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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Al Qaeda Still Intent on Attack U.S. Mainland; Interview with Col. Clifford Acree, a tortured Desert Storm POW

Aired February 16, 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.
America's spymaster says al Qaeda is not done.

360 starts now.

Al Qaeda, aiming for America.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PORTER GOSS, DIRECTOR, CIA: Al Qaeda is intent on finding ways to circumvent U.S. security enhancements to strike Americans in the homeland.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: The CIA chief testifies about terror and what methods al Qaeda may use to strike again.

A pipe bomb planted at a California DMV, letters to local papers promise more. Tonight, who's making these threats? And what do they have against those suburbs and that cubicle you work in?

Laura Bush shakes up the White House, hiring staff, firing the chef. Tonight, the East Wing makeover that has Washington wondering, what's the first lady up to?

Michael Jackson in the hospital. Doctors say he's good to go, so why is he staying put? Tonight, the latest on Jackson's condition. Is he really sick, or simply hoping to bide some time?

And living with pain. What happens when your medicine doesn't help?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No doctor can tell me what's going on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Tonight, Dr. Sanjay Gupta on doctors' difficulty diagnosing what hurts.

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

COOPER: And good evening again.

Despite three and a half years of a war on terror at the cost of thousands of lives and billions of tax dollars, the sad truth is that the world is still filled with people intent on killing Americans in spectacular fashion.

A very grim message today on Capitol Hill from the new head of the CIA and others. That is the headline.

The details now from national security correspondent David Ensor.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At his first appearance on Capitol Hill as intelligence chief, Porter Goss said the top threat to the nation's national security remains terrorism, causing mass casualties.

PORTER GOSS, CIA DIRECTOR: It may be only a matter of time before al Qaeda or other group attempts to use chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear weapons. We must focus on that.

ENSOR: Russian reports say terrorists may have stolen some nuclear materials in Russia in recent years, leading to concern about a possible dirty radioactive bomb.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you assure the American people that the material missing from Russian nuclear sites has not found its way into terrorist hands?

GOSS: No, I can't make that assurance.

ENSOR: Homeland security official James Loy said, though, that the most likely next attack will be a conventional one, along the same lines that troops are facing in Iraq.

JAMES LOY, HOMELAND SECURITY DEPARTMENT: And we think we are most likely to be attacked with a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, because that's the weapon of choice around the world.

ENSOR: Goss spoke of North Korea's ongoing nuclear weapons program and explained why he thought Iran might want to join the nuclear club.

GOSS: It becomes almost a piece of the Holy Grail for a small country that otherwise might be victimized, living in a dangerous neighborhood, to have a nuclear weapon.

ENSOR: What Goss did not discuss in the open hearing, but what U.S. officials confirm, is that CIA officials are growing uneasy about holding Khalid Sheik Mohammed (ph), Abu Zubayda (ph), Ramzi bin al- Shibh (ph), and other top al Qaeda prisoners indefinitely at undisclosed locations overseas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR: Sources say the CIA wants to scale back its role running secret prisons around the world. The question, said one, is, What is the end game for these people? It's a difficult question. It's being quietly posed to the Justice Department and the White House, Anderson.

COOPER: Yes, what do they do with them now that they have them?

David Ensor, thanks very much, from Washington tonight.

The new head of the CIA said a great deal about the threats being faced by the U.S. today. But there was also a lot that Porter Goss didn't say, or perhaps couldn't, or didn't want to say. But in watching his testimony, we noticed that even when he is saying nothing, Porter Goss knows how to stick to his talking points.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): Talking point number one, always be polite.

GOSS: It's a great question.

You are right on the mark.

You are right to focus...

You are correct to point out...

You are correct to point out...

COOPER: Talking point number two, when you don't know something, admit it.

GOSS: I know nothing in my official position...

I cannot tell you...

What I can't tell you...

No, I can't make that assurance.

I just simply don't have that information.

I can't speak specific to the particulars...

I have no idea whether I am spreading a rumor or not...

In this case, I can't answer your direct question...

I'm unable to give you the details of that...

COOPER: Talking point number three, Senator, see me after class.

GOSS: I can be more specific in private.

... I need to talk to you about in closed session. They would be suitable for closed hearing...

In private conversation, I think I could satisfy your answers to these questions.

There are some parts of that that I cannot answer with you yet.

And I know that is classified. Be happy to share that with you in closed session.

It will be classified.

COOPER: What's not classified? Porter Goss's talking points.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, we are standing by right now for a live press conference involving Michael Jackson. He is still at the Santa Maria, California, hospital. You may remember yesterday, he apparently fell ill on his way to court with what doctors described as flulike symptoms.

CNN's Miguel Marquez joins us live from the hospital.

Miguel, what do we know about this press conference?

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know it's supposed to start soon. It was supposed to start a half hour ago, and we were told about 10 ago it was going to start in five minutes. And I'm watching carefully to see if anybody's coming over, and I don't see them yet.

But you can see the entire press corps of the United States and many European countries are here, it seems. Lot of press folks have been waiting there. They're all waiting out there because we believe Mr. Jackson may be coming out of those doors shortly.

His father, Joe, and his mother, Kathryn (ph), and his brother, Jermaine, arrived here a little after 1:00 p.m. Pacific time today. Wasn't clear what they were coming to do, coming to visit, coming to take him home. They didn't say anything yet. They are still inside the hospital, as far as we know.

The two SUVs that Mr. Jackson came here in yesterday are also parked behind a building here the at hospital. So we know he's in there, and we know the hospital would certainly like to have their hospital back and have the press out of here.

So they're going to have a press conference here. It's not sure, it's not clear if they're going just to announce that Mr. Jackson has left the building, or if they are going to give us an update on his condition and tell us he may be staying another night. But we are certainly waiting to find out.

He was, of course, diverted here yesterday from his day in court, and he has so far just remained here, Anderson. COOPER: Yes, Miguel, yesterday, there was this press conference,, which much sort of, you know, bollyhoo, and it ended up just being the doctor just saying that he has flulike symptoms with some vomiting, I think.

Have, I mean, have cameras seen Michael Jackson today? Has there been more word throughout the day? Obviously, people are watching this very closely, because the trial has now been delayed. Jury selection is delayed until next week.

MARQUEZ: Yes, there has been somebody, or some -- that appears to be Michael Jackson on the other side of this building, sort of waving to a few fans that have gathered and were shouting for him, you know, "We love you, Michael," "Get well, Michael," and the like. And he would sort of peek out between Venetian blinds every now and again and wave to them. He put up a sign at some point that said, "Love you more." It's not clear if that's Mr. Jackson or just another patient in there who's having a good time with the press and the fans who have gathered here.

But it certainly appears that somebody is in there. And it may be Mr. Jackson, who may be feeling a lot better today, Anderson.

COOPER: All right, Miguel Marquez, thank you very much.

Michael Jackson apparently going to be going home soon, that is the word. We are waiting for this press conference. We shall see. Miguel, we'll get back to you. We'll bring it to you live, of course.

The deadly crash of a corporate jet tops our look at news right now cross-country.

Let's take a look. We take you to Pueblo, Colorado. Eight people were killed today when a twin-engine Cessna went down just a few miles from the airport. Hard to see in this picture. It's they're in the distance. Plane was coming in for a landing in overcast, drizzly weather. It was registered to the Circuit City electronics change. Four -- chain. Four of the passengers were employees.

Take you to Oxnard, California, now, a dangerous intersection. Look at this, an Amtrak passenger train plowing into a truck hauling over 100 gallons of strawberries. That's it from another view. There was a real mess, strawberries, diesel fuel all over the tracks. Now, no one knows why the truck was on the tracks. You see it there in slow motion. But hard to believe when you actually see these pictures. Officials say there were no serious injuries.

New York City now, it is official, no more guessing, no more hoping and waiting or ignoring the National Hockey League today. It canceled whatever was left of the season, the one that never even began because of a labor dispute.

Also in New York City, what would you pay for two century-old paintings of cigar-chomping dogs playing poker? Well, after intense bidding, two Cassius Marcellus Coolidge originals fetched nearly $600,000 at auction. You can buy the felt paintings on eBay for much cheaper, however.

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

Ahead on 360, a raging river rescue. A man plucked from his pickup truck as floodwaters strand his vehicle, all caught on tape.

Also tonight, what is first lady Laura Bush up to? She's shuffling her staff. The chef got the boot. Tonight, Washington whispers about the White House makeover.

And waiting for news in that Michael Jackson press conference. We will bring it to you live from the hospital.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: We are awaiting now a press conference at Santa Maria hospital, where Michael Jackson has been staying for the last 24 hours or so. He took ill on his way to the hospital with what doctors call flulike symptoms. It is believed he may be going home any moment now, in the next couple of minutes, and they are going to be holding a press conference. We will bring that to you live as soon as we get it.

We turn now to our top story today, which is the war on terror. Al Qaeda, of course, gets headlines, but in California tonight, a different kind of terror has authorities concerned.

A pipe bomb was planted at a Department of Motor Vehicles office. Another type of homemade explosive was found nearby over the weekend.

CNN's Ted Rowlands explains why police think there may be more to come.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He may not look dangerous, but the FBI thinks that 21-year-old Ryan Lewis is a terrorist. Lewis was arrested last week in Northern California for allegedly planting unexploded bombs at a construction site.

KEITH SLOTTER, FBI AGENT: Bottom line is, this is terrorism, no matter how you look at it. Terrorism is not just al Qaeda and international groups wanting to do this country harm. There's homegrown domestic terrorism, and that's what this is, ecoterrorism.

