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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Life on Death Row; Is Al Qaeda America's Biggest Threat?
Aired December 14, 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.
HEIDI COLLINS, HOST: Good evening from New York, everyone. I'm Heidi Collins.
Life on death row, an inside story.
360 starts right now.
Scott Peterson facing life on death row. Tonight, a behind-the- bars tour of San Quentin, where Peterson awaits death by lethal injection.
Insurgents film new acts of terror and their aftermath. What the Pentagon is learning about the enemy from their actions caught on tape.
Why al Qaeda isn't America's biggest threat. Tonight, a 360 interview with terror expert Peter Bergen, who warns of new attacks from unlikely places.
Fingerprints of both Michael Jackson and his accuser found on pornographic magazines. Will his own identity prove his guilt? And what does it mean for the case against the king of pop?
And our special series, Ancient Cures. Tonight, the controversial and chilling modern use of an ancient medical procedure, a hole in your head.
ANNOUNCER: Live from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is ANDERSON COOPER 360.
COLLINS: Good evening. Anderson is off tonight.
In the months and years ahead, practically all Scott Peterson will be doing is waiting to die. One day after a jury said he should be executed for killing his wife and unborn son, Peterson is still in the San Mateo county jail. Soon he will be moved to San Quentin, death row.
And given the bleak existence awaiting him, the only day that will seem different for Peterson may be his last.
It is very rare for a reporter to be allowed to go inside San Quentin's death row, but CNN's Ted Rowlands has been there and has this look inside.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If his sentence holds up, Scott Peterson will live the rest of his life in a five-by- eight cell at San Quentin State Prison, California's oldest and most famous correctional facility.
Located on the shoreline of the same bay where the bodies of Peterson's wife, Laci, and unborn son were found, San Quentin is home to the majority of the 641 death row inmates, including serial killer Richard Ramirez and child murderer Richard Allen Davis.
According to a prison spokesman, inmates know Peterson may be coming, and his safety is a concern.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I have no specifics, but there are those within this population that may want to do harm to him for the taking of the life of a woman and an unborn child.
ROWLANDS: Death row inmates in California do have some perks. They have access to television and radio. They can receive care packages of food, and they're afforded limited time in an exercise yard. Still, death row is considered by many to be the hardest time an inmate can serve.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I'm sitting on death row, I've been told I'm going die. I know where I'm going to die. But I'm sitting there, day after day, month after month, year after year, just waiting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS: And Scott Peterson has been sentenced to death by the jury. However, Judge Alfred Delucchi in this case does have the option of changing that sentence. On February 25, there will be a sentencing hearing in San Mateo County, and that is where the sentence will be set by the judge.
It is expected that Peterson will still face death penalty, Heidi.
COLLINS: Ted, I know, as we mentioned in the beginning here, you have been inside San Quentin, and (audio interrupt) execution, witnessed an execution by lethal injection. Tell me, if you can, what that was like.
ROWLANDS: Well, as you can imagine, it is something I'll never forget. Very sobering experience. This was the execution of Darryl Rich (ph), who was executed by lethal injection in the year 2000, four years ago.
You go into San Quentin in the evening. He's executed just after midnight. It is dark, as you can imagine, going in through the yard. It's very eerie. And then you go into the death chamber, and it is a horseshoe situation. You're seated right about 10 feet away from curtains that are closed.
They opened the curtains just after midnight. The inmate, in this case, Darryl Rich, was laying down, had the IV in. It took about seven minutes after the injection for him to expire. And an announcement is made, the state of California has carried out the sentence of death.
And boy, it is a sobering, sobering experience.
COLLINS: Yes, I'm sure it is. Ted, if Scott Peterson is in fact sent to death row, as we just mentioned, on February 25, a final decision will be made, will he also be executed by lethal injection?
ROWLANDS: Yes. California no longer executes by any other means. The last inmate to die by gas was in 1996, and after that, the California Supreme Court ruled that it is inhumane to do so. It was a situation where witnesses actually saw this inmate struggling for his life, and it was -- that was it for gassing. And now in the state of California, lethal injection is the only way that an inmate can be executed.
COLLINS: Ted Rowlands, thanks so much for your insight tonight. We appreciate it.
And we now know what will happen to Scott Peterson, but this case is not just about him. It's about all the other people whose lives were forever changed by this nightmare. What is next for them?
CNN's Rusty Dornin reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We, the jury, in the above-entitled cause fix the penalty at death.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The conviction had come, the death sentence pronounced. But for Laci Peterson's family, the timing brings up the anguish of Christmas past.
RON GRANTSKI, LACI PETERSON'S STEPFATHER: We've got a lot of holidays, dates coming up that are going to be very hard on us. Matter of fact, Wednesday the 15th was the last time Sharon and I saw Laci alive. And you know about Christmas, New Year's, birthdays. So I'm hoping you all will just give us some time.
DORNIN: Time is what many of the key players in this case want, including Scott Peterson's family. His parents and sister-in-law left the courtroom without speaking to reporters, but have said they still believe in Peterson's innocence and cling to hopes the conviction will be overturned.
MARK GERAGOS, SCOTT PETERSON'S ATTORNEY: All I'd ask is that you respect Jacqui and Lee's and the family's privacy for the next week or so. At some point shortly, they'll make a statement or do a press conference, and at that time they'll agree to field whatever questions that they will.
DORNIN: Reporters must also wait to hear answers to questions about the Modesto police investigation. CHIEF ROY WASDEN, MODESTO POLICE DEPARTMENT: And we're not going to respond to that criticism today. There will be a time in the future when we'll discuss the criticisms that have been leveled.
DORNIN: The defense team has vowed to push forward before Peterson is formally sentenced February 25.
GERAGOS: Obviously, we plan on pursuing every and all appeals, motions for a new trial, and everything else.
DORNIN: And what about Amber Frey, Scott Peterson's former girlfriend? Her attorney says she's encouraging Frey to tell her story, possibly in a book, but no interviews this month.
Still, after two years, so many unanswered questions about what happened to the smiling expectant mother, questions that likely will never be answered, no matter how long we wait.
Rusty Dornin, CNN, San Francisco.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Whether you saw it as hard news or a sensational story that filled time on TV, the Peterson saga certainly captured our attention. Some in our business chose not to cover it. In doing so, they overlooked the one thing that has always made people stand up and take notice, murder.
Humans have always been fascinated with it, even long before the media ever put it inside the box.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We, the jury, in the above-entitled cause fix the penalty at death.
COLLINS (voice-over): However you view the media's fascination with high-profile murder trials, the truth is, many of you out there are watching. When Scott Peterson's sentence recommendation was announced yesterday, 1.3 million viewers tuned into CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News Channel.
But the truth is, our interest in murder didn't start when high- profile trials began to be broadcast on Court TV. It is part of our history. Some might call it biblical.
Remember the story of Cain and Abel? And back in Elizabethan times, Shakespeare made a career writing in large part about some of history's most hideous crimes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "OTHELLO")
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If she be false, I'll not believe it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Consider Othello, the moor of Venice, who murdered his wife in a jealous rage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "RICHARD III")
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So I might live one hour in your sweet bosom...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Or Richard III, who killed for power.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "HAMLET")
MEL GIBSON, ACTOR: Now could I drink hot blood...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Or Hamlet, who killed for revenge, and the audiences couldn't get enough.
Today, we can get our crime fix from less lyrical sources. Court TV correspondents don't speak in iambic pentameter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "LAW AND ORDER")
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guy fires three rounds, then he's out the door.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's the body count?
COLLINS: Still, it's no wonder shows like "Law and Order" have us hooked, when our appetite for tales of murder may be part of our genetic history, which could be the unkindest cut of all, inside the box.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: We're tracking several other stories tonight. Cross- country now, at the White House, the nation's highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom, awarded.
President Bush recognized former Iraq administrator Paul Bremer, retired general Tommy Franks, and former CIA director George Tenet, saying they all played pivotal roles in great events.
Pontiac, Michigan, teacher convicted of murder. Nancy Seaman (ph) faces a mandatory life sentence for hacking her husband to death with a hatchet. She claims she was acting in self-defense.
Los Angeles, California, Stone sues surgeon. Actress Sharon Stone says a Beverly Hills surgeon slandered and libeled her by claiming he gave her a facelift. Stone says the allegations have hurt her career.
Charleston, West Virginia, money cannot buy happiness. Jewel Whitaker (ph) says she wishes her husband never won a $314 million lottery jackpot two years ago. Since her family was thrust into the public spotlight, Whitaker's husband has been in legal trouble, and some of his property has been stolen.
Atlanta, Georgia, seeing double twice. Twin sisters gave birth by cesarean section today to twin boys, who were due on the same day. A hospital physician says the chances of that happening are probably one in a million.
