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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Woman Pretends to Be Baby's Rescuer; Marine Officer Accused of Double Murder

Aired February 11, 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.

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: Good evening from New York. I'm Anderson Cooper.
The crime sounded shocking, a baby tossed from a car. But today, the truth came out.

360 starts now.

COOPER: She claimed she saw this baby tossed from a moving car, but now she admits it was all a lie. She's really the baby's mother.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF KEN JENNE, BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA: This is a case of a disturbed woman who gave birth but did not want to keep her child, and made up an incredible story.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Tonight, why she pretended to be her own child's rescuer. And now, what happens to Baby Johnny?

A Marine officer accused of double murder. But what really happened? He says it was self-defense. Now, his life hangs in the balance. Tonight, we take you into the fog of war. Did this Marine murder, or kill for his country?

Michael Jackson's new accuser subpoenaed to testify against his one-time friend. But why has former child actor Corey Feldman changed his story? And what he's saying now about what Michael did behind closed doors?

They're young, unmarried, and childless. So why are these men deciding to get vasectomies? Tonight, the radical birth control decision that more and more men are signing up for.

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

COOPER: And good evening again.

We begin with a newborn baby. He's being called Baby Johnny. Tonight, he is safe in a hospital, swaddled in clean sheets and love.

But today, the story of how he got there took a very strange turn indeed.

At first, what happened to Johnny appeared to be a horrific crime. This woman, an alleged good Samaritan, said she saw the baby, just hours old, thrown out of the window of a moving car. The woman, she said, saved his life.

But the truth has now been revealed. The good news is the baby never was thrown from a car. The bad news, that good Samaritan wasn't what she appeared to be either.

We're covering all the angles.

Tonight we begin with CNN's Susan Candiotti in Fort Lauderdale.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As long as they can yell and fuss, that's a good sign, isn't it?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a horrifying story, police trying to locate a young mother said to have pitched a newborn baby, umbilical cord still attached, out of a moving car, the baby stuffed inside a plastic bag. A good Samaritan stopped to help, and rushed the baby to police.

SHERIFF KEN JENNE, BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA: The good news about this story is that we have someone in this community who has got the heart and the soul to pick that child up and save it.

CANDIOTTI: Nurses nicknamed him Johnny.

Then, a discovery that came like a body blow.

JENNE: This is a case of a disturbed woman who gave birth but did not want to keep her child, and made up an incredible story. The mother of the baby is the good Samaritan...

CANDIOTTI: By Friday morning, police put two and two together. The good Samaritan confessed she did not want to raise another child. Police said the mother, 38-year-old Patricia Pokriots (ph), gave birth Thursday afternoon, took a shower and set out to concoct a cover story.

Sadly, because of a so-called safe haven law copied in 45 states, Pokriots did not have to create a charade. If she had turned in her unwanted newborn to authorities within three days, there would have been no questions asked.

JENNE: And the irony of this, once again, if Patricia had done this, if Patricia had done this, we would not be talking about her name, and her child would be safe, she would be safe, and this would not be an issue before us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: The mother is now under court-ordered psychiatric care. Police say they're not sure whether any charges will be filed. The sheriff says for now, the only thing he can think of is possibly filing a false police report, Anderson.

COOPER: Ah, thank goodness that baby is safe. All right, Susan Candiotti, thanks for that.

As Susan just reported, today's case never had to become this complicated. If the mother hadn't lied to police, she wouldn't have gotten in trouble, because, as you heard, about the so-called safe haven law designed for situations like this one.

CNN's John Zarrella takes us behind the headlines tonight and explains how the law is actually meant to protect children.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Her name is Gloria Hope Lewis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want this? Yes.

ZARRELLA: These are her very proud, very excited parents, Michael and Laurie Lewis (ph). After eight months as her foster parents, the Lewises adopted Gloria Hope.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I do. More, more, more.

ZARRELLA: The Lewises knew Baby Hope's situation was different from other foster children they had taken in, but they also knew immediately they wanted to adopt her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Really, I think it's God's way of saying, OK, you're my messengers, here's your gift. Go out and spread the word. I want more babies saved.

ZARRELLA: Gloria Hope's biological mother dropped the newborn off at this fire station in Deerfield Beach.

(on camera): Under Florida's safe haven law, mothers in desperate situations can drop off their babies, up to 3 days old, at fire stations, hospitals, and emergency medical facilities without fear of prosecution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, TV COMMERCIAL)

ANNOUNCER: You can leave your unharmed baby...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZARRELLA: Some say the law, which exists in various forms in 45 states, is far from perfect. There's no family health history. The number of days old a child can be varies.

Jeffrey Leving, a fathers' rights attorney, says safe haven laws don't give biological dads any say.

JEFFREY LEVIN, ATTORNEY: I think every safe haven law must require the biological mother to identify the biological father...

ZARRELLA: Nick Silverio (ph), who founded a nonprofit organization to publicize the Florida law, knows it's not perfect, but...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The alternative for not having this program would be that maybe Gloria Hope wouldn't be here today.

ZARRELLA: If anything, advocates like the Lewises say, safe haven needs to be better publicized, because too many women don't know there are laws that give hope to their babies.

John Zarrella, CNN, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Adorable baby.

Joining me now to talk more about what happens to newborns who are abandoned, and in particular, what's next for Baby Johnny, this latest newborn to be rescued, is Gina Ciolino of ChildNet, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to care for abused, neglected, and abandoned children in Florida's Broward County.

Gina, thanks very much for being with us.

This baby, Baby Johnny, now is in ChildNet's custody. What happens to him next?

GINA CIOLINO, CHILDNET: Well, there's a couple of what-ifs we're still waiting to know. The first one is that we're still trying to identify who the father of this baby is. As Sheriff Ken Jenne of the Broward Sheriff's Office indicated earlier today, the mother would not release any information as to his identity. So we're still waiting to find out that piece.

The mother did indicate to the Broward Sheriff's Office that she was not interested in keeping this child. However, she has not made any legal steps in order to finalize that. Should she sign a voluntary consent to terminate her parental rights, then we will -- can move very quickly in this case.

COOPER: And she...

CIOLINO: But as I said, there are still some ifs.

COOPER: This woman, Patricia, also has a 10-year-old son. What happens to him?

CIOLINO: He was also brought into custody today, along with the infant, so both children are in custody. And, again, if we do move to terminate parental rights for either or both the mother or the father, it would happen for both children.

COOPER: How many people have called in inquiring right now to adopt Baby Johnny? CIOLINO: We had hundreds before noon, and I'm sure that there were hundreds more afterwards. We were overwhelmed at ChildNet with the response of people interested in adopting.

Unfortunately, this child is not currently available for adoption. Maybe in the next six months, but would be up for adoption with his sibling.

However, we do have hundreds of other children in Broward County who are still looking for that special family to call their own.

COOPER: Thousands, tens of thousands of kids around the United States looking for adoption of all ages.

CIOLINO: Absolutely.

COOPER: Do you ever get used to seeing this kind of thing, Gina? I mean, I just find it stunning.

CIOLINO: It's absolutely horrific. I can't imagine that any parent would put their child through this situation, or any of the others that we unfortunately see so frequently that the children come into care.

COOPER: You do, you're doing...

CIOLINO: It's horrible.

COOPER: You're doing great work. We appreciate you being out there, Gina Ciolino. Appreciate it. With ChildNet. Thanks very much.

CIOLINO: Thank you.

COOPER: A very disturbing medical story to tell you about right now, one of the stories we're tracking cross-country.

New York City, health officials say they have diagnosed a patient for the first time with a strain of HIV that is difficult or impossible to treat. It moves from HIV to AIDS within a matter of months. The patient right now, there's only one, is a man in his mid- 40s who had unprotected sex with multiple male partners, often while using the drug crystal meth. The patient was diagnosed in December. He has now developed full-blown AIDS.

Crescent City, California, there is a lockdown at California's top-security prison, Pelican Bay, after officials discovered an inmate plot to murder three guards. Prison spokesman says a California gang known as the Mexican Mafia, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), was behind the plot. Very powerful gang.

At the Pentagon, a remarkable report about U.S. service members believed to have been in prison during the Korean and cold wars in the Soviet Union's gulags, a network of forced-labor camps. The report concludes that hundreds of Americans may have been imprisoned in the gulags, and some may have died there, unnoticed, forgotten. Hollywood, California, now, take a look at the sign. A billboard campaign sponsored by a conservative group, Christian -- excuse me, Citizens United, is thanking celebrities for helping to reelect President Bush. One billboard shows the president next to images -- there you see him with several celebrities, including Michael Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, let's see, there's Sean Penn, Ben Affleck, and the list goes on and on. The text says, "Four more years. Thank you, Hollywood."

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

360 next, a Marine accused of murder, but in the midst of war. Was he only doing his job? Covering all the angles. That's the Marine. We'll tell you his story coming up. We'll also hear from his mom.

Also tonight, rethinking Michael Jackson, former child star Corey Feldman, of his relationship with the pop idol. Find out why he has now been subpoenaed to take the stand against Jackson. You'll hear him speak.

