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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Scott Peterson Trial Halted; Bush, Kerry Prepare for Third Debate

Aired October 12, 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 Los Angeles. I'm Anderson Cooper.
On a day the Scott Peterson defense team was set to go, the judge says stop.

360 starts now.

A Scott Peterson shocker, his double-murder trial put on hold. Is the prosecution's case in trouble, or has Mark Geragos got something up his sleeve?

Bush and Kerry ready to rumble on the eve of the third presidential debate, but a new fight erupts over an anti-Kerry documentary coming to a TV near you.

A teenager found alive in a car wreck after eight days with no food or water. Tonight, the remarkable rescue and recovery of Laura Hatch.

A 60-year-old woman fights a crocodile to save a man from being mauled to death. Tonight, the amazing story of Mrs. Crocodile Dundee.

And Ross, the intern, from the "Tonight" show" shows us what L.A. residents really want from their candidates.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Los Angeles, California, this is a special edition of ANDERSON COOPER 360.

COOPER: And good evening, thanks for joining us here in sunny Los Angeles.

This big story out here today was supposed to be the beginning of the defense presentation in the murder trial of Scott Peterson, the key word being "supposed." The jurors in the case did learn today when it will end. They'll have to wait for it to actually start again next week.

From Redwood City tonight, CNN's Ted Rowlands.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A packed courtroom waiting to hear the start of the defense case heard instead that the Scott Peterson murder trial has been delayed. A source close to the case tells CNN that prosecutors needed more time after receiving witness information over the weekend.

JANEY PETERSON, SISTER-IN-LAW: Any delay is disappointing, but we'll be back next week.

ROWLANDS: Judge Al Baluki (ph) told the jury that having to tell them about another delay was like pulling teeth, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. The judge says he anticipates deliberations will start the first week of November.

According to people in the courtroom, some jurors seemed frustrated by the latest delay.

JIM HAMMER, LEGAL ANALYST: I'll tell you, the one thing that really angers jurors, besides lawyers talking secretly up at the bench without them listening, is delays. And they came in 40 minutes late today, and now another dead week. So I think they're very frustrated, downcast, frankly.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS: Geragos is now expected to start his case on Monday when court resumes. The judge told the jury that they could expect final arguments to be held on November 1 and November 2, election day, and the jury should get this case on November 3, Anderson.

COOPER: Ted Rowlands, thanks for that.

With me now is Gloria Allred, the lawyer for Amber Frey, Scott Peterson's former mistress. And joining me from Miami, defense attorney Jayne Weintraub.

Good to see you both.

Gloria, let me start off with you. Why do you think there's been this delay?

GLORIA ALLRED, ATTORNEY FOR AMBER FREY: Well, I was in the courtroom this morning, Anderson, and all the court indicated to the jury was that the integrity of the trial required it. So he wasn't specific beyond that.

So all I can do is make an educated guess, and my educated guess is that it's really a discovery issue. The defense was about to begin its case, that is, put on its witnesses, perhaps begin with expert witnesses. And in that regard, perhaps they did not turn over all of the reports of the experts, or did not disclose all of the evidence that they had, and the prosecution is entitled to a fair trial as well. It's not just the defense that's entitled for a fair trial.

So the prosecution most likely objected and asked for more time, and they got it. They got another week, so that they'll be able to effectively cross-examine the witness.

COOPER: Jayne, though, what does this do for the defense? I mean, is this a boost for Mark Geragos? Does it slow the momentum the prosecution might have had going into the defense arguing their case? JAYNE WEINTRAUB, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, don't -- I disagree with your premise, Anderson, respectfully, I don't think that they (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

COOPER: Well, because you said (UNINTELLIGIBLE) they have (UNINTELLIGIBLE) momentum. I knew you were going to say that.

WEINTRAUB: I don't think they did. And I think any delay is going to inure to the benefit of the defense. I think that since they didn't end on a big bang, there was, you know, once there was a delay of six days, I think that the jurors had time to reflect and contemplate and just keep going. They're ready for the defense.

I think what really happened here -- I'm not sure that Gloria is correct when she says it's probably the defense fault. A, it could be the expert witness did not bring all the reports, or B, just as likely a scenario is that after the state's -- after the defense case goes, rebuttal will come from the state. They're entitled to present the last word in a case.

And so they might have performed something that they just turned over, making it necessary for Mark to take a break. We just don't know.

But opining doesn't matter. What's important is, it will be a tight, very smoked case that will go quickly, and they're ready for closing arguments right afterwards. They're already going forward with that momentum.

COOPER: Gloria, do you think this is going to be a very tight, closely decided case?

ALLRED: You know, it's hard to say, Anderson, what's in the minds of the jurors. I think that the prosecution has produced enough evidence so that the jury could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, if they so chose...

COOPER: How much (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

ALLRED: ... but we haven't heard the defense case. Maybe there'll be enough doubt presented that the jury will decide...

COOPER: ... how much do you think...

ALLRED: ... to acquit.

COOPER: ... how much do you think it's going to boil down to when Laci Peterson's son, Conner, was born, when actually left Laci Peterson's body?

ALLRED: Well, you're right, that's certainly a major issue, because, of course, the defense theory is that someone else did it, that someone abducted Laci, held her, perhaps cut open her uterus, took out Conner, then disposed of both of them in the bay, somehow framing Scott Peterson. Of course, the defense doesn't have a duty, nor do I expect that it will present who else might have tried to frame Scott Peterson. But that's a problem for them. I think they're going to present expert evidence, perhaps an OB-GYN, perhaps pathologist, perhaps others...

WEINTRAUB: Excuse me, Gloria...

ALLRED: ... to say the fetus, the gestational age of the fetus was older. But the prosecution says that the gestational age was 33 weeks, which would mean that Conner was born on or about December 24.

COOPER: Jayne?

WEINTRAUB: It was 33 to 36 weeks. And with a fetus, it's very difficult to give an exact date, unless you have, you know, these ultrasound sonograms that they can identify exactly the age then. Because the body was already in the water, it's very difficult now to come in.

A couple weeks would be very important. What's so important is, after December 24, Mark Geragos is being followed 24 hours a day. So that if the baby was born after that, it inures to his benefit, because it shows the reasonable doubt, he couldn't have done it, he's under basically police custody and police surveillance.

ALLRED: I think you mean Scott Peterson was being followed, not Mark Geragos. But who (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

WEINTRAUB: I did...

ALLRED: ... follow Mark Geragos, maybe his wife.

WEINTRAUB: Gloria, note the date, I stand corrected by you.

COOPER: Gloria, your client obviously, Amber Frey, has been very important in this case. Oh, but a lot of people say, Look, she might have shown that Scott Peterson was a liar, that he was a cad, but she didn't necessarily prove that he murdered anyone.

ALLRED: I think that the tape-recorded telephone conversations that Amber recorded at the request of law enforcement, conversations with Scott after Laci disappeared, are going to be important in the case, because they do show what kind of person Scott Peterson is. Not just that he is...

(CROSSTALK)

ALLRED: ... that he is a liar, and he is a person who lies and lies and lies...

WEINTRAUB: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

ALLRED: ... and on the tapes, Anderson, he does things like confess or admit that he did say to Amber, I lost my wife, and these will be the first holidays without her, before Laci ever went missing. She gave him a chance to explain. If there was an innocent explanation, he never did...

COOPER: Jayne, your final thought?

WEINTRAUB: And he also said, I didn't do it, you know I could never do anything like that. She was taping him before. She's a liar also. They both lied in self-serving situations about their love life. What's that got to do wit the murder? There's no evidence on any (UNINTELLIGIBLE), Amber Frey had no evidentiary value whatsoever. She's not a motive important enough to kill over, and I say it's not guilty.

COOPER: Spoken like a true criminal defense attorney. All right, Jayne Weintraub, thanks very much, and Gloria Allred, good to see you, thanks.

ALLRED: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

WEINTRAUB: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

COOPER: Well, it could be the legal equivalent of the parting of the Red Sea. The Supreme Court will decide if the Ten Commandments, at least in one way, can violate the U.S. Constitution. That tops our look at what's happening right now cross-country.

The justices will rule whether it's constitutional to display the Ten Commandments on government property. Supporters call them a part of American heritage, opponents say the displays violate separation of church and state.

Capitol Hill now, a move that may raise a few eyebrows. Senator Mark Dayton of Minnesota is locking up his office on the Hill until after election day, due to fears about a possible terrorist attack. The senator cites a top-secret briefing given to Congress, but U.S. government officials say there's no new intelligence concerning a possible attack. So far Dayton is the only senator to lock up his office. Coincidentally, Congress is in recess till next month.

Galveston, Texas, now, real estate heir Robert Durst is getting out of jail early. Durst was acquitted of murder, you may remember, but still faced charges of bail-jumping and tampering with evidence. He agrees to plead guilty and gets out for time already served.

Washington state now, a late word from geologists. Rising lava has pushed up to the surface of Mount St. Helens. Now, the steam cloud you're seeing indicates the cooling in the open air. Earlier, the lava's temperature reached more than 1,100 degrees. Explosions and eruptions are a distinct possibility.

That's a quick look at what's happening around the world, around the country tonight in cross-country.

360 next, U.S. troops in a daring attempt to rescue hostages in Iraq. Find out just how close they came.

Also tonight, stranded for eight days. How a young girl survived in a car, no food, no water, an amazing story. Plus, Mary Kay Letourneau in her own words, from schoolboy rape scandal to wedding bells. Strange story continues.

All that ahead.

First, your picks, the most popular stories right now on CNN.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: And we are live, coming to you from Los Angeles, California, today. We'll be in Tempe, Arizona, for the third and final presidential debate tomorrow.

In Iraq today, U.S. and Iraqi troops struck hard, targeting insurgents in Ramadi, Talafar (ph) as well as Fallujah. The military says airstrikes in Fallujah destroyed a known terrorist safe house, their words, and a meeting center used by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's terrorist network.

Meanwhile, CNN has learned the details about the U.S. military's attempts to rescue three hostages who were killed by al-Zarqawi's network.

For that story, we turn to senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre. Jamie?

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, now it can be told. Back in September, shortly after Americans Eugene Armstrong and Jack Hensley and Briton Kenneth Bigley were kidnapped from their home in Baghdad, the U.S. launched a military operation to rescue them. In fact, there were two attempts, both in Baghdad, according to an official with direct knowledge of the operations.