That's a look at stories cross-country tonight.
360 next, Iraqi insurgents videotaping their own terror. Find out how intelligence officials are using it against them.
Plus, anthrax, who done it? Find out why, three years after the deadly attacks, the killer is still on the loose.
Also tonight, fingerprints on porn, new evidence in the Michael Jackson child molestation case.
But first, your picks, the most popular stories on CNN.com right now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: In Iraq, insurgents are once again targeting Baghdad's green zone. Today, for the second day in a row, a car bomb went off at a checkpoint into the area where the U.S. embassy and Iraqi government offices are located. At least two people were killed.
Not content to cause destruction, the Iraqi insurgents have been recording some attacks for propaganda purposes. Today, a new tape, apparently of an attack over the weekend.
As CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr reports, the video may provide clues about the insurgents themselves.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Another roadside bomb detonates, a typical attack that has killed or wounded hundreds of American troops. The insurgents' camera keeps rolling as U.S. soldiers help those wounded in the Humvee.
CNN asked military expert James Carafano to look at the video to see what can be learned.
JAMES CARAFANO, MILITARY EXPERT: Well, it's good for the Americans to know that there could be somebody watching them when they do these things, and that it's good for the Americans to look at it to see how they respond to it, and looking for things the bad guys might see in the way they respond to it.
STARR: U.S. troops are stepping up countermeasures. Every attack is analyzed, convoy routes are changed often. There is more reconnaissance. Military officials emphasize that armor alone, the subject of so much controversy, is not the total solution against improvised explosive devices. BRIG. GEN. DAVID RODRIGUEZ, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: You're looking at every place by how the thing was put together, how it was detonated, what type of material was used in it, what type of technology, because people design things differently.
STARR: New intelligence indicates explosives set off to the side of the road are proving very deadly.
Part of the longer-term solution, new armored vehicles are being tested on the streets of Iraq that can better survive attacks, including a new version of the armored Humvee with a mounted laser that can destroy explosives up to 250 meters away. New armored security vehicles are with military police units. They can survive 12-pound blasts under each wheel.
Miniconvoys now carry jammers designed to keep the remotely detonated devices from exploding, but some convoys still travel dangerous roads without these high-tech packages.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: And Heidi, yet another initiative, last month the Air Force stepped up the number of cargo flights into Iraq, now increased by 30 percent. They say they believe that will help keep another 1,000 military personnel, and perhaps as many as 400 vehicles, off those dangerous roads in Iraq, as they bring in more materiel by air, Heidi.
COLLINS: Barbara Starr from the Pentagon tonight. Barbara, thank you.
Saddam Hussein's location behind bars in Iraq no longer top secret. That tops our look at global stories in the uplink.
Today, Iraq's human rights minister revealed the ousted dictator is being held at Camp Cropper, a U.S. military base near Baghdad. Saddam Hussein was captured one year ago yesterday.
In France, Concorde crash investigation. A review finds a 2000 crash was caused by a faulty fuel-tank design and a metal strip that fell off a Continental Airlines jet onto the runway. Investigators say the strip caused a tire to burst. Rubber debris then got into the jet's fuel tanks, which sparked a fire that sent the jet crashing to the ground. The accident killed 113 people and helped bring an end to the costly supersonic jet. Continental denies it is responsible for the crash.
Wellington, New Zealand, starving penguin chicks. A giant iceberg about 1,200 square miles is cutting off access to waters where their parents catch fish. Scientists fear thousands of penguins will die.
And that's tonight's uplink.
360 next, hearts, minds, and the war on terror. Is Europe becoming the next big staging ground for extremists? CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen joins us live.
Also tonight, the anthrax who-done-it. No arrests three years after the deadly attacks. Find out why it's so hard for the FBI to catch the killer or killers.
And a little later, Michael Jackson, fingerprints, and porn. The magazines investigators say may hold a key piece of evidence.
And in a moment, today's 360 challenge. Do you know the news?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: In the war of ideas between radical Islam and the West, one of the battles is being fought not in the Middle East but in France, where today the government pulled the plug on a satellite TV channel based in Lebanon. Al Manar, the channel is called. And what it does, say the French, is beam hatred all over the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS (voice-over): There may be more than one Middle East- based television network, but none is causing quite the same stir as Al Manar.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Al Manar makes Al Jazeera look like a Girl Scout cookie infomercial.
COLLINS: Al Manar, Arabic for The Beacon, is coming under the harsh glare of critics for its anti-American and anti-Israeli programming, and its ties to the terrorist group Hezbollah.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think Al Manar, we have gone on the record on numerous occasions in response to what we consider to be in -- trying to think of the harsh enough word for it -- we consider to be disgusting programming that preaches hatred and violence.
COLLINS: Some critics say Al Manar is nothing but a propaganda machine for a militant Muslim organization.
AVI JORISCH, AUTHOR, "BEACON OF HATRED": The station is looking to inspire what we call in the West, quote unquote, "suicide attacks," and what they call, quote unquote, "martyrdom operations." They're very open about the fact that they support, rhetorically, these types of attacks against American soldiers and against Israelis.
COLLINS: Despite images like these, network executives say the charges are just not true. And while they share some philosophical ideals with Hezbollah, they don't take direction from the group. Still, their statements show they don't view the U.S. and its leaders kindly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: George W. Bush says that he's a friend of the peace and is a peaceful man. So, I mean, this is distorting the realities and the facts. But we have never broadcast anything to incite hatred. COLLINS: There's no way to know how many people are watching Al Manar. But the network does broadcast here in the United States. Yet despite Hezbollah's designation as a terrorist group, the State Department is not following France's lead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd say that television and its relationship with Hezbollah is something that we note, and follow carefully, but I would leave it at that.
COLLINS: Meaning, here at home, the war of ideas has found a new battleground.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: The French and other European nations, as well as those of us in this country, apparently have every right to be concerned about Muslims being radicalized in Europe. After all, most of the recent acts of terrorism in this country have a connection to Europe.
Take the attempt to blow up LAX. The terrorists, caught in 1999, had been radicalized in Italy. Three out of four pilots on 9/11 planes had connection with al Qaeda's Hamburg cell in Germany. The alleged 20th hijacker, Zacarias Moussaoui, is French, and the shoe bomber, Richard Reid, is British.
Joining us now to talk more about the problem is CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen.
Peter, thank you for being here tonight.
I know that you just recently wrote in an "L.A. Times" op-ed that the real threat for the U.S. is not so much this traditional al Qaeda organization that we talk so frequently about, but rather cells and affiliated groups that are based in Europe. So how so?
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Well, as your graphic indicated, you know, all the serious terrorist attacks, either planned or implemented, in the last -- since 1999 have had a very strong European connection. It's hard to imagine them without that European connection.
I think that trend is going to accelerate over time, basically for two reasons. One is that European governments have not, perhaps, been as proactive as they could have been in cracking down. Europe, of course, is a place that you can travel around very easily, open borders, easy to travel here, if you have a European passport.
And you've got 20 million Muslims in Europe. Obviously 99 percent of them are not going to engage in terrorism, but a small minority might. And that group is going to increase over time, because Europeans' native populations are declining pretty dramatically, and they've got a serious problem in terms of keeping up social welfare entitlements and also filling their labor force. And they're going to have to import a lot more labor from Middle East and also North Africa. COLLINS: And Peter, the first point you made, about Europe not being very proactive about tracking down possible al Qaeda connections, why? And what are they doing at this point?
BERGEN: Well, actually, I mean, in fairness, it depends which country. France has had a problem with its Algerian population and terrorism starting in the mid-'90s, and they have been quite proactive. Britain has a long tradition of tolerance of dissenters. That, I think, is beginning to change. They have arrested one notorious terrorist insider, Abu Hamza, within the last year or so. So I think things are moving in the right direction.
But the problem, of course, is that Europe has got in the European Union, you know, there are some 20 countries, all of which have, you know, different languages. And also, it is like the firewall problem here in this country between the FBI and CIA, except it is 20, 25 walls between each of these different countries. So it's half of them to share information, and that also is beginning to change. The E.U. now has a counterterrorism czar, but I think there's a long way to go.
COLLINS: Yes, and quickly, on that point, I mean, with all of those different countries and an inability, at least at this point, to talk, I mean, do you see, as someone who has been tracking this as closely as you have, any indication that that will improve, or an effort to start communicating?
BERGEN: I think it is improving, but I think that, you know, likelihood of a major terrorist attack in a city like London is much, much higher than an attack here in the United States.
COLLINS: All right. Peter Bergen, CNN terrorism analyst tonight. Thank you, Peter.
BERGEN: Thank you.
COLLINS: Fingerprints of both Michael Jackson and his accuser found on pornographic magazines. Will his own identity prove his guilt? And what does it mean for the case against the king of pop?