Plus, steroid shocker, ex-baseball superstar Jose Canseco claims to have shot up Mark McGwire and other top ballplayers himself.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: In Iraq today, there was a surprise visit from Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld, first to Mosul, in the north, and then to Baghdad, to review exercises being conducted by Iraqi security forces. In a brief speech, Mr. Rumsfeld reminded an audience of American troops that those Iraqi forces would ultimately be doing the job they are currently doing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: It's their country. It's their responsibility. And they're the ones that have that obligation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: For the moment, though, that responsibility, that obligation, still rests with a whole lot of far-from-home Americans, one of whom is now involved in a court case that raises a truly strange question. Can a man who is given a gun and a uniform by the government, sent off to shoot the enemy, be charged with murder for doing just that?

More now on the puzzling story from CNN's Adaora Udoji.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mary Pentano (ph) says it's incomprehensible her son, a dedicated Marine, could commit murder.

MARY PENTANO, MOTHER: He's facing a death penalty for doing his job, which is to be a soldier and fight a war and protect his men.

UDOJI: But right now, Second Lieutenant Alaryo (ph) Pentano only faces a military hearing, where military authorities will, quote, "consider allegations made in connection with two deaths that occurred during combat operations."

The questions arise from his seven-month tour in Iraq. On April 15 last year, at the height of a bloody month for U.S. troops, Pentano's squad was searching for weapons, says his civilian lawyer. When two Iraqi suspects refused to follow orders, he says, Pentano shot and killed them both. His mother says it was self-defense.

PENTANO: I think it is absolutely outrageous. And it's very hard for people who are over there, putting their lives on the line every day, to know that their decisions in the field can be questioned like this. Not, we're not saying it should be all-out warfare. There are rules of engagement. These men are professional...

UDOJI: A graduate of Manhattan's exclusive Horace Mann School and New York University, and a former trader on Wall Street, Pentano was motivated by the 9/11 attacks to rejoin the Marines. Now 33, married and the father of two young children, he potentially faces charges, his lawyer says, which are punishable by death.

A Marine spokesman says the hearing follows a 10-month investigation and will decide if criminal charges follow. He also says to date, 14 Marines have been court-martialed, convicted of hurting or killing detainees in the war on terror.

Always thinking of her son, Pentano's mother set up a Web site, DefendtheDefenders, in hopes of generating support and funds for her son's legal defense.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

UDOJI: And Pentano's mother, Anderson, says he and his family are holding up. She says they all have the utmost respect for the Marines, despite what's happening. For their part, Marine officials aren't explaining much about what they allege happened that day. They say the court proceedings will speak for themselves.

COOPER: Right, it's going to be an Article 32 hearing. Adaora, thanks very much.

That's DefendtheDefenders.org if you want to contact her, or we'd love to know what you think about this. Our Web site, CNN.com/360, click on the Instant Feedback link.

Coming up next on the program, he couldn't win the White House this time around, but could Howard Dean lead the Democrats to victory in 2008? We'll see.

Also tonight, rethinking Michael Jackson. A former childhood star speaks out about their relationship, then and now.

And a little later, a steroid shocker. Ex-baseball player Jose Canseco, well, he tells all. He's naming names, he's naming himself included. We'll tell you what he said. Covering all the angles.

Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Want to take to you a developing scene, breaking news right now, in Los Angeles. A teenaged boy who has been clinging to the side there in a rain-swollen river is being rescued right now, as you can see. This is in the L.A. River. A rescuer has basically wrapped himself around this young man and is trying -- we're not quite clear, at this point, we are just getting this for the first time, what the rope is attached to, what the rescuer is attached to.

But he seems to have a pretty secure grip on this young man. He has positioned himself, his feet against the wall. This is from KABC, and -- OK, there you can see the rope is attached -- it's not a big drop down from the street level. And we're unaware how long this young man has been in the water, how he got there, or how he was clinging on. But the water, as you can tell, very fast moving. This in the L.A. River. This is happening now as we speak.

Rescue crews hope to be able to pull both these two people up very soon. But this situation is still ongoing, and it seems like they're quite not yet able to pull him up.

Let's listen into the affiliate reporter from KABC.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... it may take a piece of wood or something and hit them and cause serious injury, although it definitely is possible, as you mentioned.

We're hearing now that there may have been a total of three young individuals, three boys who were playing, may have gotten into the water.

But they believe they only have one victim, which leads me to believe, now that we have that information, that more than likely they got into the river at a different location than what we're seeing here, and that must have been a frightening route down the river from wherever they got in, because there's no place that I can see along the river here, you go into Vernon, where you actually could get into this river, unless you fell, or you were way upstream, maybe a mile or more, where there's any type of entrance where you may be able to crawl into the river itself.

And that means he had a long way where he was floating downriver before he came upon one of these pylons that he could get a grip on, and then hold on until firefighters got her.

But you can see what they're doing. They're setting up a series of pulleys off the top of the embankment there, that they've attached to the fire engine that Mike showed you a moment ago. And slowly but surely, they're going to get him up that hill. And once again, the good news is, it looks like he's going to be OK.

COOPER: This is a rescue worker from the L.A. Fire Department Swift Water Rescue Team. And as you can see now, he is finally able to lift this boy, this teenaged boy, who dropped into the L.A. River a short time ago, finally able to be pulled up and slowly making his way back up -- oh. It is very tricky. It's hard to see if he's actually been able to secure the boy much beyond just holding onto him and trying to sort of leverage him by staying as parallel as possible.

They are very close now to the top of this -- of the embankment, where other members of the L.A. Fire Department Swift Water Rescue Team have been waiting. There was an initial report that two other young men had fallen in the water. And you can see it is very slippery. This is a very precarious point right now, as they are trying to -- he's no longer able to stay parallel, so there's some concern, I guess, at this point, that the young man could slip out.

It does not seem that he -- the boy himself is all that well secured onto the rope.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... they do it over and over again, and the reason is for this right here...

COOPER: And it is just about, and it looks like it's going to be OK. It looks like they are finally able to get this young man up.

We are not clear how long this situation has been going on, for obviously quite a while, long enough for a helicopter to be hovering overhead, bringing us these pictures. This from KABC in Los Angeles, an ongoing rescue that has been going on in the L.A. River, a swollen -- moving very quickly, as you can see. Seems to be somewhat swollen.

And the boy seems to be certainly conscious at this point. They are pulling him to safety. It looks like he may -- he has something wrapped around his stomach. It looked like he did have some sort of binding on him. But they seem to be signaling that he is OK. And a successful rescue by the L.A. Fire Department Swift Water Rescue Team.

They were going to take the boy to hospital, and we'll try to update you on his condition. We'll have more.

We'll be right back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... but we don't have an exact time on that, and then that would be...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

COREY FELDMAN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) we talked, nothing happened.

SGT. LINDEN, INVESTIGATOR: What were you guys wearing?

FELDMAN: Bathing suits.

LINDEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?

FELDMAN: Yes, I think he had, grabbed an extra pair of trunks and...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: That audiotape of child actor Corey Feldman talking about an incident with Michael Jackson was recorded by the Santa Barbara, California, sheriffs back in 1993. Now, a dozen years later, Feldman may be having second thoughts about his past relationship with the singer, and he has been subpoenaed to tell his story to the Jackson jury.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): Back in 1993, no matter how hard they tried, police couldn't get Corey Feldman to say Michael Jackson behaved inappropriately in his presence.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

FELDMAN: He never did anything out of line. I mean, anything. You know, I mean, the closest he ever came to touching me was maybe slapping me on the leg once, you know, to talk about that I'd lost weight.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

COOPER: They questioned Feldman when he was 22 years old. Well, that was then. This is now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "20/20," ABC)

FELDMAN: I started looking at each piece of information. And with that came this sickening realization...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: In an interview on the ABC News program "20/20," which airs tonight, Feldman, former Jackson friend turned witness for the prosecution, says back when he was 13 or 14, Michael Jackson showed him a book of nude pictures. He says, "The book was focused on venereal disease and the genitalia. And he sat down with me and he explained it to me."

At the time, Feldman says, he didn't think it was a big deal. But the charges Jackson is now facing in a California courtroom are giving him pause.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "20/20," ABC)

FELDMAN: There have been many occurrences in my life and in my relationship to Michael that have created a question of doubt.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: Audiotapes of the 1993 police interview obtained by the program "Celebrity Justice" tell a different tale, with Feldman describing innocent sleepovers.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

FELDMAN: We stayed up all night and talked and did stuff, and we prayed together before we went to sleep, and he was wearing pajamas, and I was wearing my pajamas.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

COOPER: Back then, Feldman staunchly defended Jackson.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

FELDMAN: If there was something that I had been hiding for all these years, then I would want nothing more than to bring it out right now, to make sure that Michael got the help that he needed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Feldman, who starred in "The Goonies," "Stand by Me," and "Gremlins," and appeared in the first season of the reality show "Surreal Life," was arrested for heroin possession in 1990 and says he's been sober for the past 14 years. His friendship with Michael Jackson ended in 2001. Neither of them have ever said why.

