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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Dozens Dead in Terror Bombing in Egypt; Baghdad's Sheraton Hotel Attacked; Bush, Kerry Prep for Debate #2

Aired October 07, 2004 - 19:00   ET

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

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


ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: Good evening from New York. I'm Anderson Cooper.
Dozens dead in a hotel terror attack in Egypt, and insurgents target hotels in Baghdad.

360 starts now.

Nowhere to hide. Baghdad's Sheraton Hotel attacked, a fierce firefight erupts, and CNN's cameras capture it all.

Bush and Kerry prep for round two. The stakes are high, but can either man score a knockout punch? Howard Dean joins us live.

An Alabama murder arrest leads to a multistate mystery. Who are the eight women found in an accused killer's pictures? And do they have anything to do with two unsolved murders?

A Kobe case shocker. A judge tells Kobe Bryant's accuser, Reveal your identity to sue in civil court. But will she comply, or simply say enough's enough?

Martha Stewart cries foul, saying the Secret Service sabotaged her case. Tonight, her appeal, and how she's savoring her last hours of freedom.

And what's up with naughty puppets? A new movie by the creators of South Park stir trouble in the ratings world. But can puppets really be too hot to handle?

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

COOPER: And good evening again.

We begin with breaking news out of the Mideast, terror in the tourist resort area on the border of Israel and Egypt. One moment it was a quiet evening, the next, horror, explosions, a series of them, debris flying, bodies dropping. At least 30 people are dead, and that number may rise.

CNN's Guy Raz is live in Jerusalem with the latest. Guy?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUY RAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, good evening.

It appears this was a massive car bomb that detonated just outside the Taba Hilton Hotel. This is a resort town just across the border from Israel. It's a town popular with Israeli tourists. And we understand that many Israeli tourists were in that hotel. This is a holiday period. Many Israelis pack the Sinai peninsula this time of year, as many as 10,000.

Now, as you mentioned, at least 30 people were killed in the explosion. Part of that hotel, Anderson, collapsed. Many people, we understand, were also buried under the rubble. Now, one eyewitness said, quote, "The gates of hell were opened" immediately after that bomb attack.

As many as 114 people were also wounded in the blast. We understand that Israeli medical services are now in Taba, they have been allowed across the Egyptian border to begin the evacuation of the dead and wounded.

Two towns in Israel, now, just a short time ago, Anderson, they Israeli foreign ministry announced that it would evacuate all Israeli tourists who are in Sinai at the moment, as many as 10,000, we understand, may be on the Sinai Peninsula this time of year. It is a holiday season.

Now, shortly after those -- that initial blast at the Taba Hilton, there were two other smaller blasts, one at the town of Nuaba (ph), also a popular resort town with Israelis, the other, at a town called Ras-al-Satan (ph), also on the Sinai Peninsula.

We understand that seven Egyptian workers were killed in that blast, Anderson.

COOPER: Of course, coordinated attacks, something we've seen before. We have also seen, of course, attacks against Israeli tourists. There was that attempt on an airliner in Africa. We've also seen a lot of terrorist attacks in Egypt over the years.

Has anyone at this point claimed responsibility?

RAZ: Anderson, there's been no claim of responsibility, and no official indication that this was, indeed, a deliberate attack. But all indications, so far, seem to point to the fact that it was, indeed, a deliberate attack.

Now, just about two weeks ago, the Israeli -- rather, the senior leader of Hamas was assassinated in Damascus, the capital of Syria. It is suspected that Israel was involved in that assassination. Israel never publicly discussed whether or not it was involved, but at the time Hamas vowed to strike Israeli targets both inside Israel and outside of Israel.

So, if, in fact, this was carried out by a militant group, it would signal a very dangerous and new trend in the types of attacks they are carrying out, Anderson.

COOPER: All right. Guy Raz reporting, thanks very much. We'll continue to follow this, bring you any updates throughout this hour.

Explosions and gunfire pretty much a daily occurrence in Baghdad. Most of the times Iraqis themselves are targets. But today, the target was different, the Baghdad Sheraton Hotel, where many Westerners and journalists stay. Not the first time the hotel was hit, either, but this time, CNN's Brent Sadler saw it happen right before his eyes. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The unseen but terrifying face of Iraq's insurgents striking at one of central Baghdad's best-known hotels, the Sheraton, hit by two powerful rockets fired from close range. A lower floor set ablaze.

The blasts followed by machine-gun fire and near-immediate U.S. response.

I saw tracer rounds pierce the night sky, U.S. troops on top of the hotel pouring fire at a 45-degree angle towards the launch site.

Reporters in the hotel say the first rocket exploded two floors up on the outside of the Sheraton, scattering shrapnel and debris. Guests taking cover after the first blast were caught by the second as it slammed into the building, detonating higher up.

No serious casualties, but shock and confusion in smoke-filled areas of the hotel, home to Western media organizations and foreign contractors. They picked their way through piles of broken glass, amid hotel warnings that more rockets could fired. Then, as emergency services circled the blast site, a third detonation. Not a rocket this time, a reported misfire from a launch vehicle.

U.S. troops make up part of sector security here, taking a higher profile soon after the attack. The Sheraton and nearby Palestine Hotel, that wasn't hit, are among the heaviest-guarded buildings in the capital, sitting across the Tigris River from the fortress-like green zone.

(on camera): By Iraq's gruesome yardstick of terror, the impact of those rockets, literally a stone's throw from here, should barely register. But the targeting of journalists and private contractors fuels the angst here that the insurgency is far from under control.

Brent Sadler, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: What's remarkable, there was an attack from almost the same spot back around July 1, also the Sheraton was hit by rockets. It is remarkable it happened again, same spot.

Yesterday's report on Iraq's WMD, or lack thereof, had quite an effect on the campaign trail today, same effect that gasoline has on a campfire. The rhetoric is burning hotter than ever.

With the president tonight, here's Suzanne Malveaux.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Despite the administration's own findings that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction at the time of the U.S. invasion, its principal rationale for going to war, President Bush used selected portions of that report to defend his decision to go after Saddam Hussein.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I believe we were right to take action, and America is safer today with Saddam Hussein in prison. He retained the knowledge, the materials, the means, and the intent to produce weapons of mass destruction. And he could have passed that knowledge on to our terrorist enemies.

MALVEAUX: As in the past, the president blamed the weapons miscalculation on faulty intelligence.

BUSH: At a time of many threats in the world, the intelligence on which the president and members of Congress base their decisions must be better, and it will be.

MALVEAUX: The debate over who is best fit to lead as commander in chief in the global war on terror is emerging as the centerpiece of the campaign. At a rally in the battleground state of Wisconsin, Mr. Bush used Kerry's own words from a Senate speech two years ago supporting the war to illustrate what the president calls his opponent's inconsistencies on Iraq.

BUSH: He himself cited the very same intelligence about Saddam's weapons programs as the reason he voted to go to war.

Day my opponent tries to say I made up reasons to go to war. Just who is the one trying to mislead the American people?

MALVEAUX (on camera): Bush aides say that part of the president's strategy for a second debate with Kerry on Friday is to use his opponent's own words and record against him to paint Kerry's policies as bad for the economy and dangerous to national security.

Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, Wausau, Wisconsin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, John Kerry planned to keep a low profile one day before the debate in St. Louis, bury his head in the books, maybe bone up on some domestic policy. But after the WMD report came out, Kerry just couldn't resist taking some jabs at the president.

Here's Candy Crowley.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ask if George Bush deliberately lied about the threat of Saddam, and John Kerry says he has never used that word, though he is all but there.

SEN. JOHN KERRY, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We remember the pieces of evidence, like aluminum tubes and Niger yellowcake uranium, that were laid out before us, all designed, all purposefully used to shift the focus from al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, to Iraq and Saddam Hussein.

CROWLEY: If the president sees the intelligence report as a glass half full, the senator sees it as completely empty, and more fodder for his twin themes of the fall campaign, that the president neither tells the truth nor grasps reality.

KERRY: I don't know what I'm going to find on January 20, the way the president is going. If the president just does more of the same every day and it continues to deteriorate, I may be handed Lebanon, figuratively speaking.

CROWLEY: Kerry, who voted for the Iraq resolution, has referred to Saddam as a terrorist and a threat, and as recently as last December said the U.S. might yet find weapons of mass destruction. But Kerry says the report showing there were no WMD is proof the administration inflated the threat.

KERRY: The president shifted the focus from the real enemy, al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, to an enemy that they aggrandized and fictionalized.

CROWLEY: Previewing Friday night's debate, the Democratic candidate also told reporters the president's lack of candor extends to the state of domestic issues as well.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY: The lift inside the Kerry campaign is palpable. They go into this St. Louis debate on the upswing, if not on top. There is not even the pretentious of any -- pretension of any kind of nervousness. As one Kerry strategist put it, This debate is more about the president, Anderson.

COOPER: We shall see. Candy Crowley, thanks.

A political storm on Capitol Hill tops our look at what's happening right now cross-country.

House Democrats are calling on Republican Congressman Tom DeLay to step down as majority leader. The bipartisan Ethics Committee has issued three rebukes against DeLay in a week for questionable conduct. A DeLay aide calls it a political witch hunt.

Washington, D.C., now, reporter in contempt. The decision is against "New York Times" reporter Judith Miller for her refusal to testify before a grand jury. Miller says she won't reveal confidential sources to prosecutors who are investigating who leaked CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity. Miller won't be jailed pending an appeal. Baton Rouge, Louisiana, now, a courtroom slashing. Take a look. This public defender had a terror bloody day on the job. His client attacked him with a razor blade. The lawyer was wounded in the face and neck but will be OK. The attacker now faces second-degree murder charges on top of kidnapping and other charges he already faced. He also needs a new lawyer, as you can imagine.

Las Vegas, Nevada, now, former NFL kicker accused. Bizarre story. Police say Cole Murdoch Ford (ph) is wanted for the drive-by shooting at the home of Siegfried and Roy. That's right, the tiger guys. No one was hurt. Initially the case was labeled a hate crime, but that is no longer the case. But there's not really an explanation about why he is accused of doing this.