And our special series, Ancient Cures. Tonight, the controversial and chilling modern use of an ancient medical procedure, a hole in your head.
360 continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: A new report out today paints a grim picture of America's readiness to face a nuclear or bioterrorist attack. According to Trust For America's Health nearly one-third of all states have cut their health budgets in the last year. Only six states have developed emergency vaccination plans in the event of a terrorist attack. As concerns rise over America's bioterror planning how quickly we forget that federal agents are still looking for the killer or killers behind the 2001 anthrax attacks. It's a story that rarely makes front page news anymore even though it put the country on edge for months. CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena with an update on the investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It has been three years since David Hose inhaled a deadly form of anthrax.
DAVID HOSE, ANTHRAX VICTIM: Doctor says I'll never be able to work again.
ARENA: Hose does not believe investigators will ever find who is responsible for his condition. Members of Congress periodically briefed by investigators don't sound too hopeful either.
REP. CHRIS SHAYS (R), CONNECTICUT: What is alarming about this is we haven't made headway and our best chance of catching this individual is when they do it again. That's the last thing we want to happen. The feeling we get from the FBI right now is that they are stuck.
ARENA: Just four months ago federal investigators conducted searches related to anthrax in New York and New Jersey. The FBI says it conducted 48 searches in all and more than 6,000 interviews. There are still 31 FBI agents and a dozen postal inspectors on the case, most of the work being done is scientific. Former U.S. attorney Roscoe Howard worked on the case.
ROSCOE HOWARD, FMR. U.S. ATTORNEY: It was just something that we weren't used to. We had to do a lot of gearing up. We had to get smarter about what was going on. We had to in essence make ourselves biologists, chemists.
ARENA: Scientists are trying to trace the anthrax back to its originating lab. The FBI says it has identified 16 U.S. labs that possess the type of anthrax used in the attacks and says more than 1,000 employees had access to it. Only one person has ever been named in the investigation. A former government researcher Steven Hatfill. He was referred to as a person of interest by the attorney general. He has repeatedly denied any involvement.
STEVEN HATFILL, FMR. GOVERNMENT RESEARCHER: I am not the anthrax killer.
ARENA: Hatfill filed suit against the government. His case was put on hold this fall because a federal judge said the investigation was at a critical stage. David Hose hopes that means there will soon be an indictment. But isn't counting on it. Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: With more now on the anthrax investigation, joining us is bioterrorism expert Dr. Leonard Cole. He's the author of "The Anthrax Letters, A Medical Detective Story." Dr. Cole, thank you for being with us tonight. You know, the attorney general referred to Steven Hatfill way back in August of 2002 as a person of interest. The investigation began. The FBI started looking into him. The FBI conducted all kinds of searches. Let's look on the screen if we could at what they did.
They searched his apartment twice. They drained a pond near his home. They went door-to-door with his photo asking about him. Put him under surveillance. As a result obviously his life has been turned upside down. Is he even still a suspect at this point?
DR. LEONARD COLE, AUTHOR, "THE ANTHRAX LETTERS": The FBI never used the word suspect. They always used a person of interest. What that means is not clear. His life has been turned upside down. He's unemployable. The man has been sitting home since he was named as a person of interest. He lost his job then. He's instituted a couple of suits against the U.S. government for multimillions of dollars.
COLLINS: Do you think he's right to do that? How do you think the FBI handled this investigation?
COLE: Well, I can't say whether he's right or wrong and I won't make a judgment even about what evidence the FBI may have. To the best of my knowledge, they don't have enough to bring charges or they would have. I would say that it was not a great idea very early on within a few weeks after the first anthrax letter was sent out, the FBI developed a profile which they put on their website. They suggested that the likely perpetrator was a single individual, a male, someone disaffected with the government, unhappy, scientist, bright, had access to anthrax.
That's narrow. That would be evenly few people. It also seems to close the possibility or as equal an opportunity to look at a possible overseas connection. Don't forget the first anthrax letters that we found were postmarked September 18, 2001. That means just a week after September 11. Could that have meant there was a connection? Was it somebody who was sitting and waiting for an unknown time and event in which he would send out anthrax? That and a few other suggestions to me would indicate that there ought to be equal consideration to the possibility of an overseas connection as well as a domestic perpetrator.
COLLINS: Talk to me a bit if you would about survivors. Tell me their conditions. Twenty-two people died.
COLE: Not quite 22. Twenty-two people were known to become infected. Eleven of them had the less dangerous skin anthrax version. Eleven had inhalation which is usually quite lethal. Before this incident, anthrax is rare we don't have baseline of medical information about it but before the incidents when 11 people came down with it, we assumed that an untreated person would probably die. Well over 90 percent chance. However, among the 11 people, five died. Six survived. I have gotten to talk and got to know pretty well. Some of the six but I talked to all of them. Only one is fully recovered back to work. The other five still have symptoms.
COLLINS: We appreciate your insight here tonight. We wish them well, of course. Thank you.
COLE: Thank you.
COLLINS: 360 next. Now the case against Michael Jackson. His fingerprints on pornographic magazines and his weren't the only prints found. That story just ahead.
Also tonight, drilling a hole in the head. An ancient treatment that's still being used. Does it offer hope or is it a hoax?
And in a moment today's 360 challenge. How closely have you been following today's news? Find out next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Lawyers for Michael Jackson are hoping to stop next month's trial from ever starting. They're asking a judge to dismiss the molestation charges because of, quote, "vindictive prosecution." If the court denies the motion, the state may turn to fingerprints lifted from Jackson's Neverland Ranch to try to prove his guilt.
CNN's Eric Philips reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERIC PHILIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With the beginning of his molestation trial just a month and a half away, CNN has learned another piece of revealing information about what investigators found at Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch. A source familiar with the case tells CNN the fingerprints of Jackson and those of his accuser, a boy now 15 years old, have been found on porno magazines seized during a raid on the pop star's estate in November of 2003.
Sources say investigators found a collection of pornographic magazines in the pop star's master bedroom and bath.
If in fact, these fingerprints were to be used as evidence during the trial, it is uncertain what value they may or may not have. That's because the boy and his family were allowed to stay at Neverland Ranch while Jackson was away, and allegedly had free run of the property. One source told CNN the boy was disruptive and got into everything.
The accuser's family claims they were even held captive there.
Santa Barbara's Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville will decide next month exactly what evidence jurors will hear. 46-year-old Jackson has pleaded not guilty to a grand jury indictment charging him with child molestation, conspiracy and giving alcohol to a minor. His trial is set to begin January 31st.
Eric Philips, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Covering the Jackson case for us tonight is Court TV correspondent Savannah Guthrie. Savannah, than you for being here.
The judge is going to decide now what evidence is admissible. It's going to happen next month. Do you think the jury is ever going to be hearing anything at all about these magazines?
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, COURT TV: I think it is very likely they will hear this evidence. Remember, this is evidence that was taken pursuant to that search warrant back in November of 2003. Assuming that search warrant is valid, and it is my understanding that the judge has ruled that it is, then I think it will come in.
And it's very relevant. It is directly relevant to the charges here. This is not a case where the prosecutor is trying to bring in some salacious evidence to try to dirty up the defendant. This is directly relevant to child molestation charge, and I think the prosecutors have a strong argument for admitting it.
COLLINS: So if the jury sees these magazines and they see the boy's fingerprints as well, I mean, how bad is it for Michael Jackson?
GUTHRIE: I think it's very powerful evidence for the prosecution for a couple of reasons. First of all, it corroborates, it has the potential to corroborate what this accuser is saying. So many times in cases like this, it's a he said/he said, he said/she said cases. This sort of transforms it potentially into a forensic case.
The other thing is, there's just a lot of emotional power in evidence like this. Evidence of a pornographic magazine with a kid's fingerprints, especially if this turns out to be a magazine that caters to a pedophile's interest, it kind of has an odor to it. It's an odor that is hard to get out of the jury box
COLLINS: But do you think the defense could just argue it away? I mean, they could just say, well, you know, he was there looking at the magazines on his own?
GUTHRIE: I think so. And I think that is a potentially strong argument, you know. It's not a smoking gun. Just because you have the accuser's fingerprints and Michael Jackson's fingerprints doesn't mean that they were looking at it together.
On the other hand, in conjunction with what the accuser says, with whatever other evidence they got out of Neverland, maybe this jury is not going to want to give him the benefit of the doubt.
COLLINS: Well, some of the other evidence was this DNA sample that was taken a month ago. Why did it take them so long to go ahead and get that?