Feldman now says being friends with Michael Jackson was just hard work.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "20/20," ABC)

FELDMAN: You don't understand the toll that it takes, having to be friends with somebody like Michael Jackson. Because you spend your whole life defending this friend. No, he's not gay. No, he's not a weirdo.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Feldman still says that Michael Jackson never molested him, but now he has been subpoenaed to testify for the prosecution in Michael Jackson's trial.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, we like to cover all the angles on this program. We called a spokesperson for Michael Jackson for comment, but she declined, saying she was worried about violating the gag order.

Now, if he's called to the stand, the question is, what impact will Corey Feldman's testimony have in the trial?

Joining me for that and more in justice served tonight is Harvey Levin, attorney and executive producer of "Celebrity Justice."

Harvey, good to see you.

HARVEY LEVIN, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, "CELEBRITY JUSTICE": Hi, Anderson.

COOPER: This really opens a door if he is called onto the stand. I mean, can they use this tape from '93?

LEVIN: Well, if he's called to the stand, absolutely, because in the tape, he's very clear that nothing untoward happened with Michael Jackson. And the defense would end up using this, clearly, to try and impeach him.

But worse than impeaching him, I'm telling you, I've listened to this whole tape. And it is bad for the police. They are pushing and pushing and pushing. And I think there's a chance the jury would listen to this and say, Forget Corey Feldman...

COOPER: Really.

LEVIN: ... it just feels...

COOPER: It feels...

LEVIN: ... it feels...

COOPER: ... like a witch hunt?

LEVIN: Yes.

COOPER: Really?

LEVIN: Which is not to say he's guilty or not guilty or whatever. Clearly, these cops went in with their minds made up. I mean from my ears, they went in with their minds made up. They were pushing him, explaining why there was no reason basically to think Michael Jackson didn't do it, which is the opposite of the way you look at it. And it just feels loaded.

COOPER: Let's play another part of this police interview that you got from 1993.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

FELDMAN: I myself was molested, so I know what it feels like to go through those feelings. And believe me, the person who molested me, if this was him that did that to me, then this would be a different story, because I would be out there, up front, you know, doing something immediately to have this man given what was due to him.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

COOPER: He admits that he was molested but by somebody else. How did police react to that?

LEVIN: Not only by somebody else, he mentions who it is. COOPER: He names the person.

LEVIN: We didn't put this on the air. But he is very specific. Just right past it. The cops didn't care. They just went right back to Michael Jackson. And Corey Feldman brought this up several times. And, you know, it just was if, you know, fine, forget about him forget about him, let's get back to Michael Jackson. It was really a stunning moment.

I mean, he wants to talk about molestation, but they wanted to hear about it with Michael Jackson.

COOPER: I just want to play -- I think we have time for more of the interview that your show got. This is Feldman describing a sleep over he had with Jackson in a hotel room. Let's listen.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

FELDMAN: There was one bed in the room and he asked for a cot to be brought up. He got the cot up there, we hung out, we talked for a little while until we got tired. And he insisted that I slept on the bed and he take the cot because he didn't feel it was polite for him to take the bed."

(END AUDIO CLIP)

COOPER: Now, I mean, I recall Jackson's current accuser told a similar story, obviously, years later.

LEVIN: But the difference is Corey Feldman is saying nothing happened. At least, I haven't seen the interview that's going to air tonight, but as far as I know, he does not go that step and say that something happened to me.

So it really doesn't matter. Even if he saw pornographic material and even if he slept in the same bed. If Michael Jackson didn't do that deed, it seems to me that you don't have the payoff that you need to get something like that into evidence. It's really more to dirty somebody up than it is to move an M.O.

So, I'm not sure the judge would let it in. But I've got to tell you Anderson, be careful what you wish for if you're prosecutors. I think it would be a really bad idea to open the door with Corey Feldman.

COOPER: Well, they have subpoenaed him. We'll see if he testifies.

Harvey Levin, thanks very much.

LEVIN: My pleasure.

COOPER: Coming up next on 360, hip, well, to sniff. More and more men in their 20s and 30s are actually getting a vasectomy. You're going to hear from one of them who tells you why he made the decision for no kids. Plus, a steroid tell-all: Ex-baseball player Jose Canseco talks about his addiction. And claims he helped other big name players shoot up. And he names names.

And our favorite video of the day, this guy, the Web cam crooner. Have you seen him? It's floating around on the web. We just love this guy. We'll tell you about him coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I can't have children of my own.

DAVE FOLEY, ACTOR: Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not her fault. It's mine.

FOLEY: Oh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I had a vasectomy when I was 14. You know, a lot of the guys were doing it, sort of manly thing. Vasectomies, tattoos, that kind of stuff.

FOLEY: Well, I am sorry.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, don't be sorry. I was pretty popular in high school as you could well imagine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: That was a little humor there their show "The Kids in the Hall." While they were joking about vasectomies, the truth is many young men today are actually having them. They feel fatherhood is simply not in the cards and they are taking a big step by having a vasectomy.

Senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta talks with one couple who made that choice.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Laura and Vincent are like many couples in their late 20s. They dated 9 years and finally decided to take the next step, getting engaged. They also made a decision that is becoming increasingly common, to never, ever have children.

LAURA KEULING, VINCENT'S FIANCEE: Every step of the way when I thought about what was involved in parenthood, I realized that it was not something I was interested in in the least.

CIACCIO: In our mind the worst possible thing that could have happened would have been an accidental pregnancy. At times we were using 3 forms of birth control simultaneous.

GUPTA: So after a few false alarms, Vinny made a decision once considered incredibly rare for a man in his early 20's, he had a vasectomy.

CIACCIO: My family was not entirely pleased with the decision for me to get a vasectomy. They thought I was a bit too young.

GUPTA: And at age 22 he was younger than average. Of the roughly 600,000 vasectomy patients each year, most are in their 30s or older, married and already have children. But the numbers are changing. And more than ever, the young and hip are going in for a snip.

DR. CHAD RITENOUR, UROLOGIST, EMORY UNIVERSITY: Certainly we're seeing more men coming in. And in fact, in the last year, about 30 percent of our men for vasectomies were under the age 35.

GUPTA: Urologist Dr. Chad Retenauer says that the stigma of male sterilization is slowly subsiding.

RITENOUR: It's a simple procedure, about 30 minutes in the office. Men do fairly well afterwards, the complication rate is low, the success rate is high.

GUPTA: As the decision to become child free at an earlier age is becoming more common, it has spawned a whole social movement and support group such as those on nokidding.net to deal with social stigma.

KEULING: Nobody questions people who grow up always knowing they want to be parents. Nobody says you'll change your mind one day, you'll regret it one day. And that's even less reversal than a vasectomy.

GUPTA: And speaking of reserving a vasectomy, latest studies do show it is ten times more common for men who had it done in their 20s. For now at least, Vincent and Laura aren't thinking about reversing anything. Just moving forward.

CIACCIO: Yes, not a day has gone by in my life when I've regretted my decision. And not a day has gone by when I have not reflected on my vasectomy and thought this was the best decision I've ever made tied only with going to marry you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Sanjay, how much does this cost? And aren't vasectomies reversible?

GUPTA: Yes. To get a vasectomy in the first place, it can cost anywhere around $1,000, about 98 percent to 99 percent effective. They are reversible, Anderson. Sometimes the further out you are from the actual procedure, the less likely you're going to have a successful reversal. But to get that done costs about $10,000 to $25,000.

COOPER: Expensive. All right. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks.

More now on a developing story out of California. Just moments ago we showed you an amazing rescue as it was happening. A young boy had become caught up in the rapid waters of the Los Angeles River, made worse by heavy rains in the region.

Now, he was holding on to a wall along the bank when a rescuer went down by a rope, pulled him up. Local authorities on the scene say the boy has very minor injuries, but he has been taken to a local hospital.

Coming up next on 360, a steroid tell-all. Ex-baseball player Jose Canseco talks about his addiction and claims he helped shoot up other players.

And something to put a smile on your face, the Web cam crooner. You got to hear this guy. We'll try to tell you all about him.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Some shockwaves today in the world of Major League Baseball, as a former player accuses his former teammates of using steroids. Jose Canseco names names, apparently, in his upcoming book, "Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits and How Baseball Got Big." It is set for release on Monday. In it, Canseco describes his own steroid use, and says he himself shot up some potential hall-of- famers, including former home run record holder Mark McGwire. Canseco talks about that in an interview to be aired Sunday on the CBS News magazine "60 Minutes."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE WALLACE, CBS NEWS: Tell me about your firsthand experiences with McGwire and steroids.

JOSE CANSECO, FORMER MLB PLAYER: Just the first time injecting him in his buttocks. It was -- but it wasn't like you gave it a lot of thought. It was something so common. I injected him probably twice, but it wasn't like -- I mean, we would just walk in, and a lot of times they were pill form. A lot of times, you know, you were just a quick injection of whatever, and that's it. It was...

WALLACE: I'm just repeating what you say in the book. If we're to believe what you say in the book.

CANSECO: Right.

WALLACE: And I would often -- often, not twice, inject Mark.

CANSECO: Well, I think people more inject ourselves. I think I injected him -- and this was a long time ago -- once or twice for sure. I didn't keep track, but -- an athlete -- an athlete may prepare his needle and may ask another athlete to inject him, quickly. And that's the way it worked.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, we try to get all the angles here. We asked for a comment from Mark McGwire's camp, but they did not give us one. In the past, McGwire has denied using steroids.

