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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Manhunt Under Way for Brian Nichols

Aired March 11, 2005 - 19:00 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: Good evening from New York. I'm Anderson Cooper.
He is armed, he has killed, and he is on the loose, a massive manhunt under way.

360 starts now.

ANNOUNCER: Shooting at a courthouse: A man on trial for rape goes on a rampage and kills three, including a judge. The suspect hijacks a car and disappears.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF MYRON FREEMAN, FULTON COUNTY, GEORGIA: Mr. Nichols is considered armed and extremely dangerous and should not be approached.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Tonight, the manhunt is under-way for Brian Nichols.

Two former New York City cops arrested in Las Vegas and charged with being hit men for the mob.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROSLYN KAUFMAN, U.S. ATTORNEY, BROOKLYN: For years, Eppolito and Caracappa were cops, Mafia cops.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Who were their alleged victims? And just how much confidential information do police think they gave the Mafia?

It's a very good thing. Martha Stewart makes the "Forbes" billionaire list for the first time. Tonight, what the latest lady to join the billionaires' list is really worth, and how she built up the bucks from behind bars.

Could men be hardwired for a midlife crisis? Tonight, part of our series, Of Two Minds, the science behind what some are calling menopause for men.

And he dodged, he danced, and he escaped rush hour traffic in New York City. The dog who made the city hold its breath gets a clean bill of health and finds a happy home.

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

COOPER: Good evening again.

We begin with a drama that has riveted the nation today, a killer on the loose, and a manhunt that is still snarling traffic in Atlanta. That's a live picture of downtown Atlanta.

They are all searching for this man. His name is Brian Nichols, and he has blood on his hands -- the blood of a judge, a court reporter, and a police deputy.

Nichols was on trial for rape, among other things, and this morning police say he got his hands on an officer's gun.

CNN's Gary Tuchman picks up the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a scene of chaos in downtown Atlanta.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody off the sidewalk!

TUCHMAN: It started as the workday was just beginning at the Fulton County Courthouse. On the eighth floor, 33-year-old Brian Nichols was being retried on charges of rape, false imprisonment, and other allegations, after a previous mistrial.

DEPUTY CHIEF ALAN DREHER, ATLANTA POLICE: The suspect was on his way to the courtroom. It appears that he was -- he overwhelmed a deputy sheriff on his way to court, and it appears that he took possession of her handgun. The deputy sheriff was injured as a result of that struggle.

The suspect made his way into the courtroom and held all the persons inside at bay with a handgun. He then shot and killed the judge, shot and killed the court stenographer, and made good his escape from the courtroom.

TUCHMAN: Judge Roland Barnes and his court reporter were dead. The wounded deputy was rushed to a nearby hospital.

DR. JEFFREY SALOMONE, GRADY HOSPITAL TRAUMA SURGEON: The bullet did not enter her skull. She has a small bruise on her brain and some fractures around her face. It appears that after being shot, the deputy perhaps fell to the ground, receiving some of those fractures to her head. She is in critical condition but expected to survive the injuries that she has.

TUCHMAN: Authorities say Nichols ran out of the courthouse and into the street, and then shot another deputy, this one fatally. A lawyer who had just been evacuated from the courthouse saw the aftermath.

RENEE ROCKWELL, WITNESSED SHOOTING: There was a deputy on the side of the street right there. The witness said that the guy who had the other deputy's gun just shot at him a couple of times, and he did not look good.

TUCHMAN: Police believe Nichols carjacked up to five vehicles while making his getaway.

DERONTA FRANKLIN, CARJACKING VICTIM: The guy come up with a gun and pointed it at me and said, Get out of the truck. I told him he could have the truck.

TUCHMAN: Another carjacking victim was a reporter for the "Atlanta Journal Constitution" newspaper, who happened to be parking his car in a nearby garage.

DON O'BRIANT, CARJACKING VICTIM: So I started giving him directions, and all of a sudden he pulls a gun and says, Give me your keys. And I don't give them to him. And he said, Give me the keys, or I'll kill you. I give him the keys. He opened the trunk and said, Get in the trunk. And I said no. And he said, I'm going to shoot you if you don't get in the trunk.

TUCHMAN: O'Briant suffered a broken wrist and an eye injury during the scuffle. He says he feels very lucky to have escaped alive.

Authorities believe Nichols fled downtown Atlanta in O'Briant's green Honda Accord.

SHERIFF MYRON FREEMAN, FULTON COUNTY, GEORGIA: Mr. Nichols is considered armed and extremely dangerous and should not be approached.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN: Ten hours have now gone by. Brian Nichols is still at large. He could be 500, 600, 700 miles away by now. So that's why authorities are telling us this has become a national search.

However, they do say there are locations of interest they're looking at. The translation of that, homes of his friends and family, who they're keeping an eye on.

We should tell you one of the most unbelievable parts of this story is that law enforcement authorities are telling us that when Nichols went to court yesterday for the fourth day of his rape trial, he was transported back to the jail, they found in his socks shanks. Shanks are handmade knives that inmates often make. They found it in his socks. They put him back in the jail.

They brought him back today. The judge was notified of the security violation yesterday. The judge said, please put extra security on Nichols when he comes to court on Friday.

A very tragic irony. Anderson, back to you.

COOPER: Gary Tuchman on the scene, downtown Atlanta. Thanks, Gary.

We're focusing on Brian Nichols, and that's only right, since he is on the loose. (AUDIO GAP) ... a court reporter Julie Ann Brandau. She was just 43 years old. She was just doing her job.

Hoyt Teasley was the deputy shot on Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive while chasing the suspect. He too doing his job. The superior court judge who was murdered today, Roland Barnes, was very well known to our Headline News colleague Nancy Grace, who had this to say earlier to Wolf Blitzer earlier in the day in reaction to the news of the judge's death.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY GRACE, HEADLINE NEWS: I am heartbroken. I've been playing softball with Judge Barnes since 1987, when I was a rookie prosecutor. And his court reporter had just been up visiting me, stayed with me in New York, this past couple of months.

And I'm just -- I'm stunned. There were a million times we, as prosecutors and judges, walk into the courtroom, going about our everyday business as public servants. And I am stunned. I am stunned about Judge Barnes' death, and the two deputy sheriffs trying to do their job.

Everybody keeps talking about how maybe there was an accomplice. Listen, anybody that's been in and out of that courthouse can figure out the lay of the courthouse. It's just a -- it is what it is. The man grabbed the gun and unloaded rather than go to jail on a rape charge. That's what happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, they say justice is blind, but the people who uphold it have names and faces and families, and we remember them tonight.

Coming up later on 360, you're going to hear from one of the carjacking victims who lived to tell what happened to him this morning.

And a history of bloodshed in courthouses around the country. Are they safe enough? Is the courthouse in your community safe? We're going to take a closer look.

Coming up next on 360, some of the other stories we are following tonight.

Not so goodfellas. These guys, two former New York cops accused of doing hits for the mob. It's an unbelievable story. Truth is stranger than fiction. We'll have their tale.

Also tonight, becoming a billionaire and doing time. Martha Stewart becomes one of the richest people in the world.

And a little later, hot flashes, irritability, not just for middle aged women anymore -- it's called male menopause. Part of our special series on the differences between men and women.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, for more than two decades, Lewis Eppolito and Stephen Caracaba -- cappa, I'm sorry -- had served with distinction as detectives. But to one mob family, they were the so-called crystal ball, allegedly on the family payroll, the mob payroll, and said to be used as informants and hit men for the mob.

Here is CNN's Adaora Udoji.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Former NYPD detectives Lewis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa, under arrest, accused of helping to kill some New Yorkers they'd sworn to protect.

ROSLYN KAUFMAN, U.S. ATTORNEY, BROOKLYN: They directly participated in and aided and abetted 11 murders and attempted murders, committed by and for their mob benefactors.

UDOJI: Both deny the charges, but investigators describe Eppolito's life much like a character he played in "Goodfellas," a violent Mafia movie, and in other movies playing cops and hoods.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEWIS EPPOLITO: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UDOJI: For years, Eppolito and Caracappa were cops, Mafia cops.

Brooklyn's U.S. attorney says both decorated detectives joined the Luchese mob family's quest for revenge after someone tried to take out underboss Anthony "Gas Pipe" Casso (ph). Eppolito's ties to organized crime were long suspected even before he wrote "Mafia Cop: The Story of an Honest Cop Whose Family Was the Mob." In fact, the FBI investigated the pair, says "The New York Times," in the mid-'90s, after a mob informant implicated them. But the charges went nowhere until now.

KAUFMAN: While both men were still working for the NYPD, Casso put both on retainer, paying them $4,000 a month.

UDOJI: Paying them to kidnap and stuff a reputed rival Gambino soldier in their trunk, say investigators, delivering him to Luchese assassins, who killed him; allegedly pulling over another Gambino soldier on the Brooklyn Parkway, shooting him to death; and plotting to murder famed Gambino family turncoat Sammy "The Bull" Gravano.

What's more, Caracappa, who worked in the organized crime homicide unit, they say, leaked secret evidence.

KAUFMAN: They routinely passed confidential law enforcement information to the mob, compromising numerous significant state and federal organized crime investigations, and resulting in the murder or the attempted murder of key government informants and witnesses.

UDOJI: Even after retiring to Las Vegas, authorities say the pair turned to dealing methamphetamines. But both Eppolito and Caracappa's lawyers call the charges completely unfounded, the result of Mafia informants scapegoating the police.