GUTHRIE: Well, that's a good question. Normally getting a DNA sample, a control sample from the defendant is kind of a matter of routine, especially here, when the arrest and the surrender was so negotiated. You think that's something they could take care of. It takes just a few seconds to get a DNA swab. That didn't happen here. And ultimately, the prosecutors had to go and get a search warrant to get this done. I can tell you, the judges are not happy to see you when the parties can't resolve simple issues like this. The judge doesn't want to have to resolve it himself. That's what happened in this case. It's so contentious.
COLLINS: All right. Well, Savannah Guthrie, thank you.
GUTHRIE: Nice to be with you.
COLLINS: As always tonight on CNN, you can expect some in-depth reporting on "PAULA ZAHN NOW" and "NEWSNIGHT WITH AARON BROWN."
Paula and Aaron join me now with a preview of what they are covering tonight. Let's go ahead and begin with Paula. Hi, Paula.
PAULA ZAHN, HOST, "PAULA ZAHN NOW": Hi, Heidi. Thanks.
There's news tonight on Andrea Yates. You probably remember her. The Texas mom who drowned her five small children three years ago. She's now serving life in prison, but now her legal team is trying to get her a new trial. We'll tell you why. You might be surprised to hear what her husband has to say about this, Rusty Yates. He'll be joining us in an exclusive interview.
And on the security watch, a CNN investigation into the new vaccine government says is supposed to protect you from an anthrax attack. We're going to hear from ex-soldiers, however, who say the current anthrax vaccine destroyed them physically. And a look at the billions of dollars the government is spending on the new vaccine, even though some experts say the money is not being spent well. Lots to uncover tonight, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Paula. Thanks. We'll be watching.
And Aaron.
AARON BROWN, HOST, "NEWSNIGHT": And Heidi.
Well, we have some interest in security issues ourselves tonight. Which states, which locations, which facilities, who gets money to protect themselves or protect their locations from terrorists attacks, and which don't. And oh by the way, why is it taking so long, three years after 9-11 after all, to come up with this list?
Also tonight, one of the sign of the times stories. Google announcing it's going to put libraries on its search engine. Does this mean the end of libraries as we know them, or at least as we use them? Take a look at that as well. 10:00 Eastern time tonight, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Aaron Brown, thanks so much.
360 next now, drilling holes in your head to feel better? An ancient cure that offers hope, or is it a hoax? Part of our special series.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: In these days of radio surgery and CT scans and miracle drugs, you might be surprised to learn that some patients are going back to the old days, the really old days, and seeking relief in ancient medicine. Tonight we begin a new series on whether these ancient cures are a modern hope or a hoax. You might think that someone who tries this has a hole in their head, and in some cases you would be right. Literally. CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For 10,000 years on nearly every continent, skulls with cavernous holes had been unearthed. Evidence of the oldest kind of surgery called trepanation. Sharp tools were used to pry out a part of the skull down to the dura layer, between the brain and the cranium. A successful procedure meant the brain was left untouched.
GAIL KENNEDY, ANTHROPOLOGIST: People were believed to be possessed. And it is a rational treatment in their eyes, to open a skull and let the creatures exit, hopefully achieving a cure.
GUPTA: Opening the skull, not to remove a tumor or perform brain surgery as is commonly done today, but in the hope that bad spirits might flee the body.
Thousands of years later, that ancient practice continues.
In Kenya, the Keesis (ph) still trepan fellow tribesmen in a ritualistic ceremony, and even in the U.S., according to the 1998 documentary "A Hole in the Head."
Pete Halbersam (ph), who declined an interview with CNN, describes self-trepanation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I made a T-shaped incision right here on my forehead. I pulled the flaps of skin back, and inserted a fairly sharp pointed bit to get a pilot hole started in the skull bone.
GUPTA: And then he drilled a hole straight through his skull, stopping just short of his brain.
Halbersam (ph) and hundreds of others say the experience increases blood flow to the brain and expands their consciousness.
KENNEDY: One woman described the effect as a cosmic orgasm. It's not some sort of a higher consciousness that's being achieved, it's simply medical shock.
GUPTA: Some believe it may still help, especially with elements like chronic fatigue syndrome or depression.
That's not proven. Regardless of its merit or its misuse, this ancient surgery lives on.
KENNEDY: So we have to understand that what we would call primitive medicine is probably not so primitive after all.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: To point out, Heidi, that techniques like this obviously used in hospitals all over the country today, but those are by trained neurosurgeons to gain access to the brain for operations, Heidi.
COLLINS: But I mean, real operations. I mean, this trepanation sounds like a joke. I mean, hearing that man talk about doing this to himself, how prevalent is this sort of thing really right now?
GUPTA: Well, I wouldn't say that it is prevalent. It was probably more prevalent in the 1960s and is more prevalent in Europe than it is in the United States, but it still goes on. People believe in some ways, as you heard in the piece, that it can cure things like releasing spirits from the body. Some people have used it as a treatment for chronic fatigue syndrome, which is a more vague syndrome. People believe that might be a treatment for that. It's not prevalent, but it still happens today, Heidi.
COLLINS: People believe, but do doctors believe?
GUPTA: There has really been no evidence that this works in any way. There have been some early studies that have shown that the area of brain around one of these holes does increase in blood flow. What exactly that means in terms of a person's consciousness or their well- being overall, that's harder to describe. But no studies that show any scientific merit of actually doing this procedure.
COLLINS: Glad you were here tonight, as a trained neurosurgeon as well. Thank you. Dr. Sanjay Gupta. It's nice to see you.
Our special series, "Ancient Cures: Modern Hope or Hoax," continues tomorrow, with a look at Dead Sea bath therapy. Thousands have made the pilgrimage to the Middle East, drawn to the salts. Now some say they get the same results at the doctor's office. Is it possible?
On Thursday, ancient herbal cures. Can you fight off disease with help from your garden?
And Friday, music therapy. Soothing the pain through the power of sound waves.
360 next, supermodels dressed from head to hoof. A fashion show like nothing you have seen before.
The 360 challenge. Here is another look at tonight's questions now. Do you know the news? Log on to cnn.com/360, and click on the answer link to play.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Time now for the answers to today's 360 challenge.
How big will Scott Peterson's cell be on death row at San Quentin? Five feet by eight feet.
The U.S. Air Force has increased cargo flights in Iraq by what percentage? Thirty percent.
How many U.S. labs possess the type of anthrax used in the post- 9/11 anthrax attacks? Sixteen.
The first person to answer all three questions correctly will be sent a 360 t-shirt. Tune in tomorrow to find out if you won. And last night's winner, Navi Samra of Davis, California. Another 360 challenge and another chance to win coming up tomorrow.
The world's most celebrated designers usually work with the world's best known women. Not this time, though. Here are the greatest names of fashion taking on the greatest creatures on Earth. Super models who never ask, "does this make me look fat?" From Jeanne Moos, a dress for excess story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These aren't Christmas balls, they're earrings for an elephant. Chanel earrings. Anyone who has ever tried to dress up a dog will tip their hat to elephants dressed head to toe in Chanel. Or Isaac Mizrahi. Or Balenciaga. Some of the world's top designers.
(on camera): This is sort of like chain-mail.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is chain-mail, oh, yeah.
MOOS (voice-over): Plus size has never been this plus.
(on camera): The elephants didn't mind?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, they had the best time.
MOOS (voice-over): It was a shoot for a layout called "Trunk Show" in "W" magazine. Photographer and elephant lover Bruce Webber dreamed up the idea. All the designers got was a set of measurements to work from.
DENNIS FREEDMAN, CREATIVE DIRECTOR, "W" MAGAZINE: Which was basically the circumference all around the elephant.
MOOS: Dixie here ended up squeezing into a Dolce & Gabbana corset. Women all know how those pesky straps slide off.
But the Chanel hats stayed on, even if Rosie dropped her parasol. Their behinds may not have the same appeal as, say, J.Lo's, but Ty here knows how to shake it.
(on camera): None of the clothes were eaten?
FREEDMAN: None of the clothes were eaten.
MOOS (voice-over): Actually, Ty tried, but ended up spitting out her Balenciaga chains, opting instead to swing them.
Not since "Dumbo" donned hat and collar have elephants looked so fashionable. Even their feet (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in Manolo Blanicks (ph).
"W's" creative director called the shoot "a nice break from humans."
FREEDMAN: Because no one talked back.
MOOS: Mark Jacobs even took the same dress a model wore for his spring collection and expanded it. For a sportier look, there was Ralph Lauren.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was the wet t-shirt shot.
MOOS: A t-shirt featuring the couture-clad elephants is for sale at elephantfamily.org, to raise money for elephant conservation. But one thing that wasn't conserved was this pink corset.
FREEDMAN: And when she took it off, it was a sort of striptease.
MOOS: More strip, less tease.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: New York. I'm Heidi Collins, in for Anderson Cooper. CNN's prime-time line-up continues now with Paula Zahn. Hi, Paula.