The steroid scandal has changed some of the vocabulary around the big leagues these days. Before, the players were only about giving 110 percent, leaving it all in the field, no "I" in team and I'm going to Disneyworld. But yesterday, New York Yankees first baseman, Jason Giambi, accused of using steroids himself, spoke for the first time about the scandal, and he sounded like a politician who was sticking to his talking points.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): Talking point number one: If legally you can't say anything, just say you're sorry.

JASON GIAMBI, NEW YORK YANKEES: Well, I wanted to apologize. I'm sorry. You know, I apologize for that. You know, I'm sorry.

COOPER: Talking point number two: Make sure fans and teammates know how you feel.

GIAMBI: All I can say is I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Sorry and...

COOPER: Talking point number three: Address the issue firmly. Be clear and concise.

GIAMBI: I'm trying to do the best I can, and say I'm sorry. You know, apologize. You know, saying I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

COOPER: Then, after being really, really sorry, tell the fans how you're going to make a comeback.

GIAMBI: I've been lifting weights in the evening. So I know it's going to be a long road to hoe.

COOPER: A long road maybe, but the first step is sticking to your talking points.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, talk about politicians -- Howard Dean is not known for sticking to talking points or sticking to a script, at least. He came out of nowhere, electrified the presidential campaign, then, well, some say screamed his way back to the bottom.

Now he's back on top as the likely next leader of the Democratic Party. The election expected tomorrow. Some Democrats are nervous, some conservatives are smiling. But Dean and his supporters say he is the right man for the job. Senior political correspondent Candy Crowley says behind the scenes, it's all about "Raw Politics."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Quick, what does Steve Grossman, Joe Andrew, David Wilhelm and Howard Dean have in common? The chairmanship of the Democratic Party.

HOWARD DEAN, CANDIDATE FOR DNC CHAIRMANSHIP: Yeeaaghh!

CROWLEY: Let's just say Dean does not fit the mold. A scene- stealer in a bit player role.

TERRY MCAULIFFE, DNC CHAIR: As I told Howard Dean the other night, I did have one piece of advice, I said, you're about to become the human fire hydrant.

CROWLEY: A Washington outsider going oh so inside the Beltway.

DEAN: I'm trying to be restrained in my new role here in Washington. I'm just going to go out and look for a three-piece suit.

Fat chance.

CROWLEY: Did we mention neither of Washington's Democratic leaders backed Dean? They seemed just a teens worried about job description.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), MINORITY LEADER: The chair of the Democratic Party is an organizer. The policy is made by the members of the Senate, the House, the governors, mayors, elected officials throughout our country.

CROWLEY: Despite trepidation at the top, Dean found victory as DNC chief where he found juice as a presidential candidate, in the grassroots, even red state grassroots.

NANCY JANE WOODSIDE, UTAH DNC MEMBER: If you come to Utah and you help get a county mayor elected, it doesn't get any tougher than the state of Utah. And he's been willing to show up.

CROWLEY: He campaigned as a reformer, wooing activists with a song in their hearts.

DEAN: Trust mayors, trust city counselors, elect secretaries of state. Anybody who touches a vote is somebody we better put some money into that race.

CROWLEY: Though his job will be organization and fund-raising, Dean's politics dominated the application process. Is he too liberal at a time when polls show most activists think the party should move toward the middle?

HAROLD ICKES, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: He's a moderate, and he showed that when he was governor of Vermont.

CROWLEY: Dean's politics are debatable and beside the point, because what activists want most is confrontation.

DEAN: The Democratic Party makes capitalism work, because if it weren't for us, it would fail because of the greed of the people like George W. Bush. And that's what gets Democrats going.

CROWLEY: And that, Howard Dean delivers.

Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Coming up next on 360, Prince Charles and Camilla. Going to the castle and they're -- you know the rest. We call the story this week's "Overkill."

Plus, our favorite video of the day. This guy, webcam lip syncher. Going to give you something to smile about as the weekend begins.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: So there's a big wedding coming up. Did you hear about it? Of course you did. How could you not? Charles and Camilla finally getting hitched. There's some breaking news for you. But come one, it's not like the Donald and Melania's nuptials for goodness's sakes. Now that's royalty. So for all the breathless coverage of their announcement -- and we were part of it, too -- Charles and Camilla this week are our royal overkill.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Breaking news this morning, a royal wedding.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: From across the pond as they say, it looks like they're sealing the deal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tony Blair is expected to weigh in.

COOPER: All right already. We get it. Congratulations, Charles for finally, what, like, 30 years too late popping the question. But of course the announcement wasn't the end. It was just the beginning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you very much indeed.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The reaction has been pretty much, Wolf, as you might expect. There was an air of inevitability that at some point Charles, if you like, would make an honest woman of Camilla Parker-Bowles.

COOPER: All over the TV there's been a mad dash to find literally every so-called royal watcher on the face of the earth. How does one get that job anyway? We had ours. They had theirs. Over and over and over.

RICHARD MINEARDS, "LONDON DAILY EXPRESS": He does want to marry Camilla and I think he's only done this because he feels the public opinion is with him.

COOPER: It wasn't just royal watchers talking. Reporters wanted to know what the British government had to say.

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I'm delighted for the Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker-Bowles. It's very happy news.

COOPER: And perhaps even more important, was the union blessed by the Church of England?

ROWAN WILLIAMS, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY: The Church of England has guidelines on these matters which the Prince of Wales as a loyal and committed member of the Church of England has accepted and agreed with.

COOPER: We think that means he's OK with it. And the people, what about the people?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If that's what they want to do, that's what they should do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's going to cause a lot of controversy and it's going to split people. I don't know which way but there's going to be a lot of talk I think.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody else goes out and gets married and divorced and all that stuff, so I don't have a big problem with it.

COOPER: Yep, it seemed like every possible conceivable angle was hashed and rehashed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She'll be given the title the Duchess of Cornwall but when Charles becomes king she will not become Queen Camilla. Instead she'll be known as the princess consort.

COOPER: The most original headline however went to England's "Daily Star." "Boring old gits to wed." Tally-ho.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: By the way, controversy in English is controversy. So enough already. That's it. No more. At least for this week. Guys, by the way, how many more days until this wedding? Let's get that countdown clock ready. Do we have that countdown clock? There we go. How many days? 50 -- oh, 56 days. It's mighty soon. Only a couple days left for us media types to talk about this.

All right. Well, you know we like to cover a wide range of stories on 360, the serious and the silly and we'd like to give you something to smile about as you head off into the weekend. Today we saw something on the Internet that we kind of fell in love with. It's a video made by a young guy. We didn't know his name, although one of our 360 viewers just e-mailed us that his name is Gary. We don't know where he lives but he's in this video alone in front of his computer and he's singing as many of us do alone at home, not me because I can't sing. But he sings, he's actually lip-synching to of all things, a Romanian song called "Love from the Linden Trees." Now we love this guy's exuberance but he's not definitely not ready for primetime. Watch and enjoy.

All right. That's our favorite video of the day. What can I tell you? Time to find out what's coming up next on "PAULA ZAHN NOW" -- Paula.

PAULA ZAHN, HOST, PAULA ZAHN NOW: Do you think he should be up for a Grammy this year, Anderson?

COOPER: He should be. He should be.

ZAHN: Nice job. Thank you. Tonight of course the woman we'll be watching is Alicia Keys who is expected to be a big winner at this weekend's Grammy awards. Four years ago her debut album won her five Grammys. This year she's up for another eight. And I had a chance to talk with her about her music, her life, and how she built her career her way. There was a point where no one thought she would make it. My conversation with Alicia Keys coming up in just a few minutes -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right. About five minutes from now. Thanks very much, Paula.

ZAHN: She's not a cam crooner. She's the real deal.

COOPER: Gary, if that's his name, could teach her a couple of things.

ZAHN: Yeah, right.

COOPER: Thanks, Paula. Coming up next, we're going to salute the life of a remarkable man. The death of a playwright. We remember Arthur Miller, one of the great men of the theater, in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Tonight, a final curtain to the Nth Degree. A long and eventful and important life is over. Arthur Miller, one of the great men of the theater in the 20th century, died today at the age of 89. He wrote many of the watershed plays of the age, "All My Sons," "The Crucible," plays that made a generation raised on musicals and entertainment face some hard facts and ask some hard questions.

"Death of a Salesman," his masterpiece, which crystallized forever the plight of the little guy, the relentless struggler destined to come to grief, the American dreamer cut down to size by hard reality.

Arthur Miller, the poet of the unnoticed man, was hardly unnoticed himself. The creator of Willie Loman, one of the icons of the age, was married to another icon of the age, Marilyn Monroe, and so lived on the public stage as much as he contributed to it.

"Attention must be paid." That's the famous line from "Death of a Salesman." For 60 years to the life and works of Arthur Miller attention was paid and will long continue to be.

I'm Anderson Cooper. Thanks for watching 360 tonight. have a great weekend. We'll see you on Monday. Primetime coverage continues right now with Paula Zahn -- Paula.

