he lives in it.

CROWLEY: In the meantime, and while all this was going on, Camp Kerry was putting together an ad of its own, notable for its fast turnaround and use of the Q-word.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, KERRY-EDWARDS AD)

ANNOUNCER: In the face of the Iraq quagmire, George Bush's answer is to run a juvenile and tasteless attack ad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: The election is 41 days away.

Candy Crowley, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, today, on an Islamic Web site, a video appeared of the beheading of Jack Hensley, the American engineer whose killing was announced yesterday. As you may know, on 360, we choose not to show you these videos. We feel showing them plays into the strategy of terrorists, and that we simply won't do.

Today, also a tape was released showing the remaining British hostage, Kenneth Bigley, pleading for his life, another video we won't show. The scenes, terribly familiar, and make it appalling clear what an unsettled place Iraq still is.

CNN's Walter Rodgers is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALTER RODGERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The Army calls this, quote, "a joint operation in eastern Baghdad, targeting insurgents." For the soldiers of the U.S. 1st Armored Cavalry, it was as if the gates of hell had opened and the dogs of war loosed.

It is but another reminder that the rebellious Shi'ite neighborhood in Baghdad known as Sadr City is far from subdued. And until the Mahdi Army rebellion of Muqtada al-Sadr is defeated, U.S. dreams of rebuilding Iraq's poorest neighborhoods remain unfulfilled. Even with total control of the sky, it appears it will take bloody slogging by infantry to quash Iraqi insurgents, who, despite heavy casualties, show no sign of capitulating.

Elsewhere in Baghdad, the war was waged by car bombs, this one targeting a police recruiting center and an ice cream parlor where recruits gather. At least a dozen dead, more than 50 wounded.

Later, a suicide car bomb attack on a U.S. military convoy in Baghdad, killing one soldier and wounding four.

Some Iraqi government officials recommended paroling Mrs. Rihab Taha (ph), who allegedly worked on Iraq's biological weapons program. But later, the U.S. embassy politely reminded the Iraqis Taha is in American legal custody, not Iraq's, and her release is not imminent.

(on camera): That does not bode well for Kenneth John Bigley, the remaining British hostage. The Islamist militants have warned he too will be killed unless all Iraqi female prisoners are freed.

Walter Rodgers, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, spy charges dropped against a translator at Gitmo. That story tops our look at news cross-country tonight.

Senior airman Ahmed al-Halabi (ph) was accused of espionage, you may remember, a crime punishable, of course, by death. In a plea deal, Halabi pled guilty to four minor infractions for taking two photos of Gitmo and then lying about it. That's it. The government's third -- this is the government's third spy case at Gitmo that has just fallen apart.

Washington, D.C., the FCC fines CBS $550,000 for that wardrobe malfunction at the Super Bowl. We're so sick of seeing that Janet Jackson video. This is our reenactment of it. We just -- we can't bear to look at the actual video of Janet Jackson's bare breast again. Anyway, that's our policy. Twenty CBS-owned stations were fined for violating decency regulations.

New York from the Big House to your house. Get ready for Martha Stewart reality TV. Not kidding about this. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia has inked a deal with "Survivor" creator Mark Burnett to develop a new TV series. Homemaker first has to serve out a five- month prison term for obstruction of justice. Apparently it won't be a jail series.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, evangelist Jimmy Swaggart is apologizing again. That's the old apology there. Swaggart said in a televised worship service last week that he would kill any gay man who looked at him romantically. He now says he was joking. Tearful Swaggart apologized once before, of course, right there, yes, yes, he sinned against you, in 1987, for, that was for being with a prostitute.

All right, Chicago, Illinois, now. Those winners in Oprah's car giveaway may have another reason to scream. Let's watch them scream just for a second, though. All right. Well, now they may be screaming about their tax bills. Two hundred seventy-six audience members, they received free Pontiacs. We all know that. They're going to have to pay about $7,000 each in taxes. Still, some say $7,000 car not all that shabby.

That's a look at stories cross-country tonight.

360 next, a man formerly known as Cat Stevens denied entry into the U.S. and sent promptly back to Britain. Find out how he ended up on a terrorist list. Why he is on the list? We'll tell you ahead.

A Christian empire and allegations of sexual impropriety. Is the leader of the world's largest religious broadcasting system a victim of extortion for covering up an indiscretion? We're going to take a closer look at that.