ROWLANDS: Lewis is suspected being a member of the environmental group Earth Liberation Front, or ELF. The group is believed to be responsible for a string of attempted bombings near Sacramento over the past three months, including the discovery of a pipe bomb at a DMV office on Tuesday.

The FBI is analyzing a letter, signed ELF, which takes responsibility for the attacks, saying they are, quote, "a statement against work and the horror of the cubicle." The letter, which also promises more attacks, was sent to, among others, Sam Stanton, a Sacramento newspaper reporter who's been tracking ELF for years.

SAM STANTON, REPORTER, "SACRAMENTO BEE": Well, nobody knows who they are. The group itself, doesn't have a hierarchy or an organization. It uses a Web site to announce its activities.

ROWLANDS: Over the years, ELF has claimed responsibility for millions of dollars of property damage. Targets have included housing developments, construction sites, and car dealerships. Messages claiming responsibility are often left behind, like this banner, saying "If you build it, we will burn it," which was found when the smoke cleared at a housing development fire in San Diego.

The ELF mission is to stop development and save the environment. Members, as can be heard on this old training tape, are encouraged to act on an individual basis on behalf of the group.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, ELF VIDEO)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take initiative, form your own cell, and do what needs to be done to protect all life on this planet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROWLANDS: Ryan Lewis is scheduled to make his first court appearance in Sacramento tomorrow.

Ted Rowlands, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, joining me now from Portland, Oregon, to talk more about the threat of ecoterrorism is Gary Perlstein, professor emeritus at Portland State University, co-author of "Perspectives on Terrorism," a book about radical American fringe groups.

Professor Perlstein, thanks for being with us.

This group, ELF, has reportedly taken credit for some of the firebombs in California. In a letter to local newspaper, they said they acted, and I quote, "in honor of everyone who has felt helpless to sprawl and development," and as a, quote, "statement against work and the horror of the cubicle."

I don't -- I get the suburban sprawl part. Are they against work?

GARY PERLSTEIN, CO-AUTHOR, "PERSPECTIVES ON TERRORISM": Well, they're not against work per se, but they're against work that endangers the environment, endangers animals. And they're almost, many of them are become, oh, sort of junior anarchists. And so they're against anything basically traditional.

COOPER: And who are the people in this group? I mean, I know a lot isn't known. It's very shadowy. There are sort of these cells, as we saw in that video, the person talking about. Who are they?

PERLSTEIN: Correct. Most of them appear to be young people ranging in age from, oh, 18 into the middle 30s. And many of them are college educated, many of them are still students, graduate students. And so we're dealing with is a more educated group of criminals is, than we have before.

COOPER: Professor Gary Perlstein, appreciate you joining us.

PERLSTEIN: My pleasure.

COOPER: It's a fascinating group. Thank you very much.

We're going to take you live now to Santa Maria, California, where Miguel Marquez is standing by for a press conference at Michael Jackson's hospital. Miguel?

MARQUEZ: Yes, Anderson, we are expecting a press conference here very shortly. The PR people from the hospital here, Marian Medical Center, just walked over from the hospital area. And we're expecting to hear from a couple of them, Kathleen Hernandez (ph), Megan Maloney (ph), and a doctor, Todd Bailey (ph), from Marian Medical Center.

It's not clear what they're going to be updating us on. One of the other administrators here who was here earlier, I asked him, Are you going to be announcing that Mr. Jackson has left the hospital? And he said, No. So I assume they're not going to be saying that. But maybe they will be updating us on his condition.

The press conference is getting ready to start. We have not seen Mr. Jackson, nor his parents, nor his brother, who showed up here a short time ago. Joe and Kathryn Jackson, along with Jermaine Jackson, showed up here a little after 1:00 p.m. Pacific time. Mr. Jackson was diverted here to the hospital here yesterday after he became ill on the way to court.

Because of that, jury selection has been held, stopped or postponed until next Tuesday, which is obviously holding things up here. The question is, you know, if this is a flu or flulike conditions, as doctors explained yesterday.

I -- just somebody has -- actually, I want to draw your attention here. This is Jermaine Jackson who is leaving the hospital now. You can also see behind him is his father, Joe Jackson, and his mother, Kathryn Jackson, are now leaving the hospital. We do not see Mr. -- Michael Jackson, their son.

There are two SUVs parked behind one of the buildings here, and we believe that those are Mr. Jackson's SUVs, and that he would be leaving in there in those vehicles. It's not clear if his family is going over to those vehicles at this point in order to accompany him back to Neverland Ranch, where he lives, just about 30 minutes or so south of Santa Maria, the (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

COOPER: Now, Miguel, is this, is this...

MARQUEZ: ... (UNINTELLIGIBLE) toward the area where that is.

COOPER: Is this a hospital?

MARQUEZ: Right.

COOPER: I mean, was he just taken to this hospital by chance, or, I mean, is this hospital where his doctors are?

MARQUEZ: This is the only hospital in Santa Maria. This is a town of about 80,000 people, so you don't have any choices when it comes to hospitals. This is the only hospital. It's about a mile and a half, two miles from the court complex where we've been sort of encamped for jury selection.

What's occurred now is that everybody has sort of decamped from the courthouse, and they've encamped over here. You can see all the press over here waiting to get shots of Mr. Jackson leaving the press conference going to happen behind us here shortly, and (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

COOPER: And does this happen everywhere? Miguel does this happen everywhere he goes? I mean, does this group follow him, you know, I mean, whether he's at the ranch or at the hospital or on his way to court? I mean, does the pack sort of follow him everywhere?

MARQUEZ: There always seems to be a pack. There always seems to be quite a few people.

I'm now going to sort of step out of the picture here, because I believe these are the parents here leaving.

It does happen everywhere he goes. (UNINTELLIGIBLE), after one of the initial arraignments of Mr. Jackson, he went to Las Vegas, and you'll remember the famous helicopter shots of Mr. Jackson shaking hands, hanging out of the window as of his SUV in Vegas. And then for about a week, it was sort of a hide-and-seek with Mr. Jackson all over Las Vegas, trying to figure out what hotel he was staying at or possibly with his sister. They have several properties there.

So, yes, it's often a game, it seems, to try to figure out where he is, what he's doing, and when, where he's going, Anderson.

COOPER: And at this point, I mean, all the doctors have said is that there's some sort of flulike condition, I guess, that there was some vomiting, probably more than we really ever wanted to know. But I guess not enough for a lot of people.

I mean, I, my understanding is the doctor actually called the judge in the case just to confirm that this was legitimate, that he really was in the hospital.

MARQUEZ: Yes, I mean, it's obviously very serious. There were over 100 potential jurors sitting in that courtroom. All the attorneys had come up. These are very highly paid attorneys on his team, and the attorneys for the prosecution, but the entire prosecution from Santa Barbara county were here, they have to drive up here an hour to be here.

The judge does not want to keep this thing waiting. He's set the court date, the start date for this trial much sooner than anybody thought. And he assured -- he wanted to be assured that Mr. Jackson was indeed sick.

He got the admitting doctor on the phone, and with Tom Mesereau, Mr. Jackson's attorney, and with the prosecutor, went through it step by step, and for about a half-hour, discussed Mr. Jackson's symptoms, came out, and assured the jurors that Mr. Jackson was, in fact, sick with a very severe flu, and later in the day, the hospital here said that he did have flulike symptoms, they were doing further testing, and that he was being fed intravenously, or at least being given fluids intravenously, because he apparently had become somewhat dehydrated from the vomiting, if he was doing that for some time.

So it does appear to be serious. The judge wanted the jurors to know it was serious, so it doesn't prejudice them against this defendant, who is a, who can be a very controversial person, Anderson.

COOPER: As you've been following this trial, how has the judge, you know, I, obviously the judge is trying to make an effort to kind of rein things in and keep things moving along. How does the judge seem to be doing at this? We had Jeffrey Toobin, CNN's senior legal analyst, on last night, who said this seemed to be a case of sort of Michael Jackson or his team determining the flow of events more so than the judge to those have been following this trial. How does it seem?

MARQUEZ: Yes, I mean, I, you know, I've followed this thing, I've been through all the pretrial hearings here, and the judge has been very fair, has really kept his eye on the law and what's legal, and keeping this process moving along. I mean, compared to the O.J. Simpson trial, this thing is a bullet train.

This judge has, you know, set a trial date that was sooner than a lot of people thought. He originally set it for, I believe, September. And then he moved it back to January. But that was still sooner than many people thought.

Jackson's attorneys asked for a continuance at one point, and the judge denied that. And he has really left some of the big issues to deal with, with, like, whether or not the '93 evidence, the accuser from '93, and possibly other accusers could be admitted in this trial. He's going to hold off on that decision till later. That bought him some time.

So the judge has been very, very interested in keeping this process moving. And from all the looks of it, he has been, Anderson.

COOPER: And the jury selection is set to begin at this point on Tuesday.

We continue to wait for this press conference. Going to take a short break. Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: When you experience pain, you probably reach for some over-the-counter medicine in your bathroom. But what if that didn't work? What if doctors couldn't find the source of your pain?

That is a reality for many Americans today. In Washington, the start of hearings this week, today in fact, to examine safety risks of the popular painkillers known as COX-2 inhibitors, like Vioxx and Celebrex. They were considered wonder drugs when they first hit the market. Now they're known to raise the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

CNN's senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta now has a story of one woman who seems to have no choice but to live with her pain.