And that's a look at stories right now cross-country tonight.

360 next, Howard Dean. Have you kind of noticed the Republicans using his name an awful lot on the campaign trail these days? Well, Dean joins us live tonight, talking debate, strategy, and why all of a sudden he's on the tip of so many Republicans' tongues.

Plus, Martha Stewart's last day of freedom. We're going to go live to the West Virginia prison, where inmates are eagerly awaiting her arrival.

Also tonight, botox on trial. It's now in the hands of a jury. It's a Hollywood wife versus Michael Jackson's dermatologist. All about botox.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, tomorrow night's debate, of course, is between the president and John Kerry. But we wouldn't be surprised if Howard Dean shows up as well, not in person, but in rhetoric. That's what happened at Tuesday's debate, when Dick Cheney brought up Dr. Dean and a whole bunch of Republicans quickly followed suit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Twenty-four minutes into Tuesday's debate, Dick Cheney resurrected Howard Dean.

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I couldn't figure out why that happened initially. And then I looked and figured out that what was happening was, Howard Dean was making major progress in the Democratic primaries.

COOPER: According to Cheney, the popularity of Dean's antiwar stance is why John Kerry and John Edwards voted against a bill providing additional funding for U.S. troops in Iraq.

CHENEY: Now, if they couldn't stand up to the pressures that Howard Dean represented, how can we expect them to stand up to al Qaeda?

COOPER: Now, it might have just been a spontaneous discourse on Dean. But judging from what happened in the spin room later that night, sure sounds like a lot of Republicans are reading from the same notebook.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you can't stand up to Howard Dean, how can you stand up to the terrorists?

MARY MATALIN, BUSH CAMPAIGN SENIOR ADVISER: He was very much for the, sending the troops in there, very much thought Saddam was a threat, until Howard Dean was getting at the antiwar vote. So, you know, as he makes the right point.

COOPER: If political types repeat something enough, pretty soon us journalist types will repeat it as well.

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: One of the toughest lines of tonight, if he can't stand up to Howard Dean...

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The most effective line from the Bush-Cheney standpoint is, if you can't stand up to Howard Dean...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Boy, some of the punches, you saw them coming when he said that, you know, If you can't up to pressure from Howard Dean...

COOPER: And hey, if a line works, why not stick with it? Dick Cheney's wife sure seems to be.

LYNNE CHENEY: Dick's best line was this one. He said, You know, if these guys can't stand up to Howard Dean, how can we expect them to stand up to Osama bin Laden?

COOPER: We're not sure how long Dean will be on the tip of Republicans' tongues, but for now, at least, sure seems like Dean deja vu all over again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: And joining me from Pittsburgh, former Vermont governor and former presidential candidate Howard Dean, also now an author. He has a new book, "You Have the Power: How to Back the Country and Restore Democracy in America."

Dr. Dean, thanks for joining us.

HOWARD DEAN (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, thanks for having me out. I'm so flattered to be on all those guys' names, and I hope they'll keep talking about me when they go back to Texas and Wyoming (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

COOPER: Well, we'll see if that happens. You know, the, what they're saying, basically, about you is that John Kerry voted against the $87 billion allocation, so did John Edwards, because of the popularity of your antiwar stance. Think that's true?

DEAN: Course, the real reason -- no, I think the reason they did is the same reason I opposed it. You know, we support the troops. The problem is, the president didn't. The president didn't think it was high enough priority to help the troops out in order to pay for it. In other words, he's wanted -- he just put $87 billion on our kids' credit card.

This is the biggest-spending president in our history. We have the largest deficit in the history of the United States of America. I interpreted that courageous vote by John Kerry and John Edwards as a way to say to the president of the United States, You want to fund this war in Iraq, then pay for it. Get rid of those tax cuts you gave to all your millionaire friends. I was very proud of John Kerry and John Edwards for making that statement.

The president didn't care enough about the troops to take the tax cuts from his friends to pay for it.

COOPER: So you're saying if the funding allocation had been different, you would have suggested voting for it, or John Kerry should would have been.

DEAN: I did suggest voting for it. And it's on tape in some of the Iowa debates. And John Kerry said exactly the same thing. This president didn't have the courage and the guts to fund those troops the way they deserved to be funded. And I didn't see why John Kerry and John Edwards should make that vote if the president of the United States wasn't willing to.

COOPER: Today the president said that America is safer with Saddam Hussein in prison. Do you believe that?

DEAN: I never have believed that, and the American people don't believe it either. We've lost over 700 American men and women in our armed forces since Saddam Hussein was captured, because this president picked the wrong war at the wrong time.

What about Iraq -- I mean, excuse me, what about Iran, what about North Korea? President's allowed them to become nuclear powers while he dawdled around with Saddam Hussein, who was a tinhorn, third-rate dictator who today, we found out, never did have weapons of mass destruction.

COOPER: Well, now the line seems to be, though, that, you know, he still had perhaps the intent, still had sort of the information on how to perhaps build WMD, and could have given that information to terrorists.

DEAN: You know, the best line of the debate was John Kerry saying, Certainty and stubbornness is not a substitute for leadership.

The truth is, arguing with the president reminds me of arguing with a 2-year-old. When one excuse falls apart, another excuse comes up. They just keep talking and talking and talking. They dig themselves further and further in. You know why this president's in trouble? This is not because we're in Iraq. The president's in trouble because he didn't tell the truth about why we're in Iraq, and he keeps trying to invent excuses. And the deep -- when you start out with something that's not based on fact and it's not based on truth, the more you say, the deeper the hole you dig. And that is why John Kerry is now emerging as the front-runner again.

COOPER: I want to show you something that you said on the David Letterman show just this week on Monday night. Let's play that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN," CBS)

DEAN: You know, it's very interesting, we won't know for sure whether Iraq is going to become a stable place or not. If it becomes a stable place, George Bush will have been right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Do you stand by that? Do you think if Iraq does become a stable place, George Bush will have been right?

DEAN: Sure. But the problem is, unfortunately, and I regret this, it is not going to be a stable place. George Bush destabilized Iraq. He was instrumental in getting al Qaeda to arrive in Iraq. They were not there before we went. And I think he's made a colossal blunder, as John Kerry said. And I think we need a new president.

We cannot continue to have a president that runs huge deficits, costs us jobs, and doesn't tell us the truth when he sends our troops abroad. That is a failed presidency. This presidency is a failed presidency.

COOPER: Dr. Dean, always good to talk to you from Pittsburgh tonight, thanks very much.

DEAN: Thanks, Anderson.

COOPER: Well, on 360, we cover all the angles, all the sides, so let's bring in Ken Mehlman, campaign manager for the Bush-Cheney team, joining us tonight from Arlington, Virginia.

Ken, thanks very much for being with us.

KEN MEHLMAN, BUSH CAMPAIGN ADVISER: How are you doing, Anderson?

COOPER: Good. I got to ask you, let me start off the same way we talked about with Dr. Dean. All of a sudden, you guys were talking a lot about Dr. Dean. Was there a memo that went out or something?

MEHLMAN: We should call him secretary of state Dean, since he's been the architect of the Kerry foreign policy the last few weeks.

COOPER: But seriously, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), I mean, was there, is, I'm not a politico, I don't really know how this stuff works. Does, do, does, like, a memo go out saying, like, You know what? Today, everyone should talk about Dr. Dean?

MEHLMAN: I don't think a memo went out. I think that the reason the vice president brought up Dr. Dean was the fact that big transformation that occurred in Senator Kerry's foreign policy occurred not because of the result of changes in policy or changes in our defense situation, they resulted because (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Howard Dean was doing in Iowa.

Remember, John Kerry was asked on "Face the Nation," they asked him, they said, Will you support the supplemental funding for our troops regardless of how it is paid for? He said, Yes, it would irresponsible not to. Then Howard Dean started rising in the polls, and John Kerry did his first flip-flop. He said, I'm not going to support our troops because we're not going to raise taxes in order to pay for it.

This president believes when you're the commander in chief, no matter what, you always need to support our troops in an unqualified way. That's the first reason that the vice president brought up Howard Dean.

But that's not the only example. Look, in the PATRIOT Act, John Kerry was for it, then under pressure from Howard Dean, he ended up being against it.

COOPER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

MEHLMAN: The war in Iraq, he was for it, pressure from Howard Dean, ended up against it. That's why Howard Dean has probably had more influence on the John Kerry position in this war and in the war on terror than almost anybody else.

COOPER: Ken, has President Bush or Dick Cheney made any mistakes regarding Iraq? And, if so, are they going to say they have?

MEHLMAN: Well, I think that the president has said, the vice president has said, and certainly our commanders have said that any time you're at war, you have to adapt. You have to adapt to changes on the ground. One of the reasons we turned over sovereignty six months before we planned to was because we adapted.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: ... adapting is not saying you've made a mistake. I mean, have there been any mistakes? And if so, what were they?

MEHLMAN: Well, certainly the -- look, the intelligence universally, the intelligence that the president believed, the intelligence that John Kerry believed, the intelligence the previous administration believed, the intelligence the French believed, the intelligence the U.N. believed, the intelligence unanimously said that John -- that Saddam Hussein had stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction.

We now know that while he still had the means, he had the intent, he had the knowledge, that he didn't have the stockpiles. Obviously, there are a number of reasons we went into war in Iraq, but that's one of the reasons, which was the fact that he had stockpiles, and he didn't have them yet, and we're still glad we went into Iraq. (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

COOPER: What about number of troops on the ground? I mean, you have Ambassador Bremer now, who led the U.S. effort, the civilian effort there, saying there weren't enough troops on the ground in the get-go. He apparently asked for more troops,, although the White House hasn't come out and said that. But reports at the time said he did, privately. Were there enough troops on the ground?

