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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
CIA Leak Probe; White House Leaks; Entwistle Arrested; Drowning in Debt?; Brain Overload; Cartoon Uproar
Aired February 09, 2006 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: disclosed classified information to the media -- information to be used to make the case for the war in Iraq; then later, to defend the administration's use of prewar intelligence about weapons of mass destruction after the fact.
He did not say, but others have, that Libby is actually talking about his boss, Vice President Cheney.
Chief National Correspondent John King is live in Washington -- John.
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, in this letter that is now part of the court record, the Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald says that Libby testified under oath to the grand jury, that as part of making the case for war in Iraq, he disclosed to reporters material from the CIA's highly classified national intelligence estimate of Iraq's weapons programs.
We also note Fitzgerald went on to say in that letter last month that it is our understanding that Mr. Libby testified that he was authorized to disclose information about the NIE to the press by his superiors.
Now, the pretrial back and forth between the prosecution and the defense has been tense, to say the least. And what Fitzgerald is doing here is serving notice. He plans to introduce that testimony at trial to show that Libby had a history of discussion classified information with reporters. A critical background, the prosecutor says, to help him make the case that Libby lied to both the grand jury and the FBI about how and when he learned the wife of Administration Iraq Critic Joe Wilson worked for the CIA; and lied, the prosecutor says, about his conversations with reporters about her.
Now Libby's account is also a fascinating firsthand glimpse at the high stakes administration effort to rebut those who questioned the White House rationale for war. And a reminder that one of the big unresolved issues in this case, which is not scheduled for trial until next January, is just how much classified information can be put before the jury.
Now, the letter from the prosecutor does not name the superiors who Libby says authorized him to disclose that material from the CIA report, but the "National Journal" reported today that Libby's account is that it was Vice President Cheney who was at least among those superiors. And a legal source close to the case tells CNN tonight, I wouldn't steer you away from that -- Anderson. COOPER: Well, John, this is confusing, so let's just be double clear. He's not charged with disclosing classified information. So what does this have to do with the specific charges against him?
KING: Well, it has nothing directly to do with the specific charges, which is that he lied to the FBI and lied to the grand jury. But clearly, the prosecution wants to bring in the fact that Mr. Libby had access to this classified information -- that he certainly knew. What he is charged with -- lying about what he knew about Valerie Plame, when he came to know it, to the grand jury, that he had access to that information.
What it also does, Anderson, is it makes clear that both sides are fighting over classified information. And in that fight, "Scooter" Libby has served notice to his former bosses -- the president and the vice president. He wants information they don't want to disclose. It also raises the stakes, the possibility the vice president could be a witness here.
COOPER: Fascinating. John King, thanks.
On now to the White House reaction with CNN's Dana Bash -- Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, for several months now the White House has said they won't comment on the ins and outs of the leaks investigation. And today they stuck to script.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I heard about this story earlier today, but I think you know our policy when it comes to this ongoing legal proceeding. And it hasn't changed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you know anything about any authorization to release...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... Well, again, I mean our policy is we're not going to discuss this while it's an ongoing legal proceeding. And that remains our policy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Now, what Libby supposed did, which is discuss some of the national intelligence estimates with reporters, is actually something that the White House ended up doing in a very above the radar way.
On July 18, 2003, maybe a week or so after Libby's alleged conversations with reporters, a senior administration official came to the White House briefing room -- I remember it very well, I was there -- and he handed out eight of the 90 pages of that highly sensitive document. And they declassified it for a very explicit reason. They were trying to show that their intelligence said Iraq had WMDs. So, it was no secret the White House was trying to defend itself, but an open question is, whether what Libby told reporters was the same information that the White House declassified. Also, Anderson, looking at this through the prism of today's debate over the domestic surveillance program, another question is, does this create a political problem for the White House since the vice president, and others, have been public decrying that classified information has been leaked to the press?
COOPER: Yes, I mean when do these guys think it's okay to leak and when is it not?