Clearly we've -- we're having a problem getting that story. We'll bring that to you a little bit later on.

Coming up next on 360, we continue to await that Michael Jackson press conference. We'll bring that to you live.

We're also going to take a look at the price of pain for ex- prisoners of war, Americans tortured by Saddam Hussein's regime. Now they say they are being cheated by the American government. A judge said they deserve compensation. Why is the government trying to prevent that?

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: We look tonight at pain, and what you can do about it. CNN's senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the story of one woman who seems to have no choice but to live with her pain.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From the prick of a needle to a broken bone, physical pain is familiar to all us. But what happens when pain can't be measured?

ASHLEY TAYLOR, PAIN PATIENT: Walking around is very difficult. And it usually takes just a few minutes before I get very tired and I have to rest. And even when I do rest I don't feel better.

GUPTA: Since age of 10, Ashley Taylor has felt pain in her neck, shoulders, back, and legs. Now 20-years-old, she's seen neurologist, rheumatologist and even psychiatrists. In all, Ashley has been to more than 20 different doctors in just the past few years.

TAYLOR: Doctors don't know. I have X-rays done and MRIs and numerous blood tests and a spinal tap, and everything is negative. Everything is OK. And no doctor can tell me what's going on.

GUPTA: It's more than discomfort. She takes up to seven pain pills a day including Celebrex and Vicodin and had to drop out of school last semester.

DR. MICHEL DUBOIS, NYU PAIN MANAGEMENT CENTER: A young lady who obviously is -- expect to be in perfect health, who is going through a critical time of her life, with a major hand cap. Our role is to try to help her, going through this phase.

GUPTA: Despite all of the advances of modern medicine, when doctors measure pain, they rely primarily on the verbal analog scale.

DUBOIS: What number would wow put to your pain? Zero is no pain and 10 maximum, possible.

TAYLOR: Now it's about six.

GUPTA: A complicated name for a simple test. How much does it hurt on a scale from zero to ten?

DUBOIS: Since it is a subjective measurement based only of the patient's feedback, you can imagine situations where the patient is not truthful when you repulse his or her pain.

GUPTA: And there are variations. What person calls a nine could easily be a four for another. While there is no reliable way to gauge honesty in these tests, the pains are very real with the patient like Ashley.

TAYLOR: Right now I have to live with the pain as best as I can, because it's not going away anytime soon.

GUPTA: A somewhat immeasurable price for a frustratingly immeasurable pain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: And Ashley is back in school trying lots of different medications. Sort of struggling with the pain and trying to find an answer. She still doesn't have an answer to what is causing it in the first place.

COOPER: Is it possible that a certain amount of pain is just psychological?

GUPTA: Yes, it's absolutely possible. And doctors struggle with this quite a bit. I think it's important to say, it's hard to figure out which came first, the pain, causing depression or the depression exacerbating pain?

And also important to point out is, they're not naturally exclusive. People who have depression don't produce enough pain- fighting endorphins. Endorphins are sort of the feel-good hormones. When you're depressed you don't have as many of those, so pain is that much even worst.

COOPER: She's 20-years-old. What kind of impact is that -- she's on a lot of painkillers for someone so young. That seem -- is that dangerous? GUPTA: It's a lot. At 20-years-old, seven different pain killers. Tolerance is a big concern. She may not have pain medications that can treat her pain when she's 45. She's exhausted all of the possibilities, and also addiction. Most doctors will say listen let's not worry about addiction this early on. But at this young an age, when she gets into her mid 40's is she going get addicted to these drugs. That's a consideration and a concern as well.

COOPER: Let's hope she gets better. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks.

Former U.S. prisoners of war who survived torture of Saddam Hussein regime during the first Gulf War, are now in the middle of another battle. This one with the Bush administration. They are upset that the Pentagon wants to compensate abused Iraqi prisoners, while them themselves are still fighting for what the feel they deserve. It's a remarkable story.

CNN's Kathleen Koch has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jeff Tice knows about torture in Abu Ghraib Prison. He was on the receiving end there in the first Gulf War.

JEFF TICE, FORMER GULF WAR POW: I was essentially beaten, tortured and starved.

KOCH: Tice and 16 other U.S. POWs brutally tortured in 1991 by Saddam's troops sued Iraq. And in July won 653 million dollars in damages. But by then, the U.S. government had appropriated the $1.7 billion in frozen Iraqi assets, they were to be paid from Iraqi reconstruction.

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: But they were resources required from the urgent national security needs of rebuilding Iraq.

KOCH: So the POWs were stunned when the defense secretary promised to compensate Iraqis abused in Abu Ghraib Prison.

TICE: Well, I thought that was utterly unfair for Secretary Rumsfeld to say, well, we're going to pay these Iraqi prisoners from U.S. funds at the same time, our own government is blocking us from receiving compensation from Iraqi funds.

JEFF FOX, FORMER GULF WAR POW: There's inconsistency there, that quite frankly a little embarrassing.

KOCH: Former POW, Jeff Fox, sent a letter to Donald Rumsfeld, expressing his, "frustration and disbelief," and asking for an explanation. One senator vows to block any payments to Iraqi prisoners.

SEN. HARRY REID (D), NEVADA: So, I'm going to do everything I can to fill road blocks of compensating Iraqi prisoners of war, when American prisoner of war have not be compensated. It is unfair.

KOCH: For the men and their attorney, the administration opposition sending a troubling message.

FOX: OK, active duty military, if you're in combat, you're captured and tortured, deal with it!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And send the wrong message to the next torturers, that you can get with it.

KOCH: The former POWs say they realize they never may be compensated.

TICE: I tell people I won the lottery already because I came back.

KOCH: Kathleen Koch, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Joining me from San Diego is one of the Gulf War POWs named in that lawsuit, Retired Colonel Clifford Acree, he was held and tortured in Saddam Hussein's Abu Ghraib Prison. Colonel, thanks for being with us. Also joining me from Washington, Matthew -- Matthew Yeo, one of the attorneys handling the case. I appreciate both of you being with us.

Colonel, let me start with you.

What kind of torture did you endure while you were a POW?

COL. CLIFFORD ACREE, U.S. MARINE CORPS (RET.): Of the 17 POWs, the array of torture is pretty wide, but for me it was starvation, numerous violent beatings frequently and interrogation, which included fractured skull, never damage, thinks like that, so.

COOPER: I read that at one point you were actually eating your own scab just for nutrition?

ACREE: That is true.

COOPER: And do you still have pain? I mean, does this still stay with you.

ACREE: Oh yes, absolutely.

COOPER: When you heard -- I mean, it's a remarkable story. I don't think a lot of people get this. When you heard that -- I mean, a judge has awarded you and the other POWs a large amount of money based on the Geneva Conventions, based on international treaties. When you heard your own government, the American government, is trying to stop you from receiving the compensation, what went through your mind?

ACREE: Well, I think what our government did for the Iraqi prisoners was appropriate. And frankly I was proud of our government to acknowledge a wrong and do what was right and correct it. At the same time, the government seems to -- doesn't seem to, they are absolutely prohibiting us from collecting compensation from Iraq for the same, if not worse, treatment. It doesn't make sense.

COOPER: You're talking about the Iraqi prisoner, just for those who don't know, for the Iraqi detainees who were abused in Abu Ghraib and elsewhere, the U.S. government is proposing compensation for them, but fighting compensation for you guys.

ACREE: Correct.

COOPER: Matthew, let me bring you in. Legally, how can they do this? I mean, under the Geneva Convention, you have pledge to never absolve the state of any liability for the torture of POWs. They want to compensate the Iraqis. Legally, what's the rationale for not compensate your clients.

MATTHEW YEO, ATTORNEY FOR POWS: We don't think there is a rationale for it. Just as you say, under the Geneva Conventions, the United States is not allowed to absolve Iraq for the past wrong doings, including the torture of these POWs. Which is why we are ask, among other reasons, why we are asking the Supreme Court to review this case.

COOPER: I want to show what the Justice Department has said. Quote, "These actions do not prevent the Acree plaintiffs or any other victims of Saddam Hussein's despotic regime, from seeking reparations though appropriate international tribunals once the new Iraqi government is firmly established."

Colonel, what about that.

ACREE: I think that's more of a legal question. I'd have to differ to Matthew on that one.

COOPER: All right, Matthew?

YEO: Well, I think the fact is, Congress has already provided a mechanism whereby, Americans who have been tortured by terrorist states like Iraq was, can seek address in American courts and get a judgment against their torturers. That's exactly what happened here. It's permitted under U.S. law. They have a judgment. And these POWS, these heroic Americans should be allowed to get in line with everyone else in the world to who has valid claims against Iraq.

COOPER: What happens now? I mean, where does this go? Legally, do you have anymore avenues?

YEO: Well, we have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the decision of D.C. Court of Appeals it this case. We hope that they decide to review the case. And we hope ultimately to prevail.

COOPER: Colonel Clifford Acree, appreciate you being with us. Matthew Yeo, long journey for both, I know. We'll continue to follow it. Thanks for being with us.

ACREE: Thank you.

YEO: Thank you.

COOPER: Coming up next on 360, fast moving river, a race against time. A picture perfect rescue, all caught on tape. And a hero pilot who made it happen.

They're stories, plus, still waiting for that Michael Jackson news conference outside of his hospital. Is he going home? Is he still in the hospital? What's his condition? They're going to update it, they say, any moment. Be right back.

Good lord, what is that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: During our commercial break, we were told there was that Michael Jackson press conference. Miguel Marquez is standing by covering it. Miguel, what happened?

