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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Rice Nominated to Succeed Powell at State Department; Investigation Under Way Into Shooting of Wounded Insurgent in Falluja
Aired November 16, 2004 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: Good evening from New York. I'm Anderson Cooper.
Tonight, the cabinet shuffle. Condi Rice gets the nod for secretary of state. What other changes will come next?
360 starts now.
The president makes it official. He wants Condoleezza Rice to be the new secretary of state. But what's her track record? And will her unwavering support of the president help or hinder U.S. foreign policy?
An investigation underway. Why did a U.S. Marine shoot a wounded Iraqi insurgent? Was it a justified killing, or a crime?
Kobe Bryant gets ready for court. The rape charge is dropped, but the civil suit by his accuser revs up.
A mother charged with an unspeakable crime, murdering her diabetic daughter. But was a crime really committed? Or is this mother being unjustly accused?
And the search for eternal youth. Tonight, forget plastic surgery, these new high-tech treatments may save you from going under the knife.
ANNOUNCER: Live from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is ANDERSON COOPER 360.
COOPER: And a good evening to you.
The aftershocks continue. Condoleezza Rice is nominated to replace Colin Powell as secretary of state, Alberto Gonzales to replace John Ashcroft, the secretaries of education, energy, agriculture, and commerce have all said they're leaving. A big step down for some, for others an even bigger step up.
CNN senior White House correspondent John King has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the Roosevelt Room, tapping one of his closest confidants and a veteran White House insider for a critical and very public new role. GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Secretary of state is America's face to the world, and in Dr. Rice, the world will see the strength, the grace, and the decency of our country.
KING: Rice teared up as the president talked about her upbringing in the segregated South and a lesson from her parents he says guides her worldview.
BUSH: That human dignity is the gift of God, and that the ideals of America would overcome oppression.
KING: Both the president and Rice praised outgoing Secretary of State Colin Powell, and she immediately tried to calm fears one of her jobs is to stifle anti-Bush dissent in the State Department's far- flung bureaucracy.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE NOMINEE: I have the utmost admiration and respect for their skill, their professionalism, and their dedication.
KING: With Rice off to State, Mr. Bush also elevated her deputy, Stephen Hadley, to national security adviser. It was another reminder of the premium Mr. Bush puts on loyalty and of his perhaps unrivaled trust in the 50-year-old former Stanford provost who would be the second woman and second African-American secretary of state.
There is little doubt Rice will be confirmed by the Senate, but not without first facing tough questions about her judgment and management skills.
DAVID ROTHKOPF, FORMER DEPUTY UNDERSECRETARY: They dropped the ball in terms of pre-9/11 preparation for terrorism. They dropped the ball in terms of postconflict stabilization of Iraq. They dropped the ball in terms of managing intelligence flows. And now she's going to a much bigger bureaucracy.
KING: Powell was known around the world as someone who would listen and convey to the president views he might not want to hear. Rice, on the other hand, is known to have shared the president's anger at Germany and especially France for opposing the Iraq war.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: And the challenges are many, from war in Iraq, to new efforts at Middle East peacemaking, to the nuclear standoffs with Iran and North Korea. And for the woman dubbed warrior princess by her staff following the 9/11 attacks, the basic question is this, will she be a rubber stamp for her friend the president, or step now from his shadow and add a unique voice of her own to American diplomacy, Anderson.
COOPER: We'll talk more about the warrior princess with "CROSSFIRE" guys a little later on 360. John, thanks for that.
This just in. Word of another resignation. CNN has confirmed that Air Force Secretary James Roche will be stepping down, and domestic policy adviser Margaret Spellings is the president's choice to replace outgoing education secretary Ron Paige.
In Iraq, the good news is, there is less and less fighting in Falluja, west of Baghdad. The bad news, there is more and more in and around Mosul in the Kurdish north. The U.S. Army in Mosul announced all bridges are closed to (UNINTELLIGIBLE) civilian vehicle and pedestrian traffic, and that its operations, quote, "are targeting isolated pockets of insurgent fighters that continue to operate in the city."
The terrible difficulty of this, of this, of course, of this kind of fighting has been underscored by an incident in Falluja captured on videotape. The incident, in which an American Marine shoots a wounded Iraqi insurgent, is now under investigation. The question, was it justified, or was it a crime?
CNN senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre looks closer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The video, taken by an American television reporter, indicates as many as four wounded people may have been shot to death in the mosque on Saturday. The reporter hears gunshots as he approaches the mosque.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you shoot them?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes, man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did they have any weapons on them?
MCINTYRE: As the reporter follows the Marines inside, he sees men he recognizes as insurgent fighters who were wounded and disarmed the day before, dying of what appear to be fresh wounds. Then he witnesses another shooting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's (expletive deleted) faking he's dead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, he's breathing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's (expletive deleted), he's (expletive deleted) dead.
MCINTYRE: Human rights groups that have reviewed the tape think it's a clear war crime.
STEVE CRAWSHAW, LONDON DIRECTOR, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: What we're seeing here, and we can see it in the body language of the soldiers, is they do not feel under threat.
And really, every single soldier and every single commander, every soldier on the ground, knows it's an absolute basic of warfare that when you have a wounded person who's not a threat of them, it's absolutely prohibited to further injure or to kill that person. It's a real basic of international law.
MCINTYRE: The investigation will look into all four deaths and the actions of all the Marines involved.
LT. GEN. JOHN SATTLER, U.S. MARINES: Let me make it perfectly clear, we follow the law of armed conflict, and we hold ourselves to a high standard of accountability.
MCINTYRE: The video does not answer all the key questions. The wounded had been left behind by other Marines. Could they have gotten weapons or set booby traps? Did the Marine know that?
EUGENE POWELL, MILITARY LAW ATTORNEY: Was there a reasonable apprehension of serious bodily injury or death on the part of the person who pulled the trigger here? And that would trump, in my opinion, any question of whether the person -- whether the deceased was a prisoner, was wounded, or anything.
BRIG. GEN. JAMES MARKS (RET.), U.S. ARMY: A buddy the day before had been killed in a very similar incident, where an insurgent who was playing dead had, in fact, been booby-trapped, and a number of Marines had been injured and wounded, and one Marine was killed. So you keep all of that in context.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE: The Pentagon says if there's any evidence that U.S. troops have wrongfully killed Iraqis, those crimes will be prosecuted. They don't have to be caught on videotape. In fact, just this week, a second lieutenant in the Army was charged with premeditated murder for the death of an Iraqi in Sadr City, Anderson.
COOPER: All right, Jamie, we'll continue to follow this story. Thanks very much.
We're also going to talk to a reporter who's been with the troops in the front lines during the fighting in Falluja, and vicious fighting it has been. We're going to talk to him a little later on 360, find out what the mood of the troops is in relation to this video and what they think about it.
Insurgents in Iraq, of course, don't have to abide by any rules. Today, even more evidence of that. Here's a news note. It now seems certain that Margaret Hassan, this woman, the Irish-born Iraqi citizen who was CARE International's director, was murdered by those who took her hostage last month. A videotape delivered to Al Jazeera evidently shows Ms. Hassan, who was in her 60s and had lived in Iraqi for 30 years, being shot point-blank in the head. Al Jazeera has not aired the tape.
We'll have more about Ms. Hassan later in the program as well.
As if the news out of and about Iraq were not already disturbing enough, there comes this story about a man who tried to kill himself in Washington yesterday, a man who says he was working for this country against its enemies.
CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Muhammad Alonzi (ph) remains in serious condition after setting himself on fire outside the White House Monday. Before attempting suicide, he had sent a letter to "The Washington Post," saying he was going to "burn his body in an unexpected place."
Alonzi had recently talked to the newspaper about his work as a federal informant, after his name was leaked to the press. In his letter, he claims the FBI ignored his request to see his family before testifying in a terror trial against fellow Yemeni Muhammad al-Moyad (ph), in New York.
The FBI would not comment, but government officials tell CNN they believe Alonzi was treated honorably.
GEORGE BAGREE, FORMER FBI COUNTERTERRORISM AGENT: The claims can be made by the individual, and obviously the truth is somewhere in the middle. But there are extremely detailed and close scrutiny of all agents that run informants.
ARENA: Government sources say Alonzi's claim that the FBI paid him $100,000 last year is, quote, "about right." And they say his request to see his family was not ignored, that several options were proposed. One included having him meet with his family not in Yemen but in a country near there. Officials say Alonzi rejected the offer.
At a time when the FBI and other government agencies are in need of reliable informants, this episode doesn't help.
BAGREE: Well, potential informants out there, around the world, whether it's in the United States or anywhere else, they see the media in this, they see the representation, and they're going to be hesitant.
ARENA: Alonzi was, by most accounts, very useful to the FBI. A government affidavit described him as someone who provided reliable information and had, quote, "contributed in part to the arrests of 20 individuals and the seizure of over $1 million."
(on camera): It's unclear what impact his suicide attempt will have on the trial he was supposed to testify in, or any other ongoing investigations.
Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, NASA chases Mach 10 with possibly the fastest jet ever. That is just one of the many stories we're following right now cross-country.
Over the Pacific, the unmanned X-43-A scramjet, they may want to work on a better name for that, attempted to reach a world record, 7,000 miles per hour. By all accounts, it was a success, but there is no confirmation yet. The technology may eventually be used to develop hypersonic missiles in airplanes or even reusable space-launch vehicles.