And he ran free during the hurricane, but Chucky is back. That's right. The alligator, back behind bars. We're going to talk to the man who rassled him.

All that ahead.

First, let's take a look, the most popular stories right now on CNN.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

CAT STEVENS (singing): Oh, baby, baby, it's a wild world.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

COOPER: Little Cat Stevens there. Passengers aboard United Airlines flight 919 probably had no idea the man responsible for diverting the 747 yesterday helped shape the soundtrack for a generation. In the late '60s and early '70s, Cat Stevens sold millions of records, with earthy songs like "Wild World," which you just heard, and "Morning Has Broken."

That was before he changed his name, converted to Islam, and traded rhymes for rhetoric. Tonight, the man who once ruled the pop charts finds himself on an FBI chart that keeps him out of the U.S. and at this hour, right now, now back on a plane heading to England.

Justice correspondent Kelli Arena has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVENS (singing): (UNINTELLIGIBLE) on the peace train...

(END VIDEO CLIP) KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): His supporters say he's known for advocating peace. But U.S. officials say recent information suggests Yusef Islam has knowingly financed terrorists through Muslim charities and has knowingly associated with potential terrorists.

But officials would provide no specifics.

TOM RIDGE, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Celebrity or an unknown, our job within Homeland Security is to act on information that others have given us. In this instance, there was some relationship between the name and terrorist activity that let this individual's name be on that no-fly list. And the appropriate action was taken.

ARENA: Islam, who is a British citizen, was not stopped before boarding the London-to-Washington flight. Instead, the plane was forced to land in Maine. The reason, sources say his name, which was recently added to the watch list, was misspelled.

ARSALAN IFTIKHAR, COUNCIL ON AMERICAN-ISLAMIC RELATIONS: Mr. Islam has always categorically denied the fact that he has ever knowingly given any money or support to any terrorist group. And we are here today to say that if, in fact, these allegations were true by the government, why wasn't Mr. Islam arrested?

ARENA: Formerly known as Cat Stevens, Islam became Muslim in 1977 and founded a Muslim school in London. But this is not the first time he's been accused of financing terrorists. He was denied entry into Israel at least twice for allegedly supporting Hamas.

Still, his supporters describe him as a moderate and point to his official Web site, on which he has consistently opposed terrorist acts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVENS (singing): Peace train sounding louder...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARENA: He even donated some music royalties to September 11 families.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ARENA: But good deeds do not get you off watch lists. And U.S. officials say they're confident the information that put Islam on one is credible, Anderson.

COOPER: Kelli Arena, thanks you for that.

Our next guest believes the FBI had every reason to remove the artist formerly known as Cat from the airplane and deny him entry to the U.S. He also has some pretty tough words for how airlines are dealing with security right now. Joining me from Philadelphia, radio talk show host, CNN contributor, Michael Smerconish, author of the book "Flying Blind: How Political Correctness Continues to Compromise Airline Safety Post- 9/11."

Michael, good to see you.

Briefly on Cat Stevens, you think it was good that he got rejected from the U.S.?

MICHAEL SMERCONISH, AUTHOR, "FLYING BLIND": I think it was the right call. I mean, imagine if you were on that plane, and all of a sudden they have knowledge of the fact that somebody who is Muslim and on a terrorism watch list is on board as well. Do you want that plane to enter the airspace over New York City and Washington, D.C. where it was headed? The answer to that is no.

COOPER: But Michael, your book is pretty controversial. You're basically (UNINTELLIGIBLE) advocating what you call terrorist profiling. But frankly, it sounds an awful lot to a lot of people like racial profiling.

SMERCONISH: Anderson, you know, profiling is not a dirty word to me. The bottom line is that on September 11, 19 individuals who had a lot of common denominators, race, religion, gender, ethnicity, and, yes, appearance, they are the ones who perpetrated that attack. And my view is that we ought to be taking those characteristics into account. I mean, look at the mug shots.

COOPER: So how does it work? (UNINTELLIGIBLE) any young Muslim male who shows up to ride on a plane gets pulled aside? I mean, (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

SMERCONISH: No, it ought, it ought to...

COOPER: ... (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?

SMERCONISH: it ought to be a tiebreaker, in my view. I'm not advocating that there be one line for Arab males and another for suburban white guys. I'm saying, let's take a page out of the book of the Israelis, and stop looking only for bombs and begin looking for bombers.