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I guess if you consider it a press conference, usually there some questions and answers. We didn't quite get to that stage. The hospital spokesperson came out and talked to us briefly. And they -- a doctor Todd Bailey who is one of the ER doctors, the head of the ER here at Marian Medical center was able to talk to us very, very briefly. A member of Mr. Jackson's staff also appeared to be present there.

And I think the up-shot of this thing is that Mr. Jackson is going to be in the hospital for another night, it sounds like, not going anywhere despite the fact that it did seem that he was waving out of his window on the other side of the building here earlier today. And Mr. Jackson appeared to be doing well there where he even held up a sign at one point saying, I love you, I love more, responding to the fans out there who were chanting I love you, Michael Jackson.

The Dr. Bailey said that Mr. Jackson is stable. That he's still under observation. And he's being cared for for some viral symptoms. They wouldn't explain what those were or what problem was. But whatever it is, the doctor seems to deem it necessary to keep him in the hospital for another night -- Anderson.

COOPER: Never have so many wait for so little. Miguel Marquez, thanks very much. Appreciate it.

It has been a winter of heavy rains in the west and it seems almost every day there is somebody who needs to be rescued from fast- moving floodwaters. The latest rescue, a truck driver in Arizona, it was all caught on tape. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, here we go, guys. Here we go.

COOPER (voice-over): Outside Phoenix in the Gila River Indian Reservation, rising waters stranded this motorist, who tried to drive through. Unable to go forward or back, the unidentified man was forced to wait patiently as news helicopters hovered overhead, until the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department arrived.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What they're going to do is put a deputy in the bed of the truck with a PFD.

COOPER: PFD means personal flotation device. A life vest.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, move left. Real easy, move left.

COOPER: In a delicate dance, the chopper pilot edges up the truck and drops off a deputy to help the stranded driver. A local reporter describes the scene.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Doing a water rescue is extremely difficult. Part of the problem is you have the water moving underneath you and it gives you an illusion of movement. So, you're trying to put your skin in one spot and hold it in the place and you have water moving around you.

And also might not have seen before was there was a set of power lines that run right along 91st Avenue on the east side there. So he's having to avoid those at the same time as he's trying to maneuver around that area. So it is a pretty difficult maneuver.

COOPER: Once the driver is in his life vest and safely into the bed of the truck, the rescue chopper comes back into play.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now, you'll see him come into your picture here in just a minute. Now the vehicle has moved a good foot and a half just in the minute we've been talking. So it's continuing to move slowly, which is going it make it even more difficult for the pilot to maneuver around that area because he may not have to deal with the moving vehicle at the same time if it decides to break loose.

Now, as you can see there, he's moving his skid back onto the bed of the truck. He's going to try to hold that there for as long as necessary to bring that victim back on board there.

Yes, he's actually putting the skid down and making contact onto the bed of the truck. He's trying to get a good solid footing on there, so it doesn't move around too much.

COOPER: And once in the chopper, the motorist who is taken to dry land. And the helicopter returns to pick up the deputy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's sweet!

COOPER: The unidentified man from the truck was unhurt.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, the deputy you just saw in that video, Jim Tompkins joins me now. Jim, thanks very much for being with us. You know, we see you there hanging on the, I don't even know what you call it, the skid I guess, of the helicopter. What are you thinking as you're about to drop into the pick-up truck?

JIM TOMPKINS, MERICOPA COUNTRY DEPUTY: Well, myself and the pilot, Steve Glenny (ph) already had a plan in our mind what we wanted to do. And when we -- the pilot brought me in and sat down on the skid of the truck. He set me off. I just planned on doing my job and that is to rescue a citizen.

COOPER: What do you say? What the difficulty of jumping into a truck like that? I heard the guy saying that with the water moving so fast, it's hard to get a visual of it.

TOMPKINS: That's correct. The rushing water going down the river, it gives a bad visual effect when the pilot is trying to fly, when he's trying to put the skid on the back of the truck.

But we had it planned. We had the skid was put down on the back of the truck. I got down on the truck gently. And I got up to you pilot, waved him off and went over to the subject in the truck and explained to him exactly what we were going to do.

COOPER: The driver of this vehicle, was was he panicking? What kind of shape was he in?

TOMPKINS: He was actually very, very calm. What made him I think more calm is the fact explained to him exactly what was going to happen. I explained to him what to expect. What we were going to exactly do. And I told him to be calm and take your time and we're in no rush.

COOPER: And how long the whole thing take?

TOMPKINS: It was a very, very fast rescue. We had the plan already in our mind. We briefed each other, the pilot and I. We executed the plan. And it went off without a hitch.

COOPER: How often do you do this? I imagine you have done this kind of stuff. Obviously you seem very good at it. You have done it before.

TOMPKINS: Yes, we have. Not myself but the air support of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office just this last week have rescued 21 individuals.

COOPER: That's amazing.

Jim, it is a great rescue. Jim Tompkins, appreciate you joining us. And the work that you do and your fellows do, the pilot as well. Thanks very much.

TOMPKINS: Thank you very much.

COOPER: Coming up next, Michael Jackson and that flu. What's up with that? Have you noticed with celebrities how a bout of a little bug lands you in the hospital? Most people just stay home. Talk about why celebrities seem to get exhausted an awful lot.

Also a little later, the story of sex, tolerance, and that's right, penguin pride to the Nth Degree.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: So, we just learned Michael Jackson is staying another night in the hospital. He has flu-like symptoms. It made us realize, yet again, Celebrities are not like the rest of us. First of all, they have people and today, Jennifer Lopez's people saying she's not up to doing a European tour. It's been canceled because she's not feeling well. Now, when most people get sick, they stay home and rest. When celebrities get sick, they check into a hospital. It sure seems exhausting, living "Inside the Box."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Jackson's been evaluated if our emergency department today for a flu-like illness with some vomiting.

COOPER: Yes, those flu-like symptoms that usually send most of us to bed with our favorite blankie and a bottle of orange juice, send some celebrities scrambling for the nearest ER.

B.J. SIGESMUND, US WEEKLY: Everything with Michael Jackson is bigger than life. I am sure that when he gets a paper cut, he rushes to the hospital.

COOPER: It's understandable that Michael Jackson may be a bit run down, maybe a little stressed. but have you ever wondered why so many celebrities end up in the hospital because they're just so darn tired?

In 2001, singer Mariah Carrie book interested a New York hospital suffering from extreme exhaustion. That was after she posted a message to her Web site that said "I just need a break." "Mean Girl" star, Lindsey Lohan, landed in the hospital with severe exhaustion at the age of 18. While the tabloids were telling tales of hardy partying and break-up with her Beau.

And just last year, "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" star, Vincent D'Ononfrio was hospitalize not once but twice with -- well, he just had plain exhaustion after he passed out on the set.

OK, so being a celebrity is hard work. All those people hovering around, doing your bidding, all of that attention, all of that adulation. But isn't checking into the hospital just because you're tired a little over the top? The professionals say, better safe than sorry.

JAMES W. GOTTFURCHT, PH.D., PRES., PSYCHOLOGY OF MONEY CONSULTANTS: Exhaustion is like an early warning system as your saying. And it means your immune system is more vulnerable, so you could catch any illness that you maybe prone to catch or exposed to. And it also means that you're starting to break down in terms of your resistance, your coping ability and your resiliency. COOPER: But celeb watchers, like "US Weekly's" B.J. Sigesmund, say sometimes exhaustion is a little suspicious.

SIGESMUND: Exhaustion has become like a pseudonym for, there's really something else going on with this person, but we don't want to talk about it.

COOPER: So the next time you are feeling a little fatigued, maybe from juggling jobs and kids or struggling to make ends meet, take a second to pity the poor celebrity who just gets tired living "Inside the Box."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, let's find out what is coming up now, in a few minutes, on "PAULA ZAHN" -- Paula.

PAULA ZAHN, HOST "PAULA ZAHN NOW": Hi, Anderson. So, if any of you have been to the doctor lately and wondered why your doctor might have prescribed one drug over another? Well, it turns out your doctor could be getting rich, taking payments from a drug company to do just that.

And how can it be three and a half years after 9/11, that one of our nation's busiest ports is being guarded by one cop and two dogs? Well an explosive new report out of the Homeland Security Department, we'll address that. And we will be covering that from a bunch of different angles tonight, Anderson.

COOPER: All right, Paula, thanks. About six minutes from now. Thanks, Paula.

Still to come tonight on 360, smoothing some ruffle feathers in Germany. A resolution in the matter of -- of a certain penguins proclivity there at the Bremen Zoo.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Tonight, penguins in love to "The Nth Degree." We told you last week about a problem a zoo in Germany was having with its penguins. The penguins weren't procreating, and it turned out they were gay. The zoo announced they were going to import female penguins to try to straighten out the boys, so to speak. Now the zoo has given that idea up. German gay and lesbian groups protested and operation seductress was canceled. We hoped they also canceled the alternate plan, to give the birds a subscription to the swimsuit edition to "Penguin Illustrated."

The zoo's director now says, if the penguins really are gay, then obviously they can stay gay. Everyone can live as they please. Looks like the Bremen Zoo six, as the penguins are being called, only by us, will long be remember as a watershed event in the development in Germany's penguin pride movement.

In a related bit of news bit of news, if Chris Rock's analysis is correct, viewership for the Oscar broadcast there in Bremin, Germany, may be a little higher than previously expected. That's it for 360 tonight. Thanks for watching. CNN's prime time coverage continues with Paula Zahn Now -- 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 16, 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.
America's spymaster says al Qaeda is not done.