The first came in mid-September, when all the hostages were believed to still be alive. But CNN has been told it failed because when a rescue team reached the location, no one was there. It's not clear if the hostages had been moved, or whether the intelligence was flawed and they were never there.

After Eugene Armstrong was beheaded, a second rescue mission was also launched, an official says. Again, the result was the same, no one was found at the targeted location.

The failed rescue attempts have not been acknowledged publicly, but at the time, U.S. military officials said everything possible was being done to secure the release of the hostages, either by rescuing them or by arranging for their release.

In this case, all three hostages eventually were murdered. And while the rescue attempts failed it was not for lack of trying. As one U.S. official put it, "A lot of people had a lot of sleepless nights trying to find them," Anderson.

COOPER: Oh, so close. Jamie McIntyre, thanks for that. In Arizona, where tomorrow night the candidates engage in their third and final debate, eight electoral votes are at stake. But across the country, as the polls now make clear, everything is at stake. The race could hardly be any closer right now, and the first two meetings between President Bush and Senator Kerry have had a very great deal to do with their neck-and-neck status.

No question, therefore, tomorrow night will count in a big way, and may perhaps be decisive.

John King is standing by for a look at the, this last day before the last debate from the president's perspective, as is Candy Crowley, with whom we begin with the Kerry camp. Candy?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, two down, and one to go. And the way Camp Kerry looks at this, they are on their way to a clean sweep.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY (voice-over): John Kerry opted for another laid-back predebate down day in New Mexico, amid great expectations inside the campaign.

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS, DEMOCRATIC VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: John Kerry's going to win that debate tomorrow. And one of the reasons he's going to win is because George Bush is out of touch.

CROWLEY: Kerry strategists believe they occupy the catbird seat, moving up in the polls, about to face a president in a forum the president does not excel in, discussing issues the senator believes favor him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, KERRY-EDWARDS AD)

SEN. JOHN KERRY, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: For the last four years, one man has stood between America and lower-cost prescription drugs, George Bush. As president, I'll fight to allow Americans to import lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: In advance of Wednesday's debate on domestic issues, the Kerry campaign has been softening up the competition, taking practice swings on prescription drugs, energy costs, and stem cell research. The issue was reelevated into the headlines with Sunday's death of Christopher Reeve, a personal tragedy mixing uneasily with national politics.

EDWARDS: If we do the work that we can do in this country, the work that we will do when John Kerry is president, people like Christopher Reeve are going to walk, get up out of that wheelchair and walk again.

CROWLEY: Kerry strategists say only the far right would find anything offensive about Edwards' words, but some Democrats outside the campaign say Kerry and company need to be careful how they use the Reeve name.

Kerry was scheduled to spend debate eve in the Phoenix area, but when the sun came out in New Mexico, he changed his plans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY: Now, if you're a political junkie, you might believe that John Kerry changed his plans because he thinks he has a better chance to win New Mexico than Arizona. On the other hand, if you listen to his staff, this had more to do with the fact that he didn't want to be flying here in the middle of the Red Sox game, Anderson.

COOPER: Candy, in the last debate John Kerry used the name of Christopher Reeve. Do you think we're going to hear his name again tomorrow night?

CROWLEY: I would -- I think it's a possibility, Anderson, but I think it would be very gently, because I do think that they know they're walking a very fine line here, that this is, in fact, a personal tragedy, this is a man, you know, who was out in the front not just on stem cell research, but on spinal cord regeneration, that sort of thing.

So of he does use it, and he did know Christopher Reeve, it will be not in one of those kind of highly political ways, at least he's going to try to keep -- as much as you can keep it that way in the midst of a debate, but more along the lines of, he was for it, I'm for it, and here's why, because there can be hope for people like him.

And when you talk to the campaign, they say, Look, this is about a message of hope, it's not about using Christopher Reeve's legacy.

COOPER: Yes, in a race this close, though, the personal often becomes the political. Candy Crowley, thanks very much.

The Kerry campaign has reason to hope for more of the same come tomorrow night, whereas the president's side must be pulling for anything but. John King reports from Camp Bush.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Colorado Springs, three weeks to election day, testing themes for a final debate dedicated to domestic issues.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Much as he's tried to obscure it, on issue after issue, my opponent has showed why he earned his ranking as the most liberal member of the United States Senate.

KING: Hours later, in Arizona, Mr. Bush said he is eager to use the last giant audience of the campaign to draw sharp philosophical contrasts and paint Senator Kerry as a big spender who would have to raise taxes to pay for all his promises.

BUSH: You're not going to have fiscal sanity if John Kerry is the president.

KING: Mr. Bush mocked Senator Kerry's claim in the last debate that his health care plan would not give the government more control.

BUSH: I could barely contain myself. Of course, the government has something to do with his plan. It's the cornerstone of his plan, it's the crux of his health care policy to expand the federal government.

KING: In the latest CNN-"USA Today"-Gallup poll, Senator Kerry has a giant edge on health care. The economy is more of a tossup, and the president has a slight edge on taxes.

Polls judged Senator Kerry the winner of the first two debates. Republicans say a closer look at the electoral map still suggests a slight Bush advantage, but concede the president needs a strong showing Wednesday night.

JOHN MCHENRY, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Does he have some work to do to sort of seal the deal and win on November 2? Sure. The same could be said for Senator Kerry. All things considered, I don't know that you'd say either one has much of an advantage at this point.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: Now, it may seem a bit odd after some 45 months in office, but one reason the Bush team says Senator Kerry enjoys an advantage on health care and some other domestic issues is that because of all the focus on war and terrorism, voters don't understand the president's proposals.

In that regard, Anderson, Bush aides say the debate can only help.

COOPER: All right, we'll be watching. John King, thanks for that.

Friday night prime time is one of the TV's toughest slots, but don't tell that to the people who obviously like a little (UNINTELLIGIBLE) politics with their weekend. Forty-six-point-seven million people watched Friday night's debate. Now, that is down from the 62.5 million who watched the first debate. It's still considered a very strong audience. Most- watched debate of the 2000 election saw 46.6 million viewers. That was the most watched in 2000.

A top British official negates another key intelligence claim that was launch the war in Iraq. That tops our look at what's happening around the world in the uplink.

London, England, now, Britain's foreign minister admits that the claim that Saddam Hussein had the capability to deploy chemical and biological weapons within 45 minutes -- remember that one? Well, that's been withdrawn by British intelligence. Just last week a CIA report confirms Saddam Hussein did not have those weapons when coalition troops invaded. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) North Korea's border now, rare images of what may be a missile launch site. Take a look. The North Koreans, who took this footage before fleeing the country, say the missiles seen on the base's launch pads are fake. The real ones are hiding underground. Now, the U.S. believes the facility has missiles that can reach as far as Japan.

Islamabad, Pakistan, now, a medium-range missile capable of carrying nuclear weapons was successfully test-fired, although Pakistani defense officials say the test is not a message to neighboring India, a nuclear rival, of course. This missile is capable of striking some Indian cities.

And Beslan, Russia, a traditional period of mourning ends. Hundreds of people dressed in black today closed 40 days of grieving for the children and the adults killed when terrorists took over that school. The tragedies caused a lot of anger there, understandably, and regional politicians are now concerned that the end of the mourning period is going to lead to violence. We'll be watching.

And that tops our look at what's happening in the uplink.

360 next, it is wedding bells for Mary Kay Letourneau and that young man she was convicted of raping when he was a boy. Find out their plans to tie the knot.

And a little later, stranded for eight days without food or water. A teenager's family thought she was dead. Find out why they now believe the power of prayer may have helped in her rescue.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: More on politics now. The battle is heating up over one broadcasting chain's plan to air an anti-John Kerry film just days before the presidential election. And Democrats are calling it propaganda. Sinclair Broadcasting execs, they call it news. But the war of words begs a bigger question. What makes news news, when it's broadcast inside the box? Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "STOLEN HONOR")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Intended or not, Lieutenant Kerry painted a depraved portrait of Vietnam veterans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER (voice-over): The film at the center of the controversy is called "Stolen Honor." It a accuses John Kerry of betraying fellow Vietnam veterans and prolonging the war and their torture with his public protests. The Sinclair Broadcast Group has ordered its stations, all 62 of them, to air it in prime time, in place of their regular programming, just days before the election.

MARK HYMAN, SINCLAIR BROADCASTING GROUP: Well, this is definitely a newsworthy event.

COOPER: Not so, say the Democrats, who've filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission.

TERRY MCAULIFFE, CHAIRMAN, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE: This is a use of corporate funds. And under the law, you cannot use corporate funds to go out there and advocate for a party or for a political candidate.

COOPER: There are rules that constitute how corporations can and can't contribute. Democrats say Sinclair has crossed the line.

MCAULIFFE: This is not done for commercial or for educational purposes. This is a clear partisan attack on Senator Kerry.

COOPER: Sinclair clearly has a political agenda. Corporate executives have made $70,000 in campaign contributions, 97 percent of it to the Republicans. And just last spring, Sinclair refused to allow its ABC affiliates to air a "Nightline" special that named soldiers who died in Iraq. But Sinclair called accusations of in-kind contributions unfair.

HYMAN: If you use that logic and reasoning, that means every car bomb in Iraq would be considered an in-kind contribution to John Kerry.

COOPER: In the end, it's up to the FEC to decide if the airing of "Stolen Honor" is an illegal campaign contribution, leaving unresolved the question of whether it's news or political propaganda, two concepts increasingly blurring inside the box.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Yes, they certainly are blurring.

So is it propaganda or news, or does it matter? We talked about that today with "CROSSFIRE" hosts Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson.

So Tucker, is this much ado about nothing with Sinclair broadcasting this documentary?

TUCKER CARLSON, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": Well, I think it's much ado about something, actually. There is a principle (UNINTELLIGIBLE), free speech. I mean, look, it may be that the documentary Sinclair wants to put on that is biased, that it's bias, that it's anti-Kerry, that it's right-wing.

I mean, I have no idea, I haven't seen it, and I don't care. That's not the point. It's not up to the federal government to decide what's fair on television.