Phoenix, Arizona, now, love lost, infidelity, attempted murder, and now prison time. This woman, Wendy Glass, faces more than seven years behind bars for conspiring with her lover to try to kill her husband. And what made the plot so strange, both men are Marines, and while in Kuwait, the lover threw a grenade at her husband. The husband survived, even pleaded with the judge to have mercy on his cheating wife. The lover is already serving 25 years to life.
Las Vegas, Nevada, now, the legendary Desert Inn Hotel no more. Take a look, 233 pounds of explosives brought down the 64-year-old hotel, 10 seconds, that's all it took. Hotel was destroyed to make room for new megaresorts. Progress, they call it.
Hollywood, Florida, holy grilled cheese. Take a look. This sandwich, said to bear the image of the Virgin Mary, is back on eBay. That's right, the Internet (UNINTELLIGIBLE), do you see it? (UNINTELLIGIBLE) see (UNINTELLIGIBLE) face there (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in the upper corner.
The Internet auction Web site has pulled the item Sunday after a top bid of $22,000, saying the whole thing is a hoax. The sandwich owner says no way. For 10 years she's kept it in a clear plastic box, and she says there's not even a speck of mold. Last we checked, the top bid was $99 million, but we have a feeling that won't really last very long on eBay. Well, there while you can.
That's a look at stories cross-country tonight.
360 next, Condoleezza Rice as secretary of state. Paul Begala says she's utterly incompetent. Bob Novak says he's nuts. Not for the first time he says that. Two views on the president's new choice.
And a half-naked desperate housewife, the NFL, and an ABC apology? All happened with Monday night football last night. Find out why the FCC is investigating.
And the Kobe Bryant civil case. He's being sued for sexual assault. But will his accuser go through with the case? We'll take a closer look.
All that ahead. First, let's take a look at your picks, the most popular looks at stories right now on CNN.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICE: I look forward, with the consent of the Senate, to pursuing your hopeful and ambitious agenda as secretary of state. Mr. President, it is an honor to be asked to serve your administration and my country once again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, no one seems to doubt that national security adviser Condoleezza Rice is remarkably intelligent. She entered college at age 15 and had earned a doctorate in international affairs by age 26. But there are plenty of Democrats questioning whether her loyalty to the president will be a plus or minus when she enters the diplomatic arena.
Two views tonight on Rice and what the president is trying to do with his new cabinet picks. I talked earlier today with "CROSSFIRE" hosts Paul Begala and Bob Novak.
Paul, is Condoleezza Rice a good choice for secretary of state?
PAUL BEGALA, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": No. She's been in charge -- directly, the president's put her directly in charge of the management of the occupation and reconstruction of Iraq, which has been a colossal debacle, the biggest foreign policy debacle since 9/11, which also occurred on her watch.
And there's voluminous evidence that she ignored warnings from Richard Clarke, the top counterterrorism official and others.
So I, she brings really a sort of impressive visage, but if you look at the real record, she's been utterly incompetent as national security adviser.
COOPER: Bob, is it a record of incompetence?
ROBERT NOVAK, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": It's ridiculous. The argument against her, and I think it's a silly argument, is that she's too close to the president. But you're supposed to be close to the president if you're secretary of state. They've had a lot of bad situations for secretaries of state who are not close to the president. And when you have a secretary of state (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Colin Powell with disagreements, what, what change did Colin Powell have in policy?
This is, the policy is made by the person that the American people elect, and he appoints a secretary of state to execute his policy.
COOPER: That sort of thinking with one mind is the criticism that former secretary of state Lawrence Eagleburger made, both about Condoleezza Rice, but also about her replacement or her proposed replacement, Stephen Hadley, her former adviser. Let me just play that clip, and then let's talk about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE EAGLEBURGER, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Everybody is going to speak the same language, talk the same things, and I think what that means is that whatever influence, for instance, Colin Powell had is going to be much less under this -- under these new circumstances...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Bob, does that make sense to you? NOVAK: No, it doesn't make any sense at all. Larry Eagleburger, who I love, he's a good friend of mine, he spent too much time in Charlottesville and not enough in Washington lately. He was deputy secretary of state under James Baker, who was secretary of state when the senior George Bush was president.
Now, there were nobody who were closer, and I think Paul will agree with me, in Jimmy Baker and Daddy Bush. I think you're better off when the secretary of state reflects the president, and he's not somebody out in left field or right field going on his own.
COOPER: Paul, a confirmation battle, though, it's not going to be much of a battle, is it?
BEGALA: No, no, she'll be overwhelming confirmed, and I think that's a tragedy.
Again, what I come back to is the stunning incompetence. The president turned to her to manage this occupation, and it's been a disaster. And I look back today on the 9/11 commission report. And time after time, she misled that commission. I mean, she just didn't get things wrong, she misled them. She told them things that were simply factually false.
Case in point, she said, We had no inkling in the presidential daily briefing of August 6 of that year that there would be an attack against the United States. Well, then a commissioner asked her, Well, what was the title of that briefing, Dr. Rice? And she had to admit, Well, the title was, "Bin Laden Determined to Attack in the United States."
I mean, it's just a flat-out falsehood.
NOVAK: Well, it wasn't (UNINTELLIGIBLE), it's a matter of interpretation. But the -- this is an example of the extreme partisanship by the Howard Dean type of Democrats where they -- this election has been held, they gave a vote of confidence for the president.
You may not like that vote of confidence, but they did. And to fight these same tired battles, I think the American people get weary. The thing that's interesting to me is, I haven't heard that from any responsible Democrats, only from Paul Begala.
BEGALA: Well, it's called having principles. Last week, I said I hope all the Democrats vote for Alberto Gonzales to be the attorney general, because he's highly qualified, and to my knowledge, he has never lied to us.
COOPER: We're going to leave it there. Bob Novak and Paul "Howard Dean" Begala, thanks very much.
Well, 360 next, murder by neglect. A mother charged after the death of her daughter. Did she go from caretaker to killer, or is she simply the scapegoat for a ravaging disease?
Also tonight, the fog of war in Falluja. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) urban combat, always grisly. Will a lone Marine, though, take the fall?
And a little later, a man stabbed at an award show? The Vibe Music Awards last night, the Oscars it wasn't.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: So last night, as some viewers of NFL football gathered round their sets ready to watch grown man slam into each other, they saw a striptease of sorts. Now, violence is one thing, but the suggestion of sex, well, some viewers found that outrageous, and they complained to the FCC. It was supposed to be a promotional tie-in for the ABC hit "Desperate Housewives." But now it's the subject of a government investigation.
CNN's Brian Todd investigates what all the fuss is about inside the box.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got par sales and the cowboys and Dunavan needs them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Millions of viewers saw it, and enough of them were mortified that we now have a full- fledged controversy and an FCC investigation on our hands.
This opening skit, which, we have to make clear, is a spoof, shows actress Nicolette Sheridan of ABC's hit show "Desperate Housewives" provocatively approaching Philadelphia Eagles star receiver Terrell Owens in an empty locker room, and imploring him to skip the upcoming game for her.
Moments later, she drops her towel for a split second, revealing a bare back, and jumps into Owens's arms.
CNN is told both ABC and the Federal Communications Commission have received numerous complaints from viewers about the skit. In a statement, ABC said, "We have heard from many of our viewers about last night's Monday night football opening segment, and we agree that the placement was inappropriate. We apologize."
When we asked an official at the NFL office about the reaction there when they saw the skit, he said they were displeased, and they've had conversations with officials at ABC. He said the NFL had no advance knowledge of the spot.
In a statement, the NFL said, quote, "ABC's opening was inappropriate and unsuitable for our Monday night football audience. While ABC may have gained attention for one of its other shows, the NFL and its fans lost."
We also spoke with an official of the FCC's enforcement bureau, who told us the commission is investigating the complaints it has received and is determining whether ABC may have violated its decency rules.
If the commission determines those rules have been broken, ABC could be fined.
And that's a look inside the box.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: And I think we've all learned a lesson.
In a courtroom in Nevada, a family tragedy is playing out. A young girl died of complications from diabetes, and now her mother is charged with murder.
CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you intend for your daughter to die from this disease?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely not. Absolutely not. I loved my daughter.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Is this woman a murderer, as prosecutors charge, or is she, like so many of us, just a parent who's not perfect?
Sheryl Botsit's (ph) 11-year-old daughter, Ariel (ph), died when her diabetes spun out of control. And now prosecutors in Nevada have charged her mother with first-degree murder.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This death was senseless. It should not have happened. And it happened through the actions of her mother.
COHEN: Dr. Ellen Wright Clayton, a pediatrician at Vanderbilt University who is not affiliated with the case, said Ariel's blood sugar levels were indeed extremely high. But Dr. Clayton, who's also a lawyer, was shocked by the first-degree murder charge.
DR. ELLEN WRIGHT CLAYTON, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY: I think that that is an extremely heavy rap to lay on her...
COHEN: But prosecutors say it's not too heavy at all. They charge that Sheryl Botsit didn't test her daughter's blood sugar levels often enough, and didn't even pick up her insulin prescriptions for several months.
But Botsit and her lawyers say she did everything she could to control the disease.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Was she a caring mother? Yes. Did she manage it? She managed it as best she could under the education that she was given. COHEN: And now the case has some worried that parents will be called criminals if they're less than perfect at managing complicated diseases. For example, diabetes requires checking blood sugars and taking insulin shots often several times a day. But prosecutors say parents needn't worry, that Sheryl Botsit is an extreme case.
VICKI MONROE, PROSECUTOR: It is a crime to abuse your child in this state. Sheryl Botsit abused her child by not taking care of her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a difficult time. It was a tragedy to lose my daughter...