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 11, 2005 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: Good evening from New York. I'm Anderson Cooper.
The crime sounded shocking, a baby tossed from a car. But today, the truth came out.

360 starts now.

COOPER: She claimed she saw this baby tossed from a moving car, but now she admits it was all a lie. She's really the baby's mother.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF KEN JENNE, BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA: This is a case of a disturbed woman who gave birth but did not want to keep her child, and made up an incredible story.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Tonight, why she pretended to be her own child's rescuer. And now, what happens to Baby Johnny?

A Marine officer accused of double murder. But what really happened? He says it was self-defense. Now, his life hangs in the balance. Tonight, we take you into the fog of war. Did this Marine murder, or kill for his country?

Michael Jackson's new accuser subpoenaed to testify against his one-time friend. But why has former child actor Corey Feldman changed his story? And what he's saying now about what Michael did behind closed doors?

They're young, unmarried, and childless. So why are these men deciding to get vasectomies? Tonight, the radical birth control decision that more and more men are signing up for.

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

COOPER: And good evening again.

We begin with a newborn baby. He's being called Baby Johnny. Tonight, he is safe in a hospital, swaddled in clean sheets and love.

But today, the story of how he got there took a very strange turn indeed.

At first, what happened to Johnny appeared to be a horrific crime. This woman, an alleged good Samaritan, said she saw the baby, just hours old, thrown out of the window of a moving car. The woman, she said, saved his life.

But the truth has now been revealed. The good news is the baby never was thrown from a car. The bad news, that good Samaritan wasn't what she appeared to be either.

We're covering all the angles.

Tonight we begin with CNN's Susan Candiotti in Fort Lauderdale.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As long as they can yell and fuss, that's a good sign, isn't it?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a horrifying story, police trying to locate a young mother said to have pitched a newborn baby, umbilical cord still attached, out of a moving car, the baby stuffed inside a plastic bag. A good Samaritan stopped to help, and rushed the baby to police.

SHERIFF KEN JENNE, BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA: The good news about this story is that we have someone in this community who has got the heart and the soul to pick that child up and save it.

CANDIOTTI: Nurses nicknamed him Johnny.

Then, a discovery that came like a body blow.

JENNE: This is a case of a disturbed woman who gave birth but did not want to keep her child, and made up an incredible story. The mother of the baby is the good Samaritan...

CANDIOTTI: By Friday morning, police put two and two together. The good Samaritan confessed she did not want to raise another child. Police said the mother, 38-year-old Patricia Pokriots (ph), gave birth Thursday afternoon, took a shower and set out to concoct a cover story.

Sadly, because of a so-called safe haven law copied in 45 states, Pokriots did not have to create a charade. If she had turned in her unwanted newborn to authorities within three days, there would have been no questions asked.

JENNE: And the irony of this, once again, if Patricia had done this, if Patricia had done this, we would not be talking about her name, and her child would be safe, she would be safe, and this would not be an issue before us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: The mother is now under court-ordered psychiatric care. Police say they're not sure whether any charges will be filed. The sheriff says for now, the only thing he can think of is possibly filing a false police report, Anderson.

COOPER: Ah, thank goodness that baby is safe. All right, Susan Candiotti, thanks for that.

As Susan just reported, today's case never had to become this complicated. If the mother hadn't lied to police, she wouldn't have gotten in trouble, because, as you heard, about the so-called safe haven law designed for situations like this one.

CNN's John Zarrella takes us behind the headlines tonight and explains how the law is actually meant to protect children.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Her name is Gloria Hope Lewis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want this? Yes.

ZARRELLA: These are her very proud, very excited parents, Michael and Laurie Lewis (ph). After eight months as her foster parents, the Lewises adopted Gloria Hope.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I do. More, more, more.

ZARRELLA: The Lewises knew Baby Hope's situation was different from other foster children they had taken in, but they also knew immediately they wanted to adopt her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Really, I think it's God's way of saying, OK, you're my messengers, here's your gift. Go out and spread the word. I want more babies saved.

ZARRELLA: Gloria Hope's biological mother dropped the newborn off at this fire station in Deerfield Beach.

(on camera): Under Florida's safe haven law, mothers in desperate situations can drop off their babies, up to 3 days old, at fire stations, hospitals, and emergency medical facilities without fear of prosecution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, TV COMMERCIAL)

ANNOUNCER: You can leave your unharmed baby...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZARRELLA: Some say the law, which exists in various forms in 45 states, is far from perfect. There's no family health history. The number of days old a child can be varies.

Jeffrey Leving, a fathers' rights attorney, says safe haven laws don't give biological dads any say.

JEFFREY LEVIN, ATTORNEY: I think every safe haven law must require the biological mother to identify the biological father...

ZARRELLA: Nick Silverio (ph), who founded a nonprofit organization to publicize the Florida law, knows it's not perfect, but...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The alternative for not having this program would be that maybe Gloria Hope wouldn't be here today.

ZARRELLA: If anything, advocates like the Lewises say, safe haven needs to be better publicized, because too many women don't know there are laws that give hope to their babies.

John Zarrella, CNN, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Adorable baby.

Joining me now to talk more about what happens to newborns who are abandoned, and in particular, what's next for Baby Johnny, this latest newborn to be rescued, is Gina Ciolino of ChildNet, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to care for abused, neglected, and abandoned children in Florida's Broward County.

Gina, thanks very much for being with us.

This baby, Baby Johnny, now is in ChildNet's custody. What happens to him next?

GINA CIOLINO, CHILDNET: Well, there's a couple of what-ifs we're still waiting to know. The first one is that we're still trying to identify who the father of this baby is. As Sheriff Ken Jenne of the Broward Sheriff's Office indicated earlier today, the mother would not release any information as to his identity. So we're still waiting to find out that piece.

The mother did indicate to the Broward Sheriff's Office that she was not interested in keeping this child. However, she has not made any legal steps in order to finalize that. Should she sign a voluntary consent to terminate her parental rights, then we will -- can move very quickly in this case.

COOPER: And she...

CIOLINO: But as I said, there are still some ifs.

COOPER: This woman, Patricia, also has a 10-year-old son. What happens to him?

CIOLINO: He was also brought into custody today, along with the infant, so both children are in custody. And, again, if we do move to terminate parental rights for either or both the mother or the father, it would happen for both children.

COOPER: How many people have called in inquiring right now to adopt Baby Johnny? CIOLINO: We had hundreds before noon, and I'm sure that there were hundreds more afterwards. We were overwhelmed at ChildNet with the response of people interested in adopting.

Unfortunately, this child is not currently available for adoption. Maybe in the next six months, but would be up for adoption with his sibling.

However, we do have hundreds of other children in Broward County who are still looking for that special family to call their own.

COOPER: Thousands, tens of thousands of kids around the United States looking for adoption of all ages.

CIOLINO: Absolutely.

COOPER: Do you ever get used to seeing this kind of thing, Gina? I mean, I just find it stunning.

CIOLINO: It's absolutely horrific. I can't imagine that any parent would put their child through this situation, or any of the others that we unfortunately see so frequently that the children come into care.

COOPER: You do, you're doing...

CIOLINO: It's horrible.

COOPER: You're doing great work. We appreciate you being out there, Gina Ciolino. Appreciate it. With ChildNet. Thanks very much.

CIOLINO: Thank you.

COOPER: A very disturbing medical story to tell you about right now, one of the stories we're tracking cross-country.

New York City, health officials say they have diagnosed a patient for the first time with a strain of HIV that is difficult or impossible to treat. It moves from HIV to AIDS within a matter of months. The patient right now, there's only one, is a man in his mid- 40s who had unprotected sex with multiple male partners, often while using the drug crystal meth. The patient was diagnosed in December. He has now developed full-blown AIDS.

Crescent City, California, there is a lockdown at California's top-security prison, Pelican Bay, after officials discovered an inmate plot to murder three guards. Prison spokesman says a California gang known as the Mexican Mafia, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), was behind the plot. Very powerful gang.

At the Pentagon, a remarkable report about U.S. service members believed to have been in prison during the Korean and cold wars in the Soviet Union's gulags, a network of forced-labor camps. The report concludes that hundreds of Americans may have been imprisoned in the gulags, and some may have died there, unnoticed, forgotten. Hollywood, California, now, take a look at the sign. A billboard campaign sponsored by a conservative group, Christian -- excuse me, Citizens United, is thanking celebrities for helping to reelect President Bush. One billboard shows the president next to images -- there you see him with several celebrities, including Michael Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, let's see, there's Sean Penn, Ben Affleck, and the list goes on and on. The text says, "Four more years. Thank you, Hollywood."

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

360 next, a Marine accused of murder, but in the midst of war. Was he only doing his job? Covering all the angles. That's the Marine. We'll tell you his story coming up. We'll also hear from his mom.

Also tonight, rethinking Michael Jackson, former child star Corey Feldman, of his relationship with the pop idol. Find out why he has now been subpoenaed to take the stand against Jackson. You'll hear him speak.