This is a privately owned company, and they can put whatever they want on it. And for the record, I mean, they've, you know, they've offered Kerry a chance to rebut it. But again that's not the point. Everybody should cringe, I don't think I'm overstating this, should literally cringe at the notion of the U.S. Congress, the Senate of the United States, attempting to squelch political expression. It's disgusting.

PAUL BEGALA, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": Well, Anderson...

COOPER: Paul?

BEGALA: ... the difference is, it was right-wingers who successfully squelched political discussion when they intimidated CBS into killing a documentary about President Ronald Reagan. It later aired on Showtime cable. It was not (UNINTELLIGIBLE) documentary. It was a fictionalization of President Reagan's tenure in office.

The difference here, though, is that Sinclair is having a double standard. It censored Ted Koppel's "Nightline" when Ted did nothing but read the names of the war dead. And this is what Sinclair said at the time, "Political statements should not be disguised as news content."

Well, what in the world is this alleged documentary but political statement disguised as news? Is it protected? Yes, Tucker's right, the government shouldn't censor it. But I think people who care about responsibility in the media ought to speak out about how irresponsible (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

TUCKER: Well, that, I, I, I have to say, that is an awfully shallow critique. I mean, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), no, truly, the difference, the difference is, it's one thing to use moral suasion to get people to put things on or take things off. It's quite another to use or attempt to use the power of the law, which is what these members of the Senate are trying to do, to pull something off the air.

If Sinclair doesn't want to run something, it doesn't have to. It's up to Sinclair. They're exercising their First Amendment rights. They're a news outlet.

COOPER: But Paul, I mean, by, you know, making all this noise about this, the Democrats, aren't they giving this more publicity than it probably would have gotten before?

BEGALA: Yes, and I think that they may be falling into a trap there. Actually, as a legal matter, I agree with Tucker, that I don't like the FCC telling anybody what they can and cannot broadcast.

I think the answer is what we're doing now, write these letters, speak out, and to show people how completely biased this corporation is, they're currying favor with the current administration, and they're doing it to the detriment of their shareholders and to the public, and I think it's a shame.

COOPER: And very briefly, Tucker, want to look tomorrow's debate, some obviously focusing on domestic policy. The latest CNN- "USA Today"-Gallup poll numbers, voters believe Kerry can do a better job than Bush on the economy, health care, education, Medicare, and the environment. What does Bush need to do tomorrow night to try to boost his score on some of those issues?

BEGALA: Well, those are traditional Democratic strengths, there's no question about it, and Kerry has a strong advantage on all of those things, and probably will even on election day. I don't think Bush is going to change that. It's part of a much longer-term trend in public opinion.

I do think, though, again, the threshold issue is security. I mean, people just aren't going to vote for the candidate they think won't protect them. Kerry has actually made some progress on that, and if he's elected, it's because he has closed that gap.

But that's -- I do think, I'm, not everyone agrees with me, and I'm not saying it for partisan reasons, I think objectively, however, that is the only issue that, in the end, as of November 2, will really matter, can you protect us? And that's why I think Kerry, that's what I think his campaign is actually really focused on (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

COOPER: Well, Paul, and Paul, let me, I mean, show these others numbers. Kerry still trails very badly to the president when it comes to who's the more stronger, more decisive leader. Is it too late for him to try to reverse that?

BEGALA: No, he's closing that gap somewhat. But there's a double-edged sword with President Bush when people say that he's strong and decisive, because they often disagree with the decisions that he makes, and they sometimes think that he should change when he doesn't.

I think one of the interesting debates within the debate tomorrow night, though, will be, whose domestic agenda is talked about? The president believes this is a base turnout election, so he is going to want to talk about social issues -- abortion, and gun control, and gays. Senator Kerry believes this is a debate about swing voters, so he'll want to talk about jobs, and health care, and the environment. And so which guy gets his version of the domestic agenda out tomorrow night is going to do better in the debate.

COOPER: All right, Paul Begala, Tucker Carlson, see you guys in Arizona tomorrow.

BEGALA: Thanks.

CARLSON: Thanks.

COOPER: Well, this leads us to today's "Buzz" question -- what do you think, do you think Sinclair Broadcasting's plan to air an anti-Kerry documentary is a violation of equal time laws? Yes or no? Log on to cnn.com/360. Cast your vote. We'll have results at the end of the program.

Coming up next on 360, stranded for eight days without food or water. Find out how one woman's faith led to her rescue, she believes.

Plus, Mary Kay Letourneau goes from prison to the altar. Find out how her plans to tie the knot with her former victim, what she's going to do. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: And we are live in beautiful Los Angeles. 360 next, wedding bells for Mary Kay Letourneau. Find out how -- find out her plans to tie the knot with the boy she went to jail for raping, now a young man.

Plus, a grandmom tackles a crocodile. Find out who won this fight. You are not going to believe this story.

First, let's check our top stories in tonight's "Reset."

In Redwood City, California, the Scott Peterson murder trial is on hold until Monday. That was a surprise today. The defense was scheduled to open its case, but the judge said some unspecified legal issues need to be worked out before that could happen.

In Washington, the nation's limited flu vaccines will be shipped directly to the caretakers of high-risk patients. The CDC and the makers of the flu shot announced that agreement today. Now, the CDC has urged healthy people to forego getting the shots this year after the British government shut down a major U.S. supplier of the vaccine.

In Los Angeles, former L.A. Lakers coach Phil Jackson reveals all in a new book, to be published later this month. Jackson writes that his relationship with Laker star Kobe Bryant became so soured that he swore off coaching the team again if Bryant was still there. Jackson also says Bryant was treated well by the Lakers organization during his sexual assault case, but he claims Bryant didn't appreciate it.

And near Ft. Wayne, Indiana, what do you think this was? This flying object was caught on some home video on Sunday. Snow, a local TV network brought the tape to some space experts. Some suggested it was a meteor or space junk. No one exactly knows what it was.

That's a quick look, the top stories in "The Reset."

Sometimes the facts of a story never really explain or fully explain just how something could have happened. In the case of our next story, the facts are that a 17-year-old girl was in a very serious car accident. She wasn't found for more than a week, and yet she survived. Here's reporter Meg Coyle of CNN affiliate KING in Seattle.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. RICHARD ELLENBOGEN, NEUROSURGEON: She's funny, she makes jokes, and she's in pretty miraculous shape considering what she's been through.

MEG COYLE, KING-TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 17-year-old Laura Hatch may have lost eight days after crashing her car down a steep embankment, but one thing she didn't lose was her sense of humor, and more importantly her sense of survival.

ELLENBOGEN: A very lucky girl. So far she's doing great. COYLE: Laura was last seen leaving a party on October 2. Dozens of volunteers searched for her, but turned up nothing until yesterday, when family friend Sha Nohr says a recurring dream led her to Laura, off Union Hill Road in Redmond.

SHA NOHR, RESCUER: I was praying to God, if he's ever given me a vision, please give me strength and make this a real one, as we were driving.

COYLE: So how did Laura Hatch survive eight days without water? She suffered a blood clot in the accident, something that could have easily killed her, but doctors say in this case, her dehydration may have actually saved her.

ELLENBOGEN: The way that we normally treat that is to dehydrate the brain, or open up the skull and take the blood clot out. And she dehydrated herself to a point even better than we might have been able to do it with medicines. And that's what probably saved her life.

They want to say it's divine intervention, they want to invoke God's name. I think that's beautiful, and that's fine, and I'll leave it at that. But I certainly don't have a good scientific explanation for it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: That was Meg Coyle with our affiliate KING-TV in Seattle.

Sha Nohr joins me now from Seattle. We appreciate her joining us. Sha, thanks very much for being with us.

Now, you say you had dreams, a vision essentially that came about largely because of a photograph. I know I think you brought it along with you. What about this photograph brought about these thoughts?

NOHR: Well, I don't really know if it was the photograph or not, but my daughter had been out searching with the other 200 volunteers. I had never met Laura, I had never met her family. And she brought that photograph back and said, this is a picture of Laura and I, and it just made me start thinking about her. I later posted on -- I have a Web site where I have a prayer group, and I posted it on there, just for them to pray for her. And the churches, local churches were praying for her, and everything.

And that night I had a dream, I just had a dream of an intersection that I was very familiar with, and I went there the next day, and my daughter and I searched, just the two of us, and we ended up finding her, actually, there.

COOPER: When you first -- I mean, you're searching with your daughter, no one else is around, and all of a sudden you see the car basically buried in the woods, what happened next? What went through your mind?

NOHR: Well, actually, when we were first searching, we didn't see it. Then I climbed down -- we -- I climbed down the embankment, left her up at the top. We saw a piece of visqueen (ph). And once I got down there, I realized that, you know, we were going to be disappointed. And then we saw -- I saw there were some trees that had been knocked over, and blocking the view of the car. And it was just a miracle. I really thought, though, that she -- actually, I thought she was dead. I didn't think she was with us anymore, but when she spoke out and started talking and was so worried that she had missed curfew, it just was a blessing. Just a blessing.

COOPER: You know, there are some who are going to be skeptical of your story and say, well, look, you know, maybe it was just a coincidence. I mean, this was a road this young woman was probably driving down, and you know, maybe it was sort of an educated guess or a lucky guess that you picked that intersection. To those doubters, what do you say?

NOHR: Well, you know, a lot of people have said, well, perhaps my daughter was at the party or whatever. We were actually in Cabo, Mexico until the day before when this happened. And we were out of the country, and we didn't -- it was just a dream. You know, they had had people searching in that area the day before. They couldn't find her. I have no idea. I've never done anything like this before. I have no idea why it worked. All I know is that I just believed that it's the power of thousands of people praying for this young girl.

COOPER: Well, whatever led you to that spot, there are an awful lot of people that are very glad that you were led to that spot. You found this young woman and saved her life. Sha Nohr, we appreciate what you did and what your daughter did as well. Thanks very much for joining us.

NOHR: Thank you. You have a nice night.

COOPER: You, too.

Coming up next on 360 Mary Kay Letourneau. She went to prison for raping a student, now she's announced she plans to marry her former victim.

Plus "Tonight Show"s Ross the Intern does politics 360 Hollywood- style.

