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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

A Look Drugs and How it Effects Children; George W. Bush Set to Give State of the Union

Aired February 02, 2005 - 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, GUEST HOST: Good evening from New York, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
The president's political gambles.

360 starts right now.

George W. Bush to report on the State of the Union for the fourth time as president of the United States. Tonight, a 360 preview. How will he try to unite this divided nation?

The pope, still hospitalized. Tonight, the latest on the condition of the frail pontiff as his flock prays for his recovery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: God is not done with him. He still has a lot of work to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Martha Stewart, 20 pounds lighter and in very good spirits. Tonight, did Camp Cupcake really do the domestic diva some good?

She was a cheerleader with bright dreams for the future. Now, her dream, just to stay alive. Tonight, a young girl battling heroin addiction shares her story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I begged. I slept with a few dealers for the drugs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: And reports of interoffice trysts on the rise, in conference rooms, stairwells, elevators, even rest rooms. Tonight, is love blooming in a cubicle near you?

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

COLLINS: Good evening. Anderson is off tonight. Just about two hours from now, President Bush will go into the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives. As you look live now at the Capitol tonight, the president prepares to deliver the speech every president gives about this time on the calendar, the State of the Union address, a report required by the U.S. Constitution.

It is a speech delivered to the Congress, but the whole world is watching. Every word counts. And tonight, among other things, the president is expected to begin the hard sell for what may be the key battle of his second term, reworking Social Security.

We get a preview of tonight's speech from CNN's Judy Woodruff.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I earned capital in the campaign, political capital. And now I intend to spend it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A president's second term is always a race against time, a sprint to realize an agenda, cement a legacy, and do it all before the next campaign gears up and lame duck syndrome sets in.

So, from day one...

BUSH: I, George Walker Bush...

WILLIAM REHNQUIST, CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE UNITED STATES: ... do solemnly swear...

BUSH: ... do solemnly swear...

WOODRUFF: Of term two, the president has been talking big, establishing lofty goals, like...

BUSH: ... of ending tyranny in our world...

WOODRUFF: He's expected to elaborate on these muscular themes tonight. A departure from last year, the election year, when George W. Bush used his State of the Union to rattle off small-bite policies, like a call for the sports world to...

BUSH: ... get rid of steroids now.

WOODRUFF: Now, a decisive victory has emboldened the president to tackle larger matters, both abroad and at home.

BUSH: Social Security has been an issue that, you know, has made people nervous. I understand that.

WOODRUFF: Tonight, aides say Bush will declare the issue his chief domestic priority, fleshing out his proposals and signaling to Congress that he's ready to spend some of that political capital.

What isn't clear is how many specific dollars-and-cents details the president will share. Or, as Democrats warn, information about possible cuts in benefits.

BUSH: Our nation must defend the sanctity of marriage.

WOODRUFF: In last year's address, the president made a grand gesture to social conservatives. Will he do the same tonight? Or will divisive issues like gay marriage and abortion get back-burner treatment now that the election's over?

The evangelicals who helped keep Bush in the White House will surely be listening.

And what of Iraq? Last weekend's election success was welcome respite from months of bad news. Count on Bush to tout the historic vote tonight while making it clear the U.S. is not about to cut and run.

The president will also likely cite the Iraqi and Palestinian elections as proof that freedom is on the march.

BUSH: America's influence is considerable, and we will use it confidently in freedom's cause.

WOODRUFF: His forceful and expansive inaugural address sounded alarms in the international community. Just as then, tonight, Bush will be speaking as much to foreign leaders as to his own countrymen, promising both action and reassurance about America's role in the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: Well, one thing the president may say that will be reassuring to critics of his Iraq policy, and we know this because the White House just released some excerpts from the speech, he will say the new political situation in Iraq opens a new phase of our work in that country. "We will increasingly focus our efforts," the president will say, "on helping prepare more capable Iraqi security forces, forces with skilled officers and an effective command structure."

And, Heidi, we know the more capable Iraqi forces are, that means the less U.S. forces will be needed, Heidi.

COLLINS: It will be quite a speech to watch, indeed. And Judy, I understand you had lunch with the president today. What was the mood like at that lunch table?

WOODRUFF: Well, Heidi, there were (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- television network anchors were invited, as they are every year the day of the State of the Union to have lunch with the president. And I can tell you that if anybody thought this president in a second term was going to be any less energetic, any less focused, any less active, they are absolutely wrong. This is a president who is determined to fulfill the agenda that we're going to hear much more about tonight, Social Security, the international agenda, the Middle East. We're going to hear about a number of subjects that he feels strongly about.

He said more than once today, and I'm paraphrasing, that it's up to him, it's up to the president, to tackle the tough issues, you, that's why the people elected me.

So we're looking forward to, I think, a second term perhaps like we haven't seen in quite some time.

COLLINS: All right, Judy Woodruff, thanks so much for that. Always nice to see you. Thanks, Judy.

WOODRUFF: Thanks.

COLLINS: And as Judy mentioned, the president likes to use these occasions to paint broad policy strokes instead of making specific promises, but he has made a few. Here's a news note now on promises made and kept. Last year, the president proposed $23 million additional dollars go to drug testing in schools. Congress gave $10 million. He said he'd double federal funding for abstinence programs. That happened. The budget went from $50 to $100 million. And he also touted a new temporary worker program for illegal immigrants. That idea stuck in Congress for now, and actually faces some opposition from his own party.

Be sure to stay with CNN for the president's address. Wolf Blitzer and company will bring it to you, and, of course, offer dead- on analysis before and after the event, 8:00 p.m. tonight.

Last night at this time, we were reporting Pope John Paul II had been rushed from the Vatican to a hospital. He has the flu and was having trouble breathing. This now is the Vatican tonight. People inside say the pope is stabilized, but he will stay in the hospital for the next few days.

We get the latest on the pope's health and the many get-well prayers he's receiving from CNN's senior international correspondent Walter Rodgers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALTER RODGERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): In St. Peter's basilica at the Vatican, Roman Catholics prayed, and prayed fervently, for the recovery of Pope John Paul II. His Holiness was rush to this hospital Tuesday night with flu complications, an inflamed windpipe, and spasms of the larynx. Breathing was difficult, and there was a fever.

But Vatican officials say there was no reason for alarm.

JOQUIN NAVARRO-VALLS, CHIEF VATICAN SPOKESMAN: During the night, the Holy Father rested for several hours. RODGERS: The pontiff's health has been increasingly frail, with symptoms of advanced Parkinson's disease. Church officials have in the past said he is dying, while at other times, they say His Holiness is in reasonably good health.

John Allen decoded this latest papal health scare.

JOHN ALLEN, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: Well, it's pretty alarming. I mean, the Vatican does not, at the drop of a hat, put the pope in the -- in an ambulance and send him to the Gemelli Hospital. This is actually the first time, really, since the assassination attempt that on an emergency basis, the pope was rushed into medical care.

RODGERS: A spiritual leader of a billion Roman Catholics, a papal sneeze can cause a chill. Still, at all levels, the clergy downplayed the seriousness.

FATHER JIM FLANAGAN: He's got the flu, and the flu is running around in Italy all over the place. One out of 100 people have the flu.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RODGERS: Officials say the pontiff's hospitalization this time was largely precautionary. They say the pope will return to the Vatican in a matter of days. Still, with this pope, 84 years old now, and 85 in May, veteran Vatican watchers are now predicting that this pope will be an increasingly frequent visitor to this hospital, Heidi.

COLLINS: Walter Rodgers. Walter, thanks so much for that.

And for more on the pope's condition, and what the Vatican is saying tonight, we turn to CNN's Vatican analyst, Delia Gallagher, once again in Rome tonight.

Delia, the pope's condition may have stabilized, but of course he's not out of the woods yet. What is the mood, as you see it, at the Vatican tonight?

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: Well, I would say, Heidi, that the mood is decidedly optimistic, if you compare it to the alarm and the concern of last night. We've had several statements today from the pope's spokesperson, Navarro Vals. This afternoon, the Italian minister of health visited the hospital, and Cardinal Angelo Sodano (ph), who is the secretary of state, all made statements to say that the pope was doing well.

Of course, doing well for the pope is a relative term, because he has suffered from breathing problems for some time. And this flu, which is (UNINTELLIGIBLE) which has aggravated these breathing problems, is what they're hoping to get rid of in the next few days. But that doesn't mean that the breathing problems go away, obviously.

So that is something they are going to have to closely monitor once he gets back to the Vatican. COLLINS: And as we know, there really isn't a contingency plan in place in case that the pope becomes incapacitated. But we do know that the pope turned over the responsibilities of the day-to-day operations quite some time ago to the cardinals at the Vatican. Can you tell us a little bit more about who they are and what exactly they do?

GALLAGHER: Well, let me say it's not quite correct to say he turns over responsibilities. There are certain responsibilities allocated to each of the departments in the Vatican, and then the pope has authority over all of that. So he could intervene at any stage if he wanted.

There are many curial offices. The curias, of course, the Vatican Offices. And the two pillars, if you will, perhaps, are the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Ratzinger's congregation, he's the German cardinal we hear about a lot. And they are in charge of the rules and regulations. And, of course, that congregation continues, as do all of them, even while the pope is in the hospital.