RICHARD SCHONFELD, EPPOLITO'S ATTORNEY: The majority of them are historical allegations. And that's why it's important to reflect upon his history, which is no criminal history and serving his country.

UDOJI: Just like in the movies, they were arrested at an Italian restaurant far from New York City, where they face corruption charges unlike any in some time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

UDOJI: Today we talked to one of the former NYPD detectives, Thomas Dade, who helped reopen these cases two years ago. He says he never thought he'd see the day the two former detectives would be indicted. On the other hand, Anderson, as you saw, we spoke to their lawyers, who claim that the two detectives, the two former detectives, are merely scapegoats.

COOPER: But they're back from Las Vegas, where they've been living in pretty good circumstances for the last couple years. They're back in New York now.

UDOJI: No. They're not back in New York. They're -- right now they are in custody in -- federal custody in Las Vegas.

COOPER: OK.

UDOJI: There'll be a hearing and...

COOPER: Whether or not they're going to be...

UDOJI: ... (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

COOPER: ... extradited.

UDOJI: Exactly, exactly,

COOPER: All right. Adaora Udoji, thanks very much.

Opening the books on Michael Jackson. Is he on the verge of losing everything?

A look at the stories making headlines right now cross-country with Erica Hill of Headline News -- Erica.

ERICA HILL, HEADLINE NEWS: Hi, Anderson.

Prosecutors in the Michael Jackson molestation trial say the pop star may be on the brink of bankruptcy, and they're filing motions to get access to Jackson's financial records. They say money problems may have motivated the singer to take part in an alleged conspiracy to hold his accuser's family captive. Jackson's attorneys say the financial records are irrelevant to the case.

What may have been a teenage prank has now landed a 14-year-old in big trouble. The boy has been arrested and charged with causing a train derailment on Wednesday outside Los Angeles. A spokesman for Union Pacific says the boy has admitted to pulling a switch that caused three cars carrying chemicals to derail. No one was hurt, but the train wreck caused a power outage.

The man who allegedly kidnapped Elizabeth Smart has once again been kicked out of a mental competency trial after he broke into song. This is the fourth time Brian David Mitchell has started singing in court. Mitchell's defense attorney says he's not fit to stand trial for the Smart kidnapping.

Actor Paul Newman once described his two greatest passions as acting and racing cars. Now, he says he says he's going to give up both in the near future. But movie fans, don't despair. Newman says he'll do one more film for good luck before he retires, and hints that it could be a reunion with Robert Redford, his co-star in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid."

And that's going to do it for the headlines at quarter past the hour. Anderson, back to you.

COOPER: Erica, thanks very much.

Another update on the headlines in about 30 minutes.

Coming up next, though, on 360, making major money in prison. Martha Stewart, she has joined the billionaires' club. I thought she actually (ph) had already been there, but apparently not. She's now one.

Also tonight, a deadly shooting spree at an Atlanta courthouse. A suspect is on the run. We're going to have the latest on the massive manhunt.

And a little later, the freeway dog that almost didn't get away. Find out what happened to this pooch on the lam, on the highway. An update on Snoopy. Hang on.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: All day long, one of the most popular stories on CNN.com has been a piece about the world's richest people as ranked by "Forbes" magazine. Someone who wasn't on the billionaire list last year is this year, maybe shouldn't be after all. That's right, Martha Stewart.

Rudi Bakhtiar has been surfing the Web, looking into Martha's moola. Rudi, what did you find out?

RUDI BAKHTIAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, one of the things we found out is that Martha Stewart's time away in that federal facility in West Virginia didn't do her wallet any harm.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BAKHTIAR: Call it some time well served. When Martha Stewart walked out of prison last week, she was some $550 million richer, thanks mainly to her Living Omnimedia stock, which surged from $16 when she entered jail, to $34 the night she walked free.

MARTHA STEWART: I've had the opportunity also to do a tremendous amount of thinking.

BAKHTIAR: These extra millions enabled the household diva to finally join the exclusive club of the world's billionaires, at least according to "Forbes" magazine, who has Martha debuting on its 2005 billionaires' list. The magazine ranked her last, though, the 620th on that list, tied with 71 others, all with an estimated $1 billion wealth.

But there's a twist. "Forbes" magazine's cutoff date for its 2005 list was February 11. At that time, Martha's stock was skyrocketing. Since then, Martha has been released from prison and has learned that, well, freedom comes at a cost, even for her. Since March 4, Omnimedia Living stock has plummeted, closing today at around $24.

For Martha, that means some $300 million less. And bye-bye to the billionaire club, at least for now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BAKHTIAR: Now, Anderson, don't worry. I know you're a little worried about Martha. But you can rest assured, she still has plenty of money, and several very valuable properties, four in New England, including a $16 million 62-acre estate in upstate New York, which is serving as her prison away from prison until August.

COOPER: All right, Rudi, who else is on this list?

BAKHTIAR: All right. Well, the world's richest man, no surprise here, Bill Gates, with $46.5 billion, followed by financier Warren Buffett with $44 billion. And in third place, steel titan Lakshmi Mittal, with just $25 billion. Not so bad, huh?

COOPER: Not bad at all. Rudi Bakhtiar, thanks.

ANNOUNCER: A shooting at a courthouse. A man on trial for rape goes on a rampage and kills three, including the judge. The suspect hijacks a car and disappears.

SHERIFF MYRON FREEMAN, FULTON COUNTY, GEORGIA: Mr. Nichols is considered armed and extremely dangerous and should not be approached.

ANNOUNCER: Tonight, the manhunt is under way for Brian Nichols.

Could men be hardwired for a midlife crisis? Tonight, part of our special series, Of Two Minds, the science behind what some are calling menopause for men. And, he dodged, he danced, and he escaped rush hour traffic in New York City. The dog who made the city hold its breath gets a clean bill of health and finds a happy home.

360 continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Back to our top story, the courthouse murders in Atlanta.

You're looking at a live picture of downtown Atlanta. They are searching for a man who shot three people this morning. A defendant grabbed a deputy's gun on his way to the courtroom this morning. He shot and killed the trial judge, Roland Barnes, and he also killed a court reporter, Julie Ann Brandau. Those are the first images we've gotten of her.

Later, he murdered a deputy on the way out of the courthouse.

Now, tonight, police are fanning out across the Southeast in a manhunt for a killer who could be anywhere. It's been hours since they last saw him. If he just kept on driving, he could be in any state in the Southeast about now.

The suspect is Brian Nichols. He's 33 years old. He's six feet, one inch tall. He weighs 210 pounds. Police believe he carjacked a couple of vehicles in an attempt to flee the downtown Atlanta area. A newspaper reporter was one of the carjacking victims.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIANT: And an SUV pulled in right beside me. And a tall black guy gets out with no shirt on and asks for directions to Lennox Square. I figure he's in town for the basketball tournament, so I start giving him directions. All of a sudden he pulls a gun and says, Give me your keys. And I don't give them to him. And he says, Give me your keys, or I'll kill you.

I give him the keys. He opens the trunk and says, Get in the trunk. And I said no. And he says, I'm going to shoot you if you don't get in the trunk. And so I start to move away, and he hits me with the gun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, let's remember now, Nichols was on his way to the courtroom this morning because he was being retried on rape, false imprisonment, and other charges. His original trial ended just last week in a hung jury. The jury couldn't agree on verdicts. The foreman in that first trial joins us now by the phone. He asked us not to reveal his name.

Mr. Foreman, we appreciate you being with us, though.

You were in the courtroom with Brian Nichols just a week ago. The trial lasted three and a half days. You looked into his eyes, you heard him talking. What did you think of him?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We, I think overall, throughout the three and a half day process, my impression was that we were dealing with a young man who was probably immature at times, acted almost kind of schoolboy jealous about the fact that his relationship with his girlfriend was breaking up, and exhibited some rather immature and jealous behavior.

But overall, he's -- he was a rather articulate, reasonably intelligent person who appeared more or less grounded, and gave us no reason to ever be fearful of him or feel afraid.

And, you know, the events of today are certainly a surprise to me, anyway.

COOPER: He did kind of creep out some on the jury, though, when he was just kind of looking at you all, speaking to you directly, kind of ignoring his attorney, is that right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He took the stand in his own defense. And I think that was probably an agreed-upon tactic with his defense attorney. But the line of questioning may have been an area of conflict between the two of them.

So as his defense attorney began the questioning process, Brian would either start to kind of answer the question, or completely ignore the question, look over directly at the jury, and kind of start to tell us his version of a story that supported part of or that conflicted with part of the previous testimony.

He was obviously very interested and eager, desperate may be a kind of a strong word, but he was very eager to tell us his version of the story after listening to the prosecution's story for a couple of days.

COOPER: It certainly seems...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That manner he had of looking at all of us in the eye and scanning around, sitting just eight or 10 or 20 feet away from us, probably unnerved some jurors. It unnerved me a little initially, but eventually I got kind of comfortable with it. And I just sort of looked at him and said, All right, buddy, tell me your story.

COOPER: And Judge Barnes was the judge for the first trial as well. I mean, was there animosity between the two? Did they argue? Did they seem to have some kind of a relationship?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, this is tough, because -- and my condolences go out to his family. He was a wonderful man. There was no conflict or animosity during the trial based on anything Judge Barnes said or did. So that Mr. Nichols was that -- became that agitated at Judge Barnes is somewhat of a -- I mean, obviously he's a judge on a trial that may not be going well, but we saw no animosity or saw anything that led us to believe something like today would come about. COOPER: Well, we second you on the condolence to the judge's family and the families of those others who were killed.