COHEN: Botsit's case is scheduled to go to trial in March.
Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: A plea in the first trial tied to the Madrid train bombings. That tops our look at what's happening around the world in the uplink. The 16-year-old has plead guilty, 16 years old. He admits he helped transport dynamite used in the attacks on March 11. His punishment, six years in a juvenile detention center, a deal from the prosecutor. The bombings killed 191 people and were blamed on Muslim militants with ties to al Qaeda.
In southern Brazil, a fuel tanker explodes. One crew member is confirmed dead, three others missing, feared dead, 20 others are injured. The vessel caught fire as it was loading methanol, and then half of it sank.
Near Cape Town, South Africa, now, a great white shark kills a swimmer. The victim, a 77-year-old woman. Witnesses say the shark was huge, bigger than a helicopter, they said. The search for her body has been called off. All that's been found is her red bathing cap.
Okinawa, Japan, now, help for a disabled dolphin. Bridgestone Tire Company has made Fuji the dolphin a rubber tailfin, the first of its kind, to help her swim better. Get this, the tail is made of the same material used for Formula One racecar tires. No comment from Fuji.
That's tonight's uplink.
An investigation under way. Why did a U.S. Marine shoot a wounded Iraqi insurgent? Was it a justified killing, or a crime?
Kobe Bryant gets ready for court. The rape charge is dropped, but the civil suit by his accuser revs up.
And the search for eternal youth. Tonight, forget plastic surgery, these new high-tech treatments may save you from going under the knife.
360 continues. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: 360 next, the fog of war, and a Marine is under investigation. What would you have done in his place? First, another quick look at tonight's top stories in "The Reset."
In Washington, senior administration sources say Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge is planning to step down. However, department spokesman says it's news to him, and added that Ridge has not yet made any decisions about his future. Ridge himself is far away from all the buzz. He's in Hawaii to promote a security program.
On Capitol Hill, Senate Democrats have elected Senator Harry Reid of Nevada to replace outgoing minority leader Tom Daschle, who lost his bid for reelection two weeks ago. Reid is pledging to work with the Republican majority, saying, quote, "I always would rather dance than fight," but he added that he does know how to fight.
In Mosul, Iraq, U.S. and Iraqi forces have stepped up strikes against insurgents. Troops have closed off all bridges in the city, but the operation is not said to have the same intensity as the battles in Falluja.
And it's those battles in Falluja we want to talk about now. You know, in this age of high-tech war and surgical strikes as they call them, it's easy to forget that war is essentially a dirty business, and what happens on the battlefield is not always immediately clear.
We're about to show you a video which has sparked a military investigation. Here's what we know. On Friday, Marines had come under fire from insurgents in a mosque in Falluja. They killed 10, wounded five. On Saturday, there were reports the insurgents had returned to that mosque. A different Marine unit went after them, but found only the wounded men inside.
Here's what happened. But we warn you, the images you're about to see are graphic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are the guys from yesterday. All right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are the ones from yesterday.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are the wounded that they never picked up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's dead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's (EXPLETIVE DELETED) faking he's dead!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, he's breathing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's faking he's (EXPLETIVE DELETED) dead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's dead now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: CNN is choosing not to show the actual killing. As we said, an investigation is under way.
It's easy to second-guess, of course, what happened, but we wanted to hear from those on the front lines, so earlier today I talked with a reporter who's been right in the middle of the Falluja operation, "Time" magazine's Michael Ware.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Michael, what reaction have you heard from soldiers, from Marines about this shooting incident?
MICHAEL WARE, TIME MAGAZINE: Well, it's been a mixed reaction. Obviously, some of the hardened men among them don't bat an eye at an incident like this. To them, this is war. The closer you get to the front line with the soldiers, the less trouble they will have.
To the rear, perhaps they may see a problem, but to the men who are fighting down the insurgents, this is a part of the fight.
COOPER: And describe what that fight has been like. I mean, you were out, you know, house to house in Falluja, you know, what I've heard repeatedly is, you know, we didn't know where the enemy was, someone could be pretending to be dead, you know, booby traps were laid all around. Describe the way the fighting has been like.
WARE: The insurgents lay trap after trap, waiting for the U.S. forces to walk or roll into them into their vehicles. Some of the deadly devices that were laid out were, as the soldiers described them, ingenious, be they doors that were booby-trapped when they're opened, be they the side of a house rigged to blow once you enter it.
COOPER: The Marine in question was heard on the tape saying that he thought the insurgent who was shot was pretending to be dead. Does that make sense to you?
WARE: Absolutely. This is well within the play book of the insurgents. It's certainly something that we've been familiar with before, and that we've seen men -- American soldiers fall prey to here in Iraq. This is a very complicated issue, and it's not something that can be easily judged by those of us who weren't in that room, or those who have not experienced a taste of this terrible, dreadful battle. It's certainly not something to be judged by people sitting in the ivory towers of glistening buildings back in New York.
COOPER: Michael, how much of this insurgency at this point do you really think is foreign fighters?
WARE: Certainly they are a growing contingent. Their ranks have swelled throughout this year, and I see no sign of abatement for it. The true bulk of the insurgency are still home-grown Iraqis, many of them fighting for a myriad of different reasons, but the cutting edge, the whip hand, the force behind the true momentum now, increasingly is becoming the jihad.
COOPER: Finally, Michael, you know, the U.S. goes to war with rules in place, and laws in place amongst their troops. The insurgents, have they -- do they have rules? Do they have laws?
WARE: The insurgents in many ways know that this is a war being fought in a political field. They themselves tell me that we know that we will not win on the field of battle, that only -- any success we are to have will be in the living rooms of middle America. It will be on the televisions that are playing from the countless satellites here in Iraq. They know that they can't confront the U.S. military, so chip away at it. They believe that their ability, their endurance for taking grave casualties, both civilian and combatant, will outlast our political stamina.
COOPER: Michael Ware, thanks for joining us.
WARE: Thank you, Anderson.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Coming up next on 360, Kobe Bryant's civil case, sued for sexual assault. Will his accuser actually go through with the case?
Also tonight, removing those nasty wrinkles on your lunch break? A look at what some called breakthrough treatments in our special series about the quest for eternal youth.
Plus, a big rumble at an awards ceremony. What's this all about? Well, we'll try to figure it out. We'll have that when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: 360 next, Kobe Bryant's civil suit, civil case. Will there be a settlement? We'll find out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Well, he's been booed, he's been cheered, but Kobe Bryant has managed to keep the distractions from his rape case off the court this season. But in court is of course a much different story. Proceedings in the civil suit brought by the woman accusing Bryant of sexual assault begin in Eagle, Colorado tomorrow. And while the stakes may be lower, so, too, is the burden of proof. CNN's national correspondent Gary Tuchman reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kobe Bryant at the American Music Awards this week. The court of public opinion is still out, 2 1/2 months after prosecutors decided not to proceed with a criminal rape trial against him.
But a different court will now deal with the situation. The case enters a civil courtroom, where Bryant would be compelled to testify in a trial. As of now, the case will be heard by Federal Judge Richard Matsch, the same judge who presided over the Oklahoma City bombing trials of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols.
However, the accuser's attorneys say they might ask for the case to be moved to Bryant's home state of California, where there are no caps on financial awards.
But there might not even be a trial, because of a possibility of an agreement between both sides.
CRAIG SILVERMAN, COLORADO ATTORNEY: Kobe Bryant has some incentive to settle and move on with his life. On the other hand, he could seek vindication through a trial, a civil trial, be it in California or Colorado.
TUCHMAN: One of the woman's attorney says, John Clune, says she wants to get her story out there. If it settles, it settles. If not, she will testify. There will not be a resolution like the criminal case.
(on camera): In that case, the woman said she no longer wanted to go forward, but in a civil trial all she would need is preponderance of the evidence, not proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Judge Matsch is expected to ask both sides during this first hearing if they have talked of a settlement.
Gary Tuchman, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Covering all the angels of the Kobe Bryant civil suit for us in "Justice Served" are Court TV anchor Lisa Bloom and defense attorney Jayne Weintraub, who we're pleased to actually have in New York this time. She's usually in Miami.
JAYNE WEINTRAUB, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Thank you, Anderson.
COOPER: Thanks for being with us.
Jayne, let me start off with you. I guess, as Gary Tuchman said, we're going to find out tomorrow whether there have been any settlement talks. What does your gut tell you? You think there have been?
WEINTRAUB: Yes, I'm sure there have. And for Kobe Bryant's behalf -- on his behalf, they should. I mean, the cost of litigation alone will exceed the amount of damages that she could get in Colorado, which is $700,000 some odd.
COOPER: That's the most she could get?
WEINTRAUB: That's the most she can get in Colorado, which is why she claims that she might bring the suit now in California.
COOPER: Because the -- the...
WEINTRAUB: More money.
COOPER: Lisa, do you think Kobe Bryant will settle? Would want to settle?
LISA BLOOM, COURT TV: Well, I think he should want to settle, as Jayne said, but it's curious that he has not settled thus far. And look, Anderson, he may look at it this way -- all of the negative facts about him have already come to light at this point. He may decide to stand and fight it, thinking, what more does he have to loose? If he's vindicated...
COOPER: When you say negative factors, what, that he had lied to police that he had an affair?
BLOOM: Well, that, and the fact that he's been accused of rape by this woman. I mean, that there was an accusation out there alone I think is significant. On the other hand, if this case goes to a trial, and it's only, quote/unquote, a civil case, a finding by 12 jurors, even in a civil case, could be very damaging to Kobe's career.