And the other pillar is probably the Secretariat of State, responsible for the political affairs of the Vatican, headed by Cardinal Sodano.

So all of it is continuing as usual, business as usual. There are a few things that the pope is the only person who can sign off on, such as creating bishops and, of course, creating cardinals as well. But creating bishops is something that's important all around the world, because bishops are in charge of the dioceses of the people around the world. And so that's something that will have to wait until the pope comes back.

That can't be done without his authority.

COLLINS: All right, our analyst from the Vatican tonight, Delia Gallagher. Thanks so much, Delia.

A failed takeoff, that tops our look at new cross-country now. Teterboro, New Jersey, somehow everybody survived this plane crash this morning. The corporate jet failed to gain altitude, rushed off the runway, crossed a highway, hit two cars, and crashed into a warehouse. At least 19 people were treated at local hospitals.

Washington, D.C., the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by another quarter-point today, the sixth time since June, to make sure a stronger economy does not trigger inflation.

Punxsatawney (ph), Pennsylvania, it's Groundhog Day, and the world's most famous forecaster has made his prediction. Punxsatawney Phil saw his shadow this morning, so you know what that means, six more weeks of bad winter weather.

But in Wilburn (ph), Georgia, a little bit of a different forecast. Groundhog General Beauregard Lee came out, sort of, and predicted spring is just around the corner. Go figure. Ashley (ph), Virginia, watch this play, a missed free throw, then a full-court Hail Mary pass, and swish! On Monday, with less than one second to go in the game, sophomore Jordan Snipes (ph) hurled a 90- foot shot and leads Guilford (ph) College to a win over Randolph Making (ph). And then, in Greensboro, North Carolina, home to Guilford College, the local TV station challenged him to do it again, and he did. Talk about a long shot.

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

360 next, Martha Stewart's makeover, how prison life has changed her. And wait tell you hear how her TV plans for when she's a free woman.

Plus, a battle over a baby. He survived the tsunami. Why the hospital won't let the couple claiming to be his parents take him home.

And Chasing the High, a new 360 special series. Tonight, teens hooked on heroin. They cheat, lie, and rob to get their stash. One girl shares her story.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Move over, Donald Trump, here comes Martha Stewart. Today, NBC announced she will be the host of a new version of "The Apprentice." Of course, the show will have to wait for its start a finish her prison sentence first, but with freedom and a new job around the corner, Stewart is said to be giving herself a cell-block makeover.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTHA STEWART: And I'll be back. I will be back.

COLLINS (voice-over): Martha Stewart, promising we haven't seen the last of her after her felony conviction on obstruction of justice charges last summer. She's appealing that, but decided to do the time to get it behind her.

Now, Stewart's just one month from being sprung from Alderson Federal Prison Camp in West Virginia. But when she is, will she still be the same soup-stirring domestic diva her fans know and love, that society shutterbug-loving, wine-drinking Martha Stewart, or has she changed?

Barbara Walters of ABC's "The View" says she has, after spending an afternoon with Stewart behind bars at Alderson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE VIEW," ABC)

BARBARA WALTERS, HOST "THE VIEW": (UNINTELLIGIBLE). She really looks very well. She has lost 20 pounds. She is in very good spirits. She teaches yoga, you know, when they have, you know, time to do it. She said she misses absolutely nothing material.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Walters, telling "The View" lady, Stewart has made very good friends with her fellow inmates and is even looking after their bottom lines.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE VIEW," ABC)

WALTER: You can build quarters to put in the machines, you know, to get, well, to get a candy bar or Martha said that she sort of became a little friendly with the people who were doing the yoga, and so she got them to put yogurt in instead of just candy bars, because (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) healthy, right.

WALTER: ... little healthier.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Stewart is keeping busy, but in published reports, her attorney declines comment on suggestions she is talking to reality show guru Mark Burnett. He's launching an "Apprentice"-like show with Stewart on NBC next fall. But prison rules forbid her from conducting business.

So for now, it appears Stewart is focusing on being clean.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE VIEW," ABC)

WALTER: She herself, her job is, she's part of a team of four women, and they do all the cleaning. That's all the offices and the warden's room and also the toilets and the floors. I said, How are you doing? She said, I love scrubbing the floors in the bathroom. I said, I'll bet they are spotless.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Stewart will have plenty of time to get her own floors shipshape when she's released on March 4. She'll spend the next five months under house arrest.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Iraq's elections appear to get al Qaeda's attention, that tops our look at global stories in the uplink.

A statement appearing on several Islamist Web sites, said to be from Osama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, says the only way to reform Islamic nations is through holy war, not, quote, "rigged elections." Leading Sunni clerics are also calling Sunday's election illegitimate, because many Sunni Arabs, who were part of Saddam Hussein's ruling class, boycotted the polls.

Chechnya, Russia, a call for a ceasefire. A Chechan Web site says a rebel leader has ordered all fighters to refrain from launching attacks until February 22, saying it's a gesture of goodwill. The leader said separate operations, like destroying spies or attackers, may continue. Russia says it will not react to the Web site statement.

Campbell Bay Island, India, found alive. Police discovered nine survivors of December's tsunami on a remote island. The survivors lived in their flattened villages for 38 days, eating boars and coconuts.

And that's tonight's uplink.

Another tsunami survivor is at the center of a battle between a couple claiming he is their baby, and the hospital, demanding proof.

CNN's Sahasami Heder (ph) has more on the struggle over a very young life.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAHASAMI HEDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is Baby 81, too young to know about the tsunami that separated him from his family and oblivious to the storm raging over his future.

A Sri Lankan court on Wednesday ordered a DNA test for the child to decide whether he is the son of the couple that claims him. Baby 81, so-called because he was the 81st submission to the hospital that fateful day, was found in debris nine hours after the tsunami struck. He was apparently saved from the tsunami's fury because he floated on a tire and was rushed to this hospital in Kulmunai (ph).

As word spread about the baby's miraculous escape, many thronged to the hospital to see him. Genita and Murgapela Jeriraja (ph) say they raced to the hospital, hoping the baby was their own son, Abelash (ph), who they say was snatched from his mother's arms by the force of the tsunami.

Overjoyed to see him, the couple wanted to take him home, but they say documents to prove the child was theirs had been lost in the disaster, and hospital officials refused to hand him over.

"I am so sad," says Genita, "I can't be at peace until we take him home."

Local police say no one else has officially claimed the baby so far, but the court wants scientific evidence that the baby boy is their son before handing him over.

The Jerirajas had hoped to get custody of baby 81 at Wednesday's hearing. Now they must wait weeks more while the DNA tests are completed.

Sahasami Heder, CNN, New Delhi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: 360 next, Cupid in the cubicle. A steamy survey on sex in the workplace.

Also tonight, hooked on heroin. One former cheerleader on why she cheated, lied, and had sex to get her fix, part of our special series.

Plus, a teen murdered, her so-called friends accused of the crime.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Adrian (ph) Reynolds' dream to sing "Amazing Grace" on "American Idol" will never come true. The 16-year-old's life was brutally taken last month in a murder that has shaken a western Illinois city to the core.

The alleged killers are two teenagers who knew the victim well, and who tonight stand accused of committing pure evil.

CNN's Jonathan Freed reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Adrian Reynolds' family has been consumed by grief, mourning the loss of their 16-year- old daughter, choked and beaten to death last week here in Rock Island, Illinois, allegedly by two of her friends.

But now that the family is beyond the funeral, her father's thoughts are turning to justice.

TONY REYNOLDS, VICTIM'S FATHER: I hate to think I want to see anybody die, but you almost kind of wish they were to get the same thing they gave out.

FREED: Sixteen-year-old Sarah Kolb (ph) is accused of murdering Reynolds, together with 17-year-old Cory (ph) Gregory. At a preliminary court hearing, investigators testified that they Kolb and Gregory strangled and beat Reynolds in broad daylight in a car parked at a fast-food restaurant in Moline, a town on the Mississippi River, on the afternoon of January 21.

The prosecution says Kolb and Gregory took the body to a nearby farm, where they tried to burn it. When that didn't work, they allegedly dismembered the body, hid some of the remains at the farm, and the rest in a state park.

The defendants have pleaded not guilty, and their families are not commenting. The Reynolds family is desperate to know why Adrian was killed.

JOANN REYNOLDS, VICTIM'S STEPMOTHER: It's been a roller coaster. Sometimes I just want to go out and scream. I just want to run out in the yard and just scream.

FREED: While the authorities are not openly discussing possible motives for the crime, the family has its own ideas. Reynolds, Kolb, and Gregory attended the same school. And based on what he says he's heard from other students, Reynolds' father suspects Kolb was jealous of his daughter.

TONY REYNOLDS: She was pretty. She had a Southern accent, and all of boys liked it, you know, and it kind of knocked, maybe knocked Sarah down, or not from being the top-notch at school, you know?

FREED: But the dynamic between Adrian and Sarah could be more complicated. Reynolds' stepmother says the girls once talked about becoming a couple. And in a letter the Reynolds family says Adrian addressed to Sarah, dated three days before the murder, the teenager wrote, "Why do you hate me so much? And why do you want me to die?