Plus, steroid shocker, ex-baseball superstar Jose Canseco claims to have shot up Mark McGwire and other top ballplayers himself.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: In Iraq today, there was a surprise visit from Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld, first to Mosul, in the north, and then to Baghdad, to review exercises being conducted by Iraqi security forces. In a brief speech, Mr. Rumsfeld reminded an audience of American troops that those Iraqi forces would ultimately be doing the job they are currently doing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: It's their country. It's their responsibility. And they're the ones that have that obligation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: For the moment, though, that responsibility, that obligation, still rests with a whole lot of far-from-home Americans, one of whom is now involved in a court case that raises a truly strange question. Can a man who is given a gun and a uniform by the government, sent off to shoot the enemy, be charged with murder for doing just that?

More now on the puzzling story from CNN's Adaora Udoji.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mary Pentano (ph) says it's incomprehensible her son, a dedicated Marine, could commit murder.

MARY PENTANO, MOTHER: He's facing a death penalty for doing his job, which is to be a soldier and fight a war and protect his men.

UDOJI: But right now, Second Lieutenant Alaryo (ph) Pentano only faces a military hearing, where military authorities will, quote, "consider allegations made in connection with two deaths that occurred during combat operations."

The questions arise from his seven-month tour in Iraq. On April 15 last year, at the height of a bloody month for U.S. troops, Pentano's squad was searching for weapons, says his civilian lawyer. When two Iraqi suspects refused to follow orders, he says, Pentano shot and killed them both. His mother says it was self-defense.

PENTANO: I think it is absolutely outrageous. And it's very hard for people who are over there, putting their lives on the line every day, to know that their decisions in the field can be questioned like this. Not, we're not saying it should be all-out warfare. There are rules of engagement. These men are professional...

UDOJI: A graduate of Manhattan's exclusive Horace Mann School and New York University, and a former trader on Wall Street, Pentano was motivated by the 9/11 attacks to rejoin the Marines. Now 33, married and the father of two young children, he potentially faces charges, his lawyer says, which are punishable by death.

A Marine spokesman says the hearing follows a 10-month investigation and will decide if criminal charges follow. He also says to date, 14 Marines have been court-martialed, convicted of hurting or killing detainees in the war on terror.

Always thinking of her son, Pentano's mother set up a Web site, DefendtheDefenders, in hopes of generating support and funds for her son's legal defense.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

UDOJI: And Pentano's mother, Anderson, says he and his family are holding up. She says they all have the utmost respect for the Marines, despite what's happening. For their part, Marine officials aren't explaining much about what they allege happened that day. They say the court proceedings will speak for themselves.

COOPER: Right, it's going to be an Article 32 hearing. Adaora, thanks very much.

That's DefendtheDefenders.org if you want to contact her, or we'd love to know what you think about this. Our Web site, CNN.com/360, click on the Instant Feedback link.

Coming up next on the program, he couldn't win the White House this time around, but could Howard Dean lead the Democrats to victory in 2008? We'll see.

Also tonight, rethinking Michael Jackson. A former childhood star speaks out about their relationship, then and now.

And a little later, a steroid shocker. Ex-baseball player Jose Canseco, well, he tells all. He's naming names, he's naming himself included. We'll tell you what he said. Covering all the angles.

Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Want to take to you a developing scene, breaking news right now, in Los Angeles. A teenaged boy who has been clinging to the side there in a rain-swollen river is being rescued right now, as you can see. This is in the L.A. River. A rescuer has basically wrapped himself around this young man and is trying -- we're not quite clear, at this point, we are just getting this for the first time, what the rope is attached to, what the rescuer is attached to.

But he seems to have a pretty secure grip on this young man. He has positioned himself, his feet against the wall. This is from KABC, and -- OK, there you can see the rope is attached -- it's not a big drop down from the street level. And we're unaware how long this young man has been in the water, how he got there, or how he was clinging on. But the water, as you can tell, very fast moving. This in the L.A. River. This is happening now as we speak.

Rescue crews hope to be able to pull both these two people up very soon. But this situation is still ongoing, and it seems like they're quite not yet able to pull him up.

Let's listen into the affiliate reporter from KABC.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... it may take a piece of wood or something and hit them and cause serious injury, although it definitely is possible, as you mentioned.

We're hearing now that there may have been a total of three young individuals, three boys who were playing, may have gotten into the water.

But they believe they only have one victim, which leads me to believe, now that we have that information, that more than likely they got into the river at a different location than what we're seeing here, and that must have been a frightening route down the river from wherever they got in, because there's no place that I can see along the river here, you go into Vernon, where you actually could get into this river, unless you fell, or you were way upstream, maybe a mile or more, where there's any type of entrance where you may be able to crawl into the river itself.

And that means he had a long way where he was floating downriver before he came upon one of these pylons that he could get a grip on, and then hold on until firefighters got her.

But you can see what they're doing. They're setting up a series of pulleys off the top of the embankment there, that they've attached to the fire engine that Mike showed you a moment ago. And slowly but surely, they're going to get him up that hill. And once again, the good news is, it looks like he's going to be OK.

COOPER: This is a rescue worker from the L.A. Fire Department Swift Water Rescue Team. And as you can see now, he is finally able to lift this boy, this teenaged boy, who dropped into the L.A. River a short time ago, finally able to be pulled up and slowly making his way back up -- oh. It is very tricky. It's hard to see if he's actually been able to secure the boy much beyond just holding onto him and trying to sort of leverage him by staying as parallel as possible.

They are very close now to the top of this -- of the embankment, where other members of the L.A. Fire Department Swift Water Rescue Team have been waiting. There was an initial report that two other young men had fallen in the water. And you can see it is very slippery. This is a very precarious point right now, as they are trying to -- he's no longer able to stay parallel, so there's some concern, I guess, at this point, that the young man could slip out.

It does not seem that he -- the boy himself is all that well secured onto the rope.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... they do it over and over again, and the reason is for this right here...

COOPER: And it is just about, and it looks like it's going to be OK. It looks like they are finally able to get this young man up.

We are not clear how long this situation has been going on, for obviously quite a while, long enough for a helicopter to be hovering overhead, bringing us these pictures. This from KABC in Los Angeles, an ongoing rescue that has been going on in the L.A. River, a swollen -- moving very quickly, as you can see. Seems to be somewhat swollen.

And the boy seems to be certainly conscious at this point. They are pulling him to safety. It looks like he may -- he has something wrapped around his stomach. It looked like he did have some sort of binding on him. But they seem to be signaling that he is OK. And a successful rescue by the L.A. Fire Department Swift Water Rescue Team.

They were going to take the boy to hospital, and we'll try to update you on his condition. We'll have more.

We'll be right back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... but we don't have an exact time on that, and then that would be...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

COREY FELDMAN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) we talked, nothing happened.

SGT. LINDEN, INVESTIGATOR: What were you guys wearing?

FELDMAN: Bathing suits.

LINDEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?

FELDMAN: Yes, I think he had, grabbed an extra pair of trunks and...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: That audiotape of child actor Corey Feldman talking about an incident with Michael Jackson was recorded by the Santa Barbara, California, sheriffs back in 1993. Now, a dozen years later, Feldman may be having second thoughts about his past relationship with the singer, and he has been subpoenaed to tell his story to the Jackson jury.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): Back in 1993, no matter how hard they tried, police couldn't get Corey Feldman to say Michael Jackson behaved inappropriately in his presence.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

FELDMAN: He never did anything out of line. I mean, anything. You know, I mean, the closest he ever came to touching me was maybe slapping me on the leg once, you know, to talk about that I'd lost weight.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

COOPER: They questioned Feldman when he was 22 years old. Well, that was then. This is now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "20/20," ABC)

FELDMAN: I started looking at each piece of information. And with that came this sickening realization...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: In an interview on the ABC News program "20/20," which airs tonight, Feldman, former Jackson friend turned witness for the prosecution, says back when he was 13 or 14, Michael Jackson showed him a book of nude pictures. He says, "The book was focused on venereal disease and the genitalia. And he sat down with me and he explained it to me."

At the time, Feldman says, he didn't think it was a big deal. But the charges Jackson is now facing in a California courtroom are giving him pause.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "20/20," ABC)

FELDMAN: There have been many occurrences in my life and in my relationship to Michael that have created a question of doubt.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: Audiotapes of the 1993 police interview obtained by the program "Celebrity Justice" tell a different tale, with Feldman describing innocent sleepovers.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

FELDMAN: We stayed up all night and talked and did stuff, and we prayed together before we went to sleep, and he was wearing pajamas, and I was wearing my pajamas.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

COOPER: Back then, Feldman staunchly defended Jackson.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

FELDMAN: If there was something that I had been hiding for all these years, then I would want nothing more than to bring it out right now, to make sure that Michael got the help that he needed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Feldman, who starred in "The Goonies," "Stand by Me," and "Gremlins," and appeared in the first season of the reality show "Surreal Life," was arrested for heroin possession in 1990 and says he's been sober for the past 14 years. His friendship with Michael Jackson ended in 2001. Neither of them have ever said why.