And a little later a grandmom tackles an alligator. I don't think Ross was involved in that one. Find out who won this grisly fight. All that ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Mary Kay Letourneau is looking towards the future. The former school teacher whose relationship with a 12-year-old boy resulted in a rape conviction, seven years in prison and two children now says she wants to rebuild her life. She's engaged now. And the bride-to-be beams when she talks about the man she plans on walking down the aisle with. CNN's Adaora Udoji reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mary Kay Letourneau is 42 and her lover Vili Fualaau 21. She told CNN's Larry King their relationship which sent her to prison is part of her future.

LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": You're engaged, you have a date.

MARY KAY LETOURNEAU, HAD RELATIONSHIP WITH UNDERAGE STUDENT: Not that we're talking about, no.

UDOJI: Letourneau and Fualaau have two young girls, six and seven who live with his mother. Just two months ago when she was released they started spending time together as a family. When their relationship began she was a married 34-year-old teacher with four children, he a 13-year-old former student.

LETOURNEAU: It was spiritual at first, and emotional and intellectual before anything ever went...

KING: Before you ever made love.

LETOURNEAU: Yes.

UDOJI: The state of Washington saw a crime and convicted Letourneau of child rape. She ended up in prison for 7 1/2 years after violating a suspended sentence agreement by seeing Fualaau.

LETOURNEAU: I didn't believe that it was a felony. I knew it just wasn't normal.

KING: You never thought you were committing a crime, though, to yourself?

LETOURNEAU: No.

KING: You knew it wasn't social norm but you didn't say to yourself I'm a criminal?

LETOURNEAU: No, not at all.

UDOJI: Hard for many to believe she didn't know, but that's what she says and adds had she known, perhaps it wouldn't have happened. Today neither she nor Fualaau are working. Still she's hopeful about the future, about getting to know their two children and the four with her ex-husband.

LETOURNEAU: My older children, we have a lot -- we have a lot of healing just from the separation.

UDOJI: Letourneau has no doubts it will take work, but now she has the freedom to pursue life as she chooses. Adaora Udoji, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE) COOPER: In Australia, as summer arrives, the crocodiles come out. That's not a good thing, especially if they're looking at you as if you're dinner. Case in point, a 14-foot crocodile with an eye on a man sleeping in a tent. In this case there's a happy ending to the story thanks to one very determined grandmother. Keith Breen (ph) reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Queensland has seen its share of amazing crocodile tales but this one ranks with the best. The main protagonist, a 14-foot 47-stone saltwater crocodile, described by one local expert as a pretty serious piece of machinery and a 60-year-old grandmother who wrestled it and ultimately won. Diana Kerr was sleeping in a tent with her young baby and husband when she was woken by a thud and saw the crocodile just outside.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The first thing Andrew yelled out was grab the baby, so I picked up the whole bassinet, and the crocodile started to drag him out of the tent.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: While she clung on her husband's hand, their neighbors came to the rescue.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We looked up and this croc grabbed him by the leg and pulled him out. All we heard was the screaming over here. So we grabbed a torch in the other tent and walked around this side, and around that side, and she thought the croc had the baby, so she jumped on top of the croc, and the croc actually bit right into her right arm.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The crocodile then dragged Alicia Sorohon towards the water before son Jason shot it dead. A radio beacon and an SOS scrawled in the sand brought park rangers to the scene before the victims were taken to the hospital suffering broken limbs and deep cuts.

As for the cause of the attack it's thought the crocodile might have been attracted by scraps left by fishermen and other campers. Experts say its behavior was atypical but are warning of the dangers of holidaying in croc country.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Amazing. That was Keith Breen with ITN.

360 next. You can't come to L.A. where we are now without talking to a celebrity. We have the biggest. The man who makes Jay Leno laugh, Ross Matthews otherwise known as Ross, the "Tonight Show" intern takes politics 360 next.

Also tonight Roseanne Barr versus Dr. Phil? Find out why she's comparing him to a used car salesman.

Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROSS MATTHEWS, "TONIGHT SHOW" INTERN: I'm about to skydive for the very first time. I'm going to jump from way up there, 13,000 feet from up there, Jay. Jay, I'm freaked out, like honestly freaked out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're being to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. How do you feel about that?

MATTHEWS: Fricking stupid. That was the most intense, fun thing I have ever done, and I've been to the gap.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, if you're a tonight show fan, you know who Ross the intern is. Ross Matthews, started entering -- interning on Leno's staff three years ago, unlike so many starry-eyed kids he actually made it in front of the camera. So when he offered to give us his take on the presidential election, how could we say no? Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEWS: This has played out like a good movie. So we're in L.A., so we thought, hey, let's cast it. Let's pretend we're going to make a movie. Who would you cast as George W. Bush.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mel Gibson.

MATTHEWS: Mel Gibson! Good, you guys agree?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sure.

MATTHEWS: Who would you cast as John Kerry.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know, John Kerry is kind of cool, so that would be...

MATTHEWS: Cruel?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, he's cool. I like him.

MATTHEWS: Oh he cool. Who would you pick to play Teresa Heinz Kerry in the movie version of this election?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Martha Stewart.

MATTHEWS: She's busy. Who else? Oh, my gosh, that's Michael Moore.

Who would you cast as you?

What about John Edwards?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Doogie Howser.

MATTHEWS: How about John Kerry?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Harrison Ford.

MATTHEWS: Good one.

You like Harrison Ford (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

MATTHEWS: I mean, do you like him, though? You like, like him like him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like him, like him.

MATTHEWS: Who do you think should play the Bush twins.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Olsen twins.

MATTHEWS: Yes, that's a good one.

I am the cute one, she's just my sister. That's one of their songs.

What about Dick Cheney?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dick Cheney? Barney, the purple dinosaur.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: George Bush is hot.

MATTHEWS: He's a man's man.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If he was a smoker, he would be a Marlboro Man.

MATTHEWS: Do you know who that is?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So he's so cute. Yes, Anderson. Yes, I like him.

MATTHEWS: Do you want to say hi to him?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is he here?

MATTHEWS: Well, he's right in there. Right in there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, in here. Hi, Mr. Anderson.

MATTHEWS: Who should play him in the movie?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think he should play himself.

MATTHEWS: Blow him a kiss?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: All right. Joining me here in L.A., the one the only, Ross Matthews. Ross, good to meet you here.

MATTHEWS: Hello.

COOPER: Now, for all the time you've been on the "Tonight Show," I understand, you've never actually been allowed to sit down in a seat.

MATTHEWS: This is the first time sitting on TV, I think.

COOPER: Wow.

MATTHEWS: Think about it, I'm always like walking, standing.

COOPER: Or jumping out of airplanes.

MATTHEWS: Or that.

COOPER: How did you get the job at the "Tonight Show."

MATTHEWS: Well, I was just an intern, and then sort of they kind of knew what I wanted to do, and then it sort of happened.

COOPER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) your way up to the top is what your saying?

MATTHEWS: Exactly.

COOPER: Yes, that's how it is.

So what's ahead for you? What does the future hold for Ross Matthews?

MATTHEWS: You know, I don't know. We're doing more "Tonight Show" stuff. I'm going like to a football game and doing something, tailgating.

COOPER: Do you go to a lot of football games?

MATTHEWS: No.

COOPER: Yes, you don't strike me as a gridiron (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

MATTHEWS: I'm a fan though. Football and figure skating are tied for my number one sport. You'd be surprised.

COOPER: Is there much commonality between the two?

MATTHEWS: No. No. No, that's in the fun, though.

COOPER: I see.

MATTHEWS: Thank you so much.

COOPER: It's a pleasure meeting you. I'm a big fan of your work.

MATTHEWS: Thank you for letting me do this.

COOPER: We met at the Republican National Convention, that's how this whole (UNINTELLIGIBLE) thing started. All right, time to check on some pop news in tonight's "Current." Lets take a look.

Roseanne Barr is not a fan of Dr. Phil. It turns out that she calls his advice stupid. And says he's a used car salesman, he uses nothing by barnyard psychology. Roseanne, it sounds to me like you have a lot of hate in your heart. Maybe this man's advice can help you find a way to replace the hate with some love.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. PHIL MCGRAW, HOST "DR. PHIL SHOW": You need to get busy. You need to get activity in your life. Go get a job, go volunteer at your church. You don't have a dog in the fight. You need to get -- you need to get something going on that absorbs your considerable energies and your passions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: You don't have a dog in the fight.

Sony has created the ultimate TV recording machine. Their device can record six channels at once, which means you'll never ever again mess great TV moments like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCGRAW: You need to get busy. You need to get activity in your life. Go get a job. Go volunteer at your church. You don't have a dog in the fight. You need to get -- you need to get something going on that absorbs your considerable energies and your passions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Dog in the fight.

ABC is ga-ga over the success of the new show "Desperate Housewives." Ross, have you seen it?

MATTHEWS: Yes.

COOPER: Good?

MATTHEWS: It's really good.

COOPER: Yes, I know you like it.

And the network is hoping to build on the hit with a few spinoffs of "Desperate Housewives," including, needy salesmen, hopeless gardeners, and lets see, this my personal favorite, grumpy anchormen. Isn't that right Wolf, and Bill. There you go all grumpy.

Jack Daniels is angering plenty of its customers by lowering the proof of it's Whiskey, from 86 percent proof to 80 percent proof. Angry drinkers says it's wrong to deny them that extra 6 percent of alcohol. Though after a few shots, I doubt they'll even remember what they were angry about or frankly what their name is.

Next on 360, never mind the Ten Commandments, what else should be considered unconstitutional?

We'll take that to "The Nth Degree."

And tomorrow we head to Tempe, Arizona for the third and final presidential debate. We're back live from Los Angeles in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Tonight taking public declaration to "The Nth Degree." It's good we guess, that the Supreme Court plans to take out the constitutionality of proclaiming the Ten Commandments on government premises. While they're at it, though, they might also might want to consider some of the other wall hung declaration Americans are forced to face nearly every day. Like this one. Maybe this doesn't violate a constitutional amendment, but it certainly does violates a comedy amendment. Thou shalt out in make the same lame joke over and over. Here's another violation of the same commandment, and it violates the common sense, one, two. What kind of eagle would post such a whining complaint?

I "heart" cats. Equally we thank the justices should step down -- should step in on signs showing two words, any two words with a heart symbol between them. We've had the whole heart thing forced down our throats for two long as it is, don't you think? Well, that's what we think.

That's 360 for tonight. I'm Anderson Cooper, I'll see you tomorrow from Tempe, Arizona, the site of the third and final presidential debate.