The murder has shaken the community, including friends of the accused. Cory Gregory was close to Ellie Lopez's daughter.

ELLIE LOPEZ, DAUGHTER IS FRIEND OF SUSPECT: I don't know if something just snapped on him, or -- I don't understand. But he was a nice person to us.

FREED: The trial is scheduled for April, and Kolb and Gregory will be tried as adults. A third teen is also facing charges, but those details can't be reported because he's in juvenile court.

Adrian's father, a trucker, doesn't know how he's going to deal with being back on the road until the case is back in court.

TONY REYNOLDS: That'll be tough, riding around all day by yourself. And you know everybody you see that knows you is going to ask you about it.

FREED: Tony Reynolds hopes Adrian's death will prod parents everywhere to pay close attention to any warning signs they think they're getting from their children.

Jonathan Freed, CNN, Moline, Illinois.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: She was a cheerleader with bright dreams for the future. Now, her dream, just to stay alive. Tonight, a young girl battling heroin addiction shares her story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would beg. I slept with a few dealers to get drugs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: And reports of interoffice trysts on the rise, in conference rooms, stairwells, elevators, even rest rooms. Tonight, is love blooming in a cubicle near you?

360 continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: In the next half hour on 360, teenagers hooked on heroin. It's a growing problem. We'll meet one girl who says her dream now is just to stay alive.

Plus, Cupid in the cubicle, why so many people are finding romance at the office.

But first, here's tonight's "Reset." An Islamist Web site that showed a picture of a doll claiming it was a U.S. soldier held hostage. Now says it was tricked by Americans. That's right, in a statement today, the Web sites it's sure the phony photo was not made by Islamic or Iraqi groups, it must have been concocted by Americans or quote, Zionists.

In Washington, a Senate committee grilled President Bush's nominee for Homeland Security secretary for more than 3 hours today. Michael Chertoff faced questions on terrorism, funding, detaining suspects and securing America. The committee will likely vote on a nomination Monday.

In New York City, CBS news says Bob Schieffer, it's chief Washington correspondent, will anchor the "CBS Evening News" when Dan Rather retires next month. The move, though, will be temporary. Down the road, CBS may go it a multianchor format.

And that's tonight's "Reset."

It's not easy getting up in the morning. Most people get their boost from a cup of coffee or a good breakfast. Autumn Hruska got hers, though, from a soft heroin. She's an addict now looking for help, but perhaps the most disturbing part of her story is she's only 19. Tonight, as we begin a new series called "Chasing the High," our Gary Tuchman reports on how teens are increasingly getting their highs from a dangerously more addictive drug.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Her most important quest, to score heroin. What if you didn't have enough money in time to pay for it?

(on camera): What if you didn't have enough money at the time to pay for it?

AUTUMN HRUSKA, HEROIN ADDICT: There were a few times I would loan my car out to them. I would beg. I slept with a few dealers for drugs.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Just a short time ago, 19-year-old Autumn Hruska was a cheerleader at a New Jersey high school with dreams for successful future. Now she lives in a drug treatment center with dozens of other teens.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Remember what the philosophy says, in this ground I will take root and grow. TUCHMAN: Her dream now is literally to stay alive.

HRUSKA: I've gotten arrested. I've done all of the bad things. The next thing for me is death and I know that.

TUCHMAN: Heroin abuse is next nothing is nothing new. But there is a relatively new twist says the executive director of Autumn Hruska's rehab center.

(on camera): 10 years ago, what percentage of the adolescents were treated here for heroin.

PETER JOSEPH HENNEN, EXEC. DIR. DAYTOP NEW JERSEY: Zero. There was no such thing as an adolescent heroin addict.

TUCHMAN: And now.

HENNEN: Between 50 and 60 percent of our kids are using heroin.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Why? Dealers have increased the purity of their heroin to increase business. It's more addictive and easier to abuse.

HENNEN: Kids could not smoke it, they could not inhale it before, because it had no affect. Now they can inhale it, they can smoke it, it is marketed to the affluent suburbs and it's filled up our treatment bedroom heroin addicts.

TUCHMAN: And to make matters worse here in the state of New Jersey...

MICHAEL PASTERCHICK JR., DEA, NEW JERSEY FIELD DIVISION: In the last two years, we've the unfortunate distinction of having the highest purity of heroin, street heroin, tested by our labs in the nation.

TUCHMAN (on camera): You would wake up in the morning and before you go in the shower?

HRUSKA: I'd have to roll -- I'd have to get my boyfriend up, have him go buy drugs and shoot me up, because I couldn't get out of bed. I'd be in so much pain, I'd be so sick, nauseous almost.

TUCHMAN: There's no way you could start the day without heroin?

HRUSKA: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would have done it.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): 19-year-old Raymond Ricciardi is living in the same center sure what would have happened if he wasn't here.

RAYMOND RICCIARDI, HEROIN ADDICT: You know death or jail. Probably death, because I would have overdosed.

TUCHMAN (on camera): Their stories are depressingly similar. They start heroin because of peer pressure or curiosity. They cruise open landscapes at all hours looking for stash. They lie, they cheat, they steal, they rob, they have sex so they can keep injecting, snorting or smoking. They increased purity of this heroin makes the situation even more distressing.

(voice-over): Autumn watches a friend graduate from the rehab center.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kristin (ph), I want to call you up.

(APPLAUSE)

TUCHMAN: Thinking that she is nowhere near ready for such a step.

HRUSKA: I know I would try it again. I know -- right now I know I'm not strong enough to go out by myself.

TUCHMAN: Gary Tuchman, CNN, Menden, New Jersey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: An addict's struggle is often a family struggle. You just met Raymond Ricciardi. He was the 19-year-old who says he probably would have overdosed on heroin if he didn't get help.

His mother Maryann Ricciardi joins us now from Philadelphia to talk a little bit more about her son.

Mrs. Ricciardi, thanks so much for being with us tonight.

MARYANN RICCIARDI, HEROIN ADDICT'S MOTHER: You're welcome.

COLLINS: Your son also described how his addiction took over his life. I want to go ahead and listen to what he says here and get your comment in a moment.

M. RICCIARDI: Sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

R. RICCIARDI: I was sickly addicted to it, where I knew for a fact that something had to happen. And you know when I didn't have it, I knew how bad I felt. I felt so horribly empty and alone and isolated that my whole day and my whole life would be centered around to get it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: When you hear your son talk about his life like that, what's your reaction.

M. RICCIARDI: It's very sad. You don't have kids to have them -- to watch them destroy their lives with drugs. It's a very sad, sad situation.

COLLINS: Why do you think he was successful in hiding his addiction from you?

M. RICCIARDI: I think because as a drug addict, they're very successful in lying, stealing, they know just how to hide things. They know how to do the drugs and hide it from us. It's easy for them. It comes very easy.

COLLINS: Was this something that ever would have expected from him? I have read through some of your interviewing here that you feel like you may be trusted him a little too much?

M. RICCIARDI: Yes, I think so. As a teenager, you know, I never expected any of my children. He is the only one that has the problem. And it's a hard to balance out whether the behavior is their teenage behavior or there is a problem with drugs, you don't know when you're raising them.

COLLINS: Your son started experimenting with drugs around the age of 13-years-old.

M. RICCIARDI: Yes.

COLLINS: How did you try to help him?

M. RICCIARDI: I didn't know at first. By the time I knew he was well into using drugs. And when I did find out, I immediately went on the computer and tried to find facilities to get him help anyway I could. And I haven't stopped since.

COLLINS: We mentioned in the beginning of this segment about how this is really a problem not just for the addict but the entire family.

M. RICCIARDI: Yes.

COLLINS: How has it impacted your family?

M. RICCIARDI: Well, it's -- I mean, I have a 13-year-old daughter who basically cannot cope with it. She's going into counselling. I have a husband who basically doesn't want to deal with it. And an older son who totally disgust it. Just doesn't -- won't talk about it. So it's affected the whole entire family.

COLLINS: Very quickly, Mrs. Ricciardi, tell us the advice you would give to other parents who may be unaware of what's going on.

M. RICCIARDI: You basically have to follow through with what your child says. If they say they're going to be somewhere, make sure they're there. You know, communicate, listen to them, listen -- and the best thing to do is listen to them when they're talking to you. Listen to what they're saying and try to read through it.

COLLINS: Maryann Ricciardi, we appreciate you sharing your story with us tonight. Thank so much.

RICCIARDI: Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you. COLLINS: Our chasing the high series continues tomorrow with a look at the meth epidemic. Mothers getting high not caring about their children creating lifetimes of pain and the problem's only getting worse. And on Friday, kids using inhalants, it's a disturbing trend and many of getting their highs from things found in their own homes.

360 next now, the shocking wrap on a star rapper. Accusations of sexual assault against Snoop Dogg.

Also tonight, steamed heat around the watercooler. A revealing report about sex in the work place.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: He sold millions of record, known world over as a rapper, a super star. Now, he stands accused of shocking sex crime and his name is not Michael Jackson. CNN's entertainment correspondent, Sibila Vargas reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SNOOP DOGG, ENTERTAINER: Drop like it's hot. Drop it like it's hot. Drop it like it's hot. When the pigs try to get at you...