Mr. Foreman, appreciate you being with us. Thanks for telling us what you know. Appreciate it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

COOPER: The foreman, as he said, saw really no signs. But the suspect, Brian Nichols, had courthouse deputies on edge. The assistant district attorney says that earlier this week deputies found two homemade knives hidden in this guy's shoes.

The judge ordered extra security. Apparently, that wasn't enough to stop Nichols.

Violence in the courthouse, we have seen it several times. We did a big report on it the other night on 360. The question is, are America's courthouses secure enough?

CNN's Heidi Collins takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DENNIS SCHEIB, ATTORNEY: I told them for years the security up here wasn't good. There's too few deputies, too many inmates. The deputies have to get too close to the inmates, and they have guns on them when they do that.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An attorney who was on the same floor when the shooting started says today's incident was predictable, a tragedy waiting to happen.

The reality is many judges across America live in constant fear, wondering if they could be killed. Thirteen years ago in Tarrant County, Texas, a gunman pulled a weapon in Judge John Hill's courtroom.

JUDGE JOHN HILL, TARRANT COUNTY, TEXAS: I said, you know, "Was that an explosion?" About that time, I felt a sting in the shoulder right here. And I thought, no, that's not an explosion. I know what that is.

COLLINS: He was shot by a nine millimeter pistol. Two others in the courtroom that day died.

More bloodshed just two weeks ago outside a different Texas courthouse, this one in Tyler. David Arroyo, armed with an automatic weapon and 200 rounds of ammo, shot and killed two people and wounded several others before being killed by police.

Investigators believe the quick response by police, building security and a man who waded into the fray with his own gun kept Arroyo from carrying out his plan to kill more people inside the courthouse. The Tyler courthouse has metal detectors, X-ray machines and security cameras. You'd think all courthouses have them, but think again.

JUDGE CYNTHIA STEVENS KENT, SMITH COUNTY, TEXAS: I'd say probably 60 percent or more of the courthouses in the country do not have security.

COLLINS: Others say there's no problem.

STEVE BOGIRA, AUTHOR, "COURTROOM 302": Given the thousands and thousands of people who go in and out of felony courthouses every day, the fact that we don't have these episodes more frequently makes me think that security is pretty good.

COLLINS: Steve Bogira wrote the book "Courtroom 302" a story of one year inside Chicago's Cooke County criminal courthouse, the busiest felony courthouse in the country. With all the violence lately directed against judges, he has this advice for the rest of us.

BOGIRA: I would just urge us not to overreact, to do something that makes us feel safer in the short run but really does nothing to address problems in the long run.

COLLINS: In the meantime, some judges, like Cynthia Stevens Kent, have already taken security into their own hands.

KENT: I carry a Smith and Wesson .38 revolver. A lot of the judges do carry personal protection. Of course, this is Texas, OK. And in Texas I'm a Second Amendment gal.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: We now know that the defendant in today's deadly shooting was not bound in any way at the courthouse. There are some people that say it might be something to consider so this type of thing wouldn't happen.

But important to remember when a defendant goes into court, the United States legal system says he is presumed innocent until found guilty. Not many defense attorneys, Anderson, want their clients in handcuffs in front of a jury.

COOPER: That's right. That influences the jury. Thanks, Heidi.

Joining us to give us another angle on today's tragedy in Atlanta, someone who was there today when the killings happened in the Fulton County courthouse, defense attorney Renee Rockwell.

Ms. Rockwell, you knew the judge. It's been a tough day for you. I appreciate you standing by to talk with us.

RENEE ROCKWELL, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Thank you.

COOPER: You were on your way to Judge Barnes' courtroom and you saw deputies running in the halls. What did you first think was going on?

ROCKWELL: Well, I was kidding with them. I said, "What happened? Did somebody escape?" And then I looked down and I saw that they had guns drawn, and they were running through the -- through the hallway.

And they said, "Get out of the way. Get in the courtroom." They locked the courtrooms down. Then one deputy grabbed me, pulled me inside of the elevator. And when I was in the elevator, there was about nine deputies in there checking their radios, listening over the radio.

I said, "What happened?"

They said, "The defendant got the gun from the deputy and shot the judge."

And I said, "What judge?" And when they said Judge Barnes, I knew immediately that it was Brian Nichols, because that was the case that was on trial. This was actually the second week that it was on trial. It mistried the first week.

COOPER: And just for our viewers who are watching, we just put Brian Nichols' picture there on the right-hand side of the screen, as well as the license plate of the last known vehicle he was believed to have carjacked, a green Honda Accord, license plate 6584 YN. It's a Georgia license plate.

Police are looking in many states around Georgia now for that vehicle, obviously for Brian Nichols. If any viewers, of course, see that, we're going to keep that up on the screen throughout the evening.

Can you describe the scene at the courthouse, outside the courthouse after the shootings?

ROCKWELL: What happened was, when I was in the elevator with the -- with the deputies, we were whisked down to the ground floor. I was running out of the court -- courthouse. And there were still people lined up coming back in the courthouse.

I went around the corner and, apparently the defendant, Brian Nichols, had taken to the stairways or something, because he had run out the courthouse building and came into contact with Deputy Teasley, who was apparently in pursuit of him.

And that's when he ran across Martin Luther King -- the defendant did -- turned around and shot at Deputy Teasley, and apparently -- and struck him and killed him.

COOPER: Yes, and as well as two others. Tell me about Judge Barnes. You, I'm sure, appeared in front of his court many times.

ROCKWELL: I was on my way to his courtroom this morning. And he was a wonderful judge. He -- he was one of our favorites, the defense attorneys' favorites. Not to say that he was lenient or unfair. And I can tell you this, that if -- if that defendant was in front of that judge this week, he was getting a fair trial. I just can't understand it.

COOPER: Is there enough security -- I mean, not just in this courtroom, in other courtrooms you've been in? Is this a problem or is this an isolated incident?

ROCKWELL: Just so you know, Judge Barnes' courtroom is on the old side of the -- the courthouse complex is comprised of the old courthouse and new courthouse. The new courthouse is very well equipped with cells and special elevators just for the prisoners and the -- and the jailers.

Judge Barnes has -- has an old courtroom. It's a big courtroom. He's got a big office. He loved his office. He entertained people at Thanksgiving, 300 people every Thanksgiving. He cooked dinner for them.

Anyway, in that side of the courthouse, there's no security. So my understanding is that the defendant was being brought from the new side of the courthouse over to his courtroom, which was where he overpowered the deputy and actually went into Judge Barnes' courtroom.

I think they were having another matter, a civil matter earlier. And actually he went in there and held the courtroom hostage for a short period of time before he shot the judge and the court reporter.

COOPER: Well, just a terrible morning for the justice system, for the families of those who were killed and for everyone who knew them. Renee Rockwell, appreciate you being with us. Again, I know it's been a long day. Appreciate it.

ROCKWELL: Thank you so much.

COOPER: We've got a lot more coverage continuing. We'll be right back on 360.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBIN WILLIAMS, COMEDIAN: Look at this. My first day as a woman and I'm getting hot flashes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Turns out Robin Williams didn't have to dress as a woman in "Mrs. Doubtfire" to experience menopause. All week we've been looking at the ways that men and women's brains and bodies are different. Tonight, something that men may have in common with women.

Doctors say that about four million men can blame some life changes on hormones. But unlike women, most men are not talking about this stuff.

Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen introduces us tonight to a man who is breaking that silence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): George and Pat Watt married 37 years ago. They've raised children and grandchildren. They've been through so much together, but nothing prepared them for menopause. Not hers. His.

GEORGE WATT, DIAGNOSED WITH LOW TESTOSTERONE: I was irritable a lot. I was depressed.

PAT WATT, WIFE: My daughter, I told her, your dad is going through -- if I didn't know better I'd swear he's going through menopause.

COHEN: Pat was worried. What had happened to the George she married? George, who's 60, wondered, too.

G. WATT: Why when I get done with work all I want to do is sit on the couch and go to sleep, and I don't like doing that. I was always active my whole life.

P. WATT: He would say how he had no sex drive but that was my fault, OK? That was my fault.

G. WATT: We talked about it. And we determined that I needed to check with somebody.

P. WATT: Something was wrong.

G. WATT: Something was wrong and I need to check with somebody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, George.

COHEN: Their family doctor hit the nail on the head. He immediately suspected a lack of testosterone, a hormone that affects mood and sex drive.

G. WATT: And he found it was low, and we started the shots.

COHEN: He gets a shot every other week.

P. WATT: OK, sweetie, ready? Here we go.

COHEN: And now their sex life...

P. WATT: Well, there kind of wasn't any then. But it's there now.

G. WATT: Yes. I'm not as grumpy. I'm not as stressed out.

COHEN: So should all men George's age get testosterone shots? Starting in their 40s, testosterone levels naturally start to slowly decline.

JED DIAMOND, AUTHOR, "MALE MENOPAUSE": Changes of testosterone can affect everything about a man. Can affect his bone density, can affect his muscle mass, can affect his emotional sensitivity.

COHEN: But experts recommend shots only if the testosterone goes abnormally low, because the shots can have complications such as prostate problems.

Some doctors worry testosterone therapy has gotten too popular and hasn't been studied nearly enough. But it's certainly easy to see why men like it.

G. WATT: So it's been great ever since I got the shot.

COHEN: Things are better now with his wife, with his grandchildren.

G. WATT: Better in other places.

COHEN: Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, there's still more to male menopause and testosterone therapy. Let's get the facts now from 360 M.D. Sanjay Gupta. He joins us from Atlanta. Everyone is in Atlanta tonight.