ZAHN: Hi, Heidi.
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 December 14, 2004 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, HOST: Good evening from New York, everyone. I'm Heidi Collins.
Life on death row, an inside story.
360 starts right now.
Scott Peterson facing life on death row. Tonight, a behind-the- bars tour of San Quentin, where Peterson awaits death by lethal injection.
Insurgents film new acts of terror and their aftermath. What the Pentagon is learning about the enemy from their actions caught on tape.
Why al Qaeda isn't America's biggest threat. Tonight, a 360 interview with terror expert Peter Bergen, who warns of new attacks from unlikely places.
Fingerprints of both Michael Jackson and his accuser found on pornographic magazines. Will his own identity prove his guilt? And what does it mean for the case against the king of pop?
And our special series, Ancient Cures. Tonight, the controversial and chilling modern use of an ancient medical procedure, a hole in your head.
ANNOUNCER: Live from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is ANDERSON COOPER 360.
COLLINS: Good evening. Anderson is off tonight.
In the months and years ahead, practically all Scott Peterson will be doing is waiting to die. One day after a jury said he should be executed for killing his wife and unborn son, Peterson is still in the San Mateo county jail. Soon he will be moved to San Quentin, death row.
And given the bleak existence awaiting him, the only day that will seem different for Peterson may be his last.
It is very rare for a reporter to be allowed to go inside San Quentin's death row, but CNN's Ted Rowlands has been there and has this look inside.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If his sentence holds up, Scott Peterson will live the rest of his life in a five-by- eight cell at San Quentin State Prison, California's oldest and most famous correctional facility.
Located on the shoreline of the same bay where the bodies of Peterson's wife, Laci, and unborn son were found, San Quentin is home to the majority of the 641 death row inmates, including serial killer Richard Ramirez and child murderer Richard Allen Davis.
According to a prison spokesman, inmates know Peterson may be coming, and his safety is a concern.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I have no specifics, but there are those within this population that may want to do harm to him for the taking of the life of a woman and an unborn child.
ROWLANDS: Death row inmates in California do have some perks. They have access to television and radio. They can receive care packages of food, and they're afforded limited time in an exercise yard. Still, death row is considered by many to be the hardest time an inmate can serve.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I'm sitting on death row, I've been told I'm going die. I know where I'm going to die. But I'm sitting there, day after day, month after month, year after year, just waiting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS: And Scott Peterson has been sentenced to death by the jury. However, Judge Alfred Delucchi in this case does have the option of changing that sentence. On February 25, there will be a sentencing hearing in San Mateo County, and that is where the sentence will be set by the judge.
It is expected that Peterson will still face death penalty, Heidi.
COLLINS: Ted, I know, as we mentioned in the beginning here, you have been inside San Quentin, and (audio interrupt) execution, witnessed an execution by lethal injection. Tell me, if you can, what that was like.
ROWLANDS: Well, as you can imagine, it is something I'll never forget. Very sobering experience. This was the execution of Darryl Rich (ph), who was executed by lethal injection in the year 2000, four years ago.
You go into San Quentin in the evening. He's executed just after midnight. It is dark, as you can imagine, going in through the yard. It's very eerie. And then you go into the death chamber, and it is a horseshoe situation. You're seated right about 10 feet away from curtains that are closed.
They opened the curtains just after midnight. The inmate, in this case, Darryl Rich, was laying down, had the IV in. It took about seven minutes after the injection for him to expire. And an announcement is made, the state of California has carried out the sentence of death.
And boy, it is a sobering, sobering experience.
COLLINS: Yes, I'm sure it is. Ted, if Scott Peterson is in fact sent to death row, as we just mentioned, on February 25, a final decision will be made, will he also be executed by lethal injection?
ROWLANDS: Yes. California no longer executes by any other means. The last inmate to die by gas was in 1996, and after that, the California Supreme Court ruled that it is inhumane to do so. It was a situation where witnesses actually saw this inmate struggling for his life, and it was -- that was it for gassing. And now in the state of California, lethal injection is the only way that an inmate can be executed.
COLLINS: Ted Rowlands, thanks so much for your insight tonight. We appreciate it.
And we now know what will happen to Scott Peterson, but this case is not just about him. It's about all the other people whose lives were forever changed by this nightmare. What is next for them?
CNN's Rusty Dornin reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We, the jury, in the above-entitled cause fix the penalty at death.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The conviction had come, the death sentence pronounced. But for Laci Peterson's family, the timing brings up the anguish of Christmas past.
RON GRANTSKI, LACI PETERSON'S STEPFATHER: We've got a lot of holidays, dates coming up that are going to be very hard on us. Matter of fact, Wednesday the 15th was the last time Sharon and I saw Laci alive. And you know about Christmas, New Year's, birthdays. So I'm hoping you all will just give us some time.
DORNIN: Time is what many of the key players in this case want, including Scott Peterson's family. His parents and sister-in-law left the courtroom without speaking to reporters, but have said they still believe in Peterson's innocence and cling to hopes the conviction will be overturned.
MARK GERAGOS, SCOTT PETERSON'S ATTORNEY: All I'd ask is that you respect Jacqui and Lee's and the family's privacy for the next week or so. At some point shortly, they'll make a statement or do a press conference, and at that time they'll agree to field whatever questions that they will.
DORNIN: Reporters must also wait to hear answers to questions about the Modesto police investigation. CHIEF ROY WASDEN, MODESTO POLICE DEPARTMENT: And we're not going to respond to that criticism today. There will be a time in the future when we'll discuss the criticisms that have been leveled.
DORNIN: The defense team has vowed to push forward before Peterson is formally sentenced February 25.
GERAGOS: Obviously, we plan on pursuing every and all appeals, motions for a new trial, and everything else.
DORNIN: And what about Amber Frey, Scott Peterson's former girlfriend? Her attorney says she's encouraging Frey to tell her story, possibly in a book, but no interviews this month.
Still, after two years, so many unanswered questions about what happened to the smiling expectant mother, questions that likely will never be answered, no matter how long we wait.
Rusty Dornin, CNN, San Francisco.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Whether you saw it as hard news or a sensational story that filled time on TV, the Peterson saga certainly captured our attention. Some in our business chose not to cover it. In doing so, they overlooked the one thing that has always made people stand up and take notice, murder.
Humans have always been fascinated with it, even long before the media ever put it inside the box.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We, the jury, in the above-entitled cause fix the penalty at death.
COLLINS (voice-over): However you view the media's fascination with high-profile murder trials, the truth is, many of you out there are watching. When Scott Peterson's sentence recommendation was announced yesterday, 1.3 million viewers tuned into CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News Channel.
But the truth is, our interest in murder didn't start when high- profile trials began to be broadcast on Court TV. It is part of our history. Some might call it biblical.
Remember the story of Cain and Abel? And back in Elizabethan times, Shakespeare made a career writing in large part about some of history's most hideous crimes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "OTHELLO")
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If she be false, I'll not believe it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Consider Othello, the moor of Venice, who murdered his wife in a jealous rage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "RICHARD III")
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So I might live one hour in your sweet bosom...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Or Richard III, who killed for power.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "HAMLET")
MEL GIBSON, ACTOR: Now could I drink hot blood...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Or Hamlet, who killed for revenge, and the audiences couldn't get enough.
Today, we can get our crime fix from less lyrical sources. Court TV correspondents don't speak in iambic pentameter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "LAW AND ORDER")
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guy fires three rounds, then he's out the door.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's the body count?
COLLINS: Still, it's no wonder shows like "Law and Order" have us hooked, when our appetite for tales of murder may be part of our genetic history, which could be the unkindest cut of all, inside the box.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: We're tracking several other stories tonight. Cross- country now, at the White House, the nation's highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom, awarded.
President Bush recognized former Iraq administrator Paul Bremer, retired general Tommy Franks, and former CIA director George Tenet, saying they all played pivotal roles in great events.
Pontiac, Michigan, teacher convicted of murder. Nancy Seaman (ph) faces a mandatory life sentence for hacking her husband to death with a hatchet. She claims she was acting in self-defense.
Los Angeles, California, Stone sues surgeon. Actress Sharon Stone says a Beverly Hills surgeon slandered and libeled her by claiming he gave her a facelift. Stone says the allegations have hurt her career.
Charleston, West Virginia, money cannot buy happiness. Jewel Whitaker (ph) says she wishes her husband never won a $314 million lottery jackpot two years ago. Since her family was thrust into the public spotlight, Whitaker's husband has been in legal trouble, and some of his property has been stolen.
Atlanta, Georgia, seeing double twice. Twin sisters gave birth by cesarean section today to twin boys, who were due on the same day. A hospital physician says the chances of that happening are probably one in a million.
That's a look at stories cross-country tonight.