Look at O.J. Simpson. He's always going to be said to have been legally responsible for the deaths of two people, because a civil jury said that.
WEINTRAUB: But Kobe is (UNINTELLIGIBLE). He is in the heart of his success, and that's the difference. O.J. was already done being an athlete. He's the star of the L.A. Lakers. He's very much out there. I think it's a distraction to his personal life and his professional life. If I were his lawyer, I would advise him to settle, just for a nuisance value. I certainly understand that he doesn't want to surrender to a false accusation, though.
COOPER: Let's take a look, though, at something the accuser -- the accuser's attorney said, I guess before the criminal case was dismissed. They had put her through sort of a mock testimony. This is what her attorney, how Lin Wood described that mock testimony. Quote: "She was spontaneously trying to answer questions she had never considered. They tore down her confidence in an exercise that should be designed to build up her confidence."
I mean, if that's true, isn't that an indication she would probably want to try to settle?
BLOOM: It's an absurd criticism. First of all, this mock cross- examination was preparation for her testimony. You don't prepare someone for the preparation for their testimony. And Lin Wood, if he had a problem with the way the prosecutors were preparing her, he was representing her. He should have jumped in and prepared her. You know, clearly, Anderson, there was a tug of war between her civil attorneys and the prosecutors. I think she was really caught in the middle, to her detriment. Now only the civil case is left.
COOPER: It's nice to be able to see Jayne Weintraub roll her eyes in person.
WEINTRAUB: Please, caught in the middle? She couldn't wait to grab that brass ring for money. For justice, she didn't want to be traumatized and she didn't want to put herself through that whole ordeal, but for money she's going to be deposed, interrogatories, she's going to be out there, her name, her family, she's going to be put through the ringer as far as her history and what she does.
(CROSSTALK)
BLOOM: ... police within 12 hours of the incident, which was the right thing to do. The civil attorneys...
(CROSSTALK)
BLOOM: Well, the civil attorneys came in later, though, and I think gave her some very poor advice. A 19-, 20-year-old woman never caught up in the legal system before, now all she has left is the civil case. I think that was a big mistake for her to drop the criminal case.
COOPER: And Jayne, you think if the case did move to California, there's no way she'd win?
WEINTRAUB: I think so. I think that's his town. I mean, he is the L.A. Lakers. She's not the hometown girl there.
BLOOM: On the other hand...
WEINTRAUB: He's got the home town advantage.
BLOOM: ... the damages are unlimited in California. There's no $700,000 cap like there is in Colorado. She could get millions upon millions in California.
(CROSSTALK)
WEINTRAUB: ... stopped. She's 20 years old. What are her damages, come on?
BLOOM: For being raped? Are you kidding me?
(CROSSTALK)
BLOOM: If she was raped and if she proves it, clearly she has got damages.
COOPER: What are the chances the case would move to California?
WEINTRAUB: I think very slim.
COOPER: Why? Under what grounds?
BLOOM: She could sue either where the incident occurred, Colorado, or where the defendant resides, California. That's her choice. Where there is unlimited damages available in California, it makes sense to move it there.
WEINTRAUB: But she's already made the choice. She initiated this lawsuit in Colorado. Now she realizes, oh, I can get even more money, oh, boy, let's go to L.A.
BLOOM: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and move to California...
(CROSSTALK)
BLOOM: ... so she could clearly do that. Her lawyers would have to get local counsel in California. We might have another tug of war with new lawyers brought in.
COOPER: All right, we've got to go. Lisa Bloom, thanks very much. And Jayne Weintraub, good to see you.
WEINTRAUB: Thank you.
COOPER: Well, 360 next, the search for eternal youth. Ah, yes. Can it be found in a laser? A look at the new treatment that some hope turns back time. Part of our special series.
Also tonight, an award show like you've never seen it. A fight breaks out at a hip-hop ceremony. Word.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Before we do the Botox, have you thought about a freshening chemical peel? It takes 15 minutes and it can make you look 10 to 20 years younger?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 15 minutes later, Samantha seemed to have it all...peeled off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: I miss "Sex and the City." That was Samantha from "Sex and the City" having a little problem with what some call lunchtime facelifts. Lucille Ball once said the secret to staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly and most importantly lie about your age.
When lying isn't enough, many people turn to plastic surgery, but some who consider that too risky are hoping that a beam of light is going to turn back time. CNN's Adaora Udoji has more on so-called breakthrough treatments as we continue our series, "Eternal Youth, America's Obsession With Staying Young."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rapidly evolving technology may have just made that search for fountains of youth a little easier. The newest procedure like this Fraxel (ph) treatment need no scalpels or operating rooms, just a sophisticated laser.
GAIL PARKER, LASER TREATMENT PATIENT: It's not that people look at me and say, what did you have done? It's more, gee, you look great. UDOJI: The laser, says Dr. Roy Geranimo (ph) can improve wrinkles and skin tones in minutes with progress taking one session for some, five for others like Gail Parker, a middle school principal.
The key to these new devices is that they're non-invasive. There's no wounding of the skin, and there's no or limited downtime for the patients, in a sense that they can go back to normal activities without significant concern for how they look.
UDOJI: That's true, doctors say, of photomodulation, which can help skin cells act younger at $100 a pop. For tightening skin and removing brown spots, a treatment called Thermag (ph). But doctors warn they're not magic wands. The treatments do not work for everyone, and there are potential side effects.
DR. LAWRENCE BASS, MINIMALLY INVASIVE PLASTIC SURGERY PROGRAM, NYU: Risks of all laser treatments include infection, redness, hyperpigmentation. It's very important when you're having any kind of medical treatment that it be supervised by or performed by an M.D. or physician.
UDOJI: Gail Parker says Fraxel lasers worked for her, and she might even do it again.
Do you see somebody a little different?
PARKER: Yes. I think I like what I see. It makes me feel like I can work one more year.
UDOJI: Adaora Udoji, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Oh, sorry. Our special series continues tomorrow with a look at the long life diet. How some say calorie restriction is the secret weapon against aging. On Thursday, youth in a bottle. Can pills turn back time? And Friday, young at all costs, the price people pay in our ever-growing youth culture.
We're big fans of awards shows on this program. Where else can you see so many celebrities congratulating themselves for being famous. But last night at the Vibe Awards, not a lot of love in the room. In fact a fight broke out that had some of hip-hoppers saying -- or I should say some hip-hoppers saying, yo, yo, don't hit me in the face. CNN entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The fracas broke out as Quincy Jones and Snoop Dogg were about to present rapper Dr. Dre with a lifetime achievement award. A camera captured the free-for-all as chairs were hurled and punches were thrown. Jones and Snoop Dogg watched as the melee unfolded. Jones was escorted from the stage as security officers tried to stop the fighting. One guard sprayed mace at the crowd.
KEVIN WASHINGTON, WITNESS: I peeped over, it was a big fight on stage.
QUESTION: How many guys were running around?
WASHINGTON: It had to be at least 20, 30. It was a lot of guys.
(CROSSTALK)
VARGAS: According to "The Los Angeles Times," the incident began when someone punched Dr. Dre in the head. Authorities say one person was stabbed during the skirmish.
While that was going on inside, some guests scrambled from the building. Later, the president of "Vibe" magazine, which hosts the awards, downplayed the incident.
KENARD GIBBS, PRESIDENT, "VIBE": What happened is that there was a disturbance within the venue, nothing major, but, you know, it very quickly erupted into various people moving, OK.
VARGAS: When order was restored, the taping resumed. Snoop issued an ominous invitation from the podium.
SNOOP DOGG, MUSICIAN: If you all want problems, me and my crew, we want problems, too. So, leave Dre alone and come see us.
VARGAS: A defiant Dr. Dre eventually accepted his award.
DR. DRE, RAPPER/PRODUCER: We going to keep it moving. We going to keep it cracking. And ain't nothing going to stop me, man. Believe it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VARGAS: The vibe is a little more tranquil now outside the Bradford hangar at the Santa Monica Airport where the Vibe Awards took place. Authorities say their investigation into the fracas is continuing. Sibila Vargas, CNN, Santa Monica, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Apparently a short time ago police the fight did begin when a man punched Dr. Dre. Someone then stabbed that man. Authorities are looking for David Darnell Brown, a rapper known as Young Buck in connection with the stabbing. The stabbing victim is in stable condition at an L.A. hospital. The beat goes on.
360 next, remembering Margaret Hassan, a British and Iraqi citizen, apparently killed by her captors in Iraq. The sadness to the Nth Degree.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Tonight taking sadness to the Nth Degree. Another hostage has been killed in Iraq. Every such death is deplorable to say the very least, but this one seems hardest of all to understand. Margaret Hassan had lived in Iraq for 30 years, was of the place and of the people, or so she must have thought. She was an Iraqi, as well as a British citizen. Her husband was Iraqi. The Iraqi people were her life's work. Margaret Hassan was the in-country director of the organization aptly called Care International. Unlike so many other hostages, she could speak with her captors, could understand every nuance of what they were saying, could fluently and easily respond, and herself make whatever points she needed or wanted to make.
She had been doing that, after all, talking with Iraqis, living among them for three decades. It must have been second nature to her as unremarkable as sitting down with someone in her native Ireland, which is what makes her death so unbearably sad. Margaret Hassan perfectly understood whoever killed her, just as he, we think it was a man, perfectly understood her.