360 starts now.

Al Qaeda, aiming for America.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PORTER GOSS, DIRECTOR, CIA: Al Qaeda is intent on finding ways to circumvent U.S. security enhancements to strike Americans in the homeland.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: The CIA chief testifies about terror and what methods al Qaeda may use to strike again.

A pipe bomb planted at a California DMV, letters to local papers promise more. Tonight, who's making these threats? And what do they have against those suburbs and that cubicle you work in?

Laura Bush shakes up the White House, hiring staff, firing the chef. Tonight, the East Wing makeover that has Washington wondering, what's the first lady up to?

Michael Jackson in the hospital. Doctors say he's good to go, so why is he staying put? Tonight, the latest on Jackson's condition. Is he really sick, or simply hoping to bide some time?

And living with pain. What happens when your medicine doesn't help?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No doctor can tell me what's going on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Tonight, Dr. Sanjay Gupta on doctors' difficulty diagnosing what hurts.

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

COOPER: And good evening again.

Despite three and a half years of a war on terror at the cost of thousands of lives and billions of tax dollars, the sad truth is that the world is still filled with people intent on killing Americans in spectacular fashion.

A very grim message today on Capitol Hill from the new head of the CIA and others. That is the headline.

The details now from national security correspondent David Ensor.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At his first appearance on Capitol Hill as intelligence chief, Porter Goss said the top threat to the nation's national security remains terrorism, causing mass casualties.

PORTER GOSS, CIA DIRECTOR: It may be only a matter of time before al Qaeda or other group attempts to use chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear weapons. We must focus on that.

ENSOR: Russian reports say terrorists may have stolen some nuclear materials in Russia in recent years, leading to concern about a possible dirty radioactive bomb.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you assure the American people that the material missing from Russian nuclear sites has not found its way into terrorist hands?

GOSS: No, I can't make that assurance.

ENSOR: Homeland security official James Loy said, though, that the most likely next attack will be a conventional one, along the same lines that troops are facing in Iraq.

JAMES LOY, HOMELAND SECURITY DEPARTMENT: And we think we are most likely to be attacked with a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, because that's the weapon of choice around the world.

ENSOR: Goss spoke of North Korea's ongoing nuclear weapons program and explained why he thought Iran might want to join the nuclear club.

GOSS: It becomes almost a piece of the Holy Grail for a small country that otherwise might be victimized, living in a dangerous neighborhood, to have a nuclear weapon.

ENSOR: What Goss did not discuss in the open hearing, but what U.S. officials confirm, is that CIA officials are growing uneasy about holding Khalid Sheik Mohammed (ph), Abu Zubayda (ph), Ramzi bin al- Shibh (ph), and other top al Qaeda prisoners indefinitely at undisclosed locations overseas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR: Sources say the CIA wants to scale back its role running secret prisons around the world. The question, said one, is, What is the end game for these people? It's a difficult question. It's being quietly posed to the Justice Department and the White House, Anderson.

COOPER: Yes, what do they do with them now that they have them?

David Ensor, thanks very much, from Washington tonight.

The new head of the CIA said a great deal about the threats being faced by the U.S. today. But there was also a lot that Porter Goss didn't say, or perhaps couldn't, or didn't want to say. But in watching his testimony, we noticed that even when he is saying nothing, Porter Goss knows how to stick to his talking points.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): Talking point number one, always be polite.

GOSS: It's a great question.

You are right on the mark.

You are right to focus...

You are correct to point out...

You are correct to point out...

COOPER: Talking point number two, when you don't know something, admit it.

GOSS: I know nothing in my official position...

I cannot tell you...

What I can't tell you...

No, I can't make that assurance.

I just simply don't have that information.

I can't speak specific to the particulars...

I have no idea whether I am spreading a rumor or not...

In this case, I can't answer your direct question...

I'm unable to give you the details of that...

COOPER: Talking point number three, Senator, see me after class.

GOSS: I can be more specific in private.

... I need to talk to you about in closed session. They would be suitable for closed hearing...

In private conversation, I think I could satisfy your answers to these questions.

There are some parts of that that I cannot answer with you yet.

And I know that is classified. Be happy to share that with you in closed session.

It will be classified.

COOPER: What's not classified? Porter Goss's talking points.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, we are standing by right now for a live press conference involving Michael Jackson. He is still at the Santa Maria, California, hospital. You may remember yesterday, he apparently fell ill on his way to court with what doctors described as flulike symptoms.

CNN's Miguel Marquez joins us live from the hospital.

Miguel, what do we know about this press conference?

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know it's supposed to start soon. It was supposed to start a half hour ago, and we were told about 10 ago it was going to start in five minutes. And I'm watching carefully to see if anybody's coming over, and I don't see them yet.

But you can see the entire press corps of the United States and many European countries are here, it seems. Lot of press folks have been waiting there. They're all waiting out there because we believe Mr. Jackson may be coming out of those doors shortly.

His father, Joe, and his mother, Kathryn (ph), and his brother, Jermaine, arrived here a little after 1:00 p.m. Pacific time today. Wasn't clear what they were coming to do, coming to visit, coming to take him home. They didn't say anything yet. They are still inside the hospital, as far as we know.

The two SUVs that Mr. Jackson came here in yesterday are also parked behind a building here the at hospital. So we know he's in there, and we know the hospital would certainly like to have their hospital back and have the press out of here.

So they're going to have a press conference here. It's not sure, it's not clear if they're going just to announce that Mr. Jackson has left the building, or if they are going to give us an update on his condition and tell us he may be staying another night. But we are certainly waiting to find out.

He was, of course, diverted here yesterday from his day in court, and he has so far just remained here, Anderson. COOPER: Yes, Miguel, yesterday, there was this press conference,, which much sort of, you know, bollyhoo, and it ended up just being the doctor just saying that he has flulike symptoms with some vomiting, I think.

Have, I mean, have cameras seen Michael Jackson today? Has there been more word throughout the day? Obviously, people are watching this very closely, because the trial has now been delayed. Jury selection is delayed until next week.

MARQUEZ: Yes, there has been somebody, or some -- that appears to be Michael Jackson on the other side of this building, sort of waving to a few fans that have gathered and were shouting for him, you know, "We love you, Michael," "Get well, Michael," and the like. And he would sort of peek out between Venetian blinds every now and again and wave to them. He put up a sign at some point that said, "Love you more." It's not clear if that's Mr. Jackson or just another patient in there who's having a good time with the press and the fans who have gathered here.

But it certainly appears that somebody is in there. And it may be Mr. Jackson, who may be feeling a lot better today, Anderson.

COOPER: All right, Miguel Marquez, thank you very much.

Michael Jackson apparently going to be going home soon, that is the word. We are waiting for this press conference. We shall see. Miguel, we'll get back to you. We'll bring it to you live, of course.

The deadly crash of a corporate jet tops our look at news right now cross-country.

Let's take a look. We take you to Pueblo, Colorado. Eight people were killed today when a twin-engine Cessna went down just a few miles from the airport. Hard to see in this picture. It's they're in the distance. Plane was coming in for a landing in overcast, drizzly weather. It was registered to the Circuit City electronics change. Four -- chain. Four of the passengers were employees.

Take you to Oxnard, California, now, a dangerous intersection. Look at this, an Amtrak passenger train plowing into a truck hauling over 100 gallons of strawberries. That's it from another view. There was a real mess, strawberries, diesel fuel all over the tracks. Now, no one knows why the truck was on the tracks. You see it there in slow motion. But hard to believe when you actually see these pictures. Officials say there were no serious injuries.

New York City now, it is official, no more guessing, no more hoping and waiting or ignoring the National Hockey League today. It canceled whatever was left of the season, the one that never even began because of a labor dispute.

Also in New York City, what would you pay for two century-old paintings of cigar-chomping dogs playing poker? Well, after intense bidding, two Cassius Marcellus Coolidge originals fetched nearly $600,000 at auction. You can buy the felt paintings on eBay for much cheaper, however.

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

Ahead on 360, a raging river rescue. A man plucked from his pickup truck as floodwaters strand his vehicle, all caught on tape.

Also tonight, what is first lady Laura Bush up to? She's shuffling her staff. The chef got the boot. Tonight, Washington whispers about the White House makeover.

And waiting for news in that Michael Jackson press conference. We will bring it to you live from the hospital.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: We are awaiting now a press conference at Santa Maria hospital, where Michael Jackson has been staying for the last 24 hours or so. He took ill on his way to the hospital with what doctors call flulike symptoms. It is believed he may be going home any moment now, in the next couple of minutes, and they are going to be holding a press conference. We will bring that to you live as soon as we get it.

We turn now to our top story today, which is the war on terror. Al Qaeda, of course, gets headlines, but in California tonight, a different kind of terror has authorities concerned.

A pipe bomb was planted at a Department of Motor Vehicles office. Another type of homemade explosive was found nearby over the weekend.

CNN's Ted Rowlands explains why police think there may be more to come.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He may not look dangerous, but the FBI thinks that 21-year-old Ryan Lewis is a terrorist. Lewis was arrested last week in Northern California for allegedly planting unexploded bombs at a construction site.

KEITH SLOTTER, FBI AGENT: Bottom line is, this is terrorism, no matter how you look at it. Terrorism is not just al Qaeda and international groups wanting to do this country harm. There's homegrown domestic terrorism, and that's what this is, ecoterrorism.