360 next, Iraqi insurgents videotaping their own terror. Find out how intelligence officials are using it against them.
Plus, anthrax, who done it? Find out why, three years after the deadly attacks, the killer is still on the loose.
Also tonight, fingerprints on porn, new evidence in the Michael Jackson child molestation case.
But first, your picks, the most popular stories on CNN.com right now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: In Iraq, insurgents are once again targeting Baghdad's green zone. Today, for the second day in a row, a car bomb went off at a checkpoint into the area where the U.S. embassy and Iraqi government offices are located. At least two people were killed.
Not content to cause destruction, the Iraqi insurgents have been recording some attacks for propaganda purposes. Today, a new tape, apparently of an attack over the weekend.
As CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr reports, the video may provide clues about the insurgents themselves.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Another roadside bomb detonates, a typical attack that has killed or wounded hundreds of American troops. The insurgents' camera keeps rolling as U.S. soldiers help those wounded in the Humvee.
CNN asked military expert James Carafano to look at the video to see what can be learned.
JAMES CARAFANO, MILITARY EXPERT: Well, it's good for the Americans to know that there could be somebody watching them when they do these things, and that it's good for the Americans to look at it to see how they respond to it, and looking for things the bad guys might see in the way they respond to it.
STARR: U.S. troops are stepping up countermeasures. Every attack is analyzed, convoy routes are changed often. There is more reconnaissance. Military officials emphasize that armor alone, the subject of so much controversy, is not the total solution against improvised explosive devices. BRIG. GEN. DAVID RODRIGUEZ, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: You're looking at every place by how the thing was put together, how it was detonated, what type of material was used in it, what type of technology, because people design things differently.
STARR: New intelligence indicates explosives set off to the side of the road are proving very deadly.
Part of the longer-term solution, new armored vehicles are being tested on the streets of Iraq that can better survive attacks, including a new version of the armored Humvee with a mounted laser that can destroy explosives up to 250 meters away. New armored security vehicles are with military police units. They can survive 12-pound blasts under each wheel.
Miniconvoys now carry jammers designed to keep the remotely detonated devices from exploding, but some convoys still travel dangerous roads without these high-tech packages.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: And Heidi, yet another initiative, last month the Air Force stepped up the number of cargo flights into Iraq, now increased by 30 percent. They say they believe that will help keep another 1,000 military personnel, and perhaps as many as 400 vehicles, off those dangerous roads in Iraq, as they bring in more materiel by air, Heidi.
COLLINS: Barbara Starr from the Pentagon tonight. Barbara, thank you.
Saddam Hussein's location behind bars in Iraq no longer top secret. That tops our look at global stories in the uplink.
Today, Iraq's human rights minister revealed the ousted dictator is being held at Camp Cropper, a U.S. military base near Baghdad. Saddam Hussein was captured one year ago yesterday.
In France, Concorde crash investigation. A review finds a 2000 crash was caused by a faulty fuel-tank design and a metal strip that fell off a Continental Airlines jet onto the runway. Investigators say the strip caused a tire to burst. Rubber debris then got into the jet's fuel tanks, which sparked a fire that sent the jet crashing to the ground. The accident killed 113 people and helped bring an end to the costly supersonic jet. Continental denies it is responsible for the crash.
Wellington, New Zealand, starving penguin chicks. A giant iceberg about 1,200 square miles is cutting off access to waters where their parents catch fish. Scientists fear thousands of penguins will die.
And that's tonight's uplink.
360 next, hearts, minds, and the war on terror. Is Europe becoming the next big staging ground for extremists? CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen joins us live.
Also tonight, the anthrax who-done-it. No arrests three years after the deadly attacks. Find out why it's so hard for the FBI to catch the killer or killers.
And a little later, Michael Jackson, fingerprints, and porn. The magazines investigators say may hold a key piece of evidence.
And in a moment, today's 360 challenge. Do you know the news?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: In the war of ideas between radical Islam and the West, one of the battles is being fought not in the Middle East but in France, where today the government pulled the plug on a satellite TV channel based in Lebanon. Al Manar, the channel is called. And what it does, say the French, is beam hatred all over the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS (voice-over): There may be more than one Middle East- based television network, but none is causing quite the same stir as Al Manar.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Al Manar makes Al Jazeera look like a Girl Scout cookie infomercial.
COLLINS: Al Manar, Arabic for The Beacon, is coming under the harsh glare of critics for its anti-American and anti-Israeli programming, and its ties to the terrorist group Hezbollah.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think Al Manar, we have gone on the record on numerous occasions in response to what we consider to be in -- trying to think of the harsh enough word for it -- we consider to be disgusting programming that preaches hatred and violence.
COLLINS: Some critics say Al Manar is nothing but a propaganda machine for a militant Muslim organization.
AVI JORISCH, AUTHOR, "BEACON OF HATRED": The station is looking to inspire what we call in the West, quote unquote, "suicide attacks," and what they call, quote unquote, "martyrdom operations." They're very open about the fact that they support, rhetorically, these types of attacks against American soldiers and against Israelis.
COLLINS: Despite images like these, network executives say the charges are just not true. And while they share some philosophical ideals with Hezbollah, they don't take direction from the group. Still, their statements show they don't view the U.S. and its leaders kindly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: George W. Bush says that he's a friend of the peace and is a peaceful man. So, I mean, this is distorting the realities and the facts. But we have never broadcast anything to incite hatred. COLLINS: There's no way to know how many people are watching Al Manar. But the network does broadcast here in the United States. Yet despite Hezbollah's designation as a terrorist group, the State Department is not following France's lead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd say that television and its relationship with Hezbollah is something that we note, and follow carefully, but I would leave it at that.
COLLINS: Meaning, here at home, the war of ideas has found a new battleground.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: The French and other European nations, as well as those of us in this country, apparently have every right to be concerned about Muslims being radicalized in Europe. After all, most of the recent acts of terrorism in this country have a connection to Europe.
Take the attempt to blow up LAX. The terrorists, caught in 1999, had been radicalized in Italy. Three out of four pilots on 9/11 planes had connection with al Qaeda's Hamburg cell in Germany. The alleged 20th hijacker, Zacarias Moussaoui, is French, and the shoe bomber, Richard Reid, is British.
Joining us now to talk more about the problem is CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen.
Peter, thank you for being here tonight.
I know that you just recently wrote in an "L.A. Times" op-ed that the real threat for the U.S. is not so much this traditional al Qaeda organization that we talk so frequently about, but rather cells and affiliated groups that are based in Europe. So how so?
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Well, as your graphic indicated, you know, all the serious terrorist attacks, either planned or implemented, in the last -- since 1999 have had a very strong European connection. It's hard to imagine them without that European connection.
I think that trend is going to accelerate over time, basically for two reasons. One is that European governments have not, perhaps, been as proactive as they could have been in cracking down. Europe, of course, is a place that you can travel around very easily, open borders, easy to travel here, if you have a European passport.
And you've got 20 million Muslims in Europe. Obviously 99 percent of them are not going to engage in terrorism, but a small minority might. And that group is going to increase over time, because Europeans' native populations are declining pretty dramatically, and they've got a serious problem in terms of keeping up social welfare entitlements and also filling their labor force. And they're going to have to import a lot more labor from Middle East and also North Africa. COLLINS: And Peter, the first point you made, about Europe not being very proactive about tracking down possible al Qaeda connections, why? And what are they doing at this point?
BERGEN: Well, actually, I mean, in fairness, it depends which country. France has had a problem with its Algerian population and terrorism starting in the mid-'90s, and they have been quite proactive. Britain has a long tradition of tolerance of dissenters. That, I think, is beginning to change. They have arrested one notorious terrorist insider, Abu Hamza, within the last year or so. So I think things are moving in the right direction.
But the problem, of course, is that Europe has got in the European Union, you know, there are some 20 countries, all of which have, you know, different languages. And also, it is like the firewall problem here in this country between the FBI and CIA, except it is 20, 25 walls between each of these different countries. So it's half of them to share information, and that also is beginning to change. The E.U. now has a counterterrorism czar, but I think there's a long way to go.
COLLINS: Yes, and quickly, on that point, I mean, with all of those different countries and an inability, at least at this point, to talk, I mean, do you see, as someone who has been tracking this as closely as you have, any indication that that will improve, or an effort to start communicating?
BERGEN: I think it is improving, but I think that, you know, likelihood of a major terrorist attack in a city like London is much, much higher than an attack here in the United States.
COLLINS: All right. Peter Bergen, CNN terrorism analyst tonight. Thank you, Peter.
BERGEN: Thank you.
COLLINS: Fingerprints of both Michael Jackson and his accuser found on pornographic magazines. Will his own identity prove his guilt? And what does it mean for the case against the king of pop?