Sanjay, a lot of people think low sex drive is really the prime symptom for mid-life changes in guys. Are there others?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. In fact there are other symptoms. People do focus in on the lower sex drive, as you saw in Elizabeth's piece there. But I've got a little quiz here that I think will sort of highlight the points here when it comes to male menopause, which by the way, really should be called andropause.

So what are some of the male menopause symptoms? Take a look here, Anderson. This test is for you.

COOPER: Oh, I hate tests.

GUPTA: 360 version of the SAT, right?

COOPER: Right.

GUPTA: Increased weight in the midsection. That's your first choice. Second choice, is tiredness, lethargy. And your third choice is less coordination in sports. Which of those, Anderson, are symptoms of male menopause?

COOPER: Yikes! Less coordination? I don't know. I don't know.

GUPTA: Well, actually, it's a little bit of a trick question, just like the SAT. It's actually all of the above.

COOPER: I hate you! I hate you, Sanjay Gupta!

GUPTA: I know. Well, at least it wasn't none of the above, which is even harder. Look, it's an important point here. When you talk about male menopause or andropause, again, the medically correct term for this, you're talking about low testosterone. And low testosterone can have all sorts of impacts.

First of all, low testosterone -- testosterone is responsible for your lean muscle mass. So if you don't have enough, you start to develop that midsection fat. Also, you're not as active, which may lead to your less coordination, reduced coordination, as well as your lethargy, as well, Anderson.

COOPER: Well, I'm lethargic. I do have a midsection now, and I'm not coordinated. So I'm in trouble.

Let's compare this to women, changes in estrogen. What's happening there?

GUPTA: Yes. You know, and so female menopause and menopause symptoms are much more well defined. People know these sorts of symptoms. You think of the hot flashes, the mood swings, low sex drive, bone mass loss, all those sorts of things.

The thing with andropause, or male menopause, you can have all of those symptoms, as well, but a couple of important distinctions. It's low testosterone, which actually starts in your 40s. How old are you, Anderson?

COOPER: Thirty-seven.

GUPTA: All right. It's coming up.

COOPER: I'm clinging onto my 30s.

GUPTA: Every day we're getting closer, as it turns out. But you know, what happens is male -- male menopause, or andropause, takes much longer to sort of come on. It can come on over three decades, whereas with women it's a very specific window, usually in their 50s, even their early 50s. So much slower symptoms, much slower onset, and sometimes much more vague symptoms, as well, with men versus women.

COOPER: Hormone replacement therapy is pretty controversial. Is it going to increase in popularity among men and women?

GUPTA: Probably. You know, with women, we talk so much about it, that hormone replacement was supposed to be the panacea for everything a few decades ago. And now we know that there are health risks to hormone replacement therapy for women, including stroke and cardiovascular disease, even breast cancer.

Same concerns, really, with testosterone with prostate cancer, stroke. You saw in Elizabeth's piece there, that gentleman got testosterone shots. For particularly low testosterone, it's really important to make sure that you actually qualify for the shots. There can be some consequences. A lot of studies are going to need to be done on this still, Anderson.

COOPER: All right. Sanjay Gupta, thanks very much.

The U.S. is trying to get Iran to play nice. Erica Hill of Headline News joins us now with that and other stories.

Hey, Erica.

ERICA HILL, HEADLINE NEWS: Hey, Anderson, good to see you.

Yes, the United States is putting its money where its mouth is in an attempt to get Iran to abandon its nuclear program. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the U.S. will offer economic incentives to get Iran to comply, and the U.S. is dropping its opposition to Iran's application for membership in the World Trade Organization, a move Europe had pressed for.

President Bush says Europe and the United States are speaking with one voice when it comes to Iran and says the free world will not tolerate Iran having a nuclear weapon.

Spain's king and queen led a vigil today for the 191 people killed in the train attacks, rather, in Madrid one year ago today. Hundreds of churches rang their bells to mark the exact time the first blast hit on what is being now called 3/11. Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for Spain's worst terrorist attack.

Meantime, Muslims in Spain have declared Osama bin Laden an outlaw. They issued an Islamic edict, or fatwa, that says bin Laden and al Qaeda should not be considered Muslims, because terrorism is banned in Islam. Also, clerics say bin Laden turned his back on his religion, and they are urging other Muslims to denounce him.

And that's going to do it from the Headline News studio. Anderson, back to you.

COOPER: All right, Erica. Thanks.

Another check on the top stories in about 30 minutes. Coming up next, though, on 360, a dog dodges traffic. A lot of viewers holding their breath on that one before cops come to the rescue. Tonight, an update on Snoopy. Hang on. It ends well. It ends well. All right.

Also later tonight, Michael Jackson claims he had back problems. You want to talk about back problems, I'll tell you about back problems. But some of you noticed something that makes you think otherwise. We'll read our viewer e-mail, ahead, too.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Yikes! What you doing there, Snoops? This poodle named Snoopy got all of our attention yesterday as it weaved through traffic on a busy New York City highway. Even today we can't help but still feel a little nervous when we see that video again, although we know there is a happy ending. Of course, there's more to Snoopy's story. And for that -- for the latest we go to CNN's Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Did you ever start down an exit ramp and change your mind? Give that poodle a ticket for making a U-turn. While we're handing out tickets, how about one for changing lanes without signaling? Might as well toss in failure to stop, not to mention causing heart failure.

Not since a dog stuck on an ice floe in New Jersey caused cable networks to dump out of a homeland security press conference has a pooch attracted so much live coverage. Only later did we discover that the dog dodging good Samaritans on a major New York expressway during rush hour is named Snoopy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Snoopy is not making any comments at this time.

MOOS: Snoopy was sedated. You'd need sedation, too, if this happened to you. Turns out Snoopy had escaped from relatives who were dog sitting for the owner. Imagine if someone left their dog in your care. It got away and you saw this happening live on TV.

KEN BAEZ, SNOOPY'S DOG-SITTER: I'm glad he is safe because I seen him on the highway and we kept on like, oh, whoa, whoa.

MOOS: The biggest whoa moment -- if you're squeamish, avert your eyes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's moving.

MOOS: There were moments when Snoopy's half hour run on the Major Deegan Expressway was eerily reminiscent of another slow-speed chase. Police finally corralled him and Snoopy got snippy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He nipped my finger. But it will be OK.

MOOS: And so will snoopy. Turns out he suffered only a bruised hind leg. Like his name's sake, Snoopy takes a licking and keeps on kicking. This is no standard poodle. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: If someone had cut my hair like that, I would run away, too.

Let's find out what's coming up in a few minutes now on PAULA ZAHN --Paula.

PAULA ZAHN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks Anderson. Tonight we are devoting our entire hour to the shocking, brutal events in Atlanta. But it isn't just Atlanta we're talking about. Courthouse violence is a serious national problem, and it's spreading. Stories of bravery that will inspire and perhaps even frighten you, when CNN's special primetime coverage "Judges Under the Gun" continues at the top of the hour. Anderson.

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

360, next. Michael Jackson suffering from back pain? Some of you don't think so. We're going to share some of our 360 e-mail.

Plus, a fond farewell to a CNN legend and a friend. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: And time to check some viewer e-mail. We got a lot about Michael Jackson, his late arrival to court yesterday after visiting the hospital for a back problem. Several viewers were skeptical of the bad back excuse. Jim from New York says, "am I the only person that noted that Michael Jackson was able to move quickly when he turned to his left side, then his right side to turn around and wave to his fans? Once that was done, he continued with his gingerly walk into the courtroom."

Janelle from Chicago was more focused on the PJs, pajamas. She writes, "I think that wearing pajamas at court is relaxing and calming. After all, what he's going through, everyone should wear PJs to court. Hey, Anderson, you should wear PJs in your show." Trust me, you will be relaxed.

Janelle, it's a good idea. I actually do wear PJs.

And finally, Ken from Eagle River, Wisconsin adds two comments. One, "the person I really feel sorry for that's connected with Michael Jackson is the bodyguard that has to carry that stupid umbrella everyday. Time for him to find a new job."

And number two, "I just got over seeing Gloria Allred every night during the Scott Peterson trial and now she's representing the woman that was mauled by the chimps. Is she the only available lawyer in southern California?" We'll look into it.

We'd love to hear from you. Send us an e-mail. Log on to cnn.com/360. Click on the instant feedback link.

And finally tonight, taking a career to the nth degree. As of tonight, Myron Kandel is hanging up his trench coat. Now, this does not seem at all possible.

While there once was a world without CNN, or so we're told anyway, there has never been a CNN without Myron Kandel, who has been at this network the whole time it's been in existence and was already a formidable financial reporter when he arrived at CNN 25 years ago. That's him with the beard there. He's only gotten more formidable since then -- and here's the really remarkable part -- nice at the same time. He's gotten nicer. A guy who talks turkey but is no peacock, who knows it all but isn't a know it all if you know what I mean, a man you hope you'll bump into in the hallway and not for stock tips but for a bit of wisdom and a joke and all right, maybe a couple stock tips.

We can't prove this assertion but we suspect that Myron Kandel has explained the workings of the economy and the markets better and has let the air out of more stuffed shirts while doing so than anybody else ever. Luckily, his office is such a famous mess, as you just saw, that he may be trapped in it for years, even after this whole dumb retirement stunt. We'll see you around, Myron and thanks.

I'm Anderson Cooper. Thanks for watching 360. I'll be reporting from Beirut all next week. I hope you'll be tuning in for that. Prime time coverage continues right now though with PAULA ZAHN -- Paula.