ROWLANDS: Lewis is suspected being a member of the environmental group Earth Liberation Front, or ELF. The group is believed to be responsible for a string of attempted bombings near Sacramento over the past three months, including the discovery of a pipe bomb at a DMV office on Tuesday.

The FBI is analyzing a letter, signed ELF, which takes responsibility for the attacks, saying they are, quote, "a statement against work and the horror of the cubicle." The letter, which also promises more attacks, was sent to, among others, Sam Stanton, a Sacramento newspaper reporter who's been tracking ELF for years.

SAM STANTON, REPORTER, "SACRAMENTO BEE": Well, nobody knows who they are. The group itself, doesn't have a hierarchy or an organization. It uses a Web site to announce its activities.

ROWLANDS: Over the years, ELF has claimed responsibility for millions of dollars of property damage. Targets have included housing developments, construction sites, and car dealerships. Messages claiming responsibility are often left behind, like this banner, saying "If you build it, we will burn it," which was found when the smoke cleared at a housing development fire in San Diego.

The ELF mission is to stop development and save the environment. Members, as can be heard on this old training tape, are encouraged to act on an individual basis on behalf of the group.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, ELF VIDEO)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take initiative, form your own cell, and do what needs to be done to protect all life on this planet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROWLANDS: Ryan Lewis is scheduled to make his first court appearance in Sacramento tomorrow.

Ted Rowlands, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, joining me now from Portland, Oregon, to talk more about the threat of ecoterrorism is Gary Perlstein, professor emeritus at Portland State University, co-author of "Perspectives on Terrorism," a book about radical American fringe groups.

Professor Perlstein, thanks for being with us.

This group, ELF, has reportedly taken credit for some of the firebombs in California. In a letter to local newspaper, they said they acted, and I quote, "in honor of everyone who has felt helpless to sprawl and development," and as a, quote, "statement against work and the horror of the cubicle."

I don't -- I get the suburban sprawl part. Are they against work?

GARY PERLSTEIN, CO-AUTHOR, "PERSPECTIVES ON TERRORISM": Well, they're not against work per se, but they're against work that endangers the environment, endangers animals. And they're almost, many of them are become, oh, sort of junior anarchists. And so they're against anything basically traditional.

COOPER: And who are the people in this group? I mean, I know a lot isn't known. It's very shadowy. There are sort of these cells, as we saw in that video, the person talking about. Who are they?

PERLSTEIN: Correct. Most of them appear to be young people ranging in age from, oh, 18 into the middle 30s. And many of them are college educated, many of them are still students, graduate students. And so we're dealing with is a more educated group of criminals is, than we have before.

COOPER: Professor Gary Perlstein, appreciate you joining us.

PERLSTEIN: My pleasure.

COOPER: It's a fascinating group. Thank you very much.

We're going to take you live now to Santa Maria, California, where Miguel Marquez is standing by for a press conference at Michael Jackson's hospital. Miguel?

MARQUEZ: Yes, Anderson, we are expecting a press conference here very shortly. The PR people from the hospital here, Marian Medical Center, just walked over from the hospital area. And we're expecting to hear from a couple of them, Kathleen Hernandez (ph), Megan Maloney (ph), and a doctor, Todd Bailey (ph), from Marian Medical Center.

It's not clear what they're going to be updating us on. One of the other administrators here who was here earlier, I asked him, Are you going to be announcing that Mr. Jackson has left the hospital? And he said, No. So I assume they're not going to be saying that. But maybe they will be updating us on his condition.

The press conference is getting ready to start. We have not seen Mr. Jackson, nor his parents, nor his brother, who showed up here a short time ago. Joe and Kathryn Jackson, along with Jermaine Jackson, showed up here a little after 1:00 p.m. Pacific time. Mr. Jackson was diverted here to the hospital here yesterday after he became ill on the way to court.

Because of that, jury selection has been held, stopped or postponed until next Tuesday, which is obviously holding things up here. The question is, you know, if this is a flu or flulike conditions, as doctors explained yesterday.

I -- just somebody has -- actually, I want to draw your attention here. This is Jermaine Jackson who is leaving the hospital now. You can also see behind him is his father, Joe Jackson, and his mother, Kathryn Jackson, are now leaving the hospital. We do not see Mr. -- Michael Jackson, their son.

There are two SUVs parked behind one of the buildings here, and we believe that those are Mr. Jackson's SUVs, and that he would be leaving in there in those vehicles. It's not clear if his family is going over to those vehicles at this point in order to accompany him back to Neverland Ranch, where he lives, just about 30 minutes or so south of Santa Maria, the (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

COOPER: Now, Miguel, is this, is this...

MARQUEZ: ... (UNINTELLIGIBLE) toward the area where that is.

COOPER: Is this a hospital?

MARQUEZ: Right.

COOPER: I mean, was he just taken to this hospital by chance, or, I mean, is this hospital where his doctors are?

MARQUEZ: This is the only hospital in Santa Maria. This is a town of about 80,000 people, so you don't have any choices when it comes to hospitals. This is the only hospital. It's about a mile and a half, two miles from the court complex where we've been sort of encamped for jury selection.

What's occurred now is that everybody has sort of decamped from the courthouse, and they've encamped over here. You can see all the press over here waiting to get shots of Mr. Jackson leaving the press conference going to happen behind us here shortly, and (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

COOPER: And does this happen everywhere? Miguel does this happen everywhere he goes? I mean, does this group follow him, you know, I mean, whether he's at the ranch or at the hospital or on his way to court? I mean, does the pack sort of follow him everywhere?

MARQUEZ: There always seems to be a pack. There always seems to be quite a few people.

I'm now going to sort of step out of the picture here, because I believe these are the parents here leaving.

It does happen everywhere he goes. (UNINTELLIGIBLE), after one of the initial arraignments of Mr. Jackson, he went to Las Vegas, and you'll remember the famous helicopter shots of Mr. Jackson shaking hands, hanging out of the window as of his SUV in Vegas. And then for about a week, it was sort of a hide-and-seek with Mr. Jackson all over Las Vegas, trying to figure out what hotel he was staying at or possibly with his sister. They have several properties there.

So, yes, it's often a game, it seems, to try to figure out where he is, what he's doing, and when, where he's going, Anderson.

COOPER: And at this point, I mean, all the doctors have said is that there's some sort of flulike condition, I guess, that there was some vomiting, probably more than we really ever wanted to know. But I guess not enough for a lot of people.

I mean, I, my understanding is the doctor actually called the judge in the case just to confirm that this was legitimate, that he really was in the hospital.

MARQUEZ: Yes, I mean, it's obviously very serious. There were over 100 potential jurors sitting in that courtroom. All the attorneys had come up. These are very highly paid attorneys on his team, and the attorneys for the prosecution, but the entire prosecution from Santa Barbara county were here, they have to drive up here an hour to be here.

The judge does not want to keep this thing waiting. He's set the court date, the start date for this trial much sooner than anybody thought. And he assured -- he wanted to be assured that Mr. Jackson was indeed sick.

He got the admitting doctor on the phone, and with Tom Mesereau, Mr. Jackson's attorney, and with the prosecutor, went through it step by step, and for about a half-hour, discussed Mr. Jackson's symptoms, came out, and assured the jurors that Mr. Jackson was, in fact, sick with a very severe flu, and later in the day, the hospital here said that he did have flulike symptoms, they were doing further testing, and that he was being fed intravenously, or at least being given fluids intravenously, because he apparently had become somewhat dehydrated from the vomiting, if he was doing that for some time.

So it does appear to be serious. The judge wanted the jurors to know it was serious, so it doesn't prejudice them against this defendant, who is a, who can be a very controversial person, Anderson.

COOPER: As you've been following this trial, how has the judge, you know, I, obviously the judge is trying to make an effort to kind of rein things in and keep things moving along. How does the judge seem to be doing at this? We had Jeffrey Toobin, CNN's senior legal analyst, on last night, who said this seemed to be a case of sort of Michael Jackson or his team determining the flow of events more so than the judge to those have been following this trial. How does it seem?

MARQUEZ: Yes, I mean, I, you know, I've followed this thing, I've been through all the pretrial hearings here, and the judge has been very fair, has really kept his eye on the law and what's legal, and keeping this process moving along. I mean, compared to the O.J. Simpson trial, this thing is a bullet train.

This judge has, you know, set a trial date that was sooner than a lot of people thought. He originally set it for, I believe, September. And then he moved it back to January. But that was still sooner than many people thought.

Jackson's attorneys asked for a continuance at one point, and the judge denied that. And he has really left some of the big issues to deal with, with, like, whether or not the '93 evidence, the accuser from '93, and possibly other accusers could be admitted in this trial. He's going to hold off on that decision till later. That bought him some time.

So the judge has been very, very interested in keeping this process moving. And from all the looks of it, he has been, Anderson.

COOPER: And the jury selection is set to begin at this point on Tuesday.

We continue to wait for this press conference. Going to take a short break. Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: When you experience pain, you probably reach for some over-the-counter medicine in your bathroom. But what if that didn't work? What if doctors couldn't find the source of your pain?

That is a reality for many Americans today. In Washington, the start of hearings this week, today in fact, to examine safety risks of the popular painkillers known as COX-2 inhibitors, like Vioxx and Celebrex. They were considered wonder drugs when they first hit the market. Now they're known to raise the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

CNN's senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta now has a story of one woman who seems to have no choice but to live with her pain.

Clearly we've -- we're having a problem getting that story. We'll bring that to you a little bit later on.