COOPER: So, like, the Israelis do, I mean, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) they -- the security officer asks everybody, and they sort of quickly identify those who they think, you know, may warrant further inspection. You're talking about something like that?

SMERCONISH: Yes, I am. And I'm thinking that we're wasting a lot of time, to quote John Lehman of the 9/11 commission, with 85- year-old women with aluminum walkers and kids like my 8-year-old son, who was twice stopped on a routine flight to Florida, because, I guess, somebody found his Pokemon backpack to be threatening.

COOPER: You know, Michael, we...

SMERCONISH: I mean, that's insanity.

COOPER: ...we like to look at all sides on this program. So let me just argue the counterside, which is that, you know, the terrorists are trying to get anyone they can and know about these watch lists, so they're recruiting people who don't look like the, the, you know, the central casting version of a terrorist.

SMERCONISH: I know. And Anderson, Tom Ridge is often quoted as saying that al Qaeda is changing its face. But every time there is an apprehension made of al Qaeda, most recently when they apprehended that fellow with the computer hard drive in Pakistan, they are all similar. And, you know, frankly...

COOPER: Yes, but what about, like, Timothy McVeigh? I mean, your argument, then, after Timothy McVeigh blew up the plane, you know, should they pulled off every blond-haired white guy?

SMERCONISH: But Timothy McVeigh didn't blow up a plane, and he's not a part of radical Islam. And that's who we're fighting against. Unfortunately, there was crime before September 11. There will be crime after September 11. But right now, we're involved in a war against radical Islam, and we need to face that fact.

COOPER: Michael, appreciate you joining us.

SMERCONISH: Thank you.

COOPER: Thanks very much.

Today's buzz is this. What do you guys think? Should Cat Stevens have been allowed into the United States? Log onto CNN.com/360, cast your vote. We will have results at the end of the program tonight.

And coming up next on 360, televangelist, sex scandal. I don't think we've said that since, like, the mid-'80s. The head of the world's largest religious broadcast network accused, and we're just saying accused here, of pressuring a man into sex. Question is, is it extortion or a coverup?

Also tonight, Dick Cheney unplugged. He blasts Kerry on terror from Capitol Hill. Did he cross the line? We'll take both campaigns 360.

Also a little later, Jane Fonda as bait on the trail. That is definitely raw politics.

Covering all the angles. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL CROUCH: I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Hi, there, welcome to a brand-new place, for Jan and me, at least, the United States Virgin Islands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, that's Paul Crouch and his wife, Jan. May not be familiar with them. But tens of millions of people are. You know, with most of television -- television evangelists just sort of pop up on Sunday mornings on TV. Paul Crouch is seen around the world every single day. He and his wife are founders of the Trinity Broadcasting Network, which is now a global empire.

Tonight, Crouch's reputation, however, may be on the line. A former male employee is making some pretty shocking allegations involving sex, lies, and hush money.

CNN's Adaora Udoji looks at all sides of the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROUCH: ... a construction permit for...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Televangelist Paul Crouch built a multibillion-dollar empire selling Christian values.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROUCH: ... will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Hi, there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UDOJI: But a former employee, Enoch Ford, claims the minister has a secret. In a story reported by "The Los Angeles Times," Ford alleges Crouch sexually assaulted him in 1996. In an interview with "The Times," Ford is quoted as describing a sexual encounter in a California mountain cabin, explaining, quote, "I did it because I didn't want to lose my job. I was going to be in trouble if I said no."

According to "The Times," the allegations first surfaced in a lawsuit Ford threatened to file against the minister after TBN released him in 1998. The case never went to trial. Ford and the network settled out of court, TBN paying $425,000 and requiring him to sign a confidentiality agreement.

"The Times" also reports Ford had written a book, which the network blocked from publication by enforcing the confidentiality agreement. But now Ford is accusing TBN of violating the agreement, when it responded to the "Los Angeles Times" reporting. TBN came out swinging.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The accuser is a convicted felon and longtime drug abuser who has been in prison for years for serious crimes...

UDOJI: But while denying the sexual allegations, a TBN spokesman confirmed the financial settlement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the consensus viewpoint was that it would be better for TBN and Dr. Crouch to reach a financial settlement, rather than to fight the accuser in court.

UDOJI: Ford acknowledges past indiscretions, but stands by his story. "The L.A. Times" quotes him as saying, "There were times that I didn't make the right decision. This is all true. But this man is using my mistakes to get away with this," and adding, "I'll take a lie detector test on national TV. Paul Crouch needs to be exposed, and the truth needs to get out."