And our special series, Ancient Cures. Tonight, the controversial and chilling modern use of an ancient medical procedure, a hole in your head.
360 continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: A new report out today paints a grim picture of America's readiness to face a nuclear or bioterrorist attack. According to Trust For America's Health nearly one-third of all states have cut their health budgets in the last year. Only six states have developed emergency vaccination plans in the event of a terrorist attack. As concerns rise over America's bioterror planning how quickly we forget that federal agents are still looking for the killer or killers behind the 2001 anthrax attacks. It's a story that rarely makes front page news anymore even though it put the country on edge for months. CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena with an update on the investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It has been three years since David Hose inhaled a deadly form of anthrax.
DAVID HOSE, ANTHRAX VICTIM: Doctor says I'll never be able to work again.
ARENA: Hose does not believe investigators will ever find who is responsible for his condition. Members of Congress periodically briefed by investigators don't sound too hopeful either.
REP. CHRIS SHAYS (R), CONNECTICUT: What is alarming about this is we haven't made headway and our best chance of catching this individual is when they do it again. That's the last thing we want to happen. The feeling we get from the FBI right now is that they are stuck.
ARENA: Just four months ago federal investigators conducted searches related to anthrax in New York and New Jersey. The FBI says it conducted 48 searches in all and more than 6,000 interviews. There are still 31 FBI agents and a dozen postal inspectors on the case, most of the work being done is scientific. Former U.S. attorney Roscoe Howard worked on the case.
ROSCOE HOWARD, FMR. U.S. ATTORNEY: It was just something that we weren't used to. We had to do a lot of gearing up. We had to get smarter about what was going on. We had to in essence make ourselves biologists, chemists.
ARENA: Scientists are trying to trace the anthrax back to its originating lab. The FBI says it has identified 16 U.S. labs that possess the type of anthrax used in the attacks and says more than 1,000 employees had access to it. Only one person has ever been named in the investigation. A former government researcher Steven Hatfill. He was referred to as a person of interest by the attorney general. He has repeatedly denied any involvement.
STEVEN HATFILL, FMR. GOVERNMENT RESEARCHER: I am not the anthrax killer.
ARENA: Hatfill filed suit against the government. His case was put on hold this fall because a federal judge said the investigation was at a critical stage. David Hose hopes that means there will soon be an indictment. But isn't counting on it. Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: With more now on the anthrax investigation, joining us is bioterrorism expert Dr. Leonard Cole. He's the author of "The Anthrax Letters, A Medical Detective Story." Dr. Cole, thank you for being with us tonight. You know, the attorney general referred to Steven Hatfill way back in August of 2002 as a person of interest. The investigation began. The FBI started looking into him. The FBI conducted all kinds of searches. Let's look on the screen if we could at what they did.
They searched his apartment twice. They drained a pond near his home. They went door-to-door with his photo asking about him. Put him under surveillance. As a result obviously his life has been turned upside down. Is he even still a suspect at this point?
DR. LEONARD COLE, AUTHOR, "THE ANTHRAX LETTERS": The FBI never used the word suspect. They always used a person of interest. What that means is not clear. His life has been turned upside down. He's unemployable. The man has been sitting home since he was named as a person of interest. He lost his job then. He's instituted a couple of suits against the U.S. government for multimillions of dollars.
COLLINS: Do you think he's right to do that? How do you think the FBI handled this investigation?
COLE: Well, I can't say whether he's right or wrong and I won't make a judgment even about what evidence the FBI may have. To the best of my knowledge, they don't have enough to bring charges or they would have. I would say that it was not a great idea very early on within a few weeks after the first anthrax letter was sent out, the FBI developed a profile which they put on their website. They suggested that the likely perpetrator was a single individual, a male, someone disaffected with the government, unhappy, scientist, bright, had access to anthrax.
That's narrow. That would be evenly few people. It also seems to close the possibility or as equal an opportunity to look at a possible overseas connection. Don't forget the first anthrax letters that we found were postmarked September 18, 2001. That means just a week after September 11. Could that have meant there was a connection? Was it somebody who was sitting and waiting for an unknown time and event in which he would send out anthrax? That and a few other suggestions to me would indicate that there ought to be equal consideration to the possibility of an overseas connection as well as a domestic perpetrator.
COLLINS: Talk to me a bit if you would about survivors. Tell me their conditions. Twenty-two people died.
COLE: Not quite 22. Twenty-two people were known to become infected. Eleven of them had the less dangerous skin anthrax version. Eleven had inhalation which is usually quite lethal. Before this incident, anthrax is rare we don't have baseline of medical information about it but before the incidents when 11 people came down with it, we assumed that an untreated person would probably die. Well over 90 percent chance. However, among the 11 people, five died. Six survived. I have gotten to talk and got to know pretty well. Some of the six but I talked to all of them. Only one is fully recovered back to work. The other five still have symptoms.
COLLINS: We appreciate your insight here tonight. We wish them well, of course. Thank you.
COLE: Thank you.
COLLINS: 360 next. Now the case against Michael Jackson. His fingerprints on pornographic magazines and his weren't the only prints found. That story just ahead.
Also tonight, drilling a hole in the head. An ancient treatment that's still being used. Does it offer hope or is it a hoax?
And in a moment today's 360 challenge. How closely have you been following today's news? Find out next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Lawyers for Michael Jackson are hoping to stop next month's trial from ever starting. They're asking a judge to dismiss the molestation charges because of, quote, "vindictive prosecution." If the court denies the motion, the state may turn to fingerprints lifted from Jackson's Neverland Ranch to try to prove his guilt.
CNN's Eric Philips reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERIC PHILIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With the beginning of his molestation trial just a month and a half away, CNN has learned another piece of revealing information about what investigators found at Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch. A source familiar with the case tells CNN the fingerprints of Jackson and those of his accuser, a boy now 15 years old, have been found on porno magazines seized during a raid on the pop star's estate in November of 2003.
Sources say investigators found a collection of pornographic magazines in the pop star's master bedroom and bath.
If in fact, these fingerprints were to be used as evidence during the trial, it is uncertain what value they may or may not have. That's because the boy and his family were allowed to stay at Neverland Ranch while Jackson was away, and allegedly had free run of the property. One source told CNN the boy was disruptive and got into everything.
The accuser's family claims they were even held captive there.
Santa Barbara's Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville will decide next month exactly what evidence jurors will hear. 46-year-old Jackson has pleaded not guilty to a grand jury indictment charging him with child molestation, conspiracy and giving alcohol to a minor. His trial is set to begin January 31st.
Eric Philips, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Covering the Jackson case for us tonight is Court TV correspondent Savannah Guthrie. Savannah, than you for being here.
The judge is going to decide now what evidence is admissible. It's going to happen next month. Do you think the jury is ever going to be hearing anything at all about these magazines?
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, COURT TV: I think it is very likely they will hear this evidence. Remember, this is evidence that was taken pursuant to that search warrant back in November of 2003. Assuming that search warrant is valid, and it is my understanding that the judge has ruled that it is, then I think it will come in.
And it's very relevant. It is directly relevant to the charges here. This is not a case where the prosecutor is trying to bring in some salacious evidence to try to dirty up the defendant. This is directly relevant to child molestation charge, and I think the prosecutors have a strong argument for admitting it.
COLLINS: So if the jury sees these magazines and they see the boy's fingerprints as well, I mean, how bad is it for Michael Jackson?
GUTHRIE: I think it's very powerful evidence for the prosecution for a couple of reasons. First of all, it corroborates, it has the potential to corroborate what this accuser is saying. So many times in cases like this, it's a he said/he said, he said/she said cases. This sort of transforms it potentially into a forensic case.
The other thing is, there's just a lot of emotional power in evidence like this. Evidence of a pornographic magazine with a kid's fingerprints, especially if this turns out to be a magazine that caters to a pedophile's interest, it kind of has an odor to it. It's an odor that is hard to get out of the jury box
COLLINS: But do you think the defense could just argue it away? I mean, they could just say, well, you know, he was there looking at the magazines on his own?
GUTHRIE: I think so. And I think that is a potentially strong argument, you know. It's not a smoking gun. Just because you have the accuser's fingerprints and Michael Jackson's fingerprints doesn't mean that they were looking at it together.
On the other hand, in conjunction with what the accuser says, with whatever other evidence they got out of Neverland, maybe this jury is not going to want to give him the benefit of the doubt.
COLLINS: Well, some of the other evidence was this DNA sample that was taken a month ago. Why did it take them so long to go ahead and get that?
GUTHRIE: Well, that's a good question. Normally getting a DNA sample, a control sample from the defendant is kind of a matter of routine, especially here, when the arrest and the surrender was so negotiated. You think that's something they could take care of. It takes just a few seconds to get a DNA swab. That didn't happen here. And ultimately, the prosecutors had to go and get a search warrant to get this done. I can tell you, the judges are not happy to see you when the parties can't resolve simple issues like this. The judge doesn't want to have to resolve it himself. That's what happened in this case. It's so contentious.