Coming up next on 360, we continue to await that Michael Jackson press conference. We'll bring that to you live.

We're also going to take a look at the price of pain for ex- prisoners of war, Americans tortured by Saddam Hussein's regime. Now they say they are being cheated by the American government. A judge said they deserve compensation. Why is the government trying to prevent that?

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: We look tonight at pain, and what you can do about it. CNN's senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the story of one woman who seems to have no choice but to live with her pain.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From the prick of a needle to a broken bone, physical pain is familiar to all us. But what happens when pain can't be measured?

ASHLEY TAYLOR, PAIN PATIENT: Walking around is very difficult. And it usually takes just a few minutes before I get very tired and I have to rest. And even when I do rest I don't feel better.

GUPTA: Since age of 10, Ashley Taylor has felt pain in her neck, shoulders, back, and legs. Now 20-years-old, she's seen neurologist, rheumatologist and even psychiatrists. In all, Ashley has been to more than 20 different doctors in just the past few years.

TAYLOR: Doctors don't know. I have X-rays done and MRIs and numerous blood tests and a spinal tap, and everything is negative. Everything is OK. And no doctor can tell me what's going on.

GUPTA: It's more than discomfort. She takes up to seven pain pills a day including Celebrex and Vicodin and had to drop out of school last semester.

DR. MICHEL DUBOIS, NYU PAIN MANAGEMENT CENTER: A young lady who obviously is -- expect to be in perfect health, who is going through a critical time of her life, with a major hand cap. Our role is to try to help her, going through this phase.

GUPTA: Despite all of the advances of modern medicine, when doctors measure pain, they rely primarily on the verbal analog scale.

DUBOIS: What number would wow put to your pain? Zero is no pain and 10 maximum, possible.

TAYLOR: Now it's about six.

GUPTA: A complicated name for a simple test. How much does it hurt on a scale from zero to ten?

DUBOIS: Since it is a subjective measurement based only of the patient's feedback, you can imagine situations where the patient is not truthful when you repulse his or her pain.

GUPTA: And there are variations. What person calls a nine could easily be a four for another. While there is no reliable way to gauge honesty in these tests, the pains are very real with the patient like Ashley.

TAYLOR: Right now I have to live with the pain as best as I can, because it's not going away anytime soon.

GUPTA: A somewhat immeasurable price for a frustratingly immeasurable pain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: And Ashley is back in school trying lots of different medications. Sort of struggling with the pain and trying to find an answer. She still doesn't have an answer to what is causing it in the first place.

COOPER: Is it possible that a certain amount of pain is just psychological?

GUPTA: Yes, it's absolutely possible. And doctors struggle with this quite a bit. I think it's important to say, it's hard to figure out which came first, the pain, causing depression or the depression exacerbating pain?

And also important to point out is, they're not naturally exclusive. People who have depression don't produce enough pain- fighting endorphins. Endorphins are sort of the feel-good hormones. When you're depressed you don't have as many of those, so pain is that much even worst.

COOPER: She's 20-years-old. What kind of impact is that -- she's on a lot of painkillers for someone so young. That seem -- is that dangerous? GUPTA: It's a lot. At 20-years-old, seven different pain killers. Tolerance is a big concern. She may not have pain medications that can treat her pain when she's 45. She's exhausted all of the possibilities, and also addiction. Most doctors will say listen let's not worry about addiction this early on. But at this young an age, when she gets into her mid 40's is she going get addicted to these drugs. That's a consideration and a concern as well.

COOPER: Let's hope she gets better. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks.

Former U.S. prisoners of war who survived torture of Saddam Hussein regime during the first Gulf War, are now in the middle of another battle. This one with the Bush administration. They are upset that the Pentagon wants to compensate abused Iraqi prisoners, while them themselves are still fighting for what the feel they deserve. It's a remarkable story.

CNN's Kathleen Koch has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jeff Tice knows about torture in Abu Ghraib Prison. He was on the receiving end there in the first Gulf War.

JEFF TICE, FORMER GULF WAR POW: I was essentially beaten, tortured and starved.

KOCH: Tice and 16 other U.S. POWs brutally tortured in 1991 by Saddam's troops sued Iraq. And in July won 653 million dollars in damages. But by then, the U.S. government had appropriated the $1.7 billion in frozen Iraqi assets, they were to be paid from Iraqi reconstruction.

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: But they were resources required from the urgent national security needs of rebuilding Iraq.

KOCH: So the POWs were stunned when the defense secretary promised to compensate Iraqis abused in Abu Ghraib Prison.

TICE: Well, I thought that was utterly unfair for Secretary Rumsfeld to say, well, we're going to pay these Iraqi prisoners from U.S. funds at the same time, our own government is blocking us from receiving compensation from Iraqi funds.

JEFF FOX, FORMER GULF WAR POW: There's inconsistency there, that quite frankly a little embarrassing.

KOCH: Former POW, Jeff Fox, sent a letter to Donald Rumsfeld, expressing his, "frustration and disbelief," and asking for an explanation. One senator vows to block any payments to Iraqi prisoners.

SEN. HARRY REID (D), NEVADA: So, I'm going to do everything I can to fill road blocks of compensating Iraqi prisoners of war, when American prisoner of war have not be compensated. It is unfair.

KOCH: For the men and their attorney, the administration opposition sending a troubling message.

FOX: OK, active duty military, if you're in combat, you're captured and tortured, deal with it!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And send the wrong message to the next torturers, that you can get with it.

KOCH: The former POWs say they realize they never may be compensated.

TICE: I tell people I won the lottery already because I came back.

KOCH: Kathleen Koch, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Joining me from San Diego is one of the Gulf War POWs named in that lawsuit, Retired Colonel Clifford Acree, he was held and tortured in Saddam Hussein's Abu Ghraib Prison. Colonel, thanks for being with us. Also joining me from Washington, Matthew -- Matthew Yeo, one of the attorneys handling the case. I appreciate both of you being with us.

Colonel, let me start with you.

What kind of torture did you endure while you were a POW?

COL. CLIFFORD ACREE, U.S. MARINE CORPS (RET.): Of the 17 POWs, the array of torture is pretty wide, but for me it was starvation, numerous violent beatings frequently and interrogation, which included fractured skull, never damage, thinks like that, so.

COOPER: I read that at one point you were actually eating your own scab just for nutrition?

ACREE: That is true.

COOPER: And do you still have pain? I mean, does this still stay with you.

ACREE: Oh yes, absolutely.

COOPER: When you heard -- I mean, it's a remarkable story. I don't think a lot of people get this. When you heard that -- I mean, a judge has awarded you and the other POWs a large amount of money based on the Geneva Conventions, based on international treaties. When you heard your own government, the American government, is trying to stop you from receiving the compensation, what went through your mind?

ACREE: Well, I think what our government did for the Iraqi prisoners was appropriate. And frankly I was proud of our government to acknowledge a wrong and do what was right and correct it. At the same time, the government seems to -- doesn't seem to, they are absolutely prohibiting us from collecting compensation from Iraq for the same, if not worse, treatment. It doesn't make sense.

COOPER: You're talking about the Iraqi prisoner, just for those who don't know, for the Iraqi detainees who were abused in Abu Ghraib and elsewhere, the U.S. government is proposing compensation for them, but fighting compensation for you guys.

ACREE: Correct.

COOPER: Matthew, let me bring you in. Legally, how can they do this? I mean, under the Geneva Convention, you have pledge to never absolve the state of any liability for the torture of POWs. They want to compensate the Iraqis. Legally, what's the rationale for not compensate your clients.

MATTHEW YEO, ATTORNEY FOR POWS: We don't think there is a rationale for it. Just as you say, under the Geneva Conventions, the United States is not allowed to absolve Iraq for the past wrong doings, including the torture of these POWs. Which is why we are ask, among other reasons, why we are asking the Supreme Court to review this case.

COOPER: I want to show what the Justice Department has said. Quote, "These actions do not prevent the Acree plaintiffs or any other victims of Saddam Hussein's despotic regime, from seeking reparations though appropriate international tribunals once the new Iraqi government is firmly established."

Colonel, what about that.

ACREE: I think that's more of a legal question. I'd have to differ to Matthew on that one.

COOPER: All right, Matthew?

YEO: Well, I think the fact is, Congress has already provided a mechanism whereby, Americans who have been tortured by terrorist states like Iraq was, can seek address in American courts and get a judgment against their torturers. That's exactly what happened here. It's permitted under U.S. law. They have a judgment. And these POWS, these heroic Americans should be allowed to get in line with everyone else in the world to who has valid claims against Iraq.

COOPER: What happens now? I mean, where does this go? Legally, do you have anymore avenues?

YEO: Well, we have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the decision of D.C. Court of Appeals it this case. We hope that they decide to review the case. And we hope ultimately to prevail.

COOPER: Colonel Clifford Acree, appreciate you being with us. Matthew Yeo, long journey for both, I know. We'll continue to follow it. Thanks for being with us.

ACREE: Thank you.

YEO: Thank you.

COOPER: Coming up next on 360, fast moving river, a race against time. A picture perfect rescue, all caught on tape. And a hero pilot who made it happen.

They're stories, plus, still waiting for that Michael Jackson news conference outside of his hospital. Is he going home? Is he still in the hospital? What's his condition? They're going to update it, they say, any moment. Be right back.

Good lord, what is that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: During our commercial break, we were told there was that Michael Jackson press conference. Miguel Marquez is standing by covering it. Miguel, what happened?