Feldman now says being friends with Michael Jackson was just hard work.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "20/20," ABC)

FELDMAN: You don't understand the toll that it takes, having to be friends with somebody like Michael Jackson. Because you spend your whole life defending this friend. No, he's not gay. No, he's not a weirdo.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Feldman still says that Michael Jackson never molested him, but now he has been subpoenaed to testify for the prosecution in Michael Jackson's trial.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, we like to cover all the angles on this program. We called a spokesperson for Michael Jackson for comment, but she declined, saying she was worried about violating the gag order.

Now, if he's called to the stand, the question is, what impact will Corey Feldman's testimony have in the trial?

Joining me for that and more in justice served tonight is Harvey Levin, attorney and executive producer of "Celebrity Justice."

Harvey, good to see you.

HARVEY LEVIN, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, "CELEBRITY JUSTICE": Hi, Anderson.

COOPER: This really opens a door if he is called onto the stand. I mean, can they use this tape from '93?

LEVIN: Well, if he's called to the stand, absolutely, because in the tape, he's very clear that nothing untoward happened with Michael Jackson. And the defense would end up using this, clearly, to try and impeach him.

But worse than impeaching him, I'm telling you, I've listened to this whole tape. And it is bad for the police. They are pushing and pushing and pushing. And I think there's a chance the jury would listen to this and say, Forget Corey Feldman...

COOPER: Really.

LEVIN: ... it just feels...

COOPER: It feels...

LEVIN: ... it feels...

COOPER: ... like a witch hunt?

LEVIN: Yes.

COOPER: Really?

LEVIN: Which is not to say he's guilty or not guilty or whatever. Clearly, these cops went in with their minds made up. I mean from my ears, they went in with their minds made up. They were pushing him, explaining why there was no reason basically to think Michael Jackson didn't do it, which is the opposite of the way you look at it. And it just feels loaded.

COOPER: Let's play another part of this police interview that you got from 1993.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

FELDMAN: I myself was molested, so I know what it feels like to go through those feelings. And believe me, the person who molested me, if this was him that did that to me, then this would be a different story, because I would be out there, up front, you know, doing something immediately to have this man given what was due to him.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

COOPER: He admits that he was molested but by somebody else. How did police react to that?

LEVIN: Not only by somebody else, he mentions who it is. COOPER: He names the person.

LEVIN: We didn't put this on the air. But he is very specific. Just right past it. The cops didn't care. They just went right back to Michael Jackson. And Corey Feldman brought this up several times. And, you know, it just was if, you know, fine, forget about him forget about him, let's get back to Michael Jackson. It was really a stunning moment.

I mean, he wants to talk about molestation, but they wanted to hear about it with Michael Jackson.

COOPER: I just want to play -- I think we have time for more of the interview that your show got. This is Feldman describing a sleep over he had with Jackson in a hotel room. Let's listen.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

FELDMAN: There was one bed in the room and he asked for a cot to be brought up. He got the cot up there, we hung out, we talked for a little while until we got tired. And he insisted that I slept on the bed and he take the cot because he didn't feel it was polite for him to take the bed."

(END AUDIO CLIP)

COOPER: Now, I mean, I recall Jackson's current accuser told a similar story, obviously, years later.

LEVIN: But the difference is Corey Feldman is saying nothing happened. At least, I haven't seen the interview that's going to air tonight, but as far as I know, he does not go that step and say that something happened to me.

So it really doesn't matter. Even if he saw pornographic material and even if he slept in the same bed. If Michael Jackson didn't do that deed, it seems to me that you don't have the payoff that you need to get something like that into evidence. It's really more to dirty somebody up than it is to move an M.O.

So, I'm not sure the judge would let it in. But I've got to tell you Anderson, be careful what you wish for if you're prosecutors. I think it would be a really bad idea to open the door with Corey Feldman.

COOPER: Well, they have subpoenaed him. We'll see if he testifies.

Harvey Levin, thanks very much.

LEVIN: My pleasure.

COOPER: Coming up next on 360, hip, well, to sniff. More and more men in their 20s and 30s are actually getting a vasectomy. You're going to hear from one of them who tells you why he made the decision for no kids. Plus, a steroid tell-all: Ex-baseball player Jose Canseco talks about his addiction. And claims he helped other big name players shoot up. And he names names.

And our favorite video of the day, this guy, the Web cam crooner. Have you seen him? It's floating around on the web. We just love this guy. We'll tell you about him coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I can't have children of my own.

DAVE FOLEY, ACTOR: Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not her fault. It's mine.

FOLEY: Oh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I had a vasectomy when I was 14. You know, a lot of the guys were doing it, sort of manly thing. Vasectomies, tattoos, that kind of stuff.

FOLEY: Well, I am sorry.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, don't be sorry. I was pretty popular in high school as you could well imagine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: That was a little humor there their show "The Kids in the Hall." While they were joking about vasectomies, the truth is many young men today are actually having them. They feel fatherhood is simply not in the cards and they are taking a big step by having a vasectomy.

Senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta talks with one couple who made that choice.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Laura and Vincent are like many couples in their late 20s. They dated 9 years and finally decided to take the next step, getting engaged. They also made a decision that is becoming increasingly common, to never, ever have children.

LAURA KEULING, VINCENT'S FIANCEE: Every step of the way when I thought about what was involved in parenthood, I realized that it was not something I was interested in in the least.

CIACCIO: In our mind the worst possible thing that could have happened would have been an accidental pregnancy. At times we were using 3 forms of birth control simultaneous.

GUPTA: So after a few false alarms, Vinny made a decision once considered incredibly rare for a man in his early 20's, he had a vasectomy.

CIACCIO: My family was not entirely pleased with the decision for me to get a vasectomy. They thought I was a bit too young.

GUPTA: And at age 22 he was younger than average. Of the roughly 600,000 vasectomy patients each year, most are in their 30s or older, married and already have children. But the numbers are changing. And more than ever, the young and hip are going in for a snip.

DR. CHAD RITENOUR, UROLOGIST, EMORY UNIVERSITY: Certainly we're seeing more men coming in. And in fact, in the last year, about 30 percent of our men for vasectomies were under the age 35.

GUPTA: Urologist Dr. Chad Retenauer says that the stigma of male sterilization is slowly subsiding.

RITENOUR: It's a simple procedure, about 30 minutes in the office. Men do fairly well afterwards, the complication rate is low, the success rate is high.

GUPTA: As the decision to become child free at an earlier age is becoming more common, it has spawned a whole social movement and support group such as those on nokidding.net to deal with social stigma.

KEULING: Nobody questions people who grow up always knowing they want to be parents. Nobody says you'll change your mind one day, you'll regret it one day. And that's even less reversal than a vasectomy.

GUPTA: And speaking of reserving a vasectomy, latest studies do show it is ten times more common for men who had it done in their 20s. For now at least, Vincent and Laura aren't thinking about reversing anything. Just moving forward.

CIACCIO: Yes, not a day has gone by in my life when I've regretted my decision. And not a day has gone by when I have not reflected on my vasectomy and thought this was the best decision I've ever made tied only with going to marry you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Sanjay, how much does this cost? And aren't vasectomies reversible?

GUPTA: Yes. To get a vasectomy in the first place, it can cost anywhere around $1,000, about 98 percent to 99 percent effective. They are reversible, Anderson. Sometimes the further out you are from the actual procedure, the less likely you're going to have a successful reversal. But to get that done costs about $10,000 to $25,000.

COOPER: Expensive. All right. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks.

More now on a developing story out of California. Just moments ago we showed you an amazing rescue as it was happening. A young boy had become caught up in the rapid waters of the Los Angeles River, made worse by heavy rains in the region.

Now, he was holding on to a wall along the bank when a rescuer went down by a rope, pulled him up. Local authorities on the scene say the boy has very minor injuries, but he has been taken to a local hospital.

Coming up next on 360, a steroid tell-all. Ex-baseball player Jose Canseco talks about his addiction and claims he helped shoot up other players.

And something to put a smile on your face, the Web cam crooner. You got to hear this guy. We'll try to tell you all about him.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Some shockwaves today in the world of Major League Baseball, as a former player accuses his former teammates of using steroids. Jose Canseco names names, apparently, in his upcoming book, "Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits and How Baseball Got Big." It is set for release on Monday. In it, Canseco describes his own steroid use, and says he himself shot up some potential hall-of- famers, including former home run record holder Mark McGwire. Canseco talks about that in an interview to be aired Sunday on the CBS News magazine "60 Minutes."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE WALLACE, CBS NEWS: Tell me about your firsthand experiences with McGwire and steroids.

JOSE CANSECO, FORMER MLB PLAYER: Just the first time injecting him in his buttocks. It was -- but it wasn't like you gave it a lot of thought. It was something so common. I injected him probably twice, but it wasn't like -- I mean, we would just walk in, and a lot of times they were pill form. A lot of times, you know, you were just a quick injection of whatever, and that's it. It was...

WALLACE: I'm just repeating what you say in the book. If we're to believe what you say in the book.

CANSECO: Right.

WALLACE: And I would often -- often, not twice, inject Mark.

CANSECO: Well, I think people more inject ourselves. I think I injected him -- and this was a long time ago -- once or twice for sure. I didn't keep track, but -- an athlete -- an athlete may prepare his needle and may ask another athlete to inject him, quickly. And that's the way it worked.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, we try to get all the angles here. We asked for a comment from Mark McGwire's camp, but they did not give us one. In the past, McGwire has denied using steroids.