If understanding cannot help, what can? I'm Anderson Cooper. Thanks for watching 360. Coming up next, "PAULA ZAHN NOW."
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 16, 2004 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: Good evening from New York. I'm Anderson Cooper.
Tonight, the cabinet shuffle. Condi Rice gets the nod for secretary of state. What other changes will come next?
360 starts now.
The president makes it official. He wants Condoleezza Rice to be the new secretary of state. But what's her track record? And will her unwavering support of the president help or hinder U.S. foreign policy?
An investigation underway. Why did a U.S. Marine shoot a wounded Iraqi insurgent? Was it a justified killing, or a crime?
Kobe Bryant gets ready for court. The rape charge is dropped, but the civil suit by his accuser revs up.
A mother charged with an unspeakable crime, murdering her diabetic daughter. But was a crime really committed? Or is this mother being unjustly accused?
And the search for eternal youth. Tonight, forget plastic surgery, these new high-tech treatments may save you from going under the knife.
ANNOUNCER: Live from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is ANDERSON COOPER 360.
COOPER: And a good evening to you.
The aftershocks continue. Condoleezza Rice is nominated to replace Colin Powell as secretary of state, Alberto Gonzales to replace John Ashcroft, the secretaries of education, energy, agriculture, and commerce have all said they're leaving. A big step down for some, for others an even bigger step up.
CNN senior White House correspondent John King has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the Roosevelt Room, tapping one of his closest confidants and a veteran White House insider for a critical and very public new role. GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Secretary of state is America's face to the world, and in Dr. Rice, the world will see the strength, the grace, and the decency of our country.
KING: Rice teared up as the president talked about her upbringing in the segregated South and a lesson from her parents he says guides her worldview.
BUSH: That human dignity is the gift of God, and that the ideals of America would overcome oppression.
KING: Both the president and Rice praised outgoing Secretary of State Colin Powell, and she immediately tried to calm fears one of her jobs is to stifle anti-Bush dissent in the State Department's far- flung bureaucracy.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE NOMINEE: I have the utmost admiration and respect for their skill, their professionalism, and their dedication.
KING: With Rice off to State, Mr. Bush also elevated her deputy, Stephen Hadley, to national security adviser. It was another reminder of the premium Mr. Bush puts on loyalty and of his perhaps unrivaled trust in the 50-year-old former Stanford provost who would be the second woman and second African-American secretary of state.
There is little doubt Rice will be confirmed by the Senate, but not without first facing tough questions about her judgment and management skills.
DAVID ROTHKOPF, FORMER DEPUTY UNDERSECRETARY: They dropped the ball in terms of pre-9/11 preparation for terrorism. They dropped the ball in terms of postconflict stabilization of Iraq. They dropped the ball in terms of managing intelligence flows. And now she's going to a much bigger bureaucracy.
KING: Powell was known around the world as someone who would listen and convey to the president views he might not want to hear. Rice, on the other hand, is known to have shared the president's anger at Germany and especially France for opposing the Iraq war.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: And the challenges are many, from war in Iraq, to new efforts at Middle East peacemaking, to the nuclear standoffs with Iran and North Korea. And for the woman dubbed warrior princess by her staff following the 9/11 attacks, the basic question is this, will she be a rubber stamp for her friend the president, or step now from his shadow and add a unique voice of her own to American diplomacy, Anderson.
COOPER: We'll talk more about the warrior princess with "CROSSFIRE" guys a little later on 360. John, thanks for that.
This just in. Word of another resignation. CNN has confirmed that Air Force Secretary James Roche will be stepping down, and domestic policy adviser Margaret Spellings is the president's choice to replace outgoing education secretary Ron Paige.
In Iraq, the good news is, there is less and less fighting in Falluja, west of Baghdad. The bad news, there is more and more in and around Mosul in the Kurdish north. The U.S. Army in Mosul announced all bridges are closed to (UNINTELLIGIBLE) civilian vehicle and pedestrian traffic, and that its operations, quote, "are targeting isolated pockets of insurgent fighters that continue to operate in the city."
The terrible difficulty of this, of this, of course, of this kind of fighting has been underscored by an incident in Falluja captured on videotape. The incident, in which an American Marine shoots a wounded Iraqi insurgent, is now under investigation. The question, was it justified, or was it a crime?
CNN senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre looks closer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The video, taken by an American television reporter, indicates as many as four wounded people may have been shot to death in the mosque on Saturday. The reporter hears gunshots as he approaches the mosque.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you shoot them?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes, man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did they have any weapons on them?
MCINTYRE: As the reporter follows the Marines inside, he sees men he recognizes as insurgent fighters who were wounded and disarmed the day before, dying of what appear to be fresh wounds. Then he witnesses another shooting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's (expletive deleted) faking he's dead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, he's breathing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's (expletive deleted), he's (expletive deleted) dead.
MCINTYRE: Human rights groups that have reviewed the tape think it's a clear war crime.
STEVE CRAWSHAW, LONDON DIRECTOR, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: What we're seeing here, and we can see it in the body language of the soldiers, is they do not feel under threat.
And really, every single soldier and every single commander, every soldier on the ground, knows it's an absolute basic of warfare that when you have a wounded person who's not a threat of them, it's absolutely prohibited to further injure or to kill that person. It's a real basic of international law.
MCINTYRE: The investigation will look into all four deaths and the actions of all the Marines involved.
LT. GEN. JOHN SATTLER, U.S. MARINES: Let me make it perfectly clear, we follow the law of armed conflict, and we hold ourselves to a high standard of accountability.
MCINTYRE: The video does not answer all the key questions. The wounded had been left behind by other Marines. Could they have gotten weapons or set booby traps? Did the Marine know that?
EUGENE POWELL, MILITARY LAW ATTORNEY: Was there a reasonable apprehension of serious bodily injury or death on the part of the person who pulled the trigger here? And that would trump, in my opinion, any question of whether the person -- whether the deceased was a prisoner, was wounded, or anything.
BRIG. GEN. JAMES MARKS (RET.), U.S. ARMY: A buddy the day before had been killed in a very similar incident, where an insurgent who was playing dead had, in fact, been booby-trapped, and a number of Marines had been injured and wounded, and one Marine was killed. So you keep all of that in context.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE: The Pentagon says if there's any evidence that U.S. troops have wrongfully killed Iraqis, those crimes will be prosecuted. They don't have to be caught on videotape. In fact, just this week, a second lieutenant in the Army was charged with premeditated murder for the death of an Iraqi in Sadr City, Anderson.
COOPER: All right, Jamie, we'll continue to follow this story. Thanks very much.
We're also going to talk to a reporter who's been with the troops in the front lines during the fighting in Falluja, and vicious fighting it has been. We're going to talk to him a little later on 360, find out what the mood of the troops is in relation to this video and what they think about it.
Insurgents in Iraq, of course, don't have to abide by any rules. Today, even more evidence of that. Here's a news note. It now seems certain that Margaret Hassan, this woman, the Irish-born Iraqi citizen who was CARE International's director, was murdered by those who took her hostage last month. A videotape delivered to Al Jazeera evidently shows Ms. Hassan, who was in her 60s and had lived in Iraqi for 30 years, being shot point-blank in the head. Al Jazeera has not aired the tape.
We'll have more about Ms. Hassan later in the program as well.
As if the news out of and about Iraq were not already disturbing enough, there comes this story about a man who tried to kill himself in Washington yesterday, a man who says he was working for this country against its enemies.
CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Muhammad Alonzi (ph) remains in serious condition after setting himself on fire outside the White House Monday. Before attempting suicide, he had sent a letter to "The Washington Post," saying he was going to "burn his body in an unexpected place."
Alonzi had recently talked to the newspaper about his work as a federal informant, after his name was leaked to the press. In his letter, he claims the FBI ignored his request to see his family before testifying in a terror trial against fellow Yemeni Muhammad al-Moyad (ph), in New York.
The FBI would not comment, but government officials tell CNN they believe Alonzi was treated honorably.
GEORGE BAGREE, FORMER FBI COUNTERTERRORISM AGENT: The claims can be made by the individual, and obviously the truth is somewhere in the middle. But there are extremely detailed and close scrutiny of all agents that run informants.
ARENA: Government sources say Alonzi's claim that the FBI paid him $100,000 last year is, quote, "about right." And they say his request to see his family was not ignored, that several options were proposed. One included having him meet with his family not in Yemen but in a country near there. Officials say Alonzi rejected the offer.
At a time when the FBI and other government agencies are in need of reliable informants, this episode doesn't help.
BAGREE: Well, potential informants out there, around the world, whether it's in the United States or anywhere else, they see the media in this, they see the representation, and they're going to be hesitant.
ARENA: Alonzi was, by most accounts, very useful to the FBI. A government affidavit described him as someone who provided reliable information and had, quote, "contributed in part to the arrests of 20 individuals and the seizure of over $1 million."
(on camera): It's unclear what impact his suicide attempt will have on the trial he was supposed to testify in, or any other ongoing investigations.
Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, NASA chases Mach 10 with possibly the fastest jet ever. That is just one of the many stories we're following right now cross-country.
Over the Pacific, the unmanned X-43-A scramjet, they may want to work on a better name for that, attempted to reach a world record, 7,000 miles per hour. By all accounts, it was a success, but there is no confirmation yet. The technology may eventually be used to develop hypersonic missiles in airplanes or even reusable space-launch vehicles.