MEHLMAN: There were. And the reason we know there were is because the commanders on the field are the ones that we go to about the number of troops. There were as many troops as the commanders asked for. But another example of how we adapted is the way we trained those troops. Early on, the plan had been to train the ground troops and have American leadership of the troops. We ultimately changed that so that we trained Iraqi leadership (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

COOPER: But Bremer says a lot of top officers wanted more troops, that it was just sort of the, the, the, the more perhaps politically astute leadership of the military that didn't specifically ask for it.

MEHLMAN: Well, the commanders in the field got the troops they wanted, they got the support they wanted. One of the reasons we had that $87 billion appropriations to provide them with more support, that Senator Kerry and Senator Edwards voted against, was because the commanders asked for it.

This president has always done what the commanders have asked for, not hasn't focused on the politics, which is opposite of the way John Kerry's been.

COOPER: OK, they would counter, saying that the president is the commander in chief, but obviously...

MEHLMAN: Well, he is...

COOPER: ... (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

MEHLMAN: ... he's the commander in chief who follows what the commanders in the field say.

COOPER: All right. Ken Mehlman, appreciate you joining us. Thanks very much.

MEHLMAN: Thanks a lot, thank you.

COOPER: Today's buzz is this. What do you think? Should President Bush admit he made a mistake when he said that Saddam Hussein had WMD? Log onto CNN.com/360, cast your vote, results at the end of the program.

The presidential race may be neck and neck nationally, but as we learned in 2000, it won't be won through the popular vote. So tonight we have some new state polls.

A CNN-"USA Today"-Gallup poll on New Mexico voters released this hour, and we're going to New Mexico on Monday, shows that President Bush with a 3-point lead over Senator Kerry among likely voters, and a 1-point lead among registered voters, well within the margin of error. Mr. Bush lost, of course, New Mexico by 366 votes in 2000.

360, as we said, will be live in Santa Fe, New Mexico, next Monday as part of our battleground 360 tour, looking at the people and the issues there that make it such a key state.

In the next hour, we're going to get a new poll from the battleground state of Wisconsin. That's where we find CNN's Paula Zahn right now. Paula?

PAULA ZAHN, HOST, "PAULA ZAHN NOW": Thanks, Anderson.

And I'd love to share those results with you, but you know what? I'm going to save it for my own show today.

But with New Mexico being as close as you were just talking about, we had a new poll out today of Colorado, showing that state dead even. In each of these swing state, you're seeing intense campaigning. Just a few hours ago, the president was here campaigning in Wisconsin, a state he lost by less than a quarter of 1 percent.

And tonight, what you're going to find in this hall is a live town hall meeting with about 300-odd -- not odd folks, 300-plus folks here, representing the Bush camp, the Kerry camp, and a bunch of undecideds who will have an opportunity to ask campaign representatives some very direct questions.

And you've done this before, Anderson. You know that they have a way of putting some of these campaign operatives on the edge, and sometimes you reach a morsel of truth that you might not have seen on the campaign trail.

So is my audience ready here tonight? I think they're ready. And I promise you, Anderson, we will reveal those numbers from Wisconsin at the top of the next hour.

COOPER: All right, we'll be watching, 8:00, Paula Zahn, thanks very much.

360 next, murder mystery and a potential serial killer. Did this sexual predator kill as many as eight women in two states? Some mysterious photos have shown up. Police begin a desperate search for clues.

Also tonight, Martha Stewart's last day of freedom. See for yourself her path to prison.

And a little later, well, birds do it, bees do it, but when puppets do it, well, that can earn a film an adult rating. Team America, the puppet sex controversy, believe it or not.

Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, they were all petite with brown eyes. One was 44 years old, another just 16. Tonight, they all share two things in common. They are dead, the victims of murder. And the other similarity police across the South fear is they may have been killed by one man, a suspected serial killer. CNN's Sara Dorsey reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eight mystery pictures, two unsolved killings, and a man charged with murder. Pieces of an intricate puzzle police in Georgia and Alabama are trying to put together. But first, they need help to determine who these women are and whether they're still alive. The photos were found this week in an Atlanta suburb storage shed belonging to 31-year-old Jeremy Jones. Deputies in Georgia were tipped off after Jones was arrested last month in Alabama for the murder of Lisa Nichols. Authorities fear Nichols is not his only victim.

PHIL MILLER, DOUGLAS COUNTY SHERIFF: He is wanted for rape in Oklahoma. We know that he's a registered sex offender. We know that he's charged with rape and murder in Mobile, Alabama, and he's a suspect in two murders here.

DORSEY: In 2002, Tina Mayberry (ph) was stabbed to death in the parking lot of a restaurant where Jones worked. 16-year-old Amanda Greenwell (ph) was killed in March of this year. She lived in the same mobile home park as Jones.

Another person trying to put it all together is Jones' ex- girlfriend. She said she knew him by an alias, but the two lived together in Georgia for more than a year and a half.

VICKY FREEMAN, SUSPECT'S EX-GIRLFRIEND; There were days that I worked, you know, and he would admit that he was missing in action all day. He was just -- would have mud on him, on his shoes, his clothes. Had scratch marks on him.

DORSEY: Jones' attorney says police are only talking to his client.

HABIB YAZDI, JONES' ATTORNEY: They feel that my client has been trotted around like a serial killer, doing that. However, they're interviewing him to see if he has done that. They're not saying he has done that.

DORSEY: Jones is being held in Alabama for the rape and murder of Lisa Nichols. George authorities have not charged him with any crime.

Sara Dorsey, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, a crippled sub heads to safety. That tops our look at what's happening around the world in "The Uplink."

Off the coast of Ireland right now, a British tug is towing a Canadian submarine back to Scotland. The vessel that left the country earlier this week was returning home when it caught fire. One crew member was killed, another critically injured.

Northern Chile now. Violent clashes. Riot police arrested 15 dock workers after demonstrations got ugly. You see right here, workers had closed a port to protest working conditions. The clashes sent seven people to the hospital with minor injuries.

Outside Mexico City now, Wal-Mart by the pyramids. The retail chain issued a statement today saying it will finish construction of a discount store near some ancient Mexican ruins. Locals have opposed the store, and last week three people launched a hunger strike in protest.

That's tonight's "Uplink."

Martha Stewart cries foul, saying the Secret Service sabotaged her case. Tonight, her appeal and how she's savoring her last hours of freedom.

A Kobe case shocker. A judge tells Kobe Bryant's accuser, reveal your identity to sue in civil court. But will she comply or simply say, enough's enough?

And what's up with naughty puppets? A new movie by the creators of "South Park" stirs troubles in the ratings world. But can puppets really be too hot to handle? 360 continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: On this, her final day of freedom, Martha Stewart was at the office while her lawyers were serving up a final parting shot for prosecutors. She accuses them of withholding memos she says shows the case against her was sabotaged by a government lab. Until the court hears her appeal, Stewart is off to prison. Tonight she's with family and friends. Tomorrow, a whole new surrounding. CNN's Deborah Feyerick reports on what awaits her.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Martha Stewart went off in style, jetting to a fancy beach resort in the Bahamas over the weekend to celebrate the wedding of her longtime publicist.

Back in New York, Stewart has been at her office working, spending nights at home in Westport, Connecticut. She planned to skip a big wedding reception tonight at the Four Seasons; instead, spending time getting ready to surrender.

The Appalachian leaves are just beginning to change color, and because it's convention season in Greenbrier, West Virginia, the local airport where Stewart will likely arrive has been hopping. JERRY O'SULLIVAN, MANAGER, GREENBRIER VALLEY AIRPORT: We do a lot of celebrities. And what we want to do is we want to be a very slick, comfortable, easy in, easy out airport for celebrities. And it's just one more celebrity who has a place to go to.

FEYERICK: As Stewart turns onto the road leading to the prison, she'll see a sign about the history of the place and a handful of campaign placards, though as a felon Stewart can't vote in this election.

She also can't do any business once she's inside. All phone numbers must be approved and her letters may be screened. And if she violates any of the rules, she'll be disciplined; her commissary or phone privileges taken away.

In town, the buzz is all about Martha. T-shirts selling for 17 bucks and parking places for media trucks up for sale.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We haven't had as much excitement in this town since John Kennedy was running for president and came here and visited the local high school.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Now, once Stewart arrives at the gates, she will be escorted into the prison, to the receiving unit. There she will be fingerprinted, photographed and strip-searched for contraband. She will be issued prison clothes and she will also be assigned to a bunk. Then, once she is settled in, she will go to dinner; CNN having learned that her first meal will be baked fish, black eyed peas and Jell-o for dessert -- Anderson.

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

So what awaits Martha Stewart at Alderson? Joining me from Ashville, North Carolina, Clare Hanrahan who served six months in Alderson for trespassing and is the author of the book, "Conscience and Consequence: A Prison Memoir." Clare, thanks very much for being with us. What is it like when you first walk through those gates and you first go through the process of being admitted?

CLARE HANRAHAN, FORMER ALDERSON INMATE: Well, it takes a great deal of inner courage, I think, to cross that threshold and to walk forward into really what is an unknown experience. It will be difficult for Martha, and I hope she gets a good night's sleep tonight, so that she's centered and ready for this.

COOPER: You talked about one of the hardest parts of being at this prison was dealing with a prevailing sadness there. In what way?

HANRAHAN: Well, I was quite surprised by the faces of the women, of America's imprisoned mothers and grandmothers and great grandmothers, these disenfranchised women of Alderson. And their stories, the stories of what brought them to prison are a really sad tale of how our justice system fails.

COOPER: Were the people friendly to you?

HANRAHAN: Oh, very friendly. A little standoffish at first. I mean, I think they have learned over time to give a little birth to a newcomer to see how I would choose to do my time. They will probably do that with Martha Stewart, as well. And then, I found many kindnesses flowing from the women in the prison.

COOPER: What about the guards? I mean, I know, you know, there is a wide variety of guards I guess you run into.

HANRAHAN: Right. Well, you know, in women's prisons, most of the guards are men, and that, in and of itself, is an abuse, I believe. I found them to be country boys from the local area for the most part in the guards with bad jobs.

COOPER: Did you have any trouble with the guards? I understood -- I read one thing you said about ripping sheets off the bed...