PAULA ZAHN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks so much Anderson. Travel well.

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 March 11, 2005 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: Good evening from New York. I'm Anderson Cooper.
He is armed, he has killed, and he is on the loose, a massive manhunt under way.

360 starts now.

ANNOUNCER: Shooting at a courthouse: A man on trial for rape goes on a rampage and kills three, including a judge. The suspect hijacks a car and disappears.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF MYRON FREEMAN, FULTON COUNTY, GEORGIA: Mr. Nichols is considered armed and extremely dangerous and should not be approached.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Tonight, the manhunt is under-way for Brian Nichols.

Two former New York City cops arrested in Las Vegas and charged with being hit men for the mob.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROSLYN KAUFMAN, U.S. ATTORNEY, BROOKLYN: For years, Eppolito and Caracappa were cops, Mafia cops.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Who were their alleged victims? And just how much confidential information do police think they gave the Mafia?

It's a very good thing. Martha Stewart makes the "Forbes" billionaire list for the first time. Tonight, what the latest lady to join the billionaires' list is really worth, and how she built up the bucks from behind bars.

Could men be hardwired for a midlife crisis? Tonight, part of our series, Of Two Minds, the science behind what some are calling menopause for men.

And he dodged, he danced, and he escaped rush hour traffic in New York City. The dog who made the city hold its breath gets a clean bill of health and finds a happy home.

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

COOPER: Good evening again.

We begin with a drama that has riveted the nation today, a killer on the loose, and a manhunt that is still snarling traffic in Atlanta. That's a live picture of downtown Atlanta.

They are all searching for this man. His name is Brian Nichols, and he has blood on his hands -- the blood of a judge, a court reporter, and a police deputy.

Nichols was on trial for rape, among other things, and this morning police say he got his hands on an officer's gun.

CNN's Gary Tuchman picks up the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a scene of chaos in downtown Atlanta.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody off the sidewalk!

TUCHMAN: It started as the workday was just beginning at the Fulton County Courthouse. On the eighth floor, 33-year-old Brian Nichols was being retried on charges of rape, false imprisonment, and other allegations, after a previous mistrial.

DEPUTY CHIEF ALAN DREHER, ATLANTA POLICE: The suspect was on his way to the courtroom. It appears that he was -- he overwhelmed a deputy sheriff on his way to court, and it appears that he took possession of her handgun. The deputy sheriff was injured as a result of that struggle.

The suspect made his way into the courtroom and held all the persons inside at bay with a handgun. He then shot and killed the judge, shot and killed the court stenographer, and made good his escape from the courtroom.

TUCHMAN: Judge Roland Barnes and his court reporter were dead. The wounded deputy was rushed to a nearby hospital.

DR. JEFFREY SALOMONE, GRADY HOSPITAL TRAUMA SURGEON: The bullet did not enter her skull. She has a small bruise on her brain and some fractures around her face. It appears that after being shot, the deputy perhaps fell to the ground, receiving some of those fractures to her head. She is in critical condition but expected to survive the injuries that she has.

TUCHMAN: Authorities say Nichols ran out of the courthouse and into the street, and then shot another deputy, this one fatally. A lawyer who had just been evacuated from the courthouse saw the aftermath.

RENEE ROCKWELL, WITNESSED SHOOTING: There was a deputy on the side of the street right there. The witness said that the guy who had the other deputy's gun just shot at him a couple of times, and he did not look good.

TUCHMAN: Police believe Nichols carjacked up to five vehicles while making his getaway.

DERONTA FRANKLIN, CARJACKING VICTIM: The guy come up with a gun and pointed it at me and said, Get out of the truck. I told him he could have the truck.

TUCHMAN: Another carjacking victim was a reporter for the "Atlanta Journal Constitution" newspaper, who happened to be parking his car in a nearby garage.

DON O'BRIANT, CARJACKING VICTIM: So I started giving him directions, and all of a sudden he pulls a gun and says, Give me your keys. And I don't give them to him. And he said, Give me the keys, or I'll kill you. I give him the keys. He opened the trunk and said, Get in the trunk. And I said no. And he said, I'm going to shoot you if you don't get in the trunk.

TUCHMAN: O'Briant suffered a broken wrist and an eye injury during the scuffle. He says he feels very lucky to have escaped alive.

Authorities believe Nichols fled downtown Atlanta in O'Briant's green Honda Accord.

SHERIFF MYRON FREEMAN, FULTON COUNTY, GEORGIA: Mr. Nichols is considered armed and extremely dangerous and should not be approached.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN: Ten hours have now gone by. Brian Nichols is still at large. He could be 500, 600, 700 miles away by now. So that's why authorities are telling us this has become a national search.

However, they do say there are locations of interest they're looking at. The translation of that, homes of his friends and family, who they're keeping an eye on.

We should tell you one of the most unbelievable parts of this story is that law enforcement authorities are telling us that when Nichols went to court yesterday for the fourth day of his rape trial, he was transported back to the jail, they found in his socks shanks. Shanks are handmade knives that inmates often make. They found it in his socks. They put him back in the jail.

They brought him back today. The judge was notified of the security violation yesterday. The judge said, please put extra security on Nichols when he comes to court on Friday.

A very tragic irony. Anderson, back to you.

COOPER: Gary Tuchman on the scene, downtown Atlanta. Thanks, Gary.

We're focusing on Brian Nichols, and that's only right, since he is on the loose. (AUDIO GAP) ... a court reporter Julie Ann Brandau. She was just 43 years old. She was just doing her job.

Hoyt Teasley was the deputy shot on Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive while chasing the suspect. He too doing his job. The superior court judge who was murdered today, Roland Barnes, was very well known to our Headline News colleague Nancy Grace, who had this to say earlier to Wolf Blitzer earlier in the day in reaction to the news of the judge's death.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY GRACE, HEADLINE NEWS: I am heartbroken. I've been playing softball with Judge Barnes since 1987, when I was a rookie prosecutor. And his court reporter had just been up visiting me, stayed with me in New York, this past couple of months.

And I'm just -- I'm stunned. There were a million times we, as prosecutors and judges, walk into the courtroom, going about our everyday business as public servants. And I am stunned. I am stunned about Judge Barnes' death, and the two deputy sheriffs trying to do their job.

Everybody keeps talking about how maybe there was an accomplice. Listen, anybody that's been in and out of that courthouse can figure out the lay of the courthouse. It's just a -- it is what it is. The man grabbed the gun and unloaded rather than go to jail on a rape charge. That's what happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, they say justice is blind, but the people who uphold it have names and faces and families, and we remember them tonight.

Coming up later on 360, you're going to hear from one of the carjacking victims who lived to tell what happened to him this morning.

And a history of bloodshed in courthouses around the country. Are they safe enough? Is the courthouse in your community safe? We're going to take a closer look.

Coming up next on 360, some of the other stories we are following tonight.

Not so goodfellas. These guys, two former New York cops accused of doing hits for the mob. It's an unbelievable story. Truth is stranger than fiction. We'll have their tale.

Also tonight, becoming a billionaire and doing time. Martha Stewart becomes one of the richest people in the world.

And a little later, hot flashes, irritability, not just for middle aged women anymore -- it's called male menopause. Part of our special series on the differences between men and women.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, for more than two decades, Lewis Eppolito and Stephen Caracaba -- cappa, I'm sorry -- had served with distinction as detectives. But to one mob family, they were the so-called crystal ball, allegedly on the family payroll, the mob payroll, and said to be used as informants and hit men for the mob.

Here is CNN's Adaora Udoji.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Former NYPD detectives Lewis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa, under arrest, accused of helping to kill some New Yorkers they'd sworn to protect.

ROSLYN KAUFMAN, U.S. ATTORNEY, BROOKLYN: They directly participated in and aided and abetted 11 murders and attempted murders, committed by and for their mob benefactors.

UDOJI: Both deny the charges, but investigators describe Eppolito's life much like a character he played in "Goodfellas," a violent Mafia movie, and in other movies playing cops and hoods.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEWIS EPPOLITO: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UDOJI: For years, Eppolito and Caracappa were cops, Mafia cops.

Brooklyn's U.S. attorney says both decorated detectives joined the Luchese mob family's quest for revenge after someone tried to take out underboss Anthony "Gas Pipe" Casso (ph). Eppolito's ties to organized crime were long suspected even before he wrote "Mafia Cop: The Story of an Honest Cop Whose Family Was the Mob." In fact, the FBI investigated the pair, says "The New York Times," in the mid-'90s, after a mob informant implicated them. But the charges went nowhere until now.

KAUFMAN: While both men were still working for the NYPD, Casso put both on retainer, paying them $4,000 a month.

UDOJI: Paying them to kidnap and stuff a reputed rival Gambino soldier in their trunk, say investigators, delivering him to Luchese assassins, who killed him; allegedly pulling over another Gambino soldier on the Brooklyn Parkway, shooting him to death; and plotting to murder famed Gambino family turncoat Sammy "The Bull" Gravano.

What's more, Caracappa, who worked in the organized crime homicide unit, they say, leaked secret evidence.

KAUFMAN: They routinely passed confidential law enforcement information to the mob, compromising numerous significant state and federal organized crime investigations, and resulting in the murder or the attempted murder of key government informants and witnesses.

UDOJI: Even after retiring to Las Vegas, authorities say the pair turned to dealing methamphetamines. But both Eppolito and Caracappa's lawyers call the charges completely unfounded, the result of Mafia informants scapegoating the police.

RICHARD SCHONFELD, EPPOLITO'S ATTORNEY: The majority of them are historical allegations. And that's why it's important to reflect upon his history, which is no criminal history and serving his country.