Phoenix, Arizona, now, love lost, infidelity, attempted murder, and now prison time. This woman, Wendy Glass, faces more than seven years behind bars for conspiring with her lover to try to kill her husband. And what made the plot so strange, both men are Marines, and while in Kuwait, the lover threw a grenade at her husband. The husband survived, even pleaded with the judge to have mercy on his cheating wife. The lover is already serving 25 years to life.
Las Vegas, Nevada, now, the legendary Desert Inn Hotel no more. Take a look, 233 pounds of explosives brought down the 64-year-old hotel, 10 seconds, that's all it took. Hotel was destroyed to make room for new megaresorts. Progress, they call it.
Hollywood, Florida, holy grilled cheese. Take a look. This sandwich, said to bear the image of the Virgin Mary, is back on eBay. That's right, the Internet (UNINTELLIGIBLE), do you see it? (UNINTELLIGIBLE) see (UNINTELLIGIBLE) face there (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in the upper corner.
The Internet auction Web site has pulled the item Sunday after a top bid of $22,000, saying the whole thing is a hoax. The sandwich owner says no way. For 10 years she's kept it in a clear plastic box, and she says there's not even a speck of mold. Last we checked, the top bid was $99 million, but we have a feeling that won't really last very long on eBay. Well, there while you can.
That's a look at stories cross-country tonight.
360 next, Condoleezza Rice as secretary of state. Paul Begala says she's utterly incompetent. Bob Novak says he's nuts. Not for the first time he says that. Two views on the president's new choice.
And a half-naked desperate housewife, the NFL, and an ABC apology? All happened with Monday night football last night. Find out why the FCC is investigating.
And the Kobe Bryant civil case. He's being sued for sexual assault. But will his accuser go through with the case? We'll take a closer look.
All that ahead. First, let's take a look at your picks, the most popular looks at stories right now on CNN.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICE: I look forward, with the consent of the Senate, to pursuing your hopeful and ambitious agenda as secretary of state. Mr. President, it is an honor to be asked to serve your administration and my country once again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, no one seems to doubt that national security adviser Condoleezza Rice is remarkably intelligent. She entered college at age 15 and had earned a doctorate in international affairs by age 26. But there are plenty of Democrats questioning whether her loyalty to the president will be a plus or minus when she enters the diplomatic arena.
Two views tonight on Rice and what the president is trying to do with his new cabinet picks. I talked earlier today with "CROSSFIRE" hosts Paul Begala and Bob Novak.
Paul, is Condoleezza Rice a good choice for secretary of state?
PAUL BEGALA, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": No. She's been in charge -- directly, the president's put her directly in charge of the management of the occupation and reconstruction of Iraq, which has been a colossal debacle, the biggest foreign policy debacle since 9/11, which also occurred on her watch.
And there's voluminous evidence that she ignored warnings from Richard Clarke, the top counterterrorism official and others.
So I, she brings really a sort of impressive visage, but if you look at the real record, she's been utterly incompetent as national security adviser.
COOPER: Bob, is it a record of incompetence?
ROBERT NOVAK, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": It's ridiculous. The argument against her, and I think it's a silly argument, is that she's too close to the president. But you're supposed to be close to the president if you're secretary of state. They've had a lot of bad situations for secretaries of state who are not close to the president. And when you have a secretary of state (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Colin Powell with disagreements, what, what change did Colin Powell have in policy?
This is, the policy is made by the person that the American people elect, and he appoints a secretary of state to execute his policy.
COOPER: That sort of thinking with one mind is the criticism that former secretary of state Lawrence Eagleburger made, both about Condoleezza Rice, but also about her replacement or her proposed replacement, Stephen Hadley, her former adviser. Let me just play that clip, and then let's talk about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE EAGLEBURGER, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Everybody is going to speak the same language, talk the same things, and I think what that means is that whatever influence, for instance, Colin Powell had is going to be much less under this -- under these new circumstances...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Bob, does that make sense to you? NOVAK: No, it doesn't make any sense at all. Larry Eagleburger, who I love, he's a good friend of mine, he spent too much time in Charlottesville and not enough in Washington lately. He was deputy secretary of state under James Baker, who was secretary of state when the senior George Bush was president.
Now, there were nobody who were closer, and I think Paul will agree with me, in Jimmy Baker and Daddy Bush. I think you're better off when the secretary of state reflects the president, and he's not somebody out in left field or right field going on his own.
COOPER: Paul, a confirmation battle, though, it's not going to be much of a battle, is it?
BEGALA: No, no, she'll be overwhelming confirmed, and I think that's a tragedy.
Again, what I come back to is the stunning incompetence. The president turned to her to manage this occupation, and it's been a disaster. And I look back today on the 9/11 commission report. And time after time, she misled that commission. I mean, she just didn't get things wrong, she misled them. She told them things that were simply factually false.
Case in point, she said, We had no inkling in the presidential daily briefing of August 6 of that year that there would be an attack against the United States. Well, then a commissioner asked her, Well, what was the title of that briefing, Dr. Rice? And she had to admit, Well, the title was, "Bin Laden Determined to Attack in the United States."
I mean, it's just a flat-out falsehood.
NOVAK: Well, it wasn't (UNINTELLIGIBLE), it's a matter of interpretation. But the -- this is an example of the extreme partisanship by the Howard Dean type of Democrats where they -- this election has been held, they gave a vote of confidence for the president.
You may not like that vote of confidence, but they did. And to fight these same tired battles, I think the American people get weary. The thing that's interesting to me is, I haven't heard that from any responsible Democrats, only from Paul Begala.
BEGALA: Well, it's called having principles. Last week, I said I hope all the Democrats vote for Alberto Gonzales to be the attorney general, because he's highly qualified, and to my knowledge, he has never lied to us.
COOPER: We're going to leave it there. Bob Novak and Paul "Howard Dean" Begala, thanks very much.
Well, 360 next, murder by neglect. A mother charged after the death of her daughter. Did she go from caretaker to killer, or is she simply the scapegoat for a ravaging disease?
Also tonight, the fog of war in Falluja. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) urban combat, always grisly. Will a lone Marine, though, take the fall?
And a little later, a man stabbed at an award show? The Vibe Music Awards last night, the Oscars it wasn't.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: So last night, as some viewers of NFL football gathered round their sets ready to watch grown man slam into each other, they saw a striptease of sorts. Now, violence is one thing, but the suggestion of sex, well, some viewers found that outrageous, and they complained to the FCC. It was supposed to be a promotional tie-in for the ABC hit "Desperate Housewives." But now it's the subject of a government investigation.
CNN's Brian Todd investigates what all the fuss is about inside the box.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got par sales and the cowboys and Dunavan needs them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Millions of viewers saw it, and enough of them were mortified that we now have a full- fledged controversy and an FCC investigation on our hands.
This opening skit, which, we have to make clear, is a spoof, shows actress Nicolette Sheridan of ABC's hit show "Desperate Housewives" provocatively approaching Philadelphia Eagles star receiver Terrell Owens in an empty locker room, and imploring him to skip the upcoming game for her.
Moments later, she drops her towel for a split second, revealing a bare back, and jumps into Owens's arms.
CNN is told both ABC and the Federal Communications Commission have received numerous complaints from viewers about the skit. In a statement, ABC said, "We have heard from many of our viewers about last night's Monday night football opening segment, and we agree that the placement was inappropriate. We apologize."
When we asked an official at the NFL office about the reaction there when they saw the skit, he said they were displeased, and they've had conversations with officials at ABC. He said the NFL had no advance knowledge of the spot.
In a statement, the NFL said, quote, "ABC's opening was inappropriate and unsuitable for our Monday night football audience. While ABC may have gained attention for one of its other shows, the NFL and its fans lost."
We also spoke with an official of the FCC's enforcement bureau, who told us the commission is investigating the complaints it has received and is determining whether ABC may have violated its decency rules.
If the commission determines those rules have been broken, ABC could be fined.
And that's a look inside the box.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: And I think we've all learned a lesson.
In a courtroom in Nevada, a family tragedy is playing out. A young girl died of complications from diabetes, and now her mother is charged with murder.
CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you intend for your daughter to die from this disease?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely not. Absolutely not. I loved my daughter.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Is this woman a murderer, as prosecutors charge, or is she, like so many of us, just a parent who's not perfect?
Sheryl Botsit's (ph) 11-year-old daughter, Ariel (ph), died when her diabetes spun out of control. And now prosecutors in Nevada have charged her mother with first-degree murder.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This death was senseless. It should not have happened. And it happened through the actions of her mother.
COHEN: Dr. Ellen Wright Clayton, a pediatrician at Vanderbilt University who is not affiliated with the case, said Ariel's blood sugar levels were indeed extremely high. But Dr. Clayton, who's also a lawyer, was shocked by the first-degree murder charge.
DR. ELLEN WRIGHT CLAYTON, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY: I think that that is an extremely heavy rap to lay on her...
COHEN: But prosecutors say it's not too heavy at all. They charge that Sheryl Botsit didn't test her daughter's blood sugar levels often enough, and didn't even pick up her insulin prescriptions for several months.
But Botsit and her lawyers say she did everything she could to control the disease.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Was she a caring mother? Yes. Did she manage it? She managed it as best she could under the education that she was given. COHEN: And now the case has some worried that parents will be called criminals if they're less than perfect at managing complicated diseases. For example, diabetes requires checking blood sugars and taking insulin shots often several times a day. But prosecutors say parents needn't worry, that Sheryl Botsit is an extreme case.
VICKI MONROE, PROSECUTOR: It is a crime to abuse your child in this state. Sheryl Botsit abused her child by not taking care of her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a difficult time. It was a tragedy to lose my daughter...