Now both sides are back in court, and TBN is trying to keep the book from ever reaching stores, a book that Ford's attorney said in court documents obtained by "The L.A. Times," his client would gladly shelve for the right price.

Adaora Udoji, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: A lot of unanswered questions with that.

There are a lot of people praying in Haiti tonight, hoping to see their loved ones alive as the death toll from tropical storm Jeanne tops 1,000. That tops our uplink tonight.

In Gonaives (ph), aid workers are scrambling to try to get relief out to flood victims. The nightmare is not over. In addition to the more than 1,000 people confirmed dead, another 1,000 are missing. Jeanne is now a hurricane, and it passed north of Haiti during the weekend.

In Jerusalem, a suicide bomber strikes. An 18-year-old woman blew herself up near a crowded bus stop, killed two border policemen who tried to stop her. Israel (UNINTELLIGIBLE) retaliated a little bit more than an hour ago with a missile strike in a town in the Gaza Strip.

Kabul, Afghanistan, now. Freed Gitmo prisoners return home. There they are, the 11 men held on suspicion of links to the Taliban were released at the request from Afghan interim President Hamid Karzai. They say they were wrongly imprisoned and should be compensated, but add that they were not mistreated at Gitmo.

Western Sky, Scotland, a scary moment indeed. Take a look at this. A veterinarian trying to save a cow on a cliff -- yikes, ouch -- plunged down the rocks into the rough water below. He suffered head and facial injuries, as you can kind of tell. He was airlifted to a local hospital, though. He's in stable condition. The cow was fine, could not be reached for comment, however.

That's a quick look at tonight's uplink. They got him out of the water there. He's doing all right.

Dick Cheney talks tough, and John Kerry draws a clearer line. Has the senator finally found his voice on Iraq?

Chucky is back, an alligator on the loose. Tonight, meet the man who wrestled the 1,000-pound 'gator.

And the new patch that could save your sex life. How it works, and how it might work for you.

360 continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: 360 next, political heat over Iraq and terror, but this time the real fires is coming from Cheney and Edwards. We'll take you inside the campaign play book.

Fist, a look at the top stories in "The Reset."

U.S. has a new spy chief, Florida Republican Porter Goss confirmed by the Senate today as the next director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The Senate voted on President Bush's nominee, 77-17 in case you're keeping score. Lawmakers voted against him expressed fears that Congressman would inject partisanship into the director's office. He says he won't.

CBS News is launching its own investigation into Dan Rather's document gate. Some are calling it. The network has named a former U.S. Attorney general, Dick Thornburgh and a retired CEO of the Associated Press to looking into the reporting on President Bush's military service. Both the network and Rather apologized for using documents in a "60 Minutes" report that they could not authenticate.

A woman arrested after disrupting a speech by first lady Laura Bush. Do you remember here, she was on our program. She's know being investigated by the Secret Service. Federal officials say that Sue Needer (ph) made threatening comment in interviews posted on a Web site back in May. Needer says she was just upset about her son's death in Iraq and she says she has no desire to harm the president.

A quick look at the top stories in "The Reset."

You know, the beginning of the fourth quarter of a football game, the players hold four fingers in the air acknowledging the game is entering its final critical moments, well, that's where we are in the race for the White House. And every day the candidates are reading from and rewriting their campaign play books.

Here's CNN political editor, John Mecurio.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN MECURIO, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: In the trenches today, social security and wind surfing. John Kerry's campaign play book sent him back to Florida today, the super bowl of all battleground states. Kerry probably can't win the White House without Florida and can't win the state without recruiting one key group of voters on to his team. That's right, grandmothers and grandfathers too. And you can't recruit them if you don't talk about social security. Kerry played offense all morning in West Palm beach. His headline, George Bush's plan for social security reform is very bad, a rip-off in fact. Mine, however, is very good.

George Bush's play book had his own headline today, one playing in a new TV ad mocking his athletic opponent for his sport of choice, wind surfing. Dick Cheney played fullback for team Bush, digging deeper into the flip-flop line of attack.

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: His multiple positions are not well known. Yesterday he said he had one position, which I think now makes his ninth position.