HANRAHAN: That's standard procedure in the prison. It's part of the camp technique. Even in the prison handbook it says we must see flesh, ladies. So they will, during their midnight count particularly, if they walk by and cannot see any of your skin, they will walk up to your bed and pull the sheet off and shine a flashlight and that level of intrusion is quite commonplace in Alderson.

COOPER: Commonplace, I'm sure hard to get adjusted to. Clare, thank you for being with us tonight.

HANRAHAN: Thank you, Anderson.

COOPER: Normally, Botox injections don't result in raised eyebrows if you know what I mean but that is exactly what they're doing inside one Los Angeles courtroom. On one side is the wife of a Hollywood producer, on the other a dermatologist known for his work on Michael Jackson. In between them, a jury, deciding whether one of the side effects of the drug concludes medical malpractice. Jason Bellini has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Irina Medavoy one-time swimsuit model and actress testified Botox made her so sick she couldn't leave her Beverly Hills abode for weeks. Friends including Vanna White took the stand to back her up.

PAT LALAMA, "CELEBRITY JUSTICE": What they essentially said was that Irina was in such emotional and physical dire straits that for four months because of the Botox injections she was bedridden, had to miss the Oscars and had to miss a vacation in the south of France.

BELLINI: Medavoy is suing Allergan, the maker of Botox and Dr. Arnold Klein, the dermatologist to the stars, Michael Jackson and Elizabeth Taylor among them. It was the kind of trial you'll only find in Hollywood.

LALAMA: Dr. Arnie Klein comes in at a very dramatic moment during plaintiff's testimony. He walks through the courtroom, he's carrying a cane given to him by Michael Jackson. When he gets on the stand, he is nasty, sarcastic and rude. One of the other highlights, Irina Medavoy says that because she wasn't able to give her husband Mike Medavoy, sex, he suffered, as well.

BELLINI: Medavoy's lawyer accused Klein of experimenting on her with the Botox injections.

LALAMA: Dr. Klein also gets paid quite a lot of money to essentially be a spokesman for Allergan and what Irina was trying to say to the jury was, look, this guy didn't have to do all this. He's in their pockets.

BELLINI: Klein is not commenting. In a statement, Allergan has said, "Mrs. Medavoy's medical records demonstrate that she has been suffering from a host of unrelated medical and psychological symptoms that were present long before her treatment for migraine with our product." The judge in the case is not allowing the jury to grant Medavoy punitive damages. They can put a price on her medical bills, pain and suffering, if she wins the case. Jason Bellini, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Coming up next on 360 Kobe Bryant's accuser no longer can be nameless. The question is will it have an impact on the civil case?

Plus a much lighter story. Sex with strings attached. We're talking about puppets here in a steamy movie scene. Yes, puppets. The film's rating cops have taken notice.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Since June 30 of last year she has become the most famous nameless person in the country. That was the day she said she was raped by Kobe Bryant. We know her age, her height, the color of her hair, her identity for the most part has been a mystery, but with the criminal case dropped, too, so is the secret. CNN's Keith Oppenheim reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the last week publicized documents from the criminal case against Kobe Bryant have revealed intimate details about his accuser. The next intimate detail that could emerge is one of the most personal -- the name she calls her own. While that name has already been published by tabloids and posted on the Internet, it hasn't been used by mainstream media and now that the criminal case has been dropped, the civil case against Bryant has a new set of rules.

SCOTT ROBINSON, LEGAL ANALYST: Once the protection of the criminal case was ended, Bryant's accuser became just another litigant.

OPPENHEIM: Indeed Judge Richard Maiach wrote, "the parties appear as equals before the court and that fundamental principle must be protected throughout these proceedings."

The woman's attorneys say she will go forward.

LIN WOOD, ACCUSER'S ATTORNEY: Even though she knows in doing so now her name will be clearly made public in the near future to the mainstream media.

OPPENHEIM: The ruling didn't surprise legal experts. Judges don't always release names in civil cases, but here the decision may have been impacted by the fact the accuser chose not to testify, just as the criminal case was set to begin.

CRAIG SILVERMAN, LEGAL ANALYST: You cannot have your cake and eat it, too. They were willing to go forward with the criminal case and you pulled the rug out and now you want to proceed anonymously with the civil case. The judges said, that's not going to happen.

OPPENHEIM: All which means unless the case is dropped or settled, the publicity could be so great that the accuser's name becomes a household name. Keith Oppenheim, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Covering the Kobe Bryant case for us tonight in "Justice Served" is Court TV anchor Lisa Bloom. Lisa, good to see you. In your opinion, is this the right decision?

LISA BLOOM, COURT TV ANCHOR: Wrong decision. I think it's hopelessly unrealistic. To say that these two are equals ignores reality. Kobe Bryant, a multi-million dollar celebrity with enormous numbers of fans. She has received death threats continuously from the beginning of this case just to keep her name private, I don't think that's a lot to ask. Rape is the most underreported crime. It is different from other crimes. I don't think there is anything wrong with protecting the rights of an accused victim until the case is done, until it goes to the trial.

COOPER: But there is no criminal case so in the eyes of the state, she's not a victim.

BLOOM: What difference does it make? It's a civil case, she's still trying to get justice. It's a different form. It's in the civil arena and she has the right to pursue justice in that way. I've represented rape survivors in civil cases and I never had any problem keeping their names private. The issue rarely comes up because the defense rarely contests it. This is a sign of how contentious this case that the Kobe Bryant side would even challenge it.

COOPER: Let talk about how this may affect the civil case, if in fact it may stop it. I want to show you something that the attorney for Bryan's accuser told on newspaper. Quote, "she absolutely has the courage to go forward against Kobe Bryant with her name on the complaint." And yet when her name was put on Internet sites, that caused a big problem.

BLOOM: That was one of the reasons that Lin Wood and John Clune (ph), the civil attorneys gave for her walking away from the criminal case, her name was posted on the Internet. You know, Anderson, this case is so thick with spin, we may never know exactly what the facts and what the evidence is. It sounds to me like this is just more spin. She doesn't care now if her name is going to be made public in a civil case. She's going forward anyway.

COOPER: Do you think there will be settlement?

BLOOM: I think -- it's very highly likely there will be a settlement, it won't go to trial.

COOPER: All right. Lisa Bloom, thanks very much. 360 next, far lighter subject, puppets and love. Puppet sex toned down. The creators of "South Park" causing a stir this time on the big screen. We'll tell you why ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: We like to cover the whole range of stories here on 360. So, leave it to the guys who brought us "South Park" to come up with a way to bring porno to puppets. The new movie has the kind of scenes you wouldn't expect from marionettes, at least not in public. And it's gotten them into some hot water with the ratings board, no strings attached.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): Birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's too soon to be having feelings for you.

COOPER: But when puppets do it, watch out. The marionette lovemaking in the new movie "Team America: World Police" was so hot, it initially earned the film an NC 17 rating from the MPAA.

NICOLE SPERLING, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: What we're talking about in this instance is puppet sex between two dolls that do not have correct genitalia.

COOPER: The romance is a subplot in this parity of the war on terrorism, from filmmakers Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the guys behind "South Park." They had to recut the puppet sex scene 10 times before they won an R-rating.

TREY PARKER, DIRECTOR: And they used to make love for 3 1/2 minutes and now, thanks to the MPAA, they just have sex.

MATT STONE, DIRECTOR: Yes. They used to actually make love and now the MPAA made it so that it's just kind of dirty sex.

COOPER: The MPAA won't comment on what was cut, only why the film got an R.

SPERLING: The disclaimer on the rating says like graphic, crude and violence and humor, sexual inferences all involving puppets. Which that in and of itself is just kind of sums it all up.

COOPER: All this makes us wonder, what's up with puppets lately?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I got a full bikini wax.

COOPER: Comedy Central's "Crank Yankers" are naughty, the puppets of the Tony Award-winning Broadway show "Avenue Q" are sexually active and marionettes of "Being John Malkovich" lusted for each other and now there's "Team America."

So, how do marionettes make love? Kind of like porcupines, very carefully.

PARKER: They got tangled all the time. And strings would break all the time.

STONE: They can't really move or do anything.

PARKER: It was a nightmare.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: All right, we'll have to wait for the DVD. Crazy puppets.

360 next, a small furry creature that's causing an international incident. Who knew squirrels were so much trouble? Take that to the "Nth Degree" ahead.

And tomorrow, debate 360 live from St. Louis, Missouri, a preview of the Kerry-Bush showdown take two.

First, today's "Buzz." "Should President Bush admit he made a mistake when he said that Saddam Hussein had WMD?" What do you think? Log on to cnn.com/360. Cast your vote. Results when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Time now for the "Buzz." Earlier we asked you, "should President Bush admit he made a mistake when he said that Saddam Hussein had WMD?" 95 percent of you said yes and 5 percent said no. Not a scientific poll, but it is the "Buzz." We appreciate you voting.

Tonight, taking broken borders to "The Nth Degree." Just so you know, this isn't the only country on Earth with an illegal alien problem. In fact, it is an American illegal alien that Canada, another country with porous borders, is now just trying to deport. Take one look and you'll understand why.

This is the officially unwelcome American right here, a 4-month- old flying squirrel name of Sabrina. Shifty-looking customer, eh? Sabrina's presence in Canada violates a strict ban on rodent importation and the federal government has mounted a campaign to send her back where she came from. That would be Indiana, where she was purchased by a guy from Ontario and then driven home across the border, papers properly filled out and duly declared to serve as a living aid in giving kids talks about nature.

Since then, things have been, well, nuts. Uniformed agents have visited the squirrel owner's house, the government has pressed its case, a legal defense fund has been organized and a creature that weighs about as much as a couple slices of bologna has become a hot- button issue.

We just hope all of this can be settled peacefully before a Royal Canadian Mounted Police S.W.A.T team end up pointing its automatic weapons at the squirrel's guy shirt pocket and yell, come on out, Sabrina. We know you're in there. Let's hope.