COHEN: Botsit's case is scheduled to go to trial in March.
Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: A plea in the first trial tied to the Madrid train bombings. That tops our look at what's happening around the world in the uplink. The 16-year-old has plead guilty, 16 years old. He admits he helped transport dynamite used in the attacks on March 11. His punishment, six years in a juvenile detention center, a deal from the prosecutor. The bombings killed 191 people and were blamed on Muslim militants with ties to al Qaeda.
In southern Brazil, a fuel tanker explodes. One crew member is confirmed dead, three others missing, feared dead, 20 others are injured. The vessel caught fire as it was loading methanol, and then half of it sank.
Near Cape Town, South Africa, now, a great white shark kills a swimmer. The victim, a 77-year-old woman. Witnesses say the shark was huge, bigger than a helicopter, they said. The search for her body has been called off. All that's been found is her red bathing cap.
Okinawa, Japan, now, help for a disabled dolphin. Bridgestone Tire Company has made Fuji the dolphin a rubber tailfin, the first of its kind, to help her swim better. Get this, the tail is made of the same material used for Formula One racecar tires. No comment from Fuji.
That's tonight's uplink.
An investigation under way. Why did a U.S. Marine shoot a wounded Iraqi insurgent? Was it a justified killing, or a crime?
Kobe Bryant gets ready for court. The rape charge is dropped, but the civil suit by his accuser revs up.
And the search for eternal youth. Tonight, forget plastic surgery, these new high-tech treatments may save you from going under the knife.
360 continues. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: 360 next, the fog of war, and a Marine is under investigation. What would you have done in his place? First, another quick look at tonight's top stories in "The Reset."
In Washington, senior administration sources say Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge is planning to step down. However, department spokesman says it's news to him, and added that Ridge has not yet made any decisions about his future. Ridge himself is far away from all the buzz. He's in Hawaii to promote a security program.
On Capitol Hill, Senate Democrats have elected Senator Harry Reid of Nevada to replace outgoing minority leader Tom Daschle, who lost his bid for reelection two weeks ago. Reid is pledging to work with the Republican majority, saying, quote, "I always would rather dance than fight," but he added that he does know how to fight.
In Mosul, Iraq, U.S. and Iraqi forces have stepped up strikes against insurgents. Troops have closed off all bridges in the city, but the operation is not said to have the same intensity as the battles in Falluja.
And it's those battles in Falluja we want to talk about now. You know, in this age of high-tech war and surgical strikes as they call them, it's easy to forget that war is essentially a dirty business, and what happens on the battlefield is not always immediately clear.
We're about to show you a video which has sparked a military investigation. Here's what we know. On Friday, Marines had come under fire from insurgents in a mosque in Falluja. They killed 10, wounded five. On Saturday, there were reports the insurgents had returned to that mosque. A different Marine unit went after them, but found only the wounded men inside.
Here's what happened. But we warn you, the images you're about to see are graphic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are the guys from yesterday. All right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are the ones from yesterday.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are the wounded that they never picked up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's dead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's (EXPLETIVE DELETED) faking he's dead!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, he's breathing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's faking he's (EXPLETIVE DELETED) dead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's dead now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: CNN is choosing not to show the actual killing. As we said, an investigation is under way.
It's easy to second-guess, of course, what happened, but we wanted to hear from those on the front lines, so earlier today I talked with a reporter who's been right in the middle of the Falluja operation, "Time" magazine's Michael Ware.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Michael, what reaction have you heard from soldiers, from Marines about this shooting incident?
MICHAEL WARE, TIME MAGAZINE: Well, it's been a mixed reaction. Obviously, some of the hardened men among them don't bat an eye at an incident like this. To them, this is war. The closer you get to the front line with the soldiers, the less trouble they will have.
To the rear, perhaps they may see a problem, but to the men who are fighting down the insurgents, this is a part of the fight.
COOPER: And describe what that fight has been like. I mean, you were out, you know, house to house in Falluja, you know, what I've heard repeatedly is, you know, we didn't know where the enemy was, someone could be pretending to be dead, you know, booby traps were laid all around. Describe the way the fighting has been like.
WARE: The insurgents lay trap after trap, waiting for the U.S. forces to walk or roll into them into their vehicles. Some of the deadly devices that were laid out were, as the soldiers described them, ingenious, be they doors that were booby-trapped when they're opened, be they the side of a house rigged to blow once you enter it.
COOPER: The Marine in question was heard on the tape saying that he thought the insurgent who was shot was pretending to be dead. Does that make sense to you?
WARE: Absolutely. This is well within the play book of the insurgents. It's certainly something that we've been familiar with before, and that we've seen men -- American soldiers fall prey to here in Iraq. This is a very complicated issue, and it's not something that can be easily judged by those of us who weren't in that room, or those who have not experienced a taste of this terrible, dreadful battle. It's certainly not something to be judged by people sitting in the ivory towers of glistening buildings back in New York.
COOPER: Michael, how much of this insurgency at this point do you really think is foreign fighters?
WARE: Certainly they are a growing contingent. Their ranks have swelled throughout this year, and I see no sign of abatement for it. The true bulk of the insurgency are still home-grown Iraqis, many of them fighting for a myriad of different reasons, but the cutting edge, the whip hand, the force behind the true momentum now, increasingly is becoming the jihad.
COOPER: Finally, Michael, you know, the U.S. goes to war with rules in place, and laws in place amongst their troops. The insurgents, have they -- do they have rules? Do they have laws?
WARE: The insurgents in many ways know that this is a war being fought in a political field. They themselves tell me that we know that we will not win on the field of battle, that only -- any success we are to have will be in the living rooms of middle America. It will be on the televisions that are playing from the countless satellites here in Iraq. They know that they can't confront the U.S. military, so chip away at it. They believe that their ability, their endurance for taking grave casualties, both civilian and combatant, will outlast our political stamina.
COOPER: Michael Ware, thanks for joining us.
WARE: Thank you, Anderson.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Coming up next on 360, Kobe Bryant's civil case, sued for sexual assault. Will his accuser actually go through with the case?
Also tonight, removing those nasty wrinkles on your lunch break? A look at what some called breakthrough treatments in our special series about the quest for eternal youth.
Plus, a big rumble at an awards ceremony. What's this all about? Well, we'll try to figure it out. We'll have that when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: 360 next, Kobe Bryant's civil suit, civil case. Will there be a settlement? We'll find out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Well, he's been booed, he's been cheered, but Kobe Bryant has managed to keep the distractions from his rape case off the court this season. But in court is of course a much different story. Proceedings in the civil suit brought by the woman accusing Bryant of sexual assault begin in Eagle, Colorado tomorrow. And while the stakes may be lower, so, too, is the burden of proof. CNN's national correspondent Gary Tuchman reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kobe Bryant at the American Music Awards this week. The court of public opinion is still out, 2 1/2 months after prosecutors decided not to proceed with a criminal rape trial against him.
But a different court will now deal with the situation. The case enters a civil courtroom, where Bryant would be compelled to testify in a trial. As of now, the case will be heard by Federal Judge Richard Matsch, the same judge who presided over the Oklahoma City bombing trials of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols.
However, the accuser's attorneys say they might ask for the case to be moved to Bryant's home state of California, where there are no caps on financial awards.
But there might not even be a trial, because of a possibility of an agreement between both sides.
CRAIG SILVERMAN, COLORADO ATTORNEY: Kobe Bryant has some incentive to settle and move on with his life. On the other hand, he could seek vindication through a trial, a civil trial, be it in California or Colorado.
TUCHMAN: One of the woman's attorney says, John Clune, says she wants to get her story out there. If it settles, it settles. If not, she will testify. There will not be a resolution like the criminal case.
(on camera): In that case, the woman said she no longer wanted to go forward, but in a civil trial all she would need is preponderance of the evidence, not proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Judge Matsch is expected to ask both sides during this first hearing if they have talked of a settlement.
Gary Tuchman, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Covering all the angels of the Kobe Bryant civil suit for us in "Justice Served" are Court TV anchor Lisa Bloom and defense attorney Jayne Weintraub, who we're pleased to actually have in New York this time. She's usually in Miami.
JAYNE WEINTRAUB, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Thank you, Anderson.
COOPER: Thanks for being with us.
Jayne, let me start off with you. I guess, as Gary Tuchman said, we're going to find out tomorrow whether there have been any settlement talks. What does your gut tell you? You think there have been?
WEINTRAUB: Yes, I'm sure there have. And for Kobe Bryant's behalf -- on his behalf, they should. I mean, the cost of litigation alone will exceed the amount of damages that she could get in Colorado, which is $700,000 some odd.
COOPER: That's the most she could get?
WEINTRAUB: That's the most she can get in Colorado, which is why she claims that she might bring the suit now in California.
COOPER: Because the -- the...
WEINTRAUB: More money.
COOPER: Lisa, do you think Kobe Bryant will settle? Would want to settle?
LISA BLOOM, COURT TV: Well, I think he should want to settle, as Jayne said, but it's curious that he has not settled thus far. And look, Anderson, he may look at it this way -- all of the negative facts about him have already come to light at this point. He may decide to stand and fight it, thinking, what more does he have to loose? If he's vindicated...
COOPER: When you say negative factors, what, that he had lied to police that he had an affair?
BLOOM: Well, that, and the fact that he's been accused of rape by this woman. I mean, that there was an accusation out there alone I think is significant. On the other hand, if this case goes to a trial, and it's only, quote/unquote, a civil case, a finding by 12 jurors, even in a civil case, could be very damaging to Kobe's career.