MERCURIO: Kerry made a solid play for elderly voters in Florida. We think he fumbled when he went wind surfing in Nantucket last month. Bush's use of surrogates on attack is nothing new, so we can't give him the plan of the day. Feels like both sides punted.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: That's today's "Campaign Playbook." Later this afternoon, Senator Kerry's running mate, Senator John Edwards responded to Vice President Cheney's comments. Not long after that the Bush camp offered statements criticizing Edwards for criticizing Cheney, you get the idea. All this back and forth in one day can make your head spin. Here at 360 we're going to try to sort through all the banter and give you comprehensive looks at the size of the campaign.

To do that, we're joined by spokespersons for Kerry and Bush.

Chad Clanton, he's at the Kerry headquarters in Washington.

And Jennifer Millerwise, is at the Bush headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.

Good to see both of you again.

Jennifer, let me start off with you tonight. So Dick Cheney basicly comes out today, goes back on the flip-flop attack against John Kerry. I get why he does that. It certainly seems to work. It is working in the polls. But at some point doesn't President Bush and Vice president Cheney have to talk more about specifics on the ground in Iraq what is really going on?

JENNIFER MILLERWISE, BUSH CAMPAIGN SPOKESWOMAN: The president does every day. He has events where he talks about his plans and his strategy for Iraq. It involves making sure that we're supporting the Iraqi government, making sure that we're helping to train a security force, that elections are happening in January.

COOPER: The criticism is that he presents a rosy upbeat picture, he's not talking about Fallujah, he's not talking about no go areas, not really getting to the nitty-gritty.

MILLERWISE: The president presents a picture of steady decisive leadership, which stands in stark contrast to John Kerry who is continually vacillating his indecision.

COOPER: You can't talk about the president's policies without doing the flip-flop thing, can you?

MILLERWISE: It is hard to talk about this election without talking about the choice that voters have between President Bush's decision and John Kerry who literally picks up the paper every morning to determine whether or not he's for or against something. The headlines are bad, he's against it, if they're good, he's for it.

COOPER: Chad is probably chomping at the bit. I want to bring, Chad.

Chad, so now that John Edwards is becoming more aggressive. He responded to Dick Cheney. I want to read out to the audience who didn't see it. What he said, he said "It is the height of absurdity for Dick Cheney, a chief architect of the Iraq quagmire, to talk about the leadership needed to fix the mess in Iraq that he created. This is the same guy who sent out troops into Iraq without a real coalition, without a plan for the peace and without proper equipment."

How specifically does Kerry's plan differ from President Bush's, specifically?

CHAD CLANTON, KERRY CAMPAIGN SPOKESMAN: It starts with leveling with the American people. George Bush has not done that. It continues with John Kerry, bringing our allies on board. There are several undisputed...

COOPER: President Bush said the same thing. Wants to bring the allies on board.

CLANTON: Well, John Kerry can because he has the credibility and George Bush cannot. A couple of undisputed facts here, and maybe Jennifer can clear it up.

Is it true or not that after we went into the war in Iraq we have more terrorists on the ground there?

Is it true or not we're bearing 90 percent of the costs in casualty in the war over there because we went in alone.

COOPER: OK, before we get to that, though. He's going to huddle with world leaders, is there anything else specific that he is recommending that President Bush isn't?

CLANTON: He has a reconstruction plan that would do something tangible for the Iraqi people. Not just for American contractors like Halliburton. We need the Iraqis to have a stake in their own reconstruction. Get them jobs and meaningful...

COOPER: OK, Jennifer, I want you to be able to respond to this. MILLERWISE: What Chad doesn't talk about is the fact that John -- you know what, when you're the president there is not a weather vane on the White House. You don't get to change your position based on the latest news, the latest polls, or that your latest advisers that you happened to have hire. The fact is you have to show resolve. This president is showing that. If you want...

CLANTON: You notice she doesn't talk about the president. They always want to talk about the -- if relitigating the past could save one of those 1,000 U.S. Troops that have lost their lives, we would do it. We can't change that.

COOPER: Jennifer, is there concern that strategicly at some point got to at some point talk more about what is really going on in Iraq as opposed to -- I know the polls so that the flip-flop thing works against Kerry. It makes Bush look like a decisive leader, it's makes John Kerry look like a waffler. But is there some concern that you go too far with it?

MILLERWISE: The president talks about his plans in Iraq every day. And from day one this president has said this is going to be a very tough, long fight. But it is a fight we have to win. And that is why this president is standing with their troops. He's making sure they have the resources they need.