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Rapper Snoop Dogg's name is prominent on the Billboard charts and that's the upside for him. The downside, a new lawsuit in which his name appears as defendant. Emmy winning make up artist Kylie Bell has filed a $25 million lawsuit against the rapper accusing him and several of his associates of drugging her and raping her two years ago. She says the assault took place at backstage at ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," which Snoop co-hosted in his debut week.

PERRY WANDER, PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY: The rape occurred I believe on the last day of shooting. That's where they were celebrating and passing around the champagne and someone slipped that date rape drug into the champagne and had their way with her.

VARGAS: Bell's attorney, Perry Wander, did not object to his client being identified by name now that she's going public with the lawsuit. The lawsuit also names ABC and its parent the Walt Disney Company, claiming they should have known sexual misconduct might go on while Snoop was around.

In a statement ABC said, "There is simply no merit to the charges against the company."

Two months ago, Snoop, who's real name is Calvin Broadus (ph), filed a lawsuit of his own against Bell, claiming she was trying to extort millions of dollars from him. In his suit, Snoop said she didn't even identify him as one of her assailants when she filed a police report months after the incident His spokeswoman issued a statement to CNN, saying, "Snoop Dogg will prove in a court of law that Ms. Bell is lying." The public airing of the allegations comes after private settlement talks apparently fell apart. In our lawsuit Bell says, An ABC executive and later Snoop himself picked up her living expenses while those negotiations were underway. The lawsuit adds to a long list of legal troubles Snoop has experienced. He was an admitted gang member, and spent time in jail for drug dealing in his youth. In 1996, he was acquitted of murder in the death of a reputed gang rival.

SNOOP DOGG: This is your Soul Plane chauffeur

VARGAS: In recent years, he's embarked on a successful film career in addition to his music. And he's try to rework his image as a pot smoking rapper with a long rap sheet.

SNOOP DOGG: I am a role model and I know and understand that. And I don't want no kids to feel like it's cool to be smoking weed every time you do something.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VARGAS: And certainly these allegations are not going to help Snoop's image. Since Snoop filed his lawsuit a couple of months ago and Ms. Bell just recently filed her lawsuit, it'll be sometime before any trial date is set -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, Sibila Vargas, thanks so much.

360 next, when work and love collide. Why are more people having office romances these days?

Also tonight, a SpongeBob SquarePants scandal. Is he an innocent cartoon character or something else going on?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to get right to the point. It's come to my attention that you and the cleaning woman have engaged in sexual intercourse on the desk in your office. Is that correct?

JASON ALEXANDER, ENTERTAINER: Who said that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She did.

ALEXANDER: That was wrong? Should I have not done that. And I tell you, I've got to plead ignorance on this thing, because if anyone had said anything to me at all that when I first started here that that sort of thing was frowned upon. Because I've worked in a lot of offices and I tell you, people do that all of the time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Only George Castanza. Our classic clip from "Seinfeld." George's version from an office romance and he's apparently right about one thing, people do do that sort of thing a lot. According to a new survey by company analyst Vault 58 percent of employees say they have been involved in an office romance. Pretty big increase from 46 percent just two years ago.

So what's going on here? Here now to discuss office romances, what some are calling "Cupid in the cubicle" is psychologist Belisa Vranich, the sex and relationships editor of Men's Fitness magazine.

Nice to see you again.

BELISA VRANICH, MEN'S FITNESS: Thank you for having me.

COLLINS: You bet. So now the insces 12 percent from when this poll was last done. What do you think is going on?

VRANICH: Well, one of the reasons is that people are seeing that office romance works, 22 percent of couples that date each other at work actually end up in a long-term relationship or end up getting married. So more people are trying it because they're seeing that it actually works out all right or really well.

COLLINS: Yes. Apparently really well. But almost a quarter of the participants in this survey said they actually had sexual relationships in the office. Among the favorite spots, because we have to mention them, the rest room, the conference room, the elevator, the copy room. Some even said their own little cubicle.

VRANICH: Mm-hmm.

COLLINS: So these are pretty public places. What -- is it about the risk, is it about the fear of being caught?

VRANICH: Well, I have to tell you, it's a lot about convenience.

COLLINS: No!

VRANICH: It is. It's convenient. OK? Because...

COLLINS: Get a room!

VRANICH: Get a room! It's not comfortable. Think about it. The copying room, it's cold. The closet, it's stinky. So if you're really having sex at work, it's because it's a convenient place to have it. I have to tell you the other thing is that a lot of people have fantasies about the conference room.

So a couple of hours before you were having some boring meeting about end of year statistics and then after work, it's a whole 'nother conference room.

COLLINS: Aren't people supposed to be working?

VRANICH: They're supposed to be working. But they're taking a little time off between.

COLLINS: Yes, I guess.

VRANICH: Just to make work fun.

COLLINS: Also there's another fact here, one in five of the people surveyed said that they dated a subordinate. This is another issue. What are the risks there?

VRANICH: Well, this is happening more often now -- is that bosses are dating subordinates and they're finding that it's not as taboo as it used to be. And one of the reasons is because they're talking about it beforehand. So when a relationship starts, two people are saying, these are the rules. Here's who we are going to tell, and this is what is going to happen if we break up. So it's not as taboo as it was anymore.

COLLINS: But don't some companies still prohibit that?

VRANICH: Some look down on it and the reason is jealousy. The person that's being the subordinate rather is often seen as a person who is getting different treatment than everybody else. So it is looked down upon a little bit but those things are changing.

COLLINS: So quickly here, is it because we spend so much time at work? Are we spending too much time at work and not at home? Is that why these relationships are developing?

VRANICH: Well, look at your own job and look at mine at Men's Fitness, I'm there all of the time and when I'm not there, I'm at home doing work. So those lines between home and work have really gotten blurry. And people are thinking, hey, if I am working at home, why can't I socialize at work?

COLLINS: Right. Belisa Vranich, we appreciate your time tonight so much.

VRANICH: Thank you.

COLLINS: Thank you.

Want to go ahead find out what is coming up now at the top of the hour on "PAULA ZAHN NOW."

Paula, hi.

PAULA ZAHN, HOST, "PAULA ZAHN NOW": Hi, Heidi. The countdown is on to President Bush's State of the Union Address. We will focus on two of the president's major proposals, putting some Social Security money into private investment accounts and what to do about frivolous lawsuits that critics say are driving a lot of doctors out of business.

Heidi, of course the president's speech gets under way about 9:00. We will preview it the whole hour before that.

COLLINS: Very good. All right, Paula, thank you.

"360" next now, the scandal over Spongebob. The saga of Mr. Squarepants and schoolkids who created a "Support Spongebob Day." Plus, tomorrow, motherhood and meth. An addict who chose drugs over her children.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Good music on this show. Finally tonight, the scandal over Spongebob. We've heard the reports, the rumors and all of those accusations. While the cartoon battle over Mr. Squarepants heats up, some real-life kids are coming to his side.

CNN's Jeanne Moos reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When it comes to the gay Spongebob saga, let's get one thing, pardon the expression, straight.

(on camera): He didn't actually say that Spongebob was gay.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They just have dirty minds and that's all they're thinking about.

MOOS (voice-over): It all started when the founder of the Christian group Focus on the Family cited Spongebob as appearing in this video being sent out to schools.

SINGING: We are family...

MOOS: Dr. James Dobson says while the Spongebob video itself is harmless, he believes the video's creators promote the acceptance of homosexuality. They even joked about it on Dr. Dobson's radio show.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody here had a sign that said, "hate to sin, love the sponge."

MOOS (on camera): The hue and cry was so great that this Stoney Point (ph) middle school came to the rescue of Spongebob.

(voice-over): The student council president dreamed up "Support Spongebob Day", 12-year-old Jordan Offer (ph) wore his Spongebob pajamas and shirt. Other kids opted for a more homemade look.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't really understand why people are saying that he's homosexual. Because even if he was, he's just a cartoon and we're all the same.

MOOS: But Spongebob is not alone. Remember Tinky-Winky, the purple Teletubby who carried a purse? For years there have been jokes about Bugs Bunny being a crossdresser and "Sesame Street"'s Bert and Ernie raised eyebrows for being longtime roommates.

There was a gay dog at "South Park."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't be gay, Spark! Don't be gay!

MOOS: "Saturday Night Live" featured the "Ambigously Gay Duo," and "The Simpsons" will soon be having a same sex wedding...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now tell us, who's gay?

MOOS: Most recently, Buster the Bunny because a hot potato for PBS when he visited the kids of a lesbian couple in Vermont. But Spongebob has soaked up most of the attention.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're undersea creatures, it's not like it's true or anything.

MOOS: Most sea sponges are actually hermaphodites, combining male and female characteristics.

(on camera): And no one said anything bad about Spongebob today?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, not that I know of?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you seen (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

MOOS: What did he say?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He said, I'll burn his head off.

MOOS (voice-over): Talk about a flaming sponge.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: What's the world come to? I'm Heidi Collins, in for Anderson tonight. CNN's primetime coverage continues now with Paula Zahn -- Paula.

ZAHN: I bet your son likes it.

COLLINS: He does, he loves Spongebob.