PAULA ZAHN NOW is next.

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 12, 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 Los Angeles. I'm Anderson Cooper.
On a day the Scott Peterson defense team was set to go, the judge says stop.

360 starts now.

A Scott Peterson shocker, his double-murder trial put on hold. Is the prosecution's case in trouble, or has Mark Geragos got something up his sleeve?

Bush and Kerry ready to rumble on the eve of the third presidential debate, but a new fight erupts over an anti-Kerry documentary coming to a TV near you.

A teenager found alive in a car wreck after eight days with no food or water. Tonight, the remarkable rescue and recovery of Laura Hatch.

A 60-year-old woman fights a crocodile to save a man from being mauled to death. Tonight, the amazing story of Mrs. Crocodile Dundee.

And Ross, the intern, from the "Tonight" show" shows us what L.A. residents really want from their candidates.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Los Angeles, California, this is a special edition of ANDERSON COOPER 360.

COOPER: And good evening, thanks for joining us here in sunny Los Angeles.

This big story out here today was supposed to be the beginning of the defense presentation in the murder trial of Scott Peterson, the key word being "supposed." The jurors in the case did learn today when it will end. They'll have to wait for it to actually start again next week.

From Redwood City tonight, CNN's Ted Rowlands.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A packed courtroom waiting to hear the start of the defense case heard instead that the Scott Peterson murder trial has been delayed. A source close to the case tells CNN that prosecutors needed more time after receiving witness information over the weekend.

JANEY PETERSON, SISTER-IN-LAW: Any delay is disappointing, but we'll be back next week.

ROWLANDS: Judge Al Baluki (ph) told the jury that having to tell them about another delay was like pulling teeth, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. The judge says he anticipates deliberations will start the first week of November.

According to people in the courtroom, some jurors seemed frustrated by the latest delay.

JIM HAMMER, LEGAL ANALYST: I'll tell you, the one thing that really angers jurors, besides lawyers talking secretly up at the bench without them listening, is delays. And they came in 40 minutes late today, and now another dead week. So I think they're very frustrated, downcast, frankly.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS: Geragos is now expected to start his case on Monday when court resumes. The judge told the jury that they could expect final arguments to be held on November 1 and November 2, election day, and the jury should get this case on November 3, Anderson.

COOPER: Ted Rowlands, thanks for that.

With me now is Gloria Allred, the lawyer for Amber Frey, Scott Peterson's former mistress. And joining me from Miami, defense attorney Jayne Weintraub.

Good to see you both.

Gloria, let me start off with you. Why do you think there's been this delay?

GLORIA ALLRED, ATTORNEY FOR AMBER FREY: Well, I was in the courtroom this morning, Anderson, and all the court indicated to the jury was that the integrity of the trial required it. So he wasn't specific beyond that.

So all I can do is make an educated guess, and my educated guess is that it's really a discovery issue. The defense was about to begin its case, that is, put on its witnesses, perhaps begin with expert witnesses. And in that regard, perhaps they did not turn over all of the reports of the experts, or did not disclose all of the evidence that they had, and the prosecution is entitled to a fair trial as well. It's not just the defense that's entitled for a fair trial.

So the prosecution most likely objected and asked for more time, and they got it. They got another week, so that they'll be able to effectively cross-examine the witness.

COOPER: Jayne, though, what does this do for the defense? I mean, is this a boost for Mark Geragos? Does it slow the momentum the prosecution might have had going into the defense arguing their case? JAYNE WEINTRAUB, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, don't -- I disagree with your premise, Anderson, respectfully, I don't think that they (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

COOPER: Well, because you said (UNINTELLIGIBLE) they have (UNINTELLIGIBLE) momentum. I knew you were going to say that.

WEINTRAUB: I don't think they did. And I think any delay is going to inure to the benefit of the defense. I think that since they didn't end on a big bang, there was, you know, once there was a delay of six days, I think that the jurors had time to reflect and contemplate and just keep going. They're ready for the defense.

I think what really happened here -- I'm not sure that Gloria is correct when she says it's probably the defense fault. A, it could be the expert witness did not bring all the reports, or B, just as likely a scenario is that after the state's -- after the defense case goes, rebuttal will come from the state. They're entitled to present the last word in a case.

And so they might have performed something that they just turned over, making it necessary for Mark to take a break. We just don't know.

But opining doesn't matter. What's important is, it will be a tight, very smoked case that will go quickly, and they're ready for closing arguments right afterwards. They're already going forward with that momentum.

COOPER: Gloria, do you think this is going to be a very tight, closely decided case?

ALLRED: You know, it's hard to say, Anderson, what's in the minds of the jurors. I think that the prosecution has produced enough evidence so that the jury could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, if they so chose...

COOPER: How much (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

ALLRED: ... but we haven't heard the defense case. Maybe there'll be enough doubt presented that the jury will decide...

COOPER: ... how much do you think...

ALLRED: ... to acquit.

COOPER: ... how much do you think it's going to boil down to when Laci Peterson's son, Conner, was born, when actually left Laci Peterson's body?

ALLRED: Well, you're right, that's certainly a major issue, because, of course, the defense theory is that someone else did it, that someone abducted Laci, held her, perhaps cut open her uterus, took out Conner, then disposed of both of them in the bay, somehow framing Scott Peterson. Of course, the defense doesn't have a duty, nor do I expect that it will present who else might have tried to frame Scott Peterson. But that's a problem for them. I think they're going to present expert evidence, perhaps an OB-GYN, perhaps pathologist, perhaps others...

WEINTRAUB: Excuse me, Gloria...

ALLRED: ... to say the fetus, the gestational age of the fetus was older. But the prosecution says that the gestational age was 33 weeks, which would mean that Conner was born on or about December 24.

COOPER: Jayne?

WEINTRAUB: It was 33 to 36 weeks. And with a fetus, it's very difficult to give an exact date, unless you have, you know, these ultrasound sonograms that they can identify exactly the age then. Because the body was already in the water, it's very difficult now to come in.

A couple weeks would be very important. What's so important is, after December 24, Mark Geragos is being followed 24 hours a day. So that if the baby was born after that, it inures to his benefit, because it shows the reasonable doubt, he couldn't have done it, he's under basically police custody and police surveillance.

ALLRED: I think you mean Scott Peterson was being followed, not Mark Geragos. But who (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

WEINTRAUB: I did...

ALLRED: ... follow Mark Geragos, maybe his wife.

WEINTRAUB: Gloria, note the date, I stand corrected by you.

COOPER: Gloria, your client obviously, Amber Frey, has been very important in this case. Oh, but a lot of people say, Look, she might have shown that Scott Peterson was a liar, that he was a cad, but she didn't necessarily prove that he murdered anyone.

ALLRED: I think that the tape-recorded telephone conversations that Amber recorded at the request of law enforcement, conversations with Scott after Laci disappeared, are going to be important in the case, because they do show what kind of person Scott Peterson is. Not just that he is...

(CROSSTALK)

ALLRED: ... that he is a liar, and he is a person who lies and lies and lies...

WEINTRAUB: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

ALLRED: ... and on the tapes, Anderson, he does things like confess or admit that he did say to Amber, I lost my wife, and these will be the first holidays without her, before Laci ever went missing. She gave him a chance to explain. If there was an innocent explanation, he never did...

COOPER: Jayne, your final thought?

WEINTRAUB: And he also said, I didn't do it, you know I could never do anything like that. She was taping him before. She's a liar also. They both lied in self-serving situations about their love life. What's that got to do wit the murder? There's no evidence on any (UNINTELLIGIBLE), Amber Frey had no evidentiary value whatsoever. She's not a motive important enough to kill over, and I say it's not guilty.

COOPER: Spoken like a true criminal defense attorney. All right, Jayne Weintraub, thanks very much, and Gloria Allred, good to see you, thanks.

ALLRED: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

WEINTRAUB: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

COOPER: Well, it could be the legal equivalent of the parting of the Red Sea. The Supreme Court will decide if the Ten Commandments, at least in one way, can violate the U.S. Constitution. That tops our look at what's happening right now cross-country.

The justices will rule whether it's constitutional to display the Ten Commandments on government property. Supporters call them a part of American heritage, opponents say the displays violate separation of church and state.

Capitol Hill now, a move that may raise a few eyebrows. Senator Mark Dayton of Minnesota is locking up his office on the Hill until after election day, due to fears about a possible terrorist attack. The senator cites a top-secret briefing given to Congress, but U.S. government officials say there's no new intelligence concerning a possible attack. So far Dayton is the only senator to lock up his office. Coincidentally, Congress is in recess till next month.

Galveston, Texas, now, real estate heir Robert Durst is getting out of jail early. Durst was acquitted of murder, you may remember, but still faced charges of bail-jumping and tampering with evidence. He agrees to plead guilty and gets out for time already served.

Washington state now, a late word from geologists. Rising lava has pushed up to the surface of Mount St. Helens. Now, the steam cloud you're seeing indicates the cooling in the open air. Earlier, the lava's temperature reached more than 1,100 degrees. Explosions and eruptions are a distinct possibility.

That's a quick look at what's happening around the world, around the country tonight in cross-country.

360 next, U.S. troops in a daring attempt to rescue hostages in Iraq. Find out just how close they came.

Also tonight, stranded for eight days. How a young girl survived in a car, no food, no water, an amazing story. Plus, Mary Kay Letourneau in her own words, from schoolboy rape scandal to wedding bells. Strange story continues.

All that ahead.

First, your picks, the most popular stories right now on CNN.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: And we are live, coming to you from Los Angeles, California, today. We'll be in Tempe, Arizona, for the third and final presidential debate tomorrow.

In Iraq today, U.S. and Iraqi troops struck hard, targeting insurgents in Ramadi, Talafar (ph) as well as Fallujah. The military says airstrikes in Fallujah destroyed a known terrorist safe house, their words, and a meeting center used by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's terrorist network.

Meanwhile, CNN has learned the details about the U.S. military's attempts to rescue three hostages who were killed by al-Zarqawi's network.

For that story, we turn to senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre. Jamie?

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, now it can be told. Back in September, shortly after Americans Eugene Armstrong and Jack Hensley and Briton Kenneth Bigley were kidnapped from their home in Baghdad, the U.S. launched a military operation to rescue them. In fact, there were two attempts, both in Baghdad, according to an official with direct knowledge of the operations.