CLANTON: Why does say we're making progress than, Jennifer?

MILLERWISE: You know, Chad, we are making progress. The fact that your candidate refuses to acknowledge that...

CLANTON: It doesn't look like it. It doesn't look like it.

MILLERWISE: ...and continues to talk down -- we have Prime Minister Allawi in this country. This president, he has faith in Prime Minister Allawi. He thinks we're better off with him here than Saddam Hussein.

CLANTON: You know what else Prime Minister Allawi said?

MILLERWISE: Now what we have seen from senator -- senator...

CLANTON: He said that terrorist camps have expanded since we went in alone in Iraq.

COOPER: All right. All right. I think the both gave you about equal time. We're going to have to wrap it up for tonight. But appreciate you guys joining us. We'll talk to you again. Chad Clanton, Jennifer Millerwise, thanks very much.

CLANTON: Thank you.

COOPER: It is remarkable, you think about it, the 30 years after fighting ends in Vietnam, the war is still so alive on the campaign trail. Those well funded so called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, I think that's what they're calling themselves still have come up with a new ad with an old star. Jane Fonda, whose name has often been used in the bare knuckles world of "Raw Politics." Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): You may ask what is this 1972 video of Jane Fonda in Hanoi have to do with the 2004 presidential elections?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jane Fonda apologized for her activities, but John Kerry refuses to.

COOPER: Well, it is the central theme of a new anti-Kerry ad by the same group responsible for the swiftboat attack ads. They call it friends. The message, Kerry is a Jane Fonda liberal.

JULIAN EPSTEIN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: When this ad attempts to do in a way that is fundamentally dishonest and it is consistent with the past smear ads of this swift boat veterans is to morph John Kerry with Jane Fonda and to imply kind of imply he's part of a left wing elitist Hollywood establishment that would go abroad to criticize U.S. foreign policy.

JANE FONDA: Full circles now. Up and back.

COOPER: Call it the Jane Fonda kiss of political death. For more than 30 years now, Republicans have tried to use Fonda as a tactic. Democrats are scared of the association.

EPSTEIN: These attacks work very effectively if they're not responded to, and they raise doubts about the candidate's character. And unless those doubts are responded to and rebutted, they can be fatal to a campaign.

COOPER: Doesn't always work. Like in 1992, Republicans tried and failed to link Jane Fonda to Bill Clinton.

RICH BOND, FMR. GOP NATIONAL CHAIRMAN: I for one do not want Jane Fonda sleeping in Abraham Lincoln's bed.

COOPER: Earlier this year, some conservatives attempted to associate John Kerry with Hanoi Jane. In a picture surfaced showing both attending an anti-war rally in the '70s, never mind they didn't know each other. Then there was this picture, in which they shared a podium. Turns out to was fabricated. Fonda also denies any connection with Kerry.

JANE FONDA, ACTRESS: The American people have had it with the big lie. Any attempts to link Kerry to me and make him look bad...

COOPER: Playing the Hanoi Jane blame game? That's fundamentally raw politics.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: 360 next, man against beast. You've been asking us whatever happened to Chucky, the 1,000-pound alligator on the loose after Hurricane Ivan. We certainly have an update. And a man who knows him quite well up close and personal. Also a little later tonight, tough times in your love life, in the marriage? The female sex patch could be just what you need to spice up your relationship, I'm told. Part of our special series, "State of the Union."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: I'm all suited up and dry now. But one week ago tonight I was in Mobile, Alabama, bracing for Hurricane Ivan with its 130- mile-per-hour winds. It made landfall later that night near Gulf Shores, Alabama. I was there the next day reporting on the damage. And there was a lot of flooding.

An alligator named Chucky disappeared from the zoo there. Chucky escaped from Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo after Ivan destroyed it. Since then we have been flooded with e-mails asking what happened to Chucky. Now you're seeing it. He was caught last night by the self-proclaimed dean of 'gator wrestling or is it wrastling (ph), I'm not sure, Tim Williams. Williams joining me live from Mobile with details. Hey, Tim, good to see you.

So you go into Gulf Shores, you're hunting for about three hours and one of the guys you work with, Flabio (ph), he's bending down and what did he see?

TIM WILLIAMS, GATORLAND ALLIGATOR RESCUE EXPERT: Well, Flabio is a great guy. He's one of the best 'gator guys around and Ronnie, our other catcher. Flabio, I guess, gets a little bored and decides -- he see this frog and he wants to catch this leopard frog and he reaches down to grab the frog and Chucky's head is sitting there...