UDOJI: Just like in the movies, they were arrested at an Italian restaurant far from New York City, where they face corruption charges unlike any in some time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

UDOJI: Today we talked to one of the former NYPD detectives, Thomas Dade, who helped reopen these cases two years ago. He says he never thought he'd see the day the two former detectives would be indicted. On the other hand, Anderson, as you saw, we spoke to their lawyers, who claim that the two detectives, the two former detectives, are merely scapegoats.

COOPER: But they're back from Las Vegas, where they've been living in pretty good circumstances for the last couple years. They're back in New York now.

UDOJI: No. They're not back in New York. They're -- right now they are in custody in -- federal custody in Las Vegas.

COOPER: OK.

UDOJI: There'll be a hearing and...

COOPER: Whether or not they're going to be...

UDOJI: ... (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

COOPER: ... extradited.

UDOJI: Exactly, exactly,

COOPER: All right. Adaora Udoji, thanks very much.

Opening the books on Michael Jackson. Is he on the verge of losing everything?

A look at the stories making headlines right now cross-country with Erica Hill of Headline News -- Erica.

ERICA HILL, HEADLINE NEWS: Hi, Anderson.

Prosecutors in the Michael Jackson molestation trial say the pop star may be on the brink of bankruptcy, and they're filing motions to get access to Jackson's financial records. They say money problems may have motivated the singer to take part in an alleged conspiracy to hold his accuser's family captive. Jackson's attorneys say the financial records are irrelevant to the case.

What may have been a teenage prank has now landed a 14-year-old in big trouble. The boy has been arrested and charged with causing a train derailment on Wednesday outside Los Angeles. A spokesman for Union Pacific says the boy has admitted to pulling a switch that caused three cars carrying chemicals to derail. No one was hurt, but the train wreck caused a power outage.

The man who allegedly kidnapped Elizabeth Smart has once again been kicked out of a mental competency trial after he broke into song. This is the fourth time Brian David Mitchell has started singing in court. Mitchell's defense attorney says he's not fit to stand trial for the Smart kidnapping.

Actor Paul Newman once described his two greatest passions as acting and racing cars. Now, he says he says he's going to give up both in the near future. But movie fans, don't despair. Newman says he'll do one more film for good luck before he retires, and hints that it could be a reunion with Robert Redford, his co-star in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid."

And that's going to do it for the headlines at quarter past the hour. Anderson, back to you.

COOPER: Erica, thanks very much.

Another update on the headlines in about 30 minutes.

Coming up next, though, on 360, making major money in prison. Martha Stewart, she has joined the billionaires' club. I thought she actually (ph) had already been there, but apparently not. She's now one.

Also tonight, a deadly shooting spree at an Atlanta courthouse. A suspect is on the run. We're going to have the latest on the massive manhunt.

And a little later, the freeway dog that almost didn't get away. Find out what happened to this pooch on the lam, on the highway. An update on Snoopy. Hang on.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: All day long, one of the most popular stories on CNN.com has been a piece about the world's richest people as ranked by "Forbes" magazine. Someone who wasn't on the billionaire list last year is this year, maybe shouldn't be after all. That's right, Martha Stewart.

Rudi Bakhtiar has been surfing the Web, looking into Martha's moola. Rudi, what did you find out?

RUDI BAKHTIAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, one of the things we found out is that Martha Stewart's time away in that federal facility in West Virginia didn't do her wallet any harm.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BAKHTIAR: Call it some time well served. When Martha Stewart walked out of prison last week, she was some $550 million richer, thanks mainly to her Living Omnimedia stock, which surged from $16 when she entered jail, to $34 the night she walked free.

MARTHA STEWART: I've had the opportunity also to do a tremendous amount of thinking.

BAKHTIAR: These extra millions enabled the household diva to finally join the exclusive club of the world's billionaires, at least according to "Forbes" magazine, who has Martha debuting on its 2005 billionaires' list. The magazine ranked her last, though, the 620th on that list, tied with 71 others, all with an estimated $1 billion wealth.

But there's a twist. "Forbes" magazine's cutoff date for its 2005 list was February 11. At that time, Martha's stock was skyrocketing. Since then, Martha has been released from prison and has learned that, well, freedom comes at a cost, even for her. Since March 4, Omnimedia Living stock has plummeted, closing today at around $24.

For Martha, that means some $300 million less. And bye-bye to the billionaire club, at least for now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BAKHTIAR: Now, Anderson, don't worry. I know you're a little worried about Martha. But you can rest assured, she still has plenty of money, and several very valuable properties, four in New England, including a $16 million 62-acre estate in upstate New York, which is serving as her prison away from prison until August.

COOPER: All right, Rudi, who else is on this list?

BAKHTIAR: All right. Well, the world's richest man, no surprise here, Bill Gates, with $46.5 billion, followed by financier Warren Buffett with $44 billion. And in third place, steel titan Lakshmi Mittal, with just $25 billion. Not so bad, huh?

COOPER: Not bad at all. Rudi Bakhtiar, thanks.

ANNOUNCER: A shooting at a courthouse. A man on trial for rape goes on a rampage and kills three, including the judge. The suspect hijacks a car and disappears.

SHERIFF MYRON FREEMAN, FULTON COUNTY, GEORGIA: Mr. Nichols is considered armed and extremely dangerous and should not be approached.

ANNOUNCER: Tonight, the manhunt is under way for Brian Nichols.

Could men be hardwired for a midlife crisis? Tonight, part of our special series, Of Two Minds, the science behind what some are calling menopause for men. And, he dodged, he danced, and he escaped rush hour traffic in New York City. The dog who made the city hold its breath gets a clean bill of health and finds a happy home.

360 continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Back to our top story, the courthouse murders in Atlanta.

You're looking at a live picture of downtown Atlanta. They are searching for a man who shot three people this morning. A defendant grabbed a deputy's gun on his way to the courtroom this morning. He shot and killed the trial judge, Roland Barnes, and he also killed a court reporter, Julie Ann Brandau. Those are the first images we've gotten of her.

Later, he murdered a deputy on the way out of the courthouse.

Now, tonight, police are fanning out across the Southeast in a manhunt for a killer who could be anywhere. It's been hours since they last saw him. If he just kept on driving, he could be in any state in the Southeast about now.

The suspect is Brian Nichols. He's 33 years old. He's six feet, one inch tall. He weighs 210 pounds. Police believe he carjacked a couple of vehicles in an attempt to flee the downtown Atlanta area. A newspaper reporter was one of the carjacking victims.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIANT: And an SUV pulled in right beside me. And a tall black guy gets out with no shirt on and asks for directions to Lennox Square. I figure he's in town for the basketball tournament, so I start giving him directions. All of a sudden he pulls a gun and says, Give me your keys. And I don't give them to him. And he says, Give me your keys, or I'll kill you.

I give him the keys. He opens the trunk and says, Get in the trunk. And I said no. And he says, I'm going to shoot you if you don't get in the trunk. And so I start to move away, and he hits me with the gun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, let's remember now, Nichols was on his way to the courtroom this morning because he was being retried on rape, false imprisonment, and other charges. His original trial ended just last week in a hung jury. The jury couldn't agree on verdicts. The foreman in that first trial joins us now by the phone. He asked us not to reveal his name.

Mr. Foreman, we appreciate you being with us, though.

You were in the courtroom with Brian Nichols just a week ago. The trial lasted three and a half days. You looked into his eyes, you heard him talking. What did you think of him?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We, I think overall, throughout the three and a half day process, my impression was that we were dealing with a young man who was probably immature at times, acted almost kind of schoolboy jealous about the fact that his relationship with his girlfriend was breaking up, and exhibited some rather immature and jealous behavior.

But overall, he's -- he was a rather articulate, reasonably intelligent person who appeared more or less grounded, and gave us no reason to ever be fearful of him or feel afraid.

And, you know, the events of today are certainly a surprise to me, anyway.

COOPER: He did kind of creep out some on the jury, though, when he was just kind of looking at you all, speaking to you directly, kind of ignoring his attorney, is that right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He took the stand in his own defense. And I think that was probably an agreed-upon tactic with his defense attorney. But the line of questioning may have been an area of conflict between the two of them.

So as his defense attorney began the questioning process, Brian would either start to kind of answer the question, or completely ignore the question, look over directly at the jury, and kind of start to tell us his version of a story that supported part of or that conflicted with part of the previous testimony.

He was obviously very interested and eager, desperate may be a kind of a strong word, but he was very eager to tell us his version of the story after listening to the prosecution's story for a couple of days.

COOPER: It certainly seems...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That manner he had of looking at all of us in the eye and scanning around, sitting just eight or 10 or 20 feet away from us, probably unnerved some jurors. It unnerved me a little initially, but eventually I got kind of comfortable with it. And I just sort of looked at him and said, All right, buddy, tell me your story.

COOPER: And Judge Barnes was the judge for the first trial as well. I mean, was there animosity between the two? Did they argue? Did they seem to have some kind of a relationship?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, this is tough, because -- and my condolences go out to his family. He was a wonderful man. There was no conflict or animosity during the trial based on anything Judge Barnes said or did. So that Mr. Nichols was that -- became that agitated at Judge Barnes is somewhat of a -- I mean, obviously he's a judge on a trial that may not be going well, but we saw no animosity or saw anything that led us to believe something like today would come about. COOPER: Well, we second you on the condolence to the judge's family and the families of those others who were killed.