I'm Anderson Cooper. Thanks for watching 360. Coming up next, "PAULA ZAHN NOW."

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


Aired October 7, 2004 - 19:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: Good evening from New York. I'm Anderson Cooper.
Dozens dead in a hotel terror attack in Egypt, and insurgents target hotels in Baghdad.

360 starts now.

Nowhere to hide. Baghdad's Sheraton Hotel attacked, a fierce firefight erupts, and CNN's cameras capture it all.

Bush and Kerry prep for round two. The stakes are high, but can either man score a knockout punch? Howard Dean joins us live.

An Alabama murder arrest leads to a multistate mystery. Who are the eight women found in an accused killer's pictures? And do they have anything to do with two unsolved murders?

A Kobe case shocker. A judge tells Kobe Bryant's accuser, Reveal your identity to sue in civil court. But will she comply, or simply say enough's enough?

Martha Stewart cries foul, saying the Secret Service sabotaged her case. Tonight, her appeal, and how she's savoring her last hours of freedom.

And what's up with naughty puppets? A new movie by the creators of South Park stir trouble in the ratings world. But can puppets really be too hot to handle?

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

COOPER: And good evening again.

We begin with breaking news out of the Mideast, terror in the tourist resort area on the border of Israel and Egypt. One moment it was a quiet evening, the next, horror, explosions, a series of them, debris flying, bodies dropping. At least 30 people are dead, and that number may rise.

CNN's Guy Raz is live in Jerusalem with the latest. Guy?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUY RAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, good evening.

It appears this was a massive car bomb that detonated just outside the Taba Hilton Hotel. This is a resort town just across the border from Israel. It's a town popular with Israeli tourists. And we understand that many Israeli tourists were in that hotel. This is a holiday period. Many Israelis pack the Sinai peninsula this time of year, as many as 10,000.

Now, as you mentioned, at least 30 people were killed in the explosion. Part of that hotel, Anderson, collapsed. Many people, we understand, were also buried under the rubble. Now, one eyewitness said, quote, "The gates of hell were opened" immediately after that bomb attack.

As many as 114 people were also wounded in the blast. We understand that Israeli medical services are now in Taba, they have been allowed across the Egyptian border to begin the evacuation of the dead and wounded.

Two towns in Israel, now, just a short time ago, Anderson, they Israeli foreign ministry announced that it would evacuate all Israeli tourists who are in Sinai at the moment, as many as 10,000, we understand, may be on the Sinai Peninsula this time of year. It is a holiday season.

Now, shortly after those -- that initial blast at the Taba Hilton, there were two other smaller blasts, one at the town of Nuaba (ph), also a popular resort town with Israelis, the other, at a town called Ras-al-Satan (ph), also on the Sinai Peninsula.

We understand that seven Egyptian workers were killed in that blast, Anderson.

COOPER: Of course, coordinated attacks, something we've seen before. We have also seen, of course, attacks against Israeli tourists. There was that attempt on an airliner in Africa. We've also seen a lot of terrorist attacks in Egypt over the years.

Has anyone at this point claimed responsibility?

RAZ: Anderson, there's been no claim of responsibility, and no official indication that this was, indeed, a deliberate attack. But all indications, so far, seem to point to the fact that it was, indeed, a deliberate attack.

Now, just about two weeks ago, the Israeli -- rather, the senior leader of Hamas was assassinated in Damascus, the capital of Syria. It is suspected that Israel was involved in that assassination. Israel never publicly discussed whether or not it was involved, but at the time Hamas vowed to strike Israeli targets both inside Israel and outside of Israel.

So, if, in fact, this was carried out by a militant group, it would signal a very dangerous and new trend in the types of attacks they are carrying out, Anderson.

COOPER: All right. Guy Raz reporting, thanks very much. We'll continue to follow this, bring you any updates throughout this hour.

Explosions and gunfire pretty much a daily occurrence in Baghdad. Most of the times Iraqis themselves are targets. But today, the target was different, the Baghdad Sheraton Hotel, where many Westerners and journalists stay. Not the first time the hotel was hit, either, but this time, CNN's Brent Sadler saw it happen right before his eyes. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The unseen but terrifying face of Iraq's insurgents striking at one of central Baghdad's best-known hotels, the Sheraton, hit by two powerful rockets fired from close range. A lower floor set ablaze.

The blasts followed by machine-gun fire and near-immediate U.S. response.

I saw tracer rounds pierce the night sky, U.S. troops on top of the hotel pouring fire at a 45-degree angle towards the launch site.

Reporters in the hotel say the first rocket exploded two floors up on the outside of the Sheraton, scattering shrapnel and debris. Guests taking cover after the first blast were caught by the second as it slammed into the building, detonating higher up.

No serious casualties, but shock and confusion in smoke-filled areas of the hotel, home to Western media organizations and foreign contractors. They picked their way through piles of broken glass, amid hotel warnings that more rockets could fired. Then, as emergency services circled the blast site, a third detonation. Not a rocket this time, a reported misfire from a launch vehicle.

U.S. troops make up part of sector security here, taking a higher profile soon after the attack. The Sheraton and nearby Palestine Hotel, that wasn't hit, are among the heaviest-guarded buildings in the capital, sitting across the Tigris River from the fortress-like green zone.

(on camera): By Iraq's gruesome yardstick of terror, the impact of those rockets, literally a stone's throw from here, should barely register. But the targeting of journalists and private contractors fuels the angst here that the insurgency is far from under control.

Brent Sadler, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: What's remarkable, there was an attack from almost the same spot back around July 1, also the Sheraton was hit by rockets. It is remarkable it happened again, same spot.

Yesterday's report on Iraq's WMD, or lack thereof, had quite an effect on the campaign trail today, same effect that gasoline has on a campfire. The rhetoric is burning hotter than ever.

With the president tonight, here's Suzanne Malveaux.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Despite the administration's own findings that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction at the time of the U.S. invasion, its principal rationale for going to war, President Bush used selected portions of that report to defend his decision to go after Saddam Hussein.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I believe we were right to take action, and America is safer today with Saddam Hussein in prison. He retained the knowledge, the materials, the means, and the intent to produce weapons of mass destruction. And he could have passed that knowledge on to our terrorist enemies.

MALVEAUX: As in the past, the president blamed the weapons miscalculation on faulty intelligence.

BUSH: At a time of many threats in the world, the intelligence on which the president and members of Congress base their decisions must be better, and it will be.

MALVEAUX: The debate over who is best fit to lead as commander in chief in the global war on terror is emerging as the centerpiece of the campaign. At a rally in the battleground state of Wisconsin, Mr. Bush used Kerry's own words from a Senate speech two years ago supporting the war to illustrate what the president calls his opponent's inconsistencies on Iraq.

BUSH: He himself cited the very same intelligence about Saddam's weapons programs as the reason he voted to go to war.

Day my opponent tries to say I made up reasons to go to war. Just who is the one trying to mislead the American people?

MALVEAUX (on camera): Bush aides say that part of the president's strategy for a second debate with Kerry on Friday is to use his opponent's own words and record against him to paint Kerry's policies as bad for the economy and dangerous to national security.

Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, Wausau, Wisconsin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, John Kerry planned to keep a low profile one day before the debate in St. Louis, bury his head in the books, maybe bone up on some domestic policy. But after the WMD report came out, Kerry just couldn't resist taking some jabs at the president.

Here's Candy Crowley.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ask if George Bush deliberately lied about the threat of Saddam, and John Kerry says he has never used that word, though he is all but there.

SEN. JOHN KERRY, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We remember the pieces of evidence, like aluminum tubes and Niger yellowcake uranium, that were laid out before us, all designed, all purposefully used to shift the focus from al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, to Iraq and Saddam Hussein.

CROWLEY: If the president sees the intelligence report as a glass half full, the senator sees it as completely empty, and more fodder for his twin themes of the fall campaign, that the president neither tells the truth nor grasps reality.

KERRY: I don't know what I'm going to find on January 20, the way the president is going. If the president just does more of the same every day and it continues to deteriorate, I may be handed Lebanon, figuratively speaking.

CROWLEY: Kerry, who voted for the Iraq resolution, has referred to Saddam as a terrorist and a threat, and as recently as last December said the U.S. might yet find weapons of mass destruction. But Kerry says the report showing there were no WMD is proof the administration inflated the threat.

KERRY: The president shifted the focus from the real enemy, al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, to an enemy that they aggrandized and fictionalized.

CROWLEY: Previewing Friday night's debate, the Democratic candidate also told reporters the president's lack of candor extends to the state of domestic issues as well.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY: The lift inside the Kerry campaign is palpable. They go into this St. Louis debate on the upswing, if not on top. There is not even the pretentious of any -- pretension of any kind of nervousness. As one Kerry strategist put it, This debate is more about the president, Anderson.

COOPER: We shall see. Candy Crowley, thanks.

A political storm on Capitol Hill tops our look at what's happening right now cross-country.

House Democrats are calling on Republican Congressman Tom DeLay to step down as majority leader. The bipartisan Ethics Committee has issued three rebukes against DeLay in a week for questionable conduct. A DeLay aide calls it a political witch hunt.

Washington, D.C., now, reporter in contempt. The decision is against "New York Times" reporter Judith Miller for her refusal to testify before a grand jury. Miller says she won't reveal confidential sources to prosecutors who are investigating who leaked CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity. Miller won't be jailed pending an appeal. Baton Rouge, Louisiana, now, a courtroom slashing. Take a look. This public defender had a terror bloody day on the job. His client attacked him with a razor blade. The lawyer was wounded in the face and neck but will be OK. The attacker now faces second-degree murder charges on top of kidnapping and other charges he already faced. He also needs a new lawyer, as you can imagine.

Las Vegas, Nevada, now, former NFL kicker accused. Bizarre story. Police say Cole Murdoch Ford (ph) is wanted for the drive-by shooting at the home of Siegfried and Roy. That's right, the tiger guys. No one was hurt. Initially the case was labeled a hate crime, but that is no longer the case. But there's not really an explanation about why he is accused of doing this.