COOPER: Yikes.

WILLIAMS: And -- yes, it was pretty -- we'd all split a little bit and it was really a bad swamp back there with all hurricane damage and stuff but a lot of hollering and screaming and swimming across the creek, and got there, and Chucky went underwater.

So we were using some prods, some poles and stuff, trying to prod him up. And Ronnie and Flabio had gone to the other side of the creek with Wayne from Alligator Alley who was helping us. And I was sitting on the other side by myself with a catch bowl and next thing you know, Flabio says, there he is. And I'm like, where, I'm watching them. And he's right by my feet so I got the noose on him and brought him up.

COOPER: Is it as easy as that? You get the noose on him? Is there wrestling involved? Is it a battle? What is it like?

WILLIAMS: Oh, yes, it is. He's big. He's a big 'gator. He's 11 feet. Probably weighs between 800 and 1,000 pounds and he was much more than I could handle by myself. Once I got the noose on him, Ronnie and Flabio dove in this ditch and swam across and got over there to me. And once they got there, we were able to pull him out and have a lot of fun with him. COOPER: We're seeing the video of you guys loading him into a -- you know, a 'gator this big, I'm not familiar with 'gators too much, what are they capable of? I mean, they're really dangerous, obviously.

WILLIAMS: Oh, my gosh, yes. As big as he is, if he had grabbed someone and spun or rolled around with them, he could very easily have taken off an arm or a leg and if he'd have gotten -- somebody got him in the water, he could have drowned them. He is a big, powerful 'gator. But I have to say once we got him out there, we didn't know what to do. We had this big animal and there's four of us so we got some extra ropes on him, and called Patty over at the zoo and Patty said, I'll rally the troops. She couldn't believe it. She thought we were joking.

COOPER: Well, she must have been thrilled.

WILLIAMS: And she called -- oh, she was ecstatic. We were covered in mud. We were all nasty, smelly. It was horrible. And Patty called and got a hold of the police department. And they rallied the troops and I don't know how many officers were there. There were 20, 25 police officers, federal officers, state officers, people from out of the state.

COOPER: We were down there last week and they were searching and searching. I'm glad Chucky -- I'm not sure that's the right name. I think maybe Chucky needs to get renamed. But Tim, we appreciate you joining us. You did great work. You and Flabio and the other guys. Thank you very much.

WILLIAMS: Thank you. And everybody remember the zoo. They need a lot of help. They had a lot of trouble.

COOPER: Yes, sure do. At Gulf Shores. Thanks very much, Tim. Appreciate it.

As you well know by now TV news is obsessed with animals. Escaped alligators, dancing pandas, cute monkeys, whatever. Do you ever wonder though why we in the news business seem so animal obsessed? The answer, dear viewers, lies not in the stars but inside the box.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): We first became acquainted with Chucky, all 12 feet and half a ton of him, in the wake of Hurricane Ivan. Chucky became something of a media darling.

LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Tony Perkins, what is this about Chucky the alligator?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Hello. Is my cameraman here?

KING: I think Chucky just got him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chucky on the loose. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chucky somewhere on the loose.

COOPER: Chucky wasn't the only animal we talked about in the hurricane. There was also that bird.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This bird here, we think it is a turn (ph). It is still alive. It is clearly injured.

COOPER: Boy, did we get e-mails about that. Save the bird, they said. Sadly we couldn't. But the point is TV news loves animal stories. And the reason is simple. Because you love animal stories. Remember Bobo (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to give you ten minutes. Ten minutes to put a chain on him or I'll shoot him. That's what he said to me.

COOPER: Viewers loved watching when animals escape or when they attack. But especially when they do tricks. A skateboarding dog is a surefire way to make viewers feel good on a down news day. So are bears on a trampoline or kickboxing orangutans and then of course there's pandas. People can't get enough of them. That's why if a panda even burps, it is guaranteed to get a lot of play inside the box.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: What was that panda on the trampoline. I didn't even see that. Man.

Anyway, 360 next, revving up the sex drive. The female sex patch, could it help in your relationship? Part of our special series, "State of the Union."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: All this week on 360, we're looking at the state of the union: "Marriage and Divorce in America." Tonight we're talking about sex. A majority of married couples think that good sex, of course is part of a good marriage. But according to one study, Americans are having less sex these days, once or twice a month, if you believe one recent survey.