Mr. Foreman, appreciate you being with us. Thanks for telling us what you know. Appreciate it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

COOPER: The foreman, as he said, saw really no signs. But the suspect, Brian Nichols, had courthouse deputies on edge. The assistant district attorney says that earlier this week deputies found two homemade knives hidden in this guy's shoes.

The judge ordered extra security. Apparently, that wasn't enough to stop Nichols.

Violence in the courthouse, we have seen it several times. We did a big report on it the other night on 360. The question is, are America's courthouses secure enough?

CNN's Heidi Collins takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DENNIS SCHEIB, ATTORNEY: I told them for years the security up here wasn't good. There's too few deputies, too many inmates. The deputies have to get too close to the inmates, and they have guns on them when they do that.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An attorney who was on the same floor when the shooting started says today's incident was predictable, a tragedy waiting to happen.

The reality is many judges across America live in constant fear, wondering if they could be killed. Thirteen years ago in Tarrant County, Texas, a gunman pulled a weapon in Judge John Hill's courtroom.

JUDGE JOHN HILL, TARRANT COUNTY, TEXAS: I said, you know, "Was that an explosion?" About that time, I felt a sting in the shoulder right here. And I thought, no, that's not an explosion. I know what that is.

COLLINS: He was shot by a nine millimeter pistol. Two others in the courtroom that day died.

More bloodshed just two weeks ago outside a different Texas courthouse, this one in Tyler. David Arroyo, armed with an automatic weapon and 200 rounds of ammo, shot and killed two people and wounded several others before being killed by police.

Investigators believe the quick response by police, building security and a man who waded into the fray with his own gun kept Arroyo from carrying out his plan to kill more people inside the courthouse. The Tyler courthouse has metal detectors, X-ray machines and security cameras. You'd think all courthouses have them, but think again.

JUDGE CYNTHIA STEVENS KENT, SMITH COUNTY, TEXAS: I'd say probably 60 percent or more of the courthouses in the country do not have security.

COLLINS: Others say there's no problem.

STEVE BOGIRA, AUTHOR, "COURTROOM 302": Given the thousands and thousands of people who go in and out of felony courthouses every day, the fact that we don't have these episodes more frequently makes me think that security is pretty good.

COLLINS: Steve Bogira wrote the book "Courtroom 302" a story of one year inside Chicago's Cooke County criminal courthouse, the busiest felony courthouse in the country. With all the violence lately directed against judges, he has this advice for the rest of us.

BOGIRA: I would just urge us not to overreact, to do something that makes us feel safer in the short run but really does nothing to address problems in the long run.

COLLINS: In the meantime, some judges, like Cynthia Stevens Kent, have already taken security into their own hands.

KENT: I carry a Smith and Wesson .38 revolver. A lot of the judges do carry personal protection. Of course, this is Texas, OK. And in Texas I'm a Second Amendment gal.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: We now know that the defendant in today's deadly shooting was not bound in any way at the courthouse. There are some people that say it might be something to consider so this type of thing wouldn't happen.

But important to remember when a defendant goes into court, the United States legal system says he is presumed innocent until found guilty. Not many defense attorneys, Anderson, want their clients in handcuffs in front of a jury.

COOPER: That's right. That influences the jury. Thanks, Heidi.

Joining us to give us another angle on today's tragedy in Atlanta, someone who was there today when the killings happened in the Fulton County courthouse, defense attorney Renee Rockwell.

Ms. Rockwell, you knew the judge. It's been a tough day for you. I appreciate you standing by to talk with us.

RENEE ROCKWELL, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Thank you.

COOPER: You were on your way to Judge Barnes' courtroom and you saw deputies running in the halls. What did you first think was going on?

ROCKWELL: Well, I was kidding with them. I said, "What happened? Did somebody escape?" And then I looked down and I saw that they had guns drawn, and they were running through the -- through the hallway.

And they said, "Get out of the way. Get in the courtroom." They locked the courtrooms down. Then one deputy grabbed me, pulled me inside of the elevator. And when I was in the elevator, there was about nine deputies in there checking their radios, listening over the radio.

I said, "What happened?"

They said, "The defendant got the gun from the deputy and shot the judge."

And I said, "What judge?" And when they said Judge Barnes, I knew immediately that it was Brian Nichols, because that was the case that was on trial. This was actually the second week that it was on trial. It mistried the first week.

COOPER: And just for our viewers who are watching, we just put Brian Nichols' picture there on the right-hand side of the screen, as well as the license plate of the last known vehicle he was believed to have carjacked, a green Honda Accord, license plate 6584 YN. It's a Georgia license plate.

Police are looking in many states around Georgia now for that vehicle, obviously for Brian Nichols. If any viewers, of course, see that, we're going to keep that up on the screen throughout the evening.

Can you describe the scene at the courthouse, outside the courthouse after the shootings?

ROCKWELL: What happened was, when I was in the elevator with the -- with the deputies, we were whisked down to the ground floor. I was running out of the court -- courthouse. And there were still people lined up coming back in the courthouse.

I went around the corner and, apparently the defendant, Brian Nichols, had taken to the stairways or something, because he had run out the courthouse building and came into contact with Deputy Teasley, who was apparently in pursuit of him.

And that's when he ran across Martin Luther King -- the defendant did -- turned around and shot at Deputy Teasley, and apparently -- and struck him and killed him.

COOPER: Yes, and as well as two others. Tell me about Judge Barnes. You, I'm sure, appeared in front of his court many times.

ROCKWELL: I was on my way to his courtroom this morning. And he was a wonderful judge. He -- he was one of our favorites, the defense attorneys' favorites. Not to say that he was lenient or unfair. And I can tell you this, that if -- if that defendant was in front of that judge this week, he was getting a fair trial. I just can't understand it.

COOPER: Is there enough security -- I mean, not just in this courtroom, in other courtrooms you've been in? Is this a problem or is this an isolated incident?

ROCKWELL: Just so you know, Judge Barnes' courtroom is on the old side of the -- the courthouse complex is comprised of the old courthouse and new courthouse. The new courthouse is very well equipped with cells and special elevators just for the prisoners and the -- and the jailers.

Judge Barnes has -- has an old courtroom. It's a big courtroom. He's got a big office. He loved his office. He entertained people at Thanksgiving, 300 people every Thanksgiving. He cooked dinner for them.

Anyway, in that side of the courthouse, there's no security. So my understanding is that the defendant was being brought from the new side of the courthouse over to his courtroom, which was where he overpowered the deputy and actually went into Judge Barnes' courtroom.

I think they were having another matter, a civil matter earlier. And actually he went in there and held the courtroom hostage for a short period of time before he shot the judge and the court reporter.

COOPER: Well, just a terrible morning for the justice system, for the families of those who were killed and for everyone who knew them. Renee Rockwell, appreciate you being with us. Again, I know it's been a long day. Appreciate it.

ROCKWELL: Thank you so much.

COOPER: We've got a lot more coverage continuing. We'll be right back on 360.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBIN WILLIAMS, COMEDIAN: Look at this. My first day as a woman and I'm getting hot flashes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Turns out Robin Williams didn't have to dress as a woman in "Mrs. Doubtfire" to experience menopause. All week we've been looking at the ways that men and women's brains and bodies are different. Tonight, something that men may have in common with women.

Doctors say that about four million men can blame some life changes on hormones. But unlike women, most men are not talking about this stuff.

Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen introduces us tonight to a man who is breaking that silence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): George and Pat Watt married 37 years ago. They've raised children and grandchildren. They've been through so much together, but nothing prepared them for menopause. Not hers. His.

GEORGE WATT, DIAGNOSED WITH LOW TESTOSTERONE: I was irritable a lot. I was depressed.

PAT WATT, WIFE: My daughter, I told her, your dad is going through -- if I didn't know better I'd swear he's going through menopause.

COHEN: Pat was worried. What had happened to the George she married? George, who's 60, wondered, too.

G. WATT: Why when I get done with work all I want to do is sit on the couch and go to sleep, and I don't like doing that. I was always active my whole life.

P. WATT: He would say how he had no sex drive but that was my fault, OK? That was my fault.

G. WATT: We talked about it. And we determined that I needed to check with somebody.

P. WATT: Something was wrong.

G. WATT: Something was wrong and I need to check with somebody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, George.

COHEN: Their family doctor hit the nail on the head. He immediately suspected a lack of testosterone, a hormone that affects mood and sex drive.

G. WATT: And he found it was low, and we started the shots.

COHEN: He gets a shot every other week.

P. WATT: OK, sweetie, ready? Here we go.

COHEN: And now their sex life...

P. WATT: Well, there kind of wasn't any then. But it's there now.

G. WATT: Yes. I'm not as grumpy. I'm not as stressed out.

COHEN: So should all men George's age get testosterone shots? Starting in their 40s, testosterone levels naturally start to slowly decline.

JED DIAMOND, AUTHOR, "MALE MENOPAUSE": Changes of testosterone can affect everything about a man. Can affect his bone density, can affect his muscle mass, can affect his emotional sensitivity.

COHEN: But experts recommend shots only if the testosterone goes abnormally low, because the shots can have complications such as prostate problems.

Some doctors worry testosterone therapy has gotten too popular and hasn't been studied nearly enough. But it's certainly easy to see why men like it.

G. WATT: So it's been great ever since I got the shot.

COHEN: Things are better now with his wife, with his grandchildren.

G. WATT: Better in other places.

COHEN: Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, there's still more to male menopause and testosterone therapy. Let's get the facts now from 360 M.D. Sanjay Gupta. He joins us from Atlanta. Everyone is in Atlanta tonight.