The steroid scandal has changed some of the vocabulary around the big leagues these days. Before, the players were only about giving 110 percent, leaving it all in the field, no "I" in team and I'm going to Disneyworld. But yesterday, New York Yankees first baseman, Jason Giambi, accused of using steroids himself, spoke for the first time about the scandal, and he sounded like a politician who was sticking to his talking points.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): Talking point number one: If legally you can't say anything, just say you're sorry.

JASON GIAMBI, NEW YORK YANKEES: Well, I wanted to apologize. I'm sorry. You know, I apologize for that. You know, I'm sorry.

COOPER: Talking point number two: Make sure fans and teammates know how you feel.

GIAMBI: All I can say is I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Sorry and...

COOPER: Talking point number three: Address the issue firmly. Be clear and concise.

GIAMBI: I'm trying to do the best I can, and say I'm sorry. You know, apologize. You know, saying I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

COOPER: Then, after being really, really sorry, tell the fans how you're going to make a comeback.

GIAMBI: I've been lifting weights in the evening. So I know it's going to be a long road to hoe.

COOPER: A long road maybe, but the first step is sticking to your talking points.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, talk about politicians -- Howard Dean is not known for sticking to talking points or sticking to a script, at least. He came out of nowhere, electrified the presidential campaign, then, well, some say screamed his way back to the bottom.

Now he's back on top as the likely next leader of the Democratic Party. The election expected tomorrow. Some Democrats are nervous, some conservatives are smiling. But Dean and his supporters say he is the right man for the job. Senior political correspondent Candy Crowley says behind the scenes, it's all about "Raw Politics."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Quick, what does Steve Grossman, Joe Andrew, David Wilhelm and Howard Dean have in common? The chairmanship of the Democratic Party.

HOWARD DEAN, CANDIDATE FOR DNC CHAIRMANSHIP: Yeeaaghh!

CROWLEY: Let's just say Dean does not fit the mold. A scene- stealer in a bit player role.

TERRY MCAULIFFE, DNC CHAIR: As I told Howard Dean the other night, I did have one piece of advice, I said, you're about to become the human fire hydrant.

CROWLEY: A Washington outsider going oh so inside the Beltway.

DEAN: I'm trying to be restrained in my new role here in Washington. I'm just going to go out and look for a three-piece suit.

Fat chance.

CROWLEY: Did we mention neither of Washington's Democratic leaders backed Dean? They seemed just a teens worried about job description.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), MINORITY LEADER: The chair of the Democratic Party is an organizer. The policy is made by the members of the Senate, the House, the governors, mayors, elected officials throughout our country.

CROWLEY: Despite trepidation at the top, Dean found victory as DNC chief where he found juice as a presidential candidate, in the grassroots, even red state grassroots.

NANCY JANE WOODSIDE, UTAH DNC MEMBER: If you come to Utah and you help get a county mayor elected, it doesn't get any tougher than the state of Utah. And he's been willing to show up.

CROWLEY: He campaigned as a reformer, wooing activists with a song in their hearts.

DEAN: Trust mayors, trust city counselors, elect secretaries of state. Anybody who touches a vote is somebody we better put some money into that race.

CROWLEY: Though his job will be organization and fund-raising, Dean's politics dominated the application process. Is he too liberal at a time when polls show most activists think the party should move toward the middle?

HAROLD ICKES, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: He's a moderate, and he showed that when he was governor of Vermont.

CROWLEY: Dean's politics are debatable and beside the point, because what activists want most is confrontation.

DEAN: The Democratic Party makes capitalism work, because if it weren't for us, it would fail because of the greed of the people like George W. Bush. And that's what gets Democrats going.

CROWLEY: And that, Howard Dean delivers.

Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Coming up next on 360, Prince Charles and Camilla. Going to the castle and they're -- you know the rest. We call the story this week's "Overkill."

Plus, our favorite video of the day. This guy, webcam lip syncher. Going to give you something to smile about as the weekend begins.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: So there's a big wedding coming up. Did you hear about it? Of course you did. How could you not? Charles and Camilla finally getting hitched. There's some breaking news for you. But come one, it's not like the Donald and Melania's nuptials for goodness's sakes. Now that's royalty. So for all the breathless coverage of their announcement -- and we were part of it, too -- Charles and Camilla this week are our royal overkill.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Breaking news this morning, a royal wedding.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: From across the pond as they say, it looks like they're sealing the deal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tony Blair is expected to weigh in.

COOPER: All right already. We get it. Congratulations, Charles for finally, what, like, 30 years too late popping the question. But of course the announcement wasn't the end. It was just the beginning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you very much indeed.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The reaction has been pretty much, Wolf, as you might expect. There was an air of inevitability that at some point Charles, if you like, would make an honest woman of Camilla Parker-Bowles.

COOPER: All over the TV there's been a mad dash to find literally every so-called royal watcher on the face of the earth. How does one get that job anyway? We had ours. They had theirs. Over and over and over.

RICHARD MINEARDS, "LONDON DAILY EXPRESS": He does want to marry Camilla and I think he's only done this because he feels the public opinion is with him.

COOPER: It wasn't just royal watchers talking. Reporters wanted to know what the British government had to say.

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I'm delighted for the Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker-Bowles. It's very happy news.

COOPER: And perhaps even more important, was the union blessed by the Church of England?

ROWAN WILLIAMS, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY: The Church of England has guidelines on these matters which the Prince of Wales as a loyal and committed member of the Church of England has accepted and agreed with.

COOPER: We think that means he's OK with it. And the people, what about the people?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If that's what they want to do, that's what they should do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's going to cause a lot of controversy and it's going to split people. I don't know which way but there's going to be a lot of talk I think.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody else goes out and gets married and divorced and all that stuff, so I don't have a big problem with it.

COOPER: Yep, it seemed like every possible conceivable angle was hashed and rehashed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She'll be given the title the Duchess of Cornwall but when Charles becomes king she will not become Queen Camilla. Instead she'll be known as the princess consort.

COOPER: The most original headline however went to England's "Daily Star." "Boring old gits to wed." Tally-ho.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: By the way, controversy in English is controversy. So enough already. That's it. No more. At least for this week. Guys, by the way, how many more days until this wedding? Let's get that countdown clock ready. Do we have that countdown clock? There we go. How many days? 50 -- oh, 56 days. It's mighty soon. Only a couple days left for us media types to talk about this.

All right. Well, you know we like to cover a wide range of stories on 360, the serious and the silly and we'd like to give you something to smile about as you head off into the weekend. Today we saw something on the Internet that we kind of fell in love with. It's a video made by a young guy. We didn't know his name, although one of our 360 viewers just e-mailed us that his name is Gary. We don't know where he lives but he's in this video alone in front of his computer and he's singing as many of us do alone at home, not me because I can't sing. But he sings, he's actually lip-synching to of all things, a Romanian song called "Love from the Linden Trees." Now we love this guy's exuberance but he's not definitely not ready for primetime. Watch and enjoy.

All right. That's our favorite video of the day. What can I tell you? Time to find out what's coming up next on "PAULA ZAHN NOW" -- Paula.

PAULA ZAHN, HOST, PAULA ZAHN NOW: Do you think he should be up for a Grammy this year, Anderson?

COOPER: He should be. He should be.

ZAHN: Nice job. Thank you. Tonight of course the woman we'll be watching is Alicia Keys who is expected to be a big winner at this weekend's Grammy awards. Four years ago her debut album won her five Grammys. This year she's up for another eight. And I had a chance to talk with her about her music, her life, and how she built her career her way. There was a point where no one thought she would make it. My conversation with Alicia Keys coming up in just a few minutes -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right. About five minutes from now. Thanks very much, Paula.

ZAHN: She's not a cam crooner. She's the real deal.

COOPER: Gary, if that's his name, could teach her a couple of things.

ZAHN: Yeah, right.

COOPER: Thanks, Paula. Coming up next, we're going to salute the life of a remarkable man. The death of a playwright. We remember Arthur Miller, one of the great men of the theater, in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Tonight, a final curtain to the Nth Degree. A long and eventful and important life is over. Arthur Miller, one of the great men of the theater in the 20th century, died today at the age of 89. He wrote many of the watershed plays of the age, "All My Sons," "The Crucible," plays that made a generation raised on musicals and entertainment face some hard facts and ask some hard questions.

"Death of a Salesman," his masterpiece, which crystallized forever the plight of the little guy, the relentless struggler destined to come to grief, the American dreamer cut down to size by hard reality.

Arthur Miller, the poet of the unnoticed man, was hardly unnoticed himself. The creator of Willie Loman, one of the icons of the age, was married to another icon of the age, Marilyn Monroe, and so lived on the public stage as much as he contributed to it.

"Attention must be paid." That's the famous line from "Death of a Salesman." For 60 years to the life and works of Arthur Miller attention was paid and will long continue to be.

I'm Anderson Cooper. Thanks for watching 360 tonight. have a great weekend. We'll see you on Monday. Primetime coverage continues right now with Paula Zahn -- Paula.

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