Men, of course, have Viagra. Sales are over a billion dollars a year. Soon there may actually be some help for women as well. A new female sex patch called Intrinsa is on the fast track to FDA approval.

Now, it was developed by Procter & Gamble. It's a patch. It contains the male hormone testosterone. It is said to significantly boost sexual desire in women.

Once approved, it's going to be marketed specifically to menopausal women, but the question is what about others with sexual dysfunction? Could this be the way to go?

Joining me now from Chicago, sex therapist Dr. Laura Berman. Does this patch work?

DR. LAURA BERMAN, SEX THERAPIST: Well, the initial studies have shown it has promising effects on low libido, on genital arousal, on energy and general sense of well being. Testosterone isn't just a male hormone, it is a female hormone as well and it's something that women need, in particular for their libido. So, their initial studies showed very promising.

COOPER: So, it's not just for women with testosterone deficiency.

BERMAN: No. It is. You to be deficient in testosterone. And that's a good point, because most women who have low libido or other sexual dysfunction complaints may have low testosterone and don't realize it. In fact, at the Berman Center, we're offering women free testing, at least through November, so they can find out if they have a problem, whether their testosterone or any other hormones are out of whack. And even encouraging women who are happy with their sex lives to take their hormonal fingerprint of sorts to find out what their hormone levels ideally should be, so if things start to change later, they know what their goal is.

COOPER: What are some of the side effects, though, of this patch.

BERMAN: Well, testosterone in general has been prescribed by physicians as an off label prescription for women for years. It is approved for men. The potential side effects are weight gain, oily skin, hair growth in places you don't want it, deepening of the voice. Usually those side effects don't happen if the hormones are kept in a normal range, which is why this kind of patch could be a really promising system, because it is designed for women. It is a very low dose.

COOPER: Are there ways for women to improve their libidos or strengthen their libidos without resulting to hormones?

BERMAN: If they don't have adequate levels of testosterone, then nothing is really going to compensate for its absence. And there are probably going to need to replace it in order to see the results if they're able to. If it is not medically contra indicated. But there are other factors that play a role in a woman's interest in sex other than just hormones. Certainly how she feels about her partner, her relationship, how she feels about herself, even her sexual response if she's no longer responding sexually, as she used to, or she's having pain, she's not going to be interested.

So, there are lots of things, even just the way we are in our life and how busy women are today, sleep is the sex of the century. So women, you know, there are lots of reasons why women struggle with low desire beyond just hormones. But hormones really do play a part.

COOPER: I'm going to look at sleep with a whole new eye tonight. Dr. Laura Berman, good to talk to you. Thanks very much.

BERMAN: Happy to be here. COOPER: Says fast track FDA approval, we'll be following it.

360 next, Twinkies, the beloved snack cake. No more? Say it ain't so. We'll take that to the Nth Degree.

First, today's buzz, "Should Cat Stevens been allowed into the United States?" What do you think? You can log on to CNN.com/360, cast your vote. Results when you come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Time for the Buzz. Earlier we asked you, "Should Cat Stevens been allowed into the United States?" More than 16,000 of you voted. 46 percent of you said yes, 54 no. Not a scientific poll, but it is the Buzz. We appreciate you voting.

Tonight, taking Twinkies to the Nth Degree. This really is too much. If only huge-hearted Walt Whitman were still alive, he would know how to mourn such a loss. Oh, Twinkie, my Twinkie, he would write, our fearful trip is done. Yes it true. The maker of Hostess cupcakes, the cup cake with the surprise inside, and Wonder Bread, helps build strong bodies 12 ways, and most of all, the beloved Twinkie, that long beige speed bump of pure cream filled delight, the maker of all those and more, Interstate Bakeries has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The country's largest wholesale baker has liquidity problems. It's shares are plummeting, it's sales declining. And now the Twinkie, that light as a feather icon of childhood, is struggling to stay afloat.

We can't help but notice that exotic foreign pastries and desserts are mostly doing fine, thank you very much. Your creme brulees, your fancy tarts, mousse au chocolat and tiramisu and such. But the Twinkie, that all-American fistfull of a childhood feast may be doomed.

Frankly, we blame you, Dr. Atkins.

I'm Anderson Cooper. Thanks for watching. Coming up next, "PAULA ZAHN NOW."

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