And that's a look at stories right now cross-country tonight.

360 next, Howard Dean. Have you kind of noticed the Republicans using his name an awful lot on the campaign trail these days? Well, Dean joins us live tonight, talking debate, strategy, and why all of a sudden he's on the tip of so many Republicans' tongues.

Plus, Martha Stewart's last day of freedom. We're going to go live to the West Virginia prison, where inmates are eagerly awaiting her arrival.

Also tonight, botox on trial. It's now in the hands of a jury. It's a Hollywood wife versus Michael Jackson's dermatologist. All about botox.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, tomorrow night's debate, of course, is between the president and John Kerry. But we wouldn't be surprised if Howard Dean shows up as well, not in person, but in rhetoric. That's what happened at Tuesday's debate, when Dick Cheney brought up Dr. Dean and a whole bunch of Republicans quickly followed suit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Twenty-four minutes into Tuesday's debate, Dick Cheney resurrected Howard Dean.

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I couldn't figure out why that happened initially. And then I looked and figured out that what was happening was, Howard Dean was making major progress in the Democratic primaries.

COOPER: According to Cheney, the popularity of Dean's antiwar stance is why John Kerry and John Edwards voted against a bill providing additional funding for U.S. troops in Iraq.

CHENEY: Now, if they couldn't stand up to the pressures that Howard Dean represented, how can we expect them to stand up to al Qaeda?

COOPER: Now, it might have just been a spontaneous discourse on Dean. But judging from what happened in the spin room later that night, sure sounds like a lot of Republicans are reading from the same notebook.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you can't stand up to Howard Dean, how can you stand up to the terrorists?

MARY MATALIN, BUSH CAMPAIGN SENIOR ADVISER: He was very much for the, sending the troops in there, very much thought Saddam was a threat, until Howard Dean was getting at the antiwar vote. So, you know, as he makes the right point.

COOPER: If political types repeat something enough, pretty soon us journalist types will repeat it as well.

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: One of the toughest lines of tonight, if he can't stand up to Howard Dean...

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The most effective line from the Bush-Cheney standpoint is, if you can't stand up to Howard Dean...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Boy, some of the punches, you saw them coming when he said that, you know, If you can't up to pressure from Howard Dean...

COOPER: And hey, if a line works, why not stick with it? Dick Cheney's wife sure seems to be.

LYNNE CHENEY: Dick's best line was this one. He said, You know, if these guys can't stand up to Howard Dean, how can we expect them to stand up to Osama bin Laden?

COOPER: We're not sure how long Dean will be on the tip of Republicans' tongues, but for now, at least, sure seems like Dean deja vu all over again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: And joining me from Pittsburgh, former Vermont governor and former presidential candidate Howard Dean, also now an author. He has a new book, "You Have the Power: How to Back the Country and Restore Democracy in America."

Dr. Dean, thanks for joining us.

HOWARD DEAN (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, thanks for having me out. I'm so flattered to be on all those guys' names, and I hope they'll keep talking about me when they go back to Texas and Wyoming (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

COOPER: Well, we'll see if that happens. You know, the, what they're saying, basically, about you is that John Kerry voted against the $87 billion allocation, so did John Edwards, because of the popularity of your antiwar stance. Think that's true?

DEAN: Course, the real reason -- no, I think the reason they did is the same reason I opposed it. You know, we support the troops. The problem is, the president didn't. The president didn't think it was high enough priority to help the troops out in order to pay for it. In other words, he's wanted -- he just put $87 billion on our kids' credit card.

This is the biggest-spending president in our history. We have the largest deficit in the history of the United States of America. I interpreted that courageous vote by John Kerry and John Edwards as a way to say to the president of the United States, You want to fund this war in Iraq, then pay for it. Get rid of those tax cuts you gave to all your millionaire friends. I was very proud of John Kerry and John Edwards for making that statement.

The president didn't care enough about the troops to take the tax cuts from his friends to pay for it.

COOPER: So you're saying if the funding allocation had been different, you would have suggested voting for it, or John Kerry should would have been.

DEAN: I did suggest voting for it. And it's on tape in some of the Iowa debates. And John Kerry said exactly the same thing. This president didn't have the courage and the guts to fund those troops the way they deserved to be funded. And I didn't see why John Kerry and John Edwards should make that vote if the president of the United States wasn't willing to.

COOPER: Today the president said that America is safer with Saddam Hussein in prison. Do you believe that?

DEAN: I never have believed that, and the American people don't believe it either. We've lost over 700 American men and women in our armed forces since Saddam Hussein was captured, because this president picked the wrong war at the wrong time.

What about Iraq -- I mean, excuse me, what about Iran, what about North Korea? President's allowed them to become nuclear powers while he dawdled around with Saddam Hussein, who was a tinhorn, third-rate dictator who today, we found out, never did have weapons of mass destruction.

COOPER: Well, now the line seems to be, though, that, you know, he still had perhaps the intent, still had sort of the information on how to perhaps build WMD, and could have given that information to terrorists.

DEAN: You know, the best line of the debate was John Kerry saying, Certainty and stubbornness is not a substitute for leadership.

The truth is, arguing with the president reminds me of arguing with a 2-year-old. When one excuse falls apart, another excuse comes up. They just keep talking and talking and talking. They dig themselves further and further in. You know why this president's in trouble? This is not because we're in Iraq. The president's in trouble because he didn't tell the truth about why we're in Iraq, and he keeps trying to invent excuses. And the deep -- when you start out with something that's not based on fact and it's not based on truth, the more you say, the deeper the hole you dig. And that is why John Kerry is now emerging as the front-runner again.

COOPER: I want to show you something that you said on the David Letterman show just this week on Monday night. Let's play that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN," CBS)

DEAN: You know, it's very interesting, we won't know for sure whether Iraq is going to become a stable place or not. If it becomes a stable place, George Bush will have been right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Do you stand by that? Do you think if Iraq does become a stable place, George Bush will have been right?

DEAN: Sure. But the problem is, unfortunately, and I regret this, it is not going to be a stable place. George Bush destabilized Iraq. He was instrumental in getting al Qaeda to arrive in Iraq. They were not there before we went. And I think he's made a colossal blunder, as John Kerry said. And I think we need a new president.

We cannot continue to have a president that runs huge deficits, costs us jobs, and doesn't tell us the truth when he sends our troops abroad. That is a failed presidency. This presidency is a failed presidency.

COOPER: Dr. Dean, always good to talk to you from Pittsburgh tonight, thanks very much.

DEAN: Thanks, Anderson.

COOPER: Well, on 360, we cover all the angles, all the sides, so let's bring in Ken Mehlman, campaign manager for the Bush-Cheney team, joining us tonight from Arlington, Virginia.

Ken, thanks very much for being with us.

KEN MEHLMAN, BUSH CAMPAIGN ADVISER: How are you doing, Anderson?

COOPER: Good. I got to ask you, let me start off the same way we talked about with Dr. Dean. All of a sudden, you guys were talking a lot about Dr. Dean. Was there a memo that went out or something?

MEHLMAN: We should call him secretary of state Dean, since he's been the architect of the Kerry foreign policy the last few weeks.

COOPER: But seriously, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), I mean, was there, is, I'm not a politico, I don't really know how this stuff works. Does, do, does, like, a memo go out saying, like, You know what? Today, everyone should talk about Dr. Dean?

MEHLMAN: I don't think a memo went out. I think that the reason the vice president brought up Dr. Dean was the fact that big transformation that occurred in Senator Kerry's foreign policy occurred not because of the result of changes in policy or changes in our defense situation, they resulted because (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Howard Dean was doing in Iowa.

Remember, John Kerry was asked on "Face the Nation," they asked him, they said, Will you support the supplemental funding for our troops regardless of how it is paid for? He said, Yes, it would irresponsible not to. Then Howard Dean started rising in the polls, and John Kerry did his first flip-flop. He said, I'm not going to support our troops because we're not going to raise taxes in order to pay for it.

This president believes when you're the commander in chief, no matter what, you always need to support our troops in an unqualified way. That's the first reason that the vice president brought up Howard Dean.

But that's not the only example. Look, in the PATRIOT Act, John Kerry was for it, then under pressure from Howard Dean, he ended up being against it.

COOPER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

MEHLMAN: The war in Iraq, he was for it, pressure from Howard Dean, ended up against it. That's why Howard Dean has probably had more influence on the John Kerry position in this war and in the war on terror than almost anybody else.

COOPER: Ken, has President Bush or Dick Cheney made any mistakes regarding Iraq? And, if so, are they going to say they have?

MEHLMAN: Well, I think that the president has said, the vice president has said, and certainly our commanders have said that any time you're at war, you have to adapt. You have to adapt to changes on the ground. One of the reasons we turned over sovereignty six months before we planned to was because we adapted.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: ... adapting is not saying you've made a mistake. I mean, have there been any mistakes? And if so, what were they?

MEHLMAN: Well, certainly the -- look, the intelligence universally, the intelligence that the president believed, the intelligence that John Kerry believed, the intelligence the previous administration believed, the intelligence the French believed, the intelligence the U.N. believed, the intelligence unanimously said that John -- that Saddam Hussein had stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction.

We now know that while he still had the means, he had the intent, he had the knowledge, that he didn't have the stockpiles. Obviously, there are a number of reasons we went into war in Iraq, but that's one of the reasons, which was the fact that he had stockpiles, and he didn't have them yet, and we're still glad we went into Iraq. (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

COOPER: What about number of troops on the ground? I mean, you have Ambassador Bremer now, who led the U.S. effort, the civilian effort there, saying there weren't enough troops on the ground in the get-go. He apparently asked for more troops,, although the White House hasn't come out and said that. But reports at the time said he did, privately. Were there enough troops on the ground?

MEHLMAN: There were. And the reason we know there were is because the commanders on the field are the ones that we go to about the number of troops. There were as many troops as the commanders asked for. But another example of how we adapted is the way we trained those troops. Early on, the plan had been to train the ground troops and have American leadership of the troops. We ultimately changed that so that we trained Iraqi leadership (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

COOPER: But Bremer says a lot of top officers wanted more troops, that it was just sort of the, the, the, the more perhaps politically astute leadership of the military that didn't specifically ask for it.