ZAHN: My kids love -- I love Spongebob. Thanks, 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 February 2, 2005 - 19:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, GUEST HOST: Good evening from New York, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
The president's political gambles.

360 starts right now.

George W. Bush to report on the State of the Union for the fourth time as president of the United States. Tonight, a 360 preview. How will he try to unite this divided nation?

The pope, still hospitalized. Tonight, the latest on the condition of the frail pontiff as his flock prays for his recovery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: God is not done with him. He still has a lot of work to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Martha Stewart, 20 pounds lighter and in very good spirits. Tonight, did Camp Cupcake really do the domestic diva some good?

She was a cheerleader with bright dreams for the future. Now, her dream, just to stay alive. Tonight, a young girl battling heroin addiction shares her story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I begged. I slept with a few dealers for the drugs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: And reports of interoffice trysts on the rise, in conference rooms, stairwells, elevators, even rest rooms. Tonight, is love blooming in a cubicle near you?

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

COLLINS: Good evening. Anderson is off tonight. Just about two hours from now, President Bush will go into the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives. As you look live now at the Capitol tonight, the president prepares to deliver the speech every president gives about this time on the calendar, the State of the Union address, a report required by the U.S. Constitution.

It is a speech delivered to the Congress, but the whole world is watching. Every word counts. And tonight, among other things, the president is expected to begin the hard sell for what may be the key battle of his second term, reworking Social Security.

We get a preview of tonight's speech from CNN's Judy Woodruff.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I earned capital in the campaign, political capital. And now I intend to spend it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A president's second term is always a race against time, a sprint to realize an agenda, cement a legacy, and do it all before the next campaign gears up and lame duck syndrome sets in.

So, from day one...

BUSH: I, George Walker Bush...

WILLIAM REHNQUIST, CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE UNITED STATES: ... do solemnly swear...

BUSH: ... do solemnly swear...

WOODRUFF: Of term two, the president has been talking big, establishing lofty goals, like...

BUSH: ... of ending tyranny in our world...

WOODRUFF: He's expected to elaborate on these muscular themes tonight. A departure from last year, the election year, when George W. Bush used his State of the Union to rattle off small-bite policies, like a call for the sports world to...

BUSH: ... get rid of steroids now.

WOODRUFF: Now, a decisive victory has emboldened the president to tackle larger matters, both abroad and at home.

BUSH: Social Security has been an issue that, you know, has made people nervous. I understand that.

WOODRUFF: Tonight, aides say Bush will declare the issue his chief domestic priority, fleshing out his proposals and signaling to Congress that he's ready to spend some of that political capital.

What isn't clear is how many specific dollars-and-cents details the president will share. Or, as Democrats warn, information about possible cuts in benefits.

BUSH: Our nation must defend the sanctity of marriage.

WOODRUFF: In last year's address, the president made a grand gesture to social conservatives. Will he do the same tonight? Or will divisive issues like gay marriage and abortion get back-burner treatment now that the election's over?

The evangelicals who helped keep Bush in the White House will surely be listening.

And what of Iraq? Last weekend's election success was welcome respite from months of bad news. Count on Bush to tout the historic vote tonight while making it clear the U.S. is not about to cut and run.

The president will also likely cite the Iraqi and Palestinian elections as proof that freedom is on the march.

BUSH: America's influence is considerable, and we will use it confidently in freedom's cause.

WOODRUFF: His forceful and expansive inaugural address sounded alarms in the international community. Just as then, tonight, Bush will be speaking as much to foreign leaders as to his own countrymen, promising both action and reassurance about America's role in the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: Well, one thing the president may say that will be reassuring to critics of his Iraq policy, and we know this because the White House just released some excerpts from the speech, he will say the new political situation in Iraq opens a new phase of our work in that country. "We will increasingly focus our efforts," the president will say, "on helping prepare more capable Iraqi security forces, forces with skilled officers and an effective command structure."

And, Heidi, we know the more capable Iraqi forces are, that means the less U.S. forces will be needed, Heidi.

COLLINS: It will be quite a speech to watch, indeed. And Judy, I understand you had lunch with the president today. What was the mood like at that lunch table?

WOODRUFF: Well, Heidi, there were (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- television network anchors were invited, as they are every year the day of the State of the Union to have lunch with the president. And I can tell you that if anybody thought this president in a second term was going to be any less energetic, any less focused, any less active, they are absolutely wrong. This is a president who is determined to fulfill the agenda that we're going to hear much more about tonight, Social Security, the international agenda, the Middle East. We're going to hear about a number of subjects that he feels strongly about.

He said more than once today, and I'm paraphrasing, that it's up to him, it's up to the president, to tackle the tough issues, you, that's why the people elected me.

So we're looking forward to, I think, a second term perhaps like we haven't seen in quite some time.

COLLINS: All right, Judy Woodruff, thanks so much for that. Always nice to see you. Thanks, Judy.

WOODRUFF: Thanks.

COLLINS: And as Judy mentioned, the president likes to use these occasions to paint broad policy strokes instead of making specific promises, but he has made a few. Here's a news note now on promises made and kept. Last year, the president proposed $23 million additional dollars go to drug testing in schools. Congress gave $10 million. He said he'd double federal funding for abstinence programs. That happened. The budget went from $50 to $100 million. And he also touted a new temporary worker program for illegal immigrants. That idea stuck in Congress for now, and actually faces some opposition from his own party.

Be sure to stay with CNN for the president's address. Wolf Blitzer and company will bring it to you, and, of course, offer dead- on analysis before and after the event, 8:00 p.m. tonight.

Last night at this time, we were reporting Pope John Paul II had been rushed from the Vatican to a hospital. He has the flu and was having trouble breathing. This now is the Vatican tonight. People inside say the pope is stabilized, but he will stay in the hospital for the next few days.

We get the latest on the pope's health and the many get-well prayers he's receiving from CNN's senior international correspondent Walter Rodgers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALTER RODGERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): In St. Peter's basilica at the Vatican, Roman Catholics prayed, and prayed fervently, for the recovery of Pope John Paul II. His Holiness was rush to this hospital Tuesday night with flu complications, an inflamed windpipe, and spasms of the larynx. Breathing was difficult, and there was a fever.

But Vatican officials say there was no reason for alarm.

JOQUIN NAVARRO-VALLS, CHIEF VATICAN SPOKESMAN: During the night, the Holy Father rested for several hours. RODGERS: The pontiff's health has been increasingly frail, with symptoms of advanced Parkinson's disease. Church officials have in the past said he is dying, while at other times, they say His Holiness is in reasonably good health.

John Allen decoded this latest papal health scare.

JOHN ALLEN, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: Well, it's pretty alarming. I mean, the Vatican does not, at the drop of a hat, put the pope in the -- in an ambulance and send him to the Gemelli Hospital. This is actually the first time, really, since the assassination attempt that on an emergency basis, the pope was rushed into medical care.

RODGERS: A spiritual leader of a billion Roman Catholics, a papal sneeze can cause a chill. Still, at all levels, the clergy downplayed the seriousness.

FATHER JIM FLANAGAN: He's got the flu, and the flu is running around in Italy all over the place. One out of 100 people have the flu.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RODGERS: Officials say the pontiff's hospitalization this time was largely precautionary. They say the pope will return to the Vatican in a matter of days. Still, with this pope, 84 years old now, and 85 in May, veteran Vatican watchers are now predicting that this pope will be an increasingly frequent visitor to this hospital, Heidi.

COLLINS: Walter Rodgers. Walter, thanks so much for that.

And for more on the pope's condition, and what the Vatican is saying tonight, we turn to CNN's Vatican analyst, Delia Gallagher, once again in Rome tonight.

Delia, the pope's condition may have stabilized, but of course he's not out of the woods yet. What is the mood, as you see it, at the Vatican tonight?

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: Well, I would say, Heidi, that the mood is decidedly optimistic, if you compare it to the alarm and the concern of last night. We've had several statements today from the pope's spokesperson, Navarro Vals. This afternoon, the Italian minister of health visited the hospital, and Cardinal Angelo Sodano (ph), who is the secretary of state, all made statements to say that the pope was doing well.

Of course, doing well for the pope is a relative term, because he has suffered from breathing problems for some time. And this flu, which is (UNINTELLIGIBLE) which has aggravated these breathing problems, is what they're hoping to get rid of in the next few days. But that doesn't mean that the breathing problems go away, obviously.

So that is something they are going to have to closely monitor once he gets back to the Vatican. COLLINS: And as we know, there really isn't a contingency plan in place in case that the pope becomes incapacitated. But we do know that the pope turned over the responsibilities of the day-to-day operations quite some time ago to the cardinals at the Vatican. Can you tell us a little bit more about who they are and what exactly they do?

GALLAGHER: Well, let me say it's not quite correct to say he turns over responsibilities. There are certain responsibilities allocated to each of the departments in the Vatican, and then the pope has authority over all of that. So he could intervene at any stage if he wanted.

There are many curial offices. The curias, of course, the Vatican Offices. And the two pillars, if you will, perhaps, are the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Ratzinger's congregation, he's the German cardinal we hear about a lot. And they are in charge of the rules and regulations. And, of course, that congregation continues, as do all of them, even while the pope is in the hospital.