Sanjay, a lot of people think low sex drive is really the prime symptom for mid-life changes in guys. Are there others?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. In fact there are other symptoms. People do focus in on the lower sex drive, as you saw in Elizabeth's piece there. But I've got a little quiz here that I think will sort of highlight the points here when it comes to male menopause, which by the way, really should be called andropause.

So what are some of the male menopause symptoms? Take a look here, Anderson. This test is for you.

COOPER: Oh, I hate tests.

GUPTA: 360 version of the SAT, right?

COOPER: Right.

GUPTA: Increased weight in the midsection. That's your first choice. Second choice, is tiredness, lethargy. And your third choice is less coordination in sports. Which of those, Anderson, are symptoms of male menopause?

COOPER: Yikes! Less coordination? I don't know. I don't know.

GUPTA: Well, actually, it's a little bit of a trick question, just like the SAT. It's actually all of the above.

COOPER: I hate you! I hate you, Sanjay Gupta!

GUPTA: I know. Well, at least it wasn't none of the above, which is even harder. Look, it's an important point here. When you talk about male menopause or andropause, again, the medically correct term for this, you're talking about low testosterone. And low testosterone can have all sorts of impacts.

First of all, low testosterone -- testosterone is responsible for your lean muscle mass. So if you don't have enough, you start to develop that midsection fat. Also, you're not as active, which may lead to your less coordination, reduced coordination, as well as your lethargy, as well, Anderson.

COOPER: Well, I'm lethargic. I do have a midsection now, and I'm not coordinated. So I'm in trouble.

Let's compare this to women, changes in estrogen. What's happening there?

GUPTA: Yes. You know, and so female menopause and menopause symptoms are much more well defined. People know these sorts of symptoms. You think of the hot flashes, the mood swings, low sex drive, bone mass loss, all those sorts of things.

The thing with andropause, or male menopause, you can have all of those symptoms, as well, but a couple of important distinctions. It's low testosterone, which actually starts in your 40s. How old are you, Anderson?

COOPER: Thirty-seven.

GUPTA: All right. It's coming up.

COOPER: I'm clinging onto my 30s.

GUPTA: Every day we're getting closer, as it turns out. But you know, what happens is male -- male menopause, or andropause, takes much longer to sort of come on. It can come on over three decades, whereas with women it's a very specific window, usually in their 50s, even their early 50s. So much slower symptoms, much slower onset, and sometimes much more vague symptoms, as well, with men versus women.

COOPER: Hormone replacement therapy is pretty controversial. Is it going to increase in popularity among men and women?

GUPTA: Probably. You know, with women, we talk so much about it, that hormone replacement was supposed to be the panacea for everything a few decades ago. And now we know that there are health risks to hormone replacement therapy for women, including stroke and cardiovascular disease, even breast cancer.

Same concerns, really, with testosterone with prostate cancer, stroke. You saw in Elizabeth's piece there, that gentleman got testosterone shots. For particularly low testosterone, it's really important to make sure that you actually qualify for the shots. There can be some consequences. A lot of studies are going to need to be done on this still, Anderson.

COOPER: All right. Sanjay Gupta, thanks very much.

The U.S. is trying to get Iran to play nice. Erica Hill of Headline News joins us now with that and other stories.

Hey, Erica.

ERICA HILL, HEADLINE NEWS: Hey, Anderson, good to see you.

Yes, the United States is putting its money where its mouth is in an attempt to get Iran to abandon its nuclear program. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the U.S. will offer economic incentives to get Iran to comply, and the U.S. is dropping its opposition to Iran's application for membership in the World Trade Organization, a move Europe had pressed for.

President Bush says Europe and the United States are speaking with one voice when it comes to Iran and says the free world will not tolerate Iran having a nuclear weapon.

Spain's king and queen led a vigil today for the 191 people killed in the train attacks, rather, in Madrid one year ago today. Hundreds of churches rang their bells to mark the exact time the first blast hit on what is being now called 3/11. Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for Spain's worst terrorist attack.

Meantime, Muslims in Spain have declared Osama bin Laden an outlaw. They issued an Islamic edict, or fatwa, that says bin Laden and al Qaeda should not be considered Muslims, because terrorism is banned in Islam. Also, clerics say bin Laden turned his back on his religion, and they are urging other Muslims to denounce him.

And that's going to do it from the Headline News studio. Anderson, back to you.

COOPER: All right, Erica. Thanks.

Another check on the top stories in about 30 minutes. Coming up next, though, on 360, a dog dodges traffic. A lot of viewers holding their breath on that one before cops come to the rescue. Tonight, an update on Snoopy. Hang on. It ends well. It ends well. All right.

Also later tonight, Michael Jackson claims he had back problems. You want to talk about back problems, I'll tell you about back problems. But some of you noticed something that makes you think otherwise. We'll read our viewer e-mail, ahead, too.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Yikes! What you doing there, Snoops? This poodle named Snoopy got all of our attention yesterday as it weaved through traffic on a busy New York City highway. Even today we can't help but still feel a little nervous when we see that video again, although we know there is a happy ending. Of course, there's more to Snoopy's story. And for that -- for the latest we go to CNN's Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Did you ever start down an exit ramp and change your mind? Give that poodle a ticket for making a U-turn. While we're handing out tickets, how about one for changing lanes without signaling? Might as well toss in failure to stop, not to mention causing heart failure.

Not since a dog stuck on an ice floe in New Jersey caused cable networks to dump out of a homeland security press conference has a pooch attracted so much live coverage. Only later did we discover that the dog dodging good Samaritans on a major New York expressway during rush hour is named Snoopy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Snoopy is not making any comments at this time.

MOOS: Snoopy was sedated. You'd need sedation, too, if this happened to you. Turns out Snoopy had escaped from relatives who were dog sitting for the owner. Imagine if someone left their dog in your care. It got away and you saw this happening live on TV.

KEN BAEZ, SNOOPY'S DOG-SITTER: I'm glad he is safe because I seen him on the highway and we kept on like, oh, whoa, whoa.

MOOS: The biggest whoa moment -- if you're squeamish, avert your eyes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's moving.

MOOS: There were moments when Snoopy's half hour run on the Major Deegan Expressway was eerily reminiscent of another slow-speed chase. Police finally corralled him and Snoopy got snippy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He nipped my finger. But it will be OK.

MOOS: And so will snoopy. Turns out he suffered only a bruised hind leg. Like his name's sake, Snoopy takes a licking and keeps on kicking. This is no standard poodle. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: If someone had cut my hair like that, I would run away, too.

Let's find out what's coming up in a few minutes now on PAULA ZAHN --Paula.

PAULA ZAHN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks Anderson. Tonight we are devoting our entire hour to the shocking, brutal events in Atlanta. But it isn't just Atlanta we're talking about. Courthouse violence is a serious national problem, and it's spreading. Stories of bravery that will inspire and perhaps even frighten you, when CNN's special primetime coverage "Judges Under the Gun" continues at the top of the hour. Anderson.

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

360, next. Michael Jackson suffering from back pain? Some of you don't think so. We're going to share some of our 360 e-mail.

Plus, a fond farewell to a CNN legend and a friend. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: And time to check some viewer e-mail. We got a lot about Michael Jackson, his late arrival to court yesterday after visiting the hospital for a back problem. Several viewers were skeptical of the bad back excuse. Jim from New York says, "am I the only person that noted that Michael Jackson was able to move quickly when he turned to his left side, then his right side to turn around and wave to his fans? Once that was done, he continued with his gingerly walk into the courtroom."

Janelle from Chicago was more focused on the PJs, pajamas. She writes, "I think that wearing pajamas at court is relaxing and calming. After all, what he's going through, everyone should wear PJs to court. Hey, Anderson, you should wear PJs in your show." Trust me, you will be relaxed.

Janelle, it's a good idea. I actually do wear PJs.

And finally, Ken from Eagle River, Wisconsin adds two comments. One, "the person I really feel sorry for that's connected with Michael Jackson is the bodyguard that has to carry that stupid umbrella everyday. Time for him to find a new job."

And number two, "I just got over seeing Gloria Allred every night during the Scott Peterson trial and now she's representing the woman that was mauled by the chimps. Is she the only available lawyer in southern California?" We'll look into it.

We'd love to hear from you. Send us an e-mail. Log on to cnn.com/360. Click on the instant feedback link.

And finally tonight, taking a career to the nth degree. As of tonight, Myron Kandel is hanging up his trench coat. Now, this does not seem at all possible.

While there once was a world without CNN, or so we're told anyway, there has never been a CNN without Myron Kandel, who has been at this network the whole time it's been in existence and was already a formidable financial reporter when he arrived at CNN 25 years ago. That's him with the beard there. He's only gotten more formidable since then -- and here's the really remarkable part -- nice at the same time. He's gotten nicer. A guy who talks turkey but is no peacock, who knows it all but isn't a know it all if you know what I mean, a man you hope you'll bump into in the hallway and not for stock tips but for a bit of wisdom and a joke and all right, maybe a couple stock tips.

We can't prove this assertion but we suspect that Myron Kandel has explained the workings of the economy and the markets better and has let the air out of more stuffed shirts while doing so than anybody else ever. Luckily, his office is such a famous mess, as you just saw, that he may be trapped in it for years, even after this whole dumb retirement stunt. We'll see you around, Myron and thanks.

I'm Anderson Cooper. Thanks for watching 360. I'll be reporting from Beirut all next week. I hope you'll be tuning in for that. Prime time coverage continues right now though with PAULA ZAHN -- Paula.

PAULA ZAHN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks so much Anderson. Travel well.

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