MEHLMAN: Well, the commanders in the field got the troops they wanted, they got the support they wanted. One of the reasons we had that $87 billion appropriations to provide them with more support, that Senator Kerry and Senator Edwards voted against, was because the commanders asked for it.

This president has always done what the commanders have asked for, not hasn't focused on the politics, which is opposite of the way John Kerry's been.

COOPER: OK, they would counter, saying that the president is the commander in chief, but obviously...

MEHLMAN: Well, he is...

COOPER: ... (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

MEHLMAN: ... he's the commander in chief who follows what the commanders in the field say.

COOPER: All right. Ken Mehlman, appreciate you joining us. Thanks very much.

MEHLMAN: Thanks a lot, thank you.

COOPER: Today's buzz is this. What do you think? Should President Bush admit he made a mistake when he said that Saddam Hussein had WMD? Log onto CNN.com/360, cast your vote, results at the end of the program.

The presidential race may be neck and neck nationally, but as we learned in 2000, it won't be won through the popular vote. So tonight we have some new state polls.

A CNN-"USA Today"-Gallup poll on New Mexico voters released this hour, and we're going to New Mexico on Monday, shows that President Bush with a 3-point lead over Senator Kerry among likely voters, and a 1-point lead among registered voters, well within the margin of error. Mr. Bush lost, of course, New Mexico by 366 votes in 2000.

360, as we said, will be live in Santa Fe, New Mexico, next Monday as part of our battleground 360 tour, looking at the people and the issues there that make it such a key state.

In the next hour, we're going to get a new poll from the battleground state of Wisconsin. That's where we find CNN's Paula Zahn right now. Paula?

PAULA ZAHN, HOST, "PAULA ZAHN NOW": Thanks, Anderson.

And I'd love to share those results with you, but you know what? I'm going to save it for my own show today.

But with New Mexico being as close as you were just talking about, we had a new poll out today of Colorado, showing that state dead even. In each of these swing state, you're seeing intense campaigning. Just a few hours ago, the president was here campaigning in Wisconsin, a state he lost by less than a quarter of 1 percent.

And tonight, what you're going to find in this hall is a live town hall meeting with about 300-odd -- not odd folks, 300-plus folks here, representing the Bush camp, the Kerry camp, and a bunch of undecideds who will have an opportunity to ask campaign representatives some very direct questions.

And you've done this before, Anderson. You know that they have a way of putting some of these campaign operatives on the edge, and sometimes you reach a morsel of truth that you might not have seen on the campaign trail.

So is my audience ready here tonight? I think they're ready. And I promise you, Anderson, we will reveal those numbers from Wisconsin at the top of the next hour.

COOPER: All right, we'll be watching, 8:00, Paula Zahn, thanks very much.

360 next, murder mystery and a potential serial killer. Did this sexual predator kill as many as eight women in two states? Some mysterious photos have shown up. Police begin a desperate search for clues.

Also tonight, Martha Stewart's last day of freedom. See for yourself her path to prison.

And a little later, well, birds do it, bees do it, but when puppets do it, well, that can earn a film an adult rating. Team America, the puppet sex controversy, believe it or not.

Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, they were all petite with brown eyes. One was 44 years old, another just 16. Tonight, they all share two things in common. They are dead, the victims of murder. And the other similarity police across the South fear is they may have been killed by one man, a suspected serial killer. CNN's Sara Dorsey reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eight mystery pictures, two unsolved killings, and a man charged with murder. Pieces of an intricate puzzle police in Georgia and Alabama are trying to put together. But first, they need help to determine who these women are and whether they're still alive. The photos were found this week in an Atlanta suburb storage shed belonging to 31-year-old Jeremy Jones. Deputies in Georgia were tipped off after Jones was arrested last month in Alabama for the murder of Lisa Nichols. Authorities fear Nichols is not his only victim.

PHIL MILLER, DOUGLAS COUNTY SHERIFF: He is wanted for rape in Oklahoma. We know that he's a registered sex offender. We know that he's charged with rape and murder in Mobile, Alabama, and he's a suspect in two murders here.

DORSEY: In 2002, Tina Mayberry (ph) was stabbed to death in the parking lot of a restaurant where Jones worked. 16-year-old Amanda Greenwell (ph) was killed in March of this year. She lived in the same mobile home park as Jones.

Another person trying to put it all together is Jones' ex- girlfriend. She said she knew him by an alias, but the two lived together in Georgia for more than a year and a half.

VICKY FREEMAN, SUSPECT'S EX-GIRLFRIEND; There were days that I worked, you know, and he would admit that he was missing in action all day. He was just -- would have mud on him, on his shoes, his clothes. Had scratch marks on him.

DORSEY: Jones' attorney says police are only talking to his client.

HABIB YAZDI, JONES' ATTORNEY: They feel that my client has been trotted around like a serial killer, doing that. However, they're interviewing him to see if he has done that. They're not saying he has done that.

DORSEY: Jones is being held in Alabama for the rape and murder of Lisa Nichols. George authorities have not charged him with any crime.

Sara Dorsey, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, a crippled sub heads to safety. That tops our look at what's happening around the world in "The Uplink."

Off the coast of Ireland right now, a British tug is towing a Canadian submarine back to Scotland. The vessel that left the country earlier this week was returning home when it caught fire. One crew member was killed, another critically injured.

Northern Chile now. Violent clashes. Riot police arrested 15 dock workers after demonstrations got ugly. You see right here, workers had closed a port to protest working conditions. The clashes sent seven people to the hospital with minor injuries.

Outside Mexico City now, Wal-Mart by the pyramids. The retail chain issued a statement today saying it will finish construction of a discount store near some ancient Mexican ruins. Locals have opposed the store, and last week three people launched a hunger strike in protest.

That's tonight's "Uplink."

Martha Stewart cries foul, saying the Secret Service sabotaged her case. Tonight, her appeal and how she's savoring her last hours of freedom.

A Kobe case shocker. A judge tells Kobe Bryant's accuser, reveal your identity to sue in civil court. But will she comply or simply say, enough's enough?

And what's up with naughty puppets? A new movie by the creators of "South Park" stirs troubles in the ratings world. But can puppets really be too hot to handle? 360 continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: On this, her final day of freedom, Martha Stewart was at the office while her lawyers were serving up a final parting shot for prosecutors. She accuses them of withholding memos she says shows the case against her was sabotaged by a government lab. Until the court hears her appeal, Stewart is off to prison. Tonight she's with family and friends. Tomorrow, a whole new surrounding. CNN's Deborah Feyerick reports on what awaits her.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Martha Stewart went off in style, jetting to a fancy beach resort in the Bahamas over the weekend to celebrate the wedding of her longtime publicist.

Back in New York, Stewart has been at her office working, spending nights at home in Westport, Connecticut. She planned to skip a big wedding reception tonight at the Four Seasons; instead, spending time getting ready to surrender.

The Appalachian leaves are just beginning to change color, and because it's convention season in Greenbrier, West Virginia, the local airport where Stewart will likely arrive has been hopping. JERRY O'SULLIVAN, MANAGER, GREENBRIER VALLEY AIRPORT: We do a lot of celebrities. And what we want to do is we want to be a very slick, comfortable, easy in, easy out airport for celebrities. And it's just one more celebrity who has a place to go to.

FEYERICK: As Stewart turns onto the road leading to the prison, she'll see a sign about the history of the place and a handful of campaign placards, though as a felon Stewart can't vote in this election.

She also can't do any business once she's inside. All phone numbers must be approved and her letters may be screened. And if she violates any of the rules, she'll be disciplined; her commissary or phone privileges taken away.

In town, the buzz is all about Martha. T-shirts selling for 17 bucks and parking places for media trucks up for sale.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We haven't had as much excitement in this town since John Kennedy was running for president and came here and visited the local high school.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Now, once Stewart arrives at the gates, she will be escorted into the prison, to the receiving unit. There she will be fingerprinted, photographed and strip-searched for contraband. She will be issued prison clothes and she will also be assigned to a bunk. Then, once she is settled in, she will go to dinner; CNN having learned that her first meal will be baked fish, black eyed peas and Jell-o for dessert -- Anderson.

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

So what awaits Martha Stewart at Alderson? Joining me from Ashville, North Carolina, Clare Hanrahan who served six months in Alderson for trespassing and is the author of the book, "Conscience and Consequence: A Prison Memoir." Clare, thanks very much for being with us. What is it like when you first walk through those gates and you first go through the process of being admitted?

CLARE HANRAHAN, FORMER ALDERSON INMATE: Well, it takes a great deal of inner courage, I think, to cross that threshold and to walk forward into really what is an unknown experience. It will be difficult for Martha, and I hope she gets a good night's sleep tonight, so that she's centered and ready for this.

COOPER: You talked about one of the hardest parts of being at this prison was dealing with a prevailing sadness there. In what way?

HANRAHAN: Well, I was quite surprised by the faces of the women, of America's imprisoned mothers and grandmothers and great grandmothers, these disenfranchised women of Alderson. And their stories, the stories of what brought them to prison are a really sad tale of how our justice system fails.

COOPER: Were the people friendly to you?

HANRAHAN: Oh, very friendly. A little standoffish at first. I mean, I think they have learned over time to give a little birth to a newcomer to see how I would choose to do my time. They will probably do that with Martha Stewart, as well. And then, I found many kindnesses flowing from the women in the prison.

COOPER: What about the guards? I mean, I know, you know, there is a wide variety of guards I guess you run into.

HANRAHAN: Right. Well, you know, in women's prisons, most of the guards are men, and that, in and of itself, is an abuse, I believe. I found them to be country boys from the local area for the most part in the guards with bad jobs.

COOPER: Did you have any trouble with the guards? I understood -- I read one thing you said about ripping sheets off the bed...