And the other pillar is probably the Secretariat of State, responsible for the political affairs of the Vatican, headed by Cardinal Sodano.

So all of it is continuing as usual, business as usual. There are a few things that the pope is the only person who can sign off on, such as creating bishops and, of course, creating cardinals as well. But creating bishops is something that's important all around the world, because bishops are in charge of the dioceses of the people around the world. And so that's something that will have to wait until the pope comes back.

That can't be done without his authority.

COLLINS: All right, our analyst from the Vatican tonight, Delia Gallagher. Thanks so much, Delia.

A failed takeoff, that tops our look at new cross-country now. Teterboro, New Jersey, somehow everybody survived this plane crash this morning. The corporate jet failed to gain altitude, rushed off the runway, crossed a highway, hit two cars, and crashed into a warehouse. At least 19 people were treated at local hospitals.

Washington, D.C., the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by another quarter-point today, the sixth time since June, to make sure a stronger economy does not trigger inflation.

Punxsatawney (ph), Pennsylvania, it's Groundhog Day, and the world's most famous forecaster has made his prediction. Punxsatawney Phil saw his shadow this morning, so you know what that means, six more weeks of bad winter weather.

But in Wilburn (ph), Georgia, a little bit of a different forecast. Groundhog General Beauregard Lee came out, sort of, and predicted spring is just around the corner. Go figure. Ashley (ph), Virginia, watch this play, a missed free throw, then a full-court Hail Mary pass, and swish! On Monday, with less than one second to go in the game, sophomore Jordan Snipes (ph) hurled a 90- foot shot and leads Guilford (ph) College to a win over Randolph Making (ph). And then, in Greensboro, North Carolina, home to Guilford College, the local TV station challenged him to do it again, and he did. Talk about a long shot.

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

360 next, Martha Stewart's makeover, how prison life has changed her. And wait tell you hear how her TV plans for when she's a free woman.

Plus, a battle over a baby. He survived the tsunami. Why the hospital won't let the couple claiming to be his parents take him home.

And Chasing the High, a new 360 special series. Tonight, teens hooked on heroin. They cheat, lie, and rob to get their stash. One girl shares her story.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Move over, Donald Trump, here comes Martha Stewart. Today, NBC announced she will be the host of a new version of "The Apprentice." Of course, the show will have to wait for its start a finish her prison sentence first, but with freedom and a new job around the corner, Stewart is said to be giving herself a cell-block makeover.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTHA STEWART: And I'll be back. I will be back.

COLLINS (voice-over): Martha Stewart, promising we haven't seen the last of her after her felony conviction on obstruction of justice charges last summer. She's appealing that, but decided to do the time to get it behind her.

Now, Stewart's just one month from being sprung from Alderson Federal Prison Camp in West Virginia. But when she is, will she still be the same soup-stirring domestic diva her fans know and love, that society shutterbug-loving, wine-drinking Martha Stewart, or has she changed?

Barbara Walters of ABC's "The View" says she has, after spending an afternoon with Stewart behind bars at Alderson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE VIEW," ABC)

BARBARA WALTERS, HOST "THE VIEW": (UNINTELLIGIBLE). She really looks very well. She has lost 20 pounds. She is in very good spirits. She teaches yoga, you know, when they have, you know, time to do it. She said she misses absolutely nothing material.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Walters, telling "The View" lady, Stewart has made very good friends with her fellow inmates and is even looking after their bottom lines.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE VIEW," ABC)

WALTER: You can build quarters to put in the machines, you know, to get, well, to get a candy bar or Martha said that she sort of became a little friendly with the people who were doing the yoga, and so she got them to put yogurt in instead of just candy bars, because (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) healthy, right.

WALTER: ... little healthier.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Stewart is keeping busy, but in published reports, her attorney declines comment on suggestions she is talking to reality show guru Mark Burnett. He's launching an "Apprentice"-like show with Stewart on NBC next fall. But prison rules forbid her from conducting business.

So for now, it appears Stewart is focusing on being clean.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE VIEW," ABC)

WALTER: She herself, her job is, she's part of a team of four women, and they do all the cleaning. That's all the offices and the warden's room and also the toilets and the floors. I said, How are you doing? She said, I love scrubbing the floors in the bathroom. I said, I'll bet they are spotless.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Stewart will have plenty of time to get her own floors shipshape when she's released on March 4. She'll spend the next five months under house arrest.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Iraq's elections appear to get al Qaeda's attention, that tops our look at global stories in the uplink.

A statement appearing on several Islamist Web sites, said to be from Osama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, says the only way to reform Islamic nations is through holy war, not, quote, "rigged elections." Leading Sunni clerics are also calling Sunday's election illegitimate, because many Sunni Arabs, who were part of Saddam Hussein's ruling class, boycotted the polls.

Chechnya, Russia, a call for a ceasefire. A Chechan Web site says a rebel leader has ordered all fighters to refrain from launching attacks until February 22, saying it's a gesture of goodwill. The leader said separate operations, like destroying spies or attackers, may continue. Russia says it will not react to the Web site statement.

Campbell Bay Island, India, found alive. Police discovered nine survivors of December's tsunami on a remote island. The survivors lived in their flattened villages for 38 days, eating boars and coconuts.

And that's tonight's uplink.

Another tsunami survivor is at the center of a battle between a couple claiming he is their baby, and the hospital, demanding proof.

CNN's Sahasami Heder (ph) has more on the struggle over a very young life.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAHASAMI HEDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is Baby 81, too young to know about the tsunami that separated him from his family and oblivious to the storm raging over his future.

A Sri Lankan court on Wednesday ordered a DNA test for the child to decide whether he is the son of the couple that claims him. Baby 81, so-called because he was the 81st submission to the hospital that fateful day, was found in debris nine hours after the tsunami struck. He was apparently saved from the tsunami's fury because he floated on a tire and was rushed to this hospital in Kulmunai (ph).

As word spread about the baby's miraculous escape, many thronged to the hospital to see him. Genita and Murgapela Jeriraja (ph) say they raced to the hospital, hoping the baby was their own son, Abelash (ph), who they say was snatched from his mother's arms by the force of the tsunami.

Overjoyed to see him, the couple wanted to take him home, but they say documents to prove the child was theirs had been lost in the disaster, and hospital officials refused to hand him over.

"I am so sad," says Genita, "I can't be at peace until we take him home."

Local police say no one else has officially claimed the baby so far, but the court wants scientific evidence that the baby boy is their son before handing him over.

The Jerirajas had hoped to get custody of baby 81 at Wednesday's hearing. Now they must wait weeks more while the DNA tests are completed.

Sahasami Heder, CNN, New Delhi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: 360 next, Cupid in the cubicle. A steamy survey on sex in the workplace.

Also tonight, hooked on heroin. One former cheerleader on why she cheated, lied, and had sex to get her fix, part of our special series.

Plus, a teen murdered, her so-called friends accused of the crime.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Adrian (ph) Reynolds' dream to sing "Amazing Grace" on "American Idol" will never come true. The 16-year-old's life was brutally taken last month in a murder that has shaken a western Illinois city to the core.

The alleged killers are two teenagers who knew the victim well, and who tonight stand accused of committing pure evil.

CNN's Jonathan Freed reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Adrian Reynolds' family has been consumed by grief, mourning the loss of their 16-year- old daughter, choked and beaten to death last week here in Rock Island, Illinois, allegedly by two of her friends.

But now that the family is beyond the funeral, her father's thoughts are turning to justice.

TONY REYNOLDS, VICTIM'S FATHER: I hate to think I want to see anybody die, but you almost kind of wish they were to get the same thing they gave out.

FREED: Sixteen-year-old Sarah Kolb (ph) is accused of murdering Reynolds, together with 17-year-old Cory (ph) Gregory. At a preliminary court hearing, investigators testified that they Kolb and Gregory strangled and beat Reynolds in broad daylight in a car parked at a fast-food restaurant in Moline, a town on the Mississippi River, on the afternoon of January 21.

The prosecution says Kolb and Gregory took the body to a nearby farm, where they tried to burn it. When that didn't work, they allegedly dismembered the body, hid some of the remains at the farm, and the rest in a state park.

The defendants have pleaded not guilty, and their families are not commenting. The Reynolds family is desperate to know why Adrian was killed.

JOANN REYNOLDS, VICTIM'S STEPMOTHER: It's been a roller coaster. Sometimes I just want to go out and scream. I just want to run out in the yard and just scream.

FREED: While the authorities are not openly discussing possible motives for the crime, the family has its own ideas. Reynolds, Kolb, and Gregory attended the same school. And based on what he says he's heard from other students, Reynolds' father suspects Kolb was jealous of his daughter.

TONY REYNOLDS: She was pretty. She had a Southern accent, and all of boys liked it, you know, and it kind of knocked, maybe knocked Sarah down, or not from being the top-notch at school, you know?

FREED: But the dynamic between Adrian and Sarah could be more complicated. Reynolds' stepmother says the girls once talked about becoming a couple. And in a letter the Reynolds family says Adrian addressed to Sarah, dated three days before the murder, the teenager wrote, "Why do you hate me so much? And why do you want me to die?