The first came in mid-September, when all the hostages were believed to still be alive. But CNN has been told it failed because when a rescue team reached the location, no one was there. It's not clear if the hostages had been moved, or whether the intelligence was flawed and they were never there.

After Eugene Armstrong was beheaded, a second rescue mission was also launched, an official says. Again, the result was the same, no one was found at the targeted location.

The failed rescue attempts have not been acknowledged publicly, but at the time, U.S. military officials said everything possible was being done to secure the release of the hostages, either by rescuing them or by arranging for their release.

In this case, all three hostages eventually were murdered. And while the rescue attempts failed it was not for lack of trying. As one U.S. official put it, "A lot of people had a lot of sleepless nights trying to find them," Anderson.

COOPER: Oh, so close. Jamie McIntyre, thanks for that. In Arizona, where tomorrow night the candidates engage in their third and final debate, eight electoral votes are at stake. But across the country, as the polls now make clear, everything is at stake. The race could hardly be any closer right now, and the first two meetings between President Bush and Senator Kerry have had a very great deal to do with their neck-and-neck status.

No question, therefore, tomorrow night will count in a big way, and may perhaps be decisive.

John King is standing by for a look at the, this last day before the last debate from the president's perspective, as is Candy Crowley, with whom we begin with the Kerry camp. Candy?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, two down, and one to go. And the way Camp Kerry looks at this, they are on their way to a clean sweep.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY (voice-over): John Kerry opted for another laid-back predebate down day in New Mexico, amid great expectations inside the campaign.

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS, DEMOCRATIC VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: John Kerry's going to win that debate tomorrow. And one of the reasons he's going to win is because George Bush is out of touch.

CROWLEY: Kerry strategists believe they occupy the catbird seat, moving up in the polls, about to face a president in a forum the president does not excel in, discussing issues the senator believes favor him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, KERRY-EDWARDS AD)

SEN. JOHN KERRY, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: For the last four years, one man has stood between America and lower-cost prescription drugs, George Bush. As president, I'll fight to allow Americans to import lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: In advance of Wednesday's debate on domestic issues, the Kerry campaign has been softening up the competition, taking practice swings on prescription drugs, energy costs, and stem cell research. The issue was reelevated into the headlines with Sunday's death of Christopher Reeve, a personal tragedy mixing uneasily with national politics.

EDWARDS: If we do the work that we can do in this country, the work that we will do when John Kerry is president, people like Christopher Reeve are going to walk, get up out of that wheelchair and walk again.

CROWLEY: Kerry strategists say only the far right would find anything offensive about Edwards' words, but some Democrats outside the campaign say Kerry and company need to be careful how they use the Reeve name.

Kerry was scheduled to spend debate eve in the Phoenix area, but when the sun came out in New Mexico, he changed his plans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY: Now, if you're a political junkie, you might believe that John Kerry changed his plans because he thinks he has a better chance to win New Mexico than Arizona. On the other hand, if you listen to his staff, this had more to do with the fact that he didn't want to be flying here in the middle of the Red Sox game, Anderson.

COOPER: Candy, in the last debate John Kerry used the name of Christopher Reeve. Do you think we're going to hear his name again tomorrow night?

CROWLEY: I would -- I think it's a possibility, Anderson, but I think it would be very gently, because I do think that they know they're walking a very fine line here, that this is, in fact, a personal tragedy, this is a man, you know, who was out in the front not just on stem cell research, but on spinal cord regeneration, that sort of thing.

So of he does use it, and he did know Christopher Reeve, it will be not in one of those kind of highly political ways, at least he's going to try to keep -- as much as you can keep it that way in the midst of a debate, but more along the lines of, he was for it, I'm for it, and here's why, because there can be hope for people like him.

And when you talk to the campaign, they say, Look, this is about a message of hope, it's not about using Christopher Reeve's legacy.

COOPER: Yes, in a race this close, though, the personal often becomes the political. Candy Crowley, thanks very much.

The Kerry campaign has reason to hope for more of the same come tomorrow night, whereas the president's side must be pulling for anything but. John King reports from Camp Bush.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Colorado Springs, three weeks to election day, testing themes for a final debate dedicated to domestic issues.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Much as he's tried to obscure it, on issue after issue, my opponent has showed why he earned his ranking as the most liberal member of the United States Senate.

KING: Hours later, in Arizona, Mr. Bush said he is eager to use the last giant audience of the campaign to draw sharp philosophical contrasts and paint Senator Kerry as a big spender who would have to raise taxes to pay for all his promises.

BUSH: You're not going to have fiscal sanity if John Kerry is the president.

KING: Mr. Bush mocked Senator Kerry's claim in the last debate that his health care plan would not give the government more control.

BUSH: I could barely contain myself. Of course, the government has something to do with his plan. It's the cornerstone of his plan, it's the crux of his health care policy to expand the federal government.

KING: In the latest CNN-"USA Today"-Gallup poll, Senator Kerry has a giant edge on health care. The economy is more of a tossup, and the president has a slight edge on taxes.

Polls judged Senator Kerry the winner of the first two debates. Republicans say a closer look at the electoral map still suggests a slight Bush advantage, but concede the president needs a strong showing Wednesday night.

JOHN MCHENRY, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Does he have some work to do to sort of seal the deal and win on November 2? Sure. The same could be said for Senator Kerry. All things considered, I don't know that you'd say either one has much of an advantage at this point.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: Now, it may seem a bit odd after some 45 months in office, but one reason the Bush team says Senator Kerry enjoys an advantage on health care and some other domestic issues is that because of all the focus on war and terrorism, voters don't understand the president's proposals.

In that regard, Anderson, Bush aides say the debate can only help.

COOPER: All right, we'll be watching. John King, thanks for that.

Friday night prime time is one of the TV's toughest slots, but don't tell that to the people who obviously like a little (UNINTELLIGIBLE) politics with their weekend. Forty-six-point-seven million people watched Friday night's debate. Now, that is down from the 62.5 million who watched the first debate. It's still considered a very strong audience. Most- watched debate of the 2000 election saw 46.6 million viewers. That was the most watched in 2000.

A top British official negates another key intelligence claim that was launch the war in Iraq. That tops our look at what's happening around the world in the uplink.

London, England, now, Britain's foreign minister admits that the claim that Saddam Hussein had the capability to deploy chemical and biological weapons within 45 minutes -- remember that one? Well, that's been withdrawn by British intelligence. Just last week a CIA report confirms Saddam Hussein did not have those weapons when coalition troops invaded. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) North Korea's border now, rare images of what may be a missile launch site. Take a look. The North Koreans, who took this footage before fleeing the country, say the missiles seen on the base's launch pads are fake. The real ones are hiding underground. Now, the U.S. believes the facility has missiles that can reach as far as Japan.

Islamabad, Pakistan, now, a medium-range missile capable of carrying nuclear weapons was successfully test-fired, although Pakistani defense officials say the test is not a message to neighboring India, a nuclear rival, of course. This missile is capable of striking some Indian cities.

And Beslan, Russia, a traditional period of mourning ends. Hundreds of people dressed in black today closed 40 days of grieving for the children and the adults killed when terrorists took over that school. The tragedies caused a lot of anger there, understandably, and regional politicians are now concerned that the end of the mourning period is going to lead to violence. We'll be watching.

And that tops our look at what's happening in the uplink.

360 next, it is wedding bells for Mary Kay Letourneau and that young man she was convicted of raping when he was a boy. Find out their plans to tie the knot.

And a little later, stranded for eight days without food or water. A teenager's family thought she was dead. Find out why they now believe the power of prayer may have helped in her rescue.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: More on politics now. The battle is heating up over one broadcasting chain's plan to air an anti-John Kerry film just days before the presidential election. And Democrats are calling it propaganda. Sinclair Broadcasting execs, they call it news. But the war of words begs a bigger question. What makes news news, when it's broadcast inside the box? Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "STOLEN HONOR")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Intended or not, Lieutenant Kerry painted a depraved portrait of Vietnam veterans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER (voice-over): The film at the center of the controversy is called "Stolen Honor." It a accuses John Kerry of betraying fellow Vietnam veterans and prolonging the war and their torture with his public protests. The Sinclair Broadcast Group has ordered its stations, all 62 of them, to air it in prime time, in place of their regular programming, just days before the election.

MARK HYMAN, SINCLAIR BROADCASTING GROUP: Well, this is definitely a newsworthy event.

COOPER: Not so, say the Democrats, who've filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission.

TERRY MCAULIFFE, CHAIRMAN, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE: This is a use of corporate funds. And under the law, you cannot use corporate funds to go out there and advocate for a party or for a political candidate.

COOPER: There are rules that constitute how corporations can and can't contribute. Democrats say Sinclair has crossed the line.

MCAULIFFE: This is not done for commercial or for educational purposes. This is a clear partisan attack on Senator Kerry.

COOPER: Sinclair clearly has a political agenda. Corporate executives have made $70,000 in campaign contributions, 97 percent of it to the Republicans. And just last spring, Sinclair refused to allow its ABC affiliates to air a "Nightline" special that named soldiers who died in Iraq. But Sinclair called accusations of in-kind contributions unfair.

HYMAN: If you use that logic and reasoning, that means every car bomb in Iraq would be considered an in-kind contribution to John Kerry.

COOPER: In the end, it's up to the FEC to decide if the airing of "Stolen Honor" is an illegal campaign contribution, leaving unresolved the question of whether it's news or political propaganda, two concepts increasingly blurring inside the box.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Yes, they certainly are blurring.

So is it propaganda or news, or does it matter? We talked about that today with "CROSSFIRE" hosts Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson.

So Tucker, is this much ado about nothing with Sinclair broadcasting this documentary?

TUCKER CARLSON, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": Well, I think it's much ado about something, actually. There is a principle (UNINTELLIGIBLE), free speech. I mean, look, it may be that the documentary Sinclair wants to put on that is biased, that it's bias, that it's anti-Kerry, that it's right-wing.

I mean, I have no idea, I haven't seen it, and I don't care. That's not the point. It's not up to the federal government to decide what's fair on television.

This is a privately owned company, and they can put whatever they want on it. And for the record, I mean, they've, you know, they've offered Kerry a chance to rebut it. But again that's not the point. Everybody should cringe, I don't think I'm overstating this, should literally cringe at the notion of the U.S. Congress, the Senate of the United States, attempting to squelch political expression. It's disgusting.