HANRAHAN: That's standard procedure in the prison. It's part of the camp technique. Even in the prison handbook it says we must see flesh, ladies. So they will, during their midnight count particularly, if they walk by and cannot see any of your skin, they will walk up to your bed and pull the sheet off and shine a flashlight and that level of intrusion is quite commonplace in Alderson.

COOPER: Commonplace, I'm sure hard to get adjusted to. Clare, thank you for being with us tonight.

HANRAHAN: Thank you, Anderson.

COOPER: Normally, Botox injections don't result in raised eyebrows if you know what I mean but that is exactly what they're doing inside one Los Angeles courtroom. On one side is the wife of a Hollywood producer, on the other a dermatologist known for his work on Michael Jackson. In between them, a jury, deciding whether one of the side effects of the drug concludes medical malpractice. Jason Bellini has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Irina Medavoy one-time swimsuit model and actress testified Botox made her so sick she couldn't leave her Beverly Hills abode for weeks. Friends including Vanna White took the stand to back her up.

PAT LALAMA, "CELEBRITY JUSTICE": What they essentially said was that Irina was in such emotional and physical dire straits that for four months because of the Botox injections she was bedridden, had to miss the Oscars and had to miss a vacation in the south of France.

BELLINI: Medavoy is suing Allergan, the maker of Botox and Dr. Arnold Klein, the dermatologist to the stars, Michael Jackson and Elizabeth Taylor among them. It was the kind of trial you'll only find in Hollywood.

LALAMA: Dr. Arnie Klein comes in at a very dramatic moment during plaintiff's testimony. He walks through the courtroom, he's carrying a cane given to him by Michael Jackson. When he gets on the stand, he is nasty, sarcastic and rude. One of the other highlights, Irina Medavoy says that because she wasn't able to give her husband Mike Medavoy, sex, he suffered, as well.

BELLINI: Medavoy's lawyer accused Klein of experimenting on her with the Botox injections.

LALAMA: Dr. Klein also gets paid quite a lot of money to essentially be a spokesman for Allergan and what Irina was trying to say to the jury was, look, this guy didn't have to do all this. He's in their pockets.

BELLINI: Klein is not commenting. In a statement, Allergan has said, "Mrs. Medavoy's medical records demonstrate that she has been suffering from a host of unrelated medical and psychological symptoms that were present long before her treatment for migraine with our product." The judge in the case is not allowing the jury to grant Medavoy punitive damages. They can put a price on her medical bills, pain and suffering, if she wins the case. Jason Bellini, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Coming up next on 360 Kobe Bryant's accuser no longer can be nameless. The question is will it have an impact on the civil case?

Plus a much lighter story. Sex with strings attached. We're talking about puppets here in a steamy movie scene. Yes, puppets. The film's rating cops have taken notice.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Since June 30 of last year she has become the most famous nameless person in the country. That was the day she said she was raped by Kobe Bryant. We know her age, her height, the color of her hair, her identity for the most part has been a mystery, but with the criminal case dropped, too, so is the secret. CNN's Keith Oppenheim reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the last week publicized documents from the criminal case against Kobe Bryant have revealed intimate details about his accuser. The next intimate detail that could emerge is one of the most personal -- the name she calls her own. While that name has already been published by tabloids and posted on the Internet, it hasn't been used by mainstream media and now that the criminal case has been dropped, the civil case against Bryant has a new set of rules.

SCOTT ROBINSON, LEGAL ANALYST: Once the protection of the criminal case was ended, Bryant's accuser became just another litigant.

OPPENHEIM: Indeed Judge Richard Maiach wrote, "the parties appear as equals before the court and that fundamental principle must be protected throughout these proceedings."

The woman's attorneys say she will go forward.

LIN WOOD, ACCUSER'S ATTORNEY: Even though she knows in doing so now her name will be clearly made public in the near future to the mainstream media.

OPPENHEIM: The ruling didn't surprise legal experts. Judges don't always release names in civil cases, but here the decision may have been impacted by the fact the accuser chose not to testify, just as the criminal case was set to begin.

CRAIG SILVERMAN, LEGAL ANALYST: You cannot have your cake and eat it, too. They were willing to go forward with the criminal case and you pulled the rug out and now you want to proceed anonymously with the civil case. The judges said, that's not going to happen.

OPPENHEIM: All which means unless the case is dropped or settled, the publicity could be so great that the accuser's name becomes a household name. Keith Oppenheim, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Covering the Kobe Bryant case for us tonight in "Justice Served" is Court TV anchor Lisa Bloom. Lisa, good to see you. In your opinion, is this the right decision?

LISA BLOOM, COURT TV ANCHOR: Wrong decision. I think it's hopelessly unrealistic. To say that these two are equals ignores reality. Kobe Bryant, a multi-million dollar celebrity with enormous numbers of fans. She has received death threats continuously from the beginning of this case just to keep her name private, I don't think that's a lot to ask. Rape is the most underreported crime. It is different from other crimes. I don't think there is anything wrong with protecting the rights of an accused victim until the case is done, until it goes to the trial.

COOPER: But there is no criminal case so in the eyes of the state, she's not a victim.

BLOOM: What difference does it make? It's a civil case, she's still trying to get justice. It's a different form. It's in the civil arena and she has the right to pursue justice in that way. I've represented rape survivors in civil cases and I never had any problem keeping their names private. The issue rarely comes up because the defense rarely contests it. This is a sign of how contentious this case that the Kobe Bryant side would even challenge it.

COOPER: Let talk about how this may affect the civil case, if in fact it may stop it. I want to show you something that the attorney for Bryan's accuser told on newspaper. Quote, "she absolutely has the courage to go forward against Kobe Bryant with her name on the complaint." And yet when her name was put on Internet sites, that caused a big problem.

BLOOM: That was one of the reasons that Lin Wood and John Clune (ph), the civil attorneys gave for her walking away from the criminal case, her name was posted on the Internet. You know, Anderson, this case is so thick with spin, we may never know exactly what the facts and what the evidence is. It sounds to me like this is just more spin. She doesn't care now if her name is going to be made public in a civil case. She's going forward anyway.

COOPER: Do you think there will be settlement?

BLOOM: I think -- it's very highly likely there will be a settlement, it won't go to trial.

COOPER: All right. Lisa Bloom, thanks very much. 360 next, far lighter subject, puppets and love. Puppet sex toned down. The creators of "South Park" causing a stir this time on the big screen. We'll tell you why ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: We like to cover the whole range of stories here on 360. So, leave it to the guys who brought us "South Park" to come up with a way to bring porno to puppets. The new movie has the kind of scenes you wouldn't expect from marionettes, at least not in public. And it's gotten them into some hot water with the ratings board, no strings attached.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): Birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's too soon to be having feelings for you.

COOPER: But when puppets do it, watch out. The marionette lovemaking in the new movie "Team America: World Police" was so hot, it initially earned the film an NC 17 rating from the MPAA.

NICOLE SPERLING, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: What we're talking about in this instance is puppet sex between two dolls that do not have correct genitalia.

COOPER: The romance is a subplot in this parity of the war on terrorism, from filmmakers Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the guys behind "South Park." They had to recut the puppet sex scene 10 times before they won an R-rating.

TREY PARKER, DIRECTOR: And they used to make love for 3 1/2 minutes and now, thanks to the MPAA, they just have sex.

MATT STONE, DIRECTOR: Yes. They used to actually make love and now the MPAA made it so that it's just kind of dirty sex.

COOPER: The MPAA won't comment on what was cut, only why the film got an R.

SPERLING: The disclaimer on the rating says like graphic, crude and violence and humor, sexual inferences all involving puppets. Which that in and of itself is just kind of sums it all up.

COOPER: All this makes us wonder, what's up with puppets lately?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I got a full bikini wax.

COOPER: Comedy Central's "Crank Yankers" are naughty, the puppets of the Tony Award-winning Broadway show "Avenue Q" are sexually active and marionettes of "Being John Malkovich" lusted for each other and now there's "Team America."

So, how do marionettes make love? Kind of like porcupines, very carefully.

PARKER: They got tangled all the time. And strings would break all the time.

STONE: They can't really move or do anything.

PARKER: It was a nightmare.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: All right, we'll have to wait for the DVD. Crazy puppets.

360 next, a small furry creature that's causing an international incident. Who knew squirrels were so much trouble? Take that to the "Nth Degree" ahead.

And tomorrow, debate 360 live from St. Louis, Missouri, a preview of the Kerry-Bush showdown take two.

First, today's "Buzz." "Should President Bush admit he made a mistake when he said that Saddam Hussein had WMD?" What do you think? Log on to cnn.com/360. Cast your vote. Results when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Time now for the "Buzz." Earlier we asked you, "should President Bush admit he made a mistake when he said that Saddam Hussein had WMD?" 95 percent of you said yes and 5 percent said no. Not a scientific poll, but it is the "Buzz." We appreciate you voting.

Tonight, taking broken borders to "The Nth Degree." Just so you know, this isn't the only country on Earth with an illegal alien problem. In fact, it is an American illegal alien that Canada, another country with porous borders, is now just trying to deport. Take one look and you'll understand why.

This is the officially unwelcome American right here, a 4-month- old flying squirrel name of Sabrina. Shifty-looking customer, eh? Sabrina's presence in Canada violates a strict ban on rodent importation and the federal government has mounted a campaign to send her back where she came from. That would be Indiana, where she was purchased by a guy from Ontario and then driven home across the border, papers properly filled out and duly declared to serve as a living aid in giving kids talks about nature.

Since then, things have been, well, nuts. Uniformed agents have visited the squirrel owner's house, the government has pressed its case, a legal defense fund has been organized and a creature that weighs about as much as a couple slices of bologna has become a hot- button issue.

We just hope all of this can be settled peacefully before a Royal Canadian Mounted Police S.W.A.T team end up pointing its automatic weapons at the squirrel's guy shirt pocket and yell, come on out, Sabrina. We know you're in there. Let's hope.

I'm Anderson Cooper. Thanks for watching 360. Coming up next, "PAULA ZAHN NOW."

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