The murder has shaken the community, including friends of the accused. Cory Gregory was close to Ellie Lopez's daughter.

ELLIE LOPEZ, DAUGHTER IS FRIEND OF SUSPECT: I don't know if something just snapped on him, or -- I don't understand. But he was a nice person to us.

FREED: The trial is scheduled for April, and Kolb and Gregory will be tried as adults. A third teen is also facing charges, but those details can't be reported because he's in juvenile court.

Adrian's father, a trucker, doesn't know how he's going to deal with being back on the road until the case is back in court.

TONY REYNOLDS: That'll be tough, riding around all day by yourself. And you know everybody you see that knows you is going to ask you about it.

FREED: Tony Reynolds hopes Adrian's death will prod parents everywhere to pay close attention to any warning signs they think they're getting from their children.

Jonathan Freed, CNN, Moline, Illinois.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: She was a cheerleader with bright dreams for the future. Now, her dream, just to stay alive. Tonight, a young girl battling heroin addiction shares her story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would beg. I slept with a few dealers to get drugs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: And reports of interoffice trysts on the rise, in conference rooms, stairwells, elevators, even rest rooms. Tonight, is love blooming in a cubicle near you?

360 continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: In the next half hour on 360, teenagers hooked on heroin. It's a growing problem. We'll meet one girl who says her dream now is just to stay alive.

Plus, Cupid in the cubicle, why so many people are finding romance at the office.

But first, here's tonight's "Reset." An Islamist Web site that showed a picture of a doll claiming it was a U.S. soldier held hostage. Now says it was tricked by Americans. That's right, in a statement today, the Web sites it's sure the phony photo was not made by Islamic or Iraqi groups, it must have been concocted by Americans or quote, Zionists.

In Washington, a Senate committee grilled President Bush's nominee for Homeland Security secretary for more than 3 hours today. Michael Chertoff faced questions on terrorism, funding, detaining suspects and securing America. The committee will likely vote on a nomination Monday.

In New York City, CBS news says Bob Schieffer, it's chief Washington correspondent, will anchor the "CBS Evening News" when Dan Rather retires next month. The move, though, will be temporary. Down the road, CBS may go it a multianchor format.

And that's tonight's "Reset."

It's not easy getting up in the morning. Most people get their boost from a cup of coffee or a good breakfast. Autumn Hruska got hers, though, from a soft heroin. She's an addict now looking for help, but perhaps the most disturbing part of her story is she's only 19. Tonight, as we begin a new series called "Chasing the High," our Gary Tuchman reports on how teens are increasingly getting their highs from a dangerously more addictive drug.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Her most important quest, to score heroin. What if you didn't have enough money in time to pay for it?

(on camera): What if you didn't have enough money at the time to pay for it?

AUTUMN HRUSKA, HEROIN ADDICT: There were a few times I would loan my car out to them. I would beg. I slept with a few dealers for drugs.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Just a short time ago, 19-year-old Autumn Hruska was a cheerleader at a New Jersey high school with dreams for successful future. Now she lives in a drug treatment center with dozens of other teens.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Remember what the philosophy says, in this ground I will take root and grow. TUCHMAN: Her dream now is literally to stay alive.

HRUSKA: I've gotten arrested. I've done all of the bad things. The next thing for me is death and I know that.

TUCHMAN: Heroin abuse is next nothing is nothing new. But there is a relatively new twist says the executive director of Autumn Hruska's rehab center.

(on camera): 10 years ago, what percentage of the adolescents were treated here for heroin.

PETER JOSEPH HENNEN, EXEC. DIR. DAYTOP NEW JERSEY: Zero. There was no such thing as an adolescent heroin addict.

TUCHMAN: And now.

HENNEN: Between 50 and 60 percent of our kids are using heroin.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Why? Dealers have increased the purity of their heroin to increase business. It's more addictive and easier to abuse.

HENNEN: Kids could not smoke it, they could not inhale it before, because it had no affect. Now they can inhale it, they can smoke it, it is marketed to the affluent suburbs and it's filled up our treatment bedroom heroin addicts.

TUCHMAN: And to make matters worse here in the state of New Jersey...

MICHAEL PASTERCHICK JR., DEA, NEW JERSEY FIELD DIVISION: In the last two years, we've the unfortunate distinction of having the highest purity of heroin, street heroin, tested by our labs in the nation.

TUCHMAN (on camera): You would wake up in the morning and before you go in the shower?

HRUSKA: I'd have to roll -- I'd have to get my boyfriend up, have him go buy drugs and shoot me up, because I couldn't get out of bed. I'd be in so much pain, I'd be so sick, nauseous almost.

TUCHMAN: There's no way you could start the day without heroin?

HRUSKA: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would have done it.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): 19-year-old Raymond Ricciardi is living in the same center sure what would have happened if he wasn't here.

RAYMOND RICCIARDI, HEROIN ADDICT: You know death or jail. Probably death, because I would have overdosed.

TUCHMAN (on camera): Their stories are depressingly similar. They start heroin because of peer pressure or curiosity. They cruise open landscapes at all hours looking for stash. They lie, they cheat, they steal, they rob, they have sex so they can keep injecting, snorting or smoking. They increased purity of this heroin makes the situation even more distressing.

(voice-over): Autumn watches a friend graduate from the rehab center.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kristin (ph), I want to call you up.

(APPLAUSE)

TUCHMAN: Thinking that she is nowhere near ready for such a step.

HRUSKA: I know I would try it again. I know -- right now I know I'm not strong enough to go out by myself.

TUCHMAN: Gary Tuchman, CNN, Menden, New Jersey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: An addict's struggle is often a family struggle. You just met Raymond Ricciardi. He was the 19-year-old who says he probably would have overdosed on heroin if he didn't get help.

His mother Maryann Ricciardi joins us now from Philadelphia to talk a little bit more about her son.

Mrs. Ricciardi, thanks so much for being with us tonight.

MARYANN RICCIARDI, HEROIN ADDICT'S MOTHER: You're welcome.

COLLINS: Your son also described how his addiction took over his life. I want to go ahead and listen to what he says here and get your comment in a moment.

M. RICCIARDI: Sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

R. RICCIARDI: I was sickly addicted to it, where I knew for a fact that something had to happen. And you know when I didn't have it, I knew how bad I felt. I felt so horribly empty and alone and isolated that my whole day and my whole life would be centered around to get it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: When you hear your son talk about his life like that, what's your reaction.

M. RICCIARDI: It's very sad. You don't have kids to have them -- to watch them destroy their lives with drugs. It's a very sad, sad situation.

COLLINS: Why do you think he was successful in hiding his addiction from you?

M. RICCIARDI: I think because as a drug addict, they're very successful in lying, stealing, they know just how to hide things. They know how to do the drugs and hide it from us. It's easy for them. It comes very easy.

COLLINS: Was this something that ever would have expected from him? I have read through some of your interviewing here that you feel like you may be trusted him a little too much?

M. RICCIARDI: Yes, I think so. As a teenager, you know, I never expected any of my children. He is the only one that has the problem. And it's a hard to balance out whether the behavior is their teenage behavior or there is a problem with drugs, you don't know when you're raising them.

COLLINS: Your son started experimenting with drugs around the age of 13-years-old.

M. RICCIARDI: Yes.

COLLINS: How did you try to help him?

M. RICCIARDI: I didn't know at first. By the time I knew he was well into using drugs. And when I did find out, I immediately went on the computer and tried to find facilities to get him help anyway I could. And I haven't stopped since.

COLLINS: We mentioned in the beginning of this segment about how this is really a problem not just for the addict but the entire family.

M. RICCIARDI: Yes.

COLLINS: How has it impacted your family?

M. RICCIARDI: Well, it's -- I mean, I have a 13-year-old daughter who basically cannot cope with it. She's going into counselling. I have a husband who basically doesn't want to deal with it. And an older son who totally disgust it. Just doesn't -- won't talk about it. So it's affected the whole entire family.

COLLINS: Very quickly, Mrs. Ricciardi, tell us the advice you would give to other parents who may be unaware of what's going on.

M. RICCIARDI: You basically have to follow through with what your child says. If they say they're going to be somewhere, make sure they're there. You know, communicate, listen to them, listen -- and the best thing to do is listen to them when they're talking to you. Listen to what they're saying and try to read through it.

COLLINS: Maryann Ricciardi, we appreciate you sharing your story with us tonight. Thank so much.

RICCIARDI: Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you. COLLINS: Our chasing the high series continues tomorrow with a look at the meth epidemic. Mothers getting high not caring about their children creating lifetimes of pain and the problem's only getting worse. And on Friday, kids using inhalants, it's a disturbing trend and many of getting their highs from things found in their own homes.

360 next now, the shocking wrap on a star rapper. Accusations of sexual assault against Snoop Dogg.

Also tonight, steamed heat around the watercooler. A revealing report about sex in the work place.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: He sold millions of record, known world over as a rapper, a super star. Now, he stands accused of shocking sex crime and his name is not Michael Jackson. CNN's entertainment correspondent, Sibila Vargas reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SNOOP DOGG, ENTERTAINER: Drop like it's hot. Drop it like it's hot. Drop it like it's hot. When the pigs try to get at you...