Look at O.J. Simpson. He's always going to be said to have been legally responsible for the deaths of two people, because a civil jury said that.
WEINTRAUB: But Kobe is (UNINTELLIGIBLE). He is in the heart of his success, and that's the difference. O.J. was already done being an athlete. He's the star of the L.A. Lakers. He's very much out there. I think it's a distraction to his personal life and his professional life. If I were his lawyer, I would advise him to settle, just for a nuisance value. I certainly understand that he doesn't want to surrender to a false accusation, though.
COOPER: Let's take a look, though, at something the accuser -- the accuser's attorney said, I guess before the criminal case was dismissed. They had put her through sort of a mock testimony. This is what her attorney, how Lin Wood described that mock testimony. Quote: "She was spontaneously trying to answer questions she had never considered. They tore down her confidence in an exercise that should be designed to build up her confidence."
I mean, if that's true, isn't that an indication she would probably want to try to settle?
BLOOM: It's an absurd criticism. First of all, this mock cross- examination was preparation for her testimony. You don't prepare someone for the preparation for their testimony. And Lin Wood, if he had a problem with the way the prosecutors were preparing her, he was representing her. He should have jumped in and prepared her. You know, clearly, Anderson, there was a tug of war between her civil attorneys and the prosecutors. I think she was really caught in the middle, to her detriment. Now only the civil case is left.
COOPER: It's nice to be able to see Jayne Weintraub roll her eyes in person.
WEINTRAUB: Please, caught in the middle? She couldn't wait to grab that brass ring for money. For justice, she didn't want to be traumatized and she didn't want to put herself through that whole ordeal, but for money she's going to be deposed, interrogatories, she's going to be out there, her name, her family, she's going to be put through the ringer as far as her history and what she does.
(CROSSTALK)
BLOOM: ... police within 12 hours of the incident, which was the right thing to do. The civil attorneys...
(CROSSTALK)
BLOOM: Well, the civil attorneys came in later, though, and I think gave her some very poor advice. A 19-, 20-year-old woman never caught up in the legal system before, now all she has left is the civil case. I think that was a big mistake for her to drop the criminal case.
COOPER: And Jayne, you think if the case did move to California, there's no way she'd win?
WEINTRAUB: I think so. I think that's his town. I mean, he is the L.A. Lakers. She's not the hometown girl there.
BLOOM: On the other hand...
WEINTRAUB: He's got the home town advantage.
BLOOM: ... the damages are unlimited in California. There's no $700,000 cap like there is in Colorado. She could get millions upon millions in California.
(CROSSTALK)
WEINTRAUB: ... stopped. She's 20 years old. What are her damages, come on?
BLOOM: For being raped? Are you kidding me?
(CROSSTALK)
BLOOM: If she was raped and if she proves it, clearly she has got damages.
COOPER: What are the chances the case would move to California?
WEINTRAUB: I think very slim.
COOPER: Why? Under what grounds?
BLOOM: She could sue either where the incident occurred, Colorado, or where the defendant resides, California. That's her choice. Where there is unlimited damages available in California, it makes sense to move it there.
WEINTRAUB: But she's already made the choice. She initiated this lawsuit in Colorado. Now she realizes, oh, I can get even more money, oh, boy, let's go to L.A.
BLOOM: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and move to California...
(CROSSTALK)
BLOOM: ... so she could clearly do that. Her lawyers would have to get local counsel in California. We might have another tug of war with new lawyers brought in.
COOPER: All right, we've got to go. Lisa Bloom, thanks very much. And Jayne Weintraub, good to see you.
WEINTRAUB: Thank you.
COOPER: Well, 360 next, the search for eternal youth. Ah, yes. Can it be found in a laser? A look at the new treatment that some hope turns back time. Part of our special series.
Also tonight, an award show like you've never seen it. A fight breaks out at a hip-hop ceremony. Word.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Before we do the Botox, have you thought about a freshening chemical peel? It takes 15 minutes and it can make you look 10 to 20 years younger?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 15 minutes later, Samantha seemed to have it all...peeled off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: I miss "Sex and the City." That was Samantha from "Sex and the City" having a little problem with what some call lunchtime facelifts. Lucille Ball once said the secret to staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly and most importantly lie about your age.
When lying isn't enough, many people turn to plastic surgery, but some who consider that too risky are hoping that a beam of light is going to turn back time. CNN's Adaora Udoji has more on so-called breakthrough treatments as we continue our series, "Eternal Youth, America's Obsession With Staying Young."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rapidly evolving technology may have just made that search for fountains of youth a little easier. The newest procedure like this Fraxel (ph) treatment need no scalpels or operating rooms, just a sophisticated laser.
GAIL PARKER, LASER TREATMENT PATIENT: It's not that people look at me and say, what did you have done? It's more, gee, you look great. UDOJI: The laser, says Dr. Roy Geranimo (ph) can improve wrinkles and skin tones in minutes with progress taking one session for some, five for others like Gail Parker, a middle school principal.
The key to these new devices is that they're non-invasive. There's no wounding of the skin, and there's no or limited downtime for the patients, in a sense that they can go back to normal activities without significant concern for how they look.
UDOJI: That's true, doctors say, of photomodulation, which can help skin cells act younger at $100 a pop. For tightening skin and removing brown spots, a treatment called Thermag (ph). But doctors warn they're not magic wands. The treatments do not work for everyone, and there are potential side effects.
DR. LAWRENCE BASS, MINIMALLY INVASIVE PLASTIC SURGERY PROGRAM, NYU: Risks of all laser treatments include infection, redness, hyperpigmentation. It's very important when you're having any kind of medical treatment that it be supervised by or performed by an M.D. or physician.
UDOJI: Gail Parker says Fraxel lasers worked for her, and she might even do it again.
Do you see somebody a little different?
PARKER: Yes. I think I like what I see. It makes me feel like I can work one more year.
UDOJI: Adaora Udoji, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Oh, sorry. Our special series continues tomorrow with a look at the long life diet. How some say calorie restriction is the secret weapon against aging. On Thursday, youth in a bottle. Can pills turn back time? And Friday, young at all costs, the price people pay in our ever-growing youth culture.
We're big fans of awards shows on this program. Where else can you see so many celebrities congratulating themselves for being famous. But last night at the Vibe Awards, not a lot of love in the room. In fact a fight broke out that had some of hip-hoppers saying -- or I should say some hip-hoppers saying, yo, yo, don't hit me in the face. CNN entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The fracas broke out as Quincy Jones and Snoop Dogg were about to present rapper Dr. Dre with a lifetime achievement award. A camera captured the free-for-all as chairs were hurled and punches were thrown. Jones and Snoop Dogg watched as the melee unfolded. Jones was escorted from the stage as security officers tried to stop the fighting. One guard sprayed mace at the crowd.
KEVIN WASHINGTON, WITNESS: I peeped over, it was a big fight on stage.
QUESTION: How many guys were running around?
WASHINGTON: It had to be at least 20, 30. It was a lot of guys.
(CROSSTALK)
VARGAS: According to "The Los Angeles Times," the incident began when someone punched Dr. Dre in the head. Authorities say one person was stabbed during the skirmish.
While that was going on inside, some guests scrambled from the building. Later, the president of "Vibe" magazine, which hosts the awards, downplayed the incident.
KENARD GIBBS, PRESIDENT, "VIBE": What happened is that there was a disturbance within the venue, nothing major, but, you know, it very quickly erupted into various people moving, OK.
VARGAS: When order was restored, the taping resumed. Snoop issued an ominous invitation from the podium.
SNOOP DOGG, MUSICIAN: If you all want problems, me and my crew, we want problems, too. So, leave Dre alone and come see us.
VARGAS: A defiant Dr. Dre eventually accepted his award.
DR. DRE, RAPPER/PRODUCER: We going to keep it moving. We going to keep it cracking. And ain't nothing going to stop me, man. Believe it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VARGAS: The vibe is a little more tranquil now outside the Bradford hangar at the Santa Monica Airport where the Vibe Awards took place. Authorities say their investigation into the fracas is continuing. Sibila Vargas, CNN, Santa Monica, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Apparently a short time ago police the fight did begin when a man punched Dr. Dre. Someone then stabbed that man. Authorities are looking for David Darnell Brown, a rapper known as Young Buck in connection with the stabbing. The stabbing victim is in stable condition at an L.A. hospital. The beat goes on.
360 next, remembering Margaret Hassan, a British and Iraqi citizen, apparently killed by her captors in Iraq. The sadness to the Nth Degree.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Tonight taking sadness to the Nth Degree. Another hostage has been killed in Iraq. Every such death is deplorable to say the very least, but this one seems hardest of all to understand. Margaret Hassan had lived in Iraq for 30 years, was of the place and of the people, or so she must have thought. She was an Iraqi, as well as a British citizen. Her husband was Iraqi. The Iraqi people were her life's work. Margaret Hassan was the in-country director of the organization aptly called Care International. Unlike so many other hostages, she could speak with her captors, could understand every nuance of what they were saying, could fluently and easily respond, and herself make whatever points she needed or wanted to make.
She had been doing that, after all, talking with Iraqis, living among them for three decades. It must have been second nature to her as unremarkable as sitting down with someone in her native Ireland, which is what makes her death so unbearably sad. Margaret Hassan perfectly understood whoever killed her, just as he, we think it was a man, perfectly understood her.
If understanding cannot help, what can? I'm Anderson Cooper. Thanks for watching 360. Coming up next, "PAULA ZAHN NOW."
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