COLLINS: All right. Well, Savannah Guthrie, thank you.
GUTHRIE: Nice to be with you.
COLLINS: As always tonight on CNN, you can expect some in-depth reporting on "PAULA ZAHN NOW" and "NEWSNIGHT WITH AARON BROWN."
Paula and Aaron join me now with a preview of what they are covering tonight. Let's go ahead and begin with Paula. Hi, Paula.
PAULA ZAHN, HOST, "PAULA ZAHN NOW": Hi, Heidi. Thanks.
There's news tonight on Andrea Yates. You probably remember her. The Texas mom who drowned her five small children three years ago. She's now serving life in prison, but now her legal team is trying to get her a new trial. We'll tell you why. You might be surprised to hear what her husband has to say about this, Rusty Yates. He'll be joining us in an exclusive interview.
And on the security watch, a CNN investigation into the new vaccine government says is supposed to protect you from an anthrax attack. We're going to hear from ex-soldiers, however, who say the current anthrax vaccine destroyed them physically. And a look at the billions of dollars the government is spending on the new vaccine, even though some experts say the money is not being spent well. Lots to uncover tonight, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Paula. Thanks. We'll be watching.
And Aaron.
AARON BROWN, HOST, "NEWSNIGHT": And Heidi.
Well, we have some interest in security issues ourselves tonight. Which states, which locations, which facilities, who gets money to protect themselves or protect their locations from terrorists attacks, and which don't. And oh by the way, why is it taking so long, three years after 9-11 after all, to come up with this list?
Also tonight, one of the sign of the times stories. Google announcing it's going to put libraries on its search engine. Does this mean the end of libraries as we know them, or at least as we use them? Take a look at that as well. 10:00 Eastern time tonight, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Aaron Brown, thanks so much.
360 next now, drilling holes in your head to feel better? An ancient cure that offers hope, or is it a hoax? Part of our special series.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: In these days of radio surgery and CT scans and miracle drugs, you might be surprised to learn that some patients are going back to the old days, the really old days, and seeking relief in ancient medicine. Tonight we begin a new series on whether these ancient cures are a modern hope or a hoax. You might think that someone who tries this has a hole in their head, and in some cases you would be right. Literally. CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For 10,000 years on nearly every continent, skulls with cavernous holes had been unearthed. Evidence of the oldest kind of surgery called trepanation. Sharp tools were used to pry out a part of the skull down to the dura layer, between the brain and the cranium. A successful procedure meant the brain was left untouched.
GAIL KENNEDY, ANTHROPOLOGIST: People were believed to be possessed. And it is a rational treatment in their eyes, to open a skull and let the creatures exit, hopefully achieving a cure.
GUPTA: Opening the skull, not to remove a tumor or perform brain surgery as is commonly done today, but in the hope that bad spirits might flee the body.
Thousands of years later, that ancient practice continues.
In Kenya, the Keesis (ph) still trepan fellow tribesmen in a ritualistic ceremony, and even in the U.S., according to the 1998 documentary "A Hole in the Head."
Pete Halbersam (ph), who declined an interview with CNN, describes self-trepanation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I made a T-shaped incision right here on my forehead. I pulled the flaps of skin back, and inserted a fairly sharp pointed bit to get a pilot hole started in the skull bone.
GUPTA: And then he drilled a hole straight through his skull, stopping just short of his brain.
Halbersam (ph) and hundreds of others say the experience increases blood flow to the brain and expands their consciousness.
KENNEDY: One woman described the effect as a cosmic orgasm. It's not some sort of a higher consciousness that's being achieved, it's simply medical shock.
GUPTA: Some believe it may still help, especially with elements like chronic fatigue syndrome or depression.
That's not proven. Regardless of its merit or its misuse, this ancient surgery lives on.
KENNEDY: So we have to understand that what we would call primitive medicine is probably not so primitive after all.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: To point out, Heidi, that techniques like this obviously used in hospitals all over the country today, but those are by trained neurosurgeons to gain access to the brain for operations, Heidi.
COLLINS: But I mean, real operations. I mean, this trepanation sounds like a joke. I mean, hearing that man talk about doing this to himself, how prevalent is this sort of thing really right now?
GUPTA: Well, I wouldn't say that it is prevalent. It was probably more prevalent in the 1960s and is more prevalent in Europe than it is in the United States, but it still goes on. People believe in some ways, as you heard in the piece, that it can cure things like releasing spirits from the body. Some people have used it as a treatment for chronic fatigue syndrome, which is a more vague syndrome. People believe that might be a treatment for that. It's not prevalent, but it still happens today, Heidi.
COLLINS: People believe, but do doctors believe?
GUPTA: There has really been no evidence that this works in any way. There have been some early studies that have shown that the area of brain around one of these holes does increase in blood flow. What exactly that means in terms of a person's consciousness or their well- being overall, that's harder to describe. But no studies that show any scientific merit of actually doing this procedure.
COLLINS: Glad you were here tonight, as a trained neurosurgeon as well. Thank you. Dr. Sanjay Gupta. It's nice to see you.
Our special series, "Ancient Cures: Modern Hope or Hoax," continues tomorrow, with a look at Dead Sea bath therapy. Thousands have made the pilgrimage to the Middle East, drawn to the salts. Now some say they get the same results at the doctor's office. Is it possible?
On Thursday, ancient herbal cures. Can you fight off disease with help from your garden?
And Friday, music therapy. Soothing the pain through the power of sound waves.
360 next, supermodels dressed from head to hoof. A fashion show like nothing you have seen before.
The 360 challenge. Here is another look at tonight's questions now. Do you know the news? Log on to cnn.com/360, and click on the answer link to play.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Time now for the answers to today's 360 challenge.
How big will Scott Peterson's cell be on death row at San Quentin? Five feet by eight feet.
The U.S. Air Force has increased cargo flights in Iraq by what percentage? Thirty percent.
How many U.S. labs possess the type of anthrax used in the post- 9/11 anthrax attacks? Sixteen.
The first person to answer all three questions correctly will be sent a 360 t-shirt. Tune in tomorrow to find out if you won. And last night's winner, Navi Samra of Davis, California. Another 360 challenge and another chance to win coming up tomorrow.
The world's most celebrated designers usually work with the world's best known women. Not this time, though. Here are the greatest names of fashion taking on the greatest creatures on Earth. Super models who never ask, "does this make me look fat?" From Jeanne Moos, a dress for excess story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These aren't Christmas balls, they're earrings for an elephant. Chanel earrings. Anyone who has ever tried to dress up a dog will tip their hat to elephants dressed head to toe in Chanel. Or Isaac Mizrahi. Or Balenciaga. Some of the world's top designers.
(on camera): This is sort of like chain-mail.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is chain-mail, oh, yeah.
MOOS (voice-over): Plus size has never been this plus.
(on camera): The elephants didn't mind?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, they had the best time.
MOOS (voice-over): It was a shoot for a layout called "Trunk Show" in "W" magazine. Photographer and elephant lover Bruce Webber dreamed up the idea. All the designers got was a set of measurements to work from.
DENNIS FREEDMAN, CREATIVE DIRECTOR, "W" MAGAZINE: Which was basically the circumference all around the elephant.
MOOS: Dixie here ended up squeezing into a Dolce & Gabbana corset. Women all know how those pesky straps slide off.
But the Chanel hats stayed on, even if Rosie dropped her parasol. Their behinds may not have the same appeal as, say, J.Lo's, but Ty here knows how to shake it.
(on camera): None of the clothes were eaten?
FREEDMAN: None of the clothes were eaten.
MOOS (voice-over): Actually, Ty tried, but ended up spitting out her Balenciaga chains, opting instead to swing them.
Not since "Dumbo" donned hat and collar have elephants looked so fashionable. Even their feet (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in Manolo Blanicks (ph).
"W's" creative director called the shoot "a nice break from humans."
FREEDMAN: Because no one talked back.
MOOS: Mark Jacobs even took the same dress a model wore for his spring collection and expanded it. For a sportier look, there was Ralph Lauren.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was the wet t-shirt shot.
MOOS: A t-shirt featuring the couture-clad elephants is for sale at elephantfamily.org, to raise money for elephant conservation. But one thing that wasn't conserved was this pink corset.
FREEDMAN: And when she took it off, it was a sort of striptease.
MOOS: More strip, less tease.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: New York. I'm Heidi Collins, in for Anderson Cooper. CNN's prime-time line-up continues now with Paula Zahn. Hi, Paula.
ZAHN: Hi, Heidi.
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