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I guess if you consider it a press conference, usually there some questions and answers. We didn't quite get to that stage. The hospital spokesperson came out and talked to us briefly. And they -- a doctor Todd Bailey who is one of the ER doctors, the head of the ER here at Marian Medical center was able to talk to us very, very briefly. A member of Mr. Jackson's staff also appeared to be present there.

And I think the up-shot of this thing is that Mr. Jackson is going to be in the hospital for another night, it sounds like, not going anywhere despite the fact that it did seem that he was waving out of his window on the other side of the building here earlier today. And Mr. Jackson appeared to be doing well there where he even held up a sign at one point saying, I love you, I love more, responding to the fans out there who were chanting I love you, Michael Jackson.

The Dr. Bailey said that Mr. Jackson is stable. That he's still under observation. And he's being cared for for some viral symptoms. They wouldn't explain what those were or what problem was. But whatever it is, the doctor seems to deem it necessary to keep him in the hospital for another night -- Anderson.

COOPER: Never have so many wait for so little. Miguel Marquez, thanks very much. Appreciate it.

It has been a winter of heavy rains in the west and it seems almost every day there is somebody who needs to be rescued from fast- moving floodwaters. The latest rescue, a truck driver in Arizona, it was all caught on tape. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, here we go, guys. Here we go.

COOPER (voice-over): Outside Phoenix in the Gila River Indian Reservation, rising waters stranded this motorist, who tried to drive through. Unable to go forward or back, the unidentified man was forced to wait patiently as news helicopters hovered overhead, until the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department arrived.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What they're going to do is put a deputy in the bed of the truck with a PFD.

COOPER: PFD means personal flotation device. A life vest.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, move left. Real easy, move left.

COOPER: In a delicate dance, the chopper pilot edges up the truck and drops off a deputy to help the stranded driver. A local reporter describes the scene.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Doing a water rescue is extremely difficult. Part of the problem is you have the water moving underneath you and it gives you an illusion of movement. So, you're trying to put your skin in one spot and hold it in the place and you have water moving around you.

And also might not have seen before was there was a set of power lines that run right along 91st Avenue on the east side there. So he's having to avoid those at the same time as he's trying to maneuver around that area. So it is a pretty difficult maneuver.

COOPER: Once the driver is in his life vest and safely into the bed of the truck, the rescue chopper comes back into play.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now, you'll see him come into your picture here in just a minute. Now the vehicle has moved a good foot and a half just in the minute we've been talking. So it's continuing to move slowly, which is going it make it even more difficult for the pilot to maneuver around that area because he may not have to deal with the moving vehicle at the same time if it decides to break loose.

Now, as you can see there, he's moving his skid back onto the bed of the truck. He's going to try to hold that there for as long as necessary to bring that victim back on board there.

Yes, he's actually putting the skid down and making contact onto the bed of the truck. He's trying to get a good solid footing on there, so it doesn't move around too much.

COOPER: And once in the chopper, the motorist who is taken to dry land. And the helicopter returns to pick up the deputy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's sweet!

COOPER: The unidentified man from the truck was unhurt.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, the deputy you just saw in that video, Jim Tompkins joins me now. Jim, thanks very much for being with us. You know, we see you there hanging on the, I don't even know what you call it, the skid I guess, of the helicopter. What are you thinking as you're about to drop into the pick-up truck?

JIM TOMPKINS, MERICOPA COUNTRY DEPUTY: Well, myself and the pilot, Steve Glenny (ph) already had a plan in our mind what we wanted to do. And when we -- the pilot brought me in and sat down on the skid of the truck. He set me off. I just planned on doing my job and that is to rescue a citizen.

COOPER: What do you say? What the difficulty of jumping into a truck like that? I heard the guy saying that with the water moving so fast, it's hard to get a visual of it.

TOMPKINS: That's correct. The rushing water going down the river, it gives a bad visual effect when the pilot is trying to fly, when he's trying to put the skid on the back of the truck.

But we had it planned. We had the skid was put down on the back of the truck. I got down on the truck gently. And I got up to you pilot, waved him off and went over to the subject in the truck and explained to him exactly what we were going to do.

COOPER: The driver of this vehicle, was was he panicking? What kind of shape was he in?

TOMPKINS: He was actually very, very calm. What made him I think more calm is the fact explained to him exactly what was going to happen. I explained to him what to expect. What we were going to exactly do. And I told him to be calm and take your time and we're in no rush.

COOPER: And how long the whole thing take?

TOMPKINS: It was a very, very fast rescue. We had the plan already in our mind. We briefed each other, the pilot and I. We executed the plan. And it went off without a hitch.

COOPER: How often do you do this? I imagine you have done this kind of stuff. Obviously you seem very good at it. You have done it before.

TOMPKINS: Yes, we have. Not myself but the air support of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office just this last week have rescued 21 individuals.

COOPER: That's amazing.

Jim, it is a great rescue. Jim Tompkins, appreciate you joining us. And the work that you do and your fellows do, the pilot as well. Thanks very much.

TOMPKINS: Thank you very much.

COOPER: Coming up next, Michael Jackson and that flu. What's up with that? Have you noticed with celebrities how a bout of a little bug lands you in the hospital? Most people just stay home. Talk about why celebrities seem to get exhausted an awful lot.

Also a little later, the story of sex, tolerance, and that's right, penguin pride to the Nth Degree.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: So, we just learned Michael Jackson is staying another night in the hospital. He has flu-like symptoms. It made us realize, yet again, Celebrities are not like the rest of us. First of all, they have people and today, Jennifer Lopez's people saying she's not up to doing a European tour. It's been canceled because she's not feeling well. Now, when most people get sick, they stay home and rest. When celebrities get sick, they check into a hospital. It sure seems exhausting, living "Inside the Box."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Jackson's been evaluated if our emergency department today for a flu-like illness with some vomiting.

COOPER: Yes, those flu-like symptoms that usually send most of us to bed with our favorite blankie and a bottle of orange juice, send some celebrities scrambling for the nearest ER.

B.J. SIGESMUND, US WEEKLY: Everything with Michael Jackson is bigger than life. I am sure that when he gets a paper cut, he rushes to the hospital.

COOPER: It's understandable that Michael Jackson may be a bit run down, maybe a little stressed. but have you ever wondered why so many celebrities end up in the hospital because they're just so darn tired?

In 2001, singer Mariah Carrie book interested a New York hospital suffering from extreme exhaustion. That was after she posted a message to her Web site that said "I just need a break." "Mean Girl" star, Lindsey Lohan, landed in the hospital with severe exhaustion at the age of 18. While the tabloids were telling tales of hardy partying and break-up with her Beau.

And just last year, "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" star, Vincent D'Ononfrio was hospitalize not once but twice with -- well, he just had plain exhaustion after he passed out on the set.

OK, so being a celebrity is hard work. All those people hovering around, doing your bidding, all of that attention, all of that adulation. But isn't checking into the hospital just because you're tired a little over the top? The professionals say, better safe than sorry.

JAMES W. GOTTFURCHT, PH.D., PRES., PSYCHOLOGY OF MONEY CONSULTANTS: Exhaustion is like an early warning system as your saying. And it means your immune system is more vulnerable, so you could catch any illness that you maybe prone to catch or exposed to. And it also means that you're starting to break down in terms of your resistance, your coping ability and your resiliency. COOPER: But celeb watchers, like "US Weekly's" B.J. Sigesmund, say sometimes exhaustion is a little suspicious.

SIGESMUND: Exhaustion has become like a pseudonym for, there's really something else going on with this person, but we don't want to talk about it.

COOPER: So the next time you are feeling a little fatigued, maybe from juggling jobs and kids or struggling to make ends meet, take a second to pity the poor celebrity who just gets tired living "Inside the Box."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, let's find out what is coming up now, in a few minutes, on "PAULA ZAHN" -- Paula.

PAULA ZAHN, HOST "PAULA ZAHN NOW": Hi, Anderson. So, if any of you have been to the doctor lately and wondered why your doctor might have prescribed one drug over another? Well, it turns out your doctor could be getting rich, taking payments from a drug company to do just that.

And how can it be three and a half years after 9/11, that one of our nation's busiest ports is being guarded by one cop and two dogs? Well an explosive new report out of the Homeland Security Department, we'll address that. And we will be covering that from a bunch of different angles tonight, Anderson.

COOPER: All right, Paula, thanks. About six minutes from now. Thanks, Paula.

Still to come tonight on 360, smoothing some ruffle feathers in Germany. A resolution in the matter of -- of a certain penguins proclivity there at the Bremen Zoo.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Tonight, penguins in love to "The Nth Degree." We told you last week about a problem a zoo in Germany was having with its penguins. The penguins weren't procreating, and it turned out they were gay. The zoo announced they were going to import female penguins to try to straighten out the boys, so to speak. Now the zoo has given that idea up. German gay and lesbian groups protested and operation seductress was canceled. We hoped they also canceled the alternate plan, to give the birds a subscription to the swimsuit edition to "Penguin Illustrated."

The zoo's director now says, if the penguins really are gay, then obviously they can stay gay. Everyone can live as they please. Looks like the Bremen Zoo six, as the penguins are being called, only by us, will long be remember as a watershed event in the development in Germany's penguin pride movement.

In a related bit of news bit of news, if Chris Rock's analysis is correct, viewership for the Oscar broadcast there in Bremin, Germany, may be a little higher than previously expected. That's it for 360 tonight. Thanks for watching. CNN's prime time coverage continues with Paula Zahn Now -- Paula.

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