PAUL BEGALA, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": Well, Anderson...

COOPER: Paul?

BEGALA: ... the difference is, it was right-wingers who successfully squelched political discussion when they intimidated CBS into killing a documentary about President Ronald Reagan. It later aired on Showtime cable. It was not (UNINTELLIGIBLE) documentary. It was a fictionalization of President Reagan's tenure in office.

The difference here, though, is that Sinclair is having a double standard. It censored Ted Koppel's "Nightline" when Ted did nothing but read the names of the war dead. And this is what Sinclair said at the time, "Political statements should not be disguised as news content."

Well, what in the world is this alleged documentary but political statement disguised as news? Is it protected? Yes, Tucker's right, the government shouldn't censor it. But I think people who care about responsibility in the media ought to speak out about how irresponsible (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

TUCKER: Well, that, I, I, I have to say, that is an awfully shallow critique. I mean, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), no, truly, the difference, the difference is, it's one thing to use moral suasion to get people to put things on or take things off. It's quite another to use or attempt to use the power of the law, which is what these members of the Senate are trying to do, to pull something off the air.

If Sinclair doesn't want to run something, it doesn't have to. It's up to Sinclair. They're exercising their First Amendment rights. They're a news outlet.

COOPER: But Paul, I mean, by, you know, making all this noise about this, the Democrats, aren't they giving this more publicity than it probably would have gotten before?

BEGALA: Yes, and I think that they may be falling into a trap there. Actually, as a legal matter, I agree with Tucker, that I don't like the FCC telling anybody what they can and cannot broadcast.

I think the answer is what we're doing now, write these letters, speak out, and to show people how completely biased this corporation is, they're currying favor with the current administration, and they're doing it to the detriment of their shareholders and to the public, and I think it's a shame.

COOPER: And very briefly, Tucker, want to look tomorrow's debate, some obviously focusing on domestic policy. The latest CNN- "USA Today"-Gallup poll numbers, voters believe Kerry can do a better job than Bush on the economy, health care, education, Medicare, and the environment. What does Bush need to do tomorrow night to try to boost his score on some of those issues?

BEGALA: Well, those are traditional Democratic strengths, there's no question about it, and Kerry has a strong advantage on all of those things, and probably will even on election day. I don't think Bush is going to change that. It's part of a much longer-term trend in public opinion.

I do think, though, again, the threshold issue is security. I mean, people just aren't going to vote for the candidate they think won't protect them. Kerry has actually made some progress on that, and if he's elected, it's because he has closed that gap.

But that's -- I do think, I'm, not everyone agrees with me, and I'm not saying it for partisan reasons, I think objectively, however, that is the only issue that, in the end, as of November 2, will really matter, can you protect us? And that's why I think Kerry, that's what I think his campaign is actually really focused on (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

COOPER: Well, Paul, and Paul, let me, I mean, show these others numbers. Kerry still trails very badly to the president when it comes to who's the more stronger, more decisive leader. Is it too late for him to try to reverse that?

BEGALA: No, he's closing that gap somewhat. But there's a double-edged sword with President Bush when people say that he's strong and decisive, because they often disagree with the decisions that he makes, and they sometimes think that he should change when he doesn't.

I think one of the interesting debates within the debate tomorrow night, though, will be, whose domestic agenda is talked about? The president believes this is a base turnout election, so he is going to want to talk about social issues -- abortion, and gun control, and gays. Senator Kerry believes this is a debate about swing voters, so he'll want to talk about jobs, and health care, and the environment. And so which guy gets his version of the domestic agenda out tomorrow night is going to do better in the debate.

COOPER: All right, Paul Begala, Tucker Carlson, see you guys in Arizona tomorrow.

BEGALA: Thanks.

CARLSON: Thanks.

COOPER: Well, this leads us to today's "Buzz" question -- what do you think, do you think Sinclair Broadcasting's plan to air an anti-Kerry documentary is a violation of equal time laws? Yes or no? Log on to cnn.com/360. Cast your vote. We'll have results at the end of the program.

Coming up next on 360, stranded for eight days without food or water. Find out how one woman's faith led to her rescue, she believes.

Plus, Mary Kay Letourneau goes from prison to the altar. Find out how her plans to tie the knot with her former victim, what she's going to do. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: And we are live in beautiful Los Angeles. 360 next, wedding bells for Mary Kay Letourneau. Find out how -- find out her plans to tie the knot with the boy she went to jail for raping, now a young man.

Plus, a grandmom tackles a crocodile. Find out who won this fight. You are not going to believe this story.

First, let's check our top stories in tonight's "Reset."

In Redwood City, California, the Scott Peterson murder trial is on hold until Monday. That was a surprise today. The defense was scheduled to open its case, but the judge said some unspecified legal issues need to be worked out before that could happen.

In Washington, the nation's limited flu vaccines will be shipped directly to the caretakers of high-risk patients. The CDC and the makers of the flu shot announced that agreement today. Now, the CDC has urged healthy people to forego getting the shots this year after the British government shut down a major U.S. supplier of the vaccine.

In Los Angeles, former L.A. Lakers coach Phil Jackson reveals all in a new book, to be published later this month. Jackson writes that his relationship with Laker star Kobe Bryant became so soured that he swore off coaching the team again if Bryant was still there. Jackson also says Bryant was treated well by the Lakers organization during his sexual assault case, but he claims Bryant didn't appreciate it.

And near Ft. Wayne, Indiana, what do you think this was? This flying object was caught on some home video on Sunday. Snow, a local TV network brought the tape to some space experts. Some suggested it was a meteor or space junk. No one exactly knows what it was.

That's a quick look, the top stories in "The Reset."

Sometimes the facts of a story never really explain or fully explain just how something could have happened. In the case of our next story, the facts are that a 17-year-old girl was in a very serious car accident. She wasn't found for more than a week, and yet she survived. Here's reporter Meg Coyle of CNN affiliate KING in Seattle.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. RICHARD ELLENBOGEN, NEUROSURGEON: She's funny, she makes jokes, and she's in pretty miraculous shape considering what she's been through.

MEG COYLE, KING-TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 17-year-old Laura Hatch may have lost eight days after crashing her car down a steep embankment, but one thing she didn't lose was her sense of humor, and more importantly her sense of survival.

ELLENBOGEN: A very lucky girl. So far she's doing great. COYLE: Laura was last seen leaving a party on October 2. Dozens of volunteers searched for her, but turned up nothing until yesterday, when family friend Sha Nohr says a recurring dream led her to Laura, off Union Hill Road in Redmond.

SHA NOHR, RESCUER: I was praying to God, if he's ever given me a vision, please give me strength and make this a real one, as we were driving.

COYLE: So how did Laura Hatch survive eight days without water? She suffered a blood clot in the accident, something that could have easily killed her, but doctors say in this case, her dehydration may have actually saved her.

ELLENBOGEN: The way that we normally treat that is to dehydrate the brain, or open up the skull and take the blood clot out. And she dehydrated herself to a point even better than we might have been able to do it with medicines. And that's what probably saved her life.

They want to say it's divine intervention, they want to invoke God's name. I think that's beautiful, and that's fine, and I'll leave it at that. But I certainly don't have a good scientific explanation for it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: That was Meg Coyle with our affiliate KING-TV in Seattle.

Sha Nohr joins me now from Seattle. We appreciate her joining us. Sha, thanks very much for being with us.

Now, you say you had dreams, a vision essentially that came about largely because of a photograph. I know I think you brought it along with you. What about this photograph brought about these thoughts?

NOHR: Well, I don't really know if it was the photograph or not, but my daughter had been out searching with the other 200 volunteers. I had never met Laura, I had never met her family. And she brought that photograph back and said, this is a picture of Laura and I, and it just made me start thinking about her. I later posted on -- I have a Web site where I have a prayer group, and I posted it on there, just for them to pray for her. And the churches, local churches were praying for her, and everything.

And that night I had a dream, I just had a dream of an intersection that I was very familiar with, and I went there the next day, and my daughter and I searched, just the two of us, and we ended up finding her, actually, there.

COOPER: When you first -- I mean, you're searching with your daughter, no one else is around, and all of a sudden you see the car basically buried in the woods, what happened next? What went through your mind?

NOHR: Well, actually, when we were first searching, we didn't see it. Then I climbed down -- we -- I climbed down the embankment, left her up at the top. We saw a piece of visqueen (ph). And once I got down there, I realized that, you know, we were going to be disappointed. And then we saw -- I saw there were some trees that had been knocked over, and blocking the view of the car. And it was just a miracle. I really thought, though, that she -- actually, I thought she was dead. I didn't think she was with us anymore, but when she spoke out and started talking and was so worried that she had missed curfew, it just was a blessing. Just a blessing.

COOPER: You know, there are some who are going to be skeptical of your story and say, well, look, you know, maybe it was just a coincidence. I mean, this was a road this young woman was probably driving down, and you know, maybe it was sort of an educated guess or a lucky guess that you picked that intersection. To those doubters, what do you say?

NOHR: Well, you know, a lot of people have said, well, perhaps my daughter was at the party or whatever. We were actually in Cabo, Mexico until the day before when this happened. And we were out of the country, and we didn't -- it was just a dream. You know, they had had people searching in that area the day before. They couldn't find her. I have no idea. I've never done anything like this before. I have no idea why it worked. All I know is that I just believed that it's the power of thousands of people praying for this young girl.

COOPER: Well, whatever led you to that spot, there are an awful lot of people that are very glad that you were led to that spot. You found this young woman and saved her life. Sha Nohr, we appreciate what you did and what your daughter did as well. Thanks very much for joining us.

NOHR: Thank you. You have a nice night.

COOPER: You, too.

Coming up next on 360 Mary Kay Letourneau. She went to prison for raping a student, now she's announced she plans to marry her former victim.

Plus "Tonight Show"s Ross the Intern does politics 360 Hollywood- style.

And a little later a grandmom tackles an alligator. I don't think Ross was involved in that one. Find out who won this grisly fight. All that ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Mary Kay Letourneau is looking towards the future. The former school teacher whose relationship with a 12-year-old boy resulted in a rape conviction, seven years in prison and two children now says she wants to rebuild her life. She's engaged now. And the bride-to-be beams when she talks about the man she plans on walking down the aisle with. CNN's Adaora Udoji reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mary Kay Letourneau is 42 and her lover Vili Fualaau 21. She told CNN's Larry King their relationship which sent her to prison is part of her future.

LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": You're engaged, you have a date.

MARY KAY LETOURNEAU, HAD RELATIONSHIP WITH UNDERAGE STUDENT: Not that we're talking about, no.

UDOJI: Letourneau and Fualaau have two young girls, six and seven who live with his mother. Just two months ago when she was released they started spending time together as a family. When their relationship began she was a married 34-year-old teacher with four children, he a 13-year-old former student.

LETOURNEAU: It was spiritual at first, and emotional and intellectual before anything ever went...

KING: Before you ever made love.

LETOURNEAU: Yes.

UDOJI: The state of Washington saw a crime and convicted Letourneau of child rape. She ended up in prison for 7 1/2 years after violating a suspended sentence agreement by seeing Fualaau.

LETOURNEAU: I didn't believe that it was a felony. I knew it just wasn't normal.

KING: You never thought you were committing a crime, though, to yourself?

LETOURNEAU: No.

KING: You knew it wasn't social norm but you didn't say to yourself I'm a criminal?

LETOURNEAU: No, not at all.

UDOJI: Hard for many to believe she didn't know, but that's what she says and adds had she known, perhaps it wouldn't have happened. Today neither she nor Fualaau are working. Still she's hopeful about the future, about getting to know their two children and the four with her ex-husband.

LETOURNEAU: My older children, we have a lot -- we have a lot of healing just from the separation.

UDOJI: Letourneau has no doubts it will take work, but now she has the freedom to pursue life as she chooses. Adaora Udoji, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE) COOPER: In Australia, as summer arrives, the crocodiles come out. That's not a good thing, especially if they're looking at you as if you're dinner. Case in point, a 14-foot crocodile with an eye on a man sleeping in a tent. In this case there's a happy ending to the story thanks to one very determined grandmother. Keith Breen (ph) reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Queensland has seen its share of amazing crocodile tales but this one ranks with the best. The main protagonist, a 14-foot 47-stone saltwater crocodile, described by one local expert as a pretty serious piece of machinery and a 60-year-old grandmother who wrestled it and ultimately won. Diana Kerr was sleeping in a tent with her young baby and husband when she was woken by a thud and saw the crocodile just outside.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The first thing Andrew yelled out was grab the baby, so I picked up the whole bassinet, and the crocodile started to drag him out of the tent.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: While she clung on her husband's hand, their neighbors came to the rescue.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We looked up and this croc grabbed him by the leg and pulled him out. All we heard was the screaming over here. So we grabbed a torch in the other tent and walked around this side, and around that side, and she thought the croc had the baby, so she jumped on top of the croc, and the croc actually bit right into her right arm.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The crocodile then dragged Alicia Sorohon towards the water before son Jason shot it dead. A radio beacon and an SOS scrawled in the sand brought park rangers to the scene before the victims were taken to the hospital suffering broken limbs and deep cuts.

As for the cause of the attack it's thought the crocodile might have been attracted by scraps left by fishermen and other campers. Experts say its behavior was atypical but are warning of the dangers of holidaying in croc country.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Amazing. That was Keith Breen with ITN.

360 next. You can't come to L.A. where we are now without talking to a celebrity. We have the biggest. The man who makes Jay Leno laugh, Ross Matthews otherwise known as Ross, the "Tonight Show" intern takes politics 360 next.

Also tonight Roseanne Barr versus Dr. Phil? Find out why she's comparing him to a used car salesman.

Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROSS MATTHEWS, "TONIGHT SHOW" INTERN: I'm about to skydive for the very first time. I'm going to jump from way up there, 13,000 feet from up there, Jay. Jay, I'm freaked out, like honestly freaked out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're being to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. How do you feel about that?

MATTHEWS: Fricking stupid. That was the most intense, fun thing I have ever done, and I've been to the gap.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, if you're a tonight show fan, you know who Ross the intern is. Ross Matthews, started entering -- interning on Leno's staff three years ago, unlike so many starry-eyed kids he actually made it in front of the camera. So when he offered to give us his take on the presidential election, how could we say no? Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEWS: This has played out like a good movie. So we're in L.A., so we thought, hey, let's cast it. Let's pretend we're going to make a movie. Who would you cast as George W. Bush.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mel Gibson.

MATTHEWS: Mel Gibson! Good, you guys agree?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sure.

MATTHEWS: Who would you cast as John Kerry.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know, John Kerry is kind of cool, so that would be...

MATTHEWS: Cruel?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, he's cool. I like him.

MATTHEWS: Oh he cool. Who would you pick to play Teresa Heinz Kerry in the movie version of this election?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Martha Stewart.

MATTHEWS: She's busy. Who else? Oh, my gosh, that's Michael Moore.

Who would you cast as you?

What about John Edwards?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Doogie Howser.

MATTHEWS: How about John Kerry?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Harrison Ford.

MATTHEWS: Good one.

You like Harrison Ford (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

MATTHEWS: I mean, do you like him, though? You like, like him like him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like him, like him.

MATTHEWS: Who do you think should play the Bush twins.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Olsen twins.

MATTHEWS: Yes, that's a good one.

I am the cute one, she's just my sister. That's one of their songs.

What about Dick Cheney?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dick Cheney? Barney, the purple dinosaur.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: George Bush is hot.

MATTHEWS: He's a man's man.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If he was a smoker, he would be a Marlboro Man.

MATTHEWS: Do you know who that is?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So he's so cute. Yes, Anderson. Yes, I like him.

MATTHEWS: Do you want to say hi to him?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is he here?

MATTHEWS: Well, he's right in there. Right in there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, in here. Hi, Mr. Anderson.

MATTHEWS: Who should play him in the movie?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think he should play himself.

MATTHEWS: Blow him a kiss?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: All right. Joining me here in L.A., the one the only, Ross Matthews. Ross, good to meet you here.

MATTHEWS: Hello.

COOPER: Now, for all the time you've been on the "Tonight Show," I understand, you've never actually been allowed to sit down in a seat.

MATTHEWS: This is the first time sitting on TV, I think.

COOPER: Wow.

MATTHEWS: Think about it, I'm always like walking, standing.

COOPER: Or jumping out of airplanes.

MATTHEWS: Or that.

COOPER: How did you get the job at the "Tonight Show."

MATTHEWS: Well, I was just an intern, and then sort of they kind of knew what I wanted to do, and then it sort of happened.

COOPER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) your way up to the top is what your saying?

MATTHEWS: Exactly.

COOPER: Yes, that's how it is.

So what's ahead for you? What does the future hold for Ross Matthews?

MATTHEWS: You know, I don't know. We're doing more "Tonight Show" stuff. I'm going like to a football game and doing something, tailgating.

COOPER: Do you go to a lot of football games?

MATTHEWS: No.

COOPER: Yes, you don't strike me as a gridiron (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

MATTHEWS: I'm a fan though. Football and figure skating are tied for my number one sport. You'd be surprised.

COOPER: Is there much commonality between the two?

MATTHEWS: No. No. No, that's in the fun, though.

COOPER: I see.

MATTHEWS: Thank you so much.

COOPER: It's a pleasure meeting you. I'm a big fan of your work.

MATTHEWS: Thank you for letting me do this.

COOPER: We met at the Republican National Convention, that's how this whole (UNINTELLIGIBLE) thing started. All right, time to check on some pop news in tonight's "Current." Lets take a look.

Roseanne Barr is not a fan of Dr. Phil. It turns out that she calls his advice stupid. And says he's a used car salesman, he uses nothing by barnyard psychology. Roseanne, it sounds to me like you have a lot of hate in your heart. Maybe this man's advice can help you find a way to replace the hate with some love.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. PHIL MCGRAW, HOST "DR. PHIL SHOW": You need to get busy. You need to get activity in your life. Go get a job, go volunteer at your church. You don't have a dog in the fight. You need to get -- you need to get something going on that absorbs your considerable energies and your passions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: You don't have a dog in the fight.

Sony has created the ultimate TV recording machine. Their device can record six channels at once, which means you'll never ever again mess great TV moments like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCGRAW: You need to get busy. You need to get activity in your life. Go get a job. Go volunteer at your church. You don't have a dog in the fight. You need to get -- you need to get something going on that absorbs your considerable energies and your passions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Dog in the fight.

ABC is ga-ga over the success of the new show "Desperate Housewives." Ross, have you seen it?

MATTHEWS: Yes.

COOPER: Good?

MATTHEWS: It's really good.

COOPER: Yes, I know you like it.

And the network is hoping to build on the hit with a few spinoffs of "Desperate Housewives," including, needy salesmen, hopeless gardeners, and lets see, this my personal favorite, grumpy anchormen. Isn't that right Wolf, and Bill. There you go all grumpy.

Jack Daniels is angering plenty of its customers by lowering the proof of it's Whiskey, from 86 percent proof to 80 percent proof. Angry drinkers says it's wrong to deny them that extra 6 percent of alcohol. Though after a few shots, I doubt they'll even remember what they were angry about or frankly what their name is.

Next on 360, never mind the Ten Commandments, what else should be considered unconstitutional?

We'll take that to "The Nth Degree."

And tomorrow we head to Tempe, Arizona for the third and final presidential debate. We're back live from Los Angeles in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Tonight taking public declaration to "The Nth Degree." It's good we guess, that the Supreme Court plans to take out the constitutionality of proclaiming the Ten Commandments on government premises. While they're at it, though, they might also might want to consider some of the other wall hung declaration Americans are forced to face nearly every day. Like this one. Maybe this doesn't violate a constitutional amendment, but it certainly does violates a comedy amendment. Thou shalt out in make the same lame joke over and over. Here's another violation of the same commandment, and it violates the common sense, one, two. What kind of eagle would post such a whining complaint?

I "heart" cats. Equally we thank the justices should step down -- should step in on signs showing two words, any two words with a heart symbol between them. We've had the whole heart thing forced down our throats for two long as it is, don't you think? Well, that's what we think.

That's 360 for tonight. I'm Anderson Cooper, I'll see you tomorrow from Tempe, Arizona, the site of the third and final presidential debate.

PAULA ZAHN NOW is next.

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