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Rapper Snoop Dogg's name is prominent on the Billboard charts and that's the upside for him. The downside, a new lawsuit in which his name appears as defendant. Emmy winning make up artist Kylie Bell has filed a $25 million lawsuit against the rapper accusing him and several of his associates of drugging her and raping her two years ago. She says the assault took place at backstage at ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," which Snoop co-hosted in his debut week.

PERRY WANDER, PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY: The rape occurred I believe on the last day of shooting. That's where they were celebrating and passing around the champagne and someone slipped that date rape drug into the champagne and had their way with her.

VARGAS: Bell's attorney, Perry Wander, did not object to his client being identified by name now that she's going public with the lawsuit. The lawsuit also names ABC and its parent the Walt Disney Company, claiming they should have known sexual misconduct might go on while Snoop was around.

In a statement ABC said, "There is simply no merit to the charges against the company."

Two months ago, Snoop, who's real name is Calvin Broadus (ph), filed a lawsuit of his own against Bell, claiming she was trying to extort millions of dollars from him. In his suit, Snoop said she didn't even identify him as one of her assailants when she filed a police report months after the incident His spokeswoman issued a statement to CNN, saying, "Snoop Dogg will prove in a court of law that Ms. Bell is lying." The public airing of the allegations comes after private settlement talks apparently fell apart. In our lawsuit Bell says, An ABC executive and later Snoop himself picked up her living expenses while those negotiations were underway. The lawsuit adds to a long list of legal troubles Snoop has experienced. He was an admitted gang member, and spent time in jail for drug dealing in his youth. In 1996, he was acquitted of murder in the death of a reputed gang rival.

SNOOP DOGG: This is your Soul Plane chauffeur

VARGAS: In recent years, he's embarked on a successful film career in addition to his music. And he's try to rework his image as a pot smoking rapper with a long rap sheet.

SNOOP DOGG: I am a role model and I know and understand that. And I don't want no kids to feel like it's cool to be smoking weed every time you do something.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VARGAS: And certainly these allegations are not going to help Snoop's image. Since Snoop filed his lawsuit a couple of months ago and Ms. Bell just recently filed her lawsuit, it'll be sometime before any trial date is set -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, Sibila Vargas, thanks so much.

360 next, when work and love collide. Why are more people having office romances these days?

Also tonight, a SpongeBob SquarePants scandal. Is he an innocent cartoon character or something else going on?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to get right to the point. It's come to my attention that you and the cleaning woman have engaged in sexual intercourse on the desk in your office. Is that correct?

JASON ALEXANDER, ENTERTAINER: Who said that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She did.

ALEXANDER: That was wrong? Should I have not done that. And I tell you, I've got to plead ignorance on this thing, because if anyone had said anything to me at all that when I first started here that that sort of thing was frowned upon. Because I've worked in a lot of offices and I tell you, people do that all of the time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Only George Castanza. Our classic clip from "Seinfeld." George's version from an office romance and he's apparently right about one thing, people do do that sort of thing a lot. According to a new survey by company analyst Vault 58 percent of employees say they have been involved in an office romance. Pretty big increase from 46 percent just two years ago.

So what's going on here? Here now to discuss office romances, what some are calling "Cupid in the cubicle" is psychologist Belisa Vranich, the sex and relationships editor of Men's Fitness magazine.

Nice to see you again.

BELISA VRANICH, MEN'S FITNESS: Thank you for having me.

COLLINS: You bet. So now the insces 12 percent from when this poll was last done. What do you think is going on?

VRANICH: Well, one of the reasons is that people are seeing that office romance works, 22 percent of couples that date each other at work actually end up in a long-term relationship or end up getting married. So more people are trying it because they're seeing that it actually works out all right or really well.

COLLINS: Yes. Apparently really well. But almost a quarter of the participants in this survey said they actually had sexual relationships in the office. Among the favorite spots, because we have to mention them, the rest room, the conference room, the elevator, the copy room. Some even said their own little cubicle.

VRANICH: Mm-hmm.

COLLINS: So these are pretty public places. What -- is it about the risk, is it about the fear of being caught?

VRANICH: Well, I have to tell you, it's a lot about convenience.

COLLINS: No!

VRANICH: It is. It's convenient. OK? Because...

COLLINS: Get a room!

VRANICH: Get a room! It's not comfortable. Think about it. The copying room, it's cold. The closet, it's stinky. So if you're really having sex at work, it's because it's a convenient place to have it. I have to tell you the other thing is that a lot of people have fantasies about the conference room.

So a couple of hours before you were having some boring meeting about end of year statistics and then after work, it's a whole 'nother conference room.

COLLINS: Aren't people supposed to be working?

VRANICH: They're supposed to be working. But they're taking a little time off between.

COLLINS: Yes, I guess.

VRANICH: Just to make work fun.

COLLINS: Also there's another fact here, one in five of the people surveyed said that they dated a subordinate. This is another issue. What are the risks there?

VRANICH: Well, this is happening more often now -- is that bosses are dating subordinates and they're finding that it's not as taboo as it used to be. And one of the reasons is because they're talking about it beforehand. So when a relationship starts, two people are saying, these are the rules. Here's who we are going to tell, and this is what is going to happen if we break up. So it's not as taboo as it was anymore.

COLLINS: But don't some companies still prohibit that?

VRANICH: Some look down on it and the reason is jealousy. The person that's being the subordinate rather is often seen as a person who is getting different treatment than everybody else. So it is looked down upon a little bit but those things are changing.

COLLINS: So quickly here, is it because we spend so much time at work? Are we spending too much time at work and not at home? Is that why these relationships are developing?

VRANICH: Well, look at your own job and look at mine at Men's Fitness, I'm there all of the time and when I'm not there, I'm at home doing work. So those lines between home and work have really gotten blurry. And people are thinking, hey, if I am working at home, why can't I socialize at work?

COLLINS: Right. Belisa Vranich, we appreciate your time tonight so much.

VRANICH: Thank you.

COLLINS: Thank you.

Want to go ahead find out what is coming up now at the top of the hour on "PAULA ZAHN NOW."

Paula, hi.

PAULA ZAHN, HOST, "PAULA ZAHN NOW": Hi, Heidi. The countdown is on to President Bush's State of the Union Address. We will focus on two of the president's major proposals, putting some Social Security money into private investment accounts and what to do about frivolous lawsuits that critics say are driving a lot of doctors out of business.

Heidi, of course the president's speech gets under way about 9:00. We will preview it the whole hour before that.

COLLINS: Very good. All right, Paula, thank you.

"360" next now, the scandal over Spongebob. The saga of Mr. Squarepants and schoolkids who created a "Support Spongebob Day." Plus, tomorrow, motherhood and meth. An addict who chose drugs over her children.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Good music on this show. Finally tonight, the scandal over Spongebob. We've heard the reports, the rumors and all of those accusations. While the cartoon battle over Mr. Squarepants heats up, some real-life kids are coming to his side.

CNN's Jeanne Moos reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When it comes to the gay Spongebob saga, let's get one thing, pardon the expression, straight.

(on camera): He didn't actually say that Spongebob was gay.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They just have dirty minds and that's all they're thinking about.

MOOS (voice-over): It all started when the founder of the Christian group Focus on the Family cited Spongebob as appearing in this video being sent out to schools.

SINGING: We are family...

MOOS: Dr. James Dobson says while the Spongebob video itself is harmless, he believes the video's creators promote the acceptance of homosexuality. They even joked about it on Dr. Dobson's radio show.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody here had a sign that said, "hate to sin, love the sponge."

MOOS (on camera): The hue and cry was so great that this Stoney Point (ph) middle school came to the rescue of Spongebob.

(voice-over): The student council president dreamed up "Support Spongebob Day", 12-year-old Jordan Offer (ph) wore his Spongebob pajamas and shirt. Other kids opted for a more homemade look.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't really understand why people are saying that he's homosexual. Because even if he was, he's just a cartoon and we're all the same.

MOOS: But Spongebob is not alone. Remember Tinky-Winky, the purple Teletubby who carried a purse? For years there have been jokes about Bugs Bunny being a crossdresser and "Sesame Street"'s Bert and Ernie raised eyebrows for being longtime roommates.

There was a gay dog at "South Park."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't be gay, Spark! Don't be gay!

MOOS: "Saturday Night Live" featured the "Ambigously Gay Duo," and "The Simpsons" will soon be having a same sex wedding...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now tell us, who's gay?

MOOS: Most recently, Buster the Bunny because a hot potato for PBS when he visited the kids of a lesbian couple in Vermont. But Spongebob has soaked up most of the attention.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're undersea creatures, it's not like it's true or anything.

MOOS: Most sea sponges are actually hermaphodites, combining male and female characteristics.

(on camera): And no one said anything bad about Spongebob today?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, not that I know of?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you seen (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

MOOS: What did he say?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He said, I'll burn his head off.

MOOS (voice-over): Talk about a flaming sponge.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: What's the world come to? I'm Heidi Collins, in for Anderson tonight. CNN's primetime coverage continues now with Paula Zahn -- Paula.

ZAHN: I bet your son likes it.

COLLINS: He does, he loves Spongebob.

ZAHN: My kids love -- I love Spongebob. Thanks, Heidi.

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