BASH: Well, officially, my understanding is that actually the president can unilaterally authorize information to be declassified; however, there are official procedures that are supposed to be followed to declassify information. The president, himself, today declassified details about how the government helped break up a terror plot four years ago. The White House told us today that that was done only after they cleared it with all relevant agencies. But some White House critics have accused the Bush administration of selectively leaking classified information when it's in their political interest to do so -- Anderson.
COOPER: All right, Dana Bash, thanks.
Now, to the double murder that defies understanding. Neil Entwistle was arrested today in London, charged with killing his wife and infant daughter.
So far, no one in the case has said we saw it coming, we knew something was horribly wrong. On the contrary, it seems that everyone who knew the Entwistles, knew them as a loving family. This is one of dozens of pictures they posted on their Web site. It's filled with photographs of Baby Lillian. Here's the message that greats visitors of the Web site, quote, "The three of us are doing well and are looking forward to the coming holiday season ... Enjoy the newest photos." It's signed, "Love, the happy family."
Reading those words, it is, of course, gut wrenching now, knowing what happened just weeks after the holidays ended.
CNN's Jason Carroll takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From the outside, the family who lived in this suburban Boston home, seemed perfectly normal.
In the pictures posted on their Web site, the Entwistles appear to be happy and smiling. But prosecutors say Neil Entwistle was hiding a desperate secret, even from his own wife and friends.
We now know Entwistle was struggling financially; so much so, prosecutors allege it drove him to get a gun.
MARTHA COAKLEY, MIDDLESEX COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Neil Entwistle, with a firearm that we believe he had secured at some time before that from this father-in-law, Joseph Matterazzo, shot Rachel Entwistle in the head and then proceeded to shoot Baby Lillian, who was lying on the bed next to her mother. We believe, possibly, that this was intended to be a murder/suicide, but we cannot confirm that.
CARROLL: Prosecutors say Rachel Entwistle spoke to her mother on Thursday, January 19. That was the last time anyone from her family heard from her.
Detectives have now revealed they believe Entwistle committed the murders the next morning, Friday, January 20.
CARROLL (on camera): Prosecutors have provided yet another detail. They say after the murders, Entwistle took the .22 caliber gun that he had taken from Rachel's stepfather's gun collection, and then they say that same afternoon of the murders, he then took the gun back to Rachel's stepfather's home in Carver, just about an hour from here.
(Voice-over): Police say it was a .22 caliber pistol, like this one, and that Entwistle put it back in its gun case. They say Rachel's stepfather was unaware it was ever missing. They say Entwistle knew where the key to the gun case was hidden and previously had used the gun for target practice.
On Saturday, January 21, around 5:00 a.m., police say Neil Entwistle bought a one-way ticket to London, and boarded an 8:15 British Airways flight from Boston's Logan Airport.
He has been in seclusion until today, spending most of his time at his parent's home, 150 miles north of London.
Rachel's family still cannot understand why he allegedly would kill his wife and daughter.
JOE FLAHERTY, RACHEL ENTWISTLE'S FAMILY SPOKESMAN: Rachel and Lilly loved Neil very much. Neil was a trusted husband and father and it is incomprehensible how that love and trust was betrayed in the ultimate act of violence.
CARROLL: Police theorize Entwistle committed the murders because he was out of work and sinking deeply into debt, due to his failed Internet businesses.
COAKLEY: He had no money and really had no assets. And because his business was failing, may not have had any possibility or at least any apparent ability to provide income for himself and his family.
CARROLL: Investigators believe they've built a solid case, including evidence gathered this week. Authorities say only two days ago they received test results from the murder weapon, linking Entwistle to the crime.
Prosecutors say the fact that family and police twice failed to spot the bodies in the bedroom after the murders were committed should not hurt their case.
COAKLEY: It was not a bloody crime scene. They were under covers. And if you could have seen those, they were all bunched up. It would be very easy to miss.
CARROLL: Entwistle's British attorney plans to fight extradition, so it could be some time before he's brought here from England to appear in a U.S. court on charges he murdered his wife and baby.
Jason Carroll, CNN, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, much more ahead on the sad story, including why prosecutors think that Neil Entwistle intended to kill himself after killing his wife and daughter.
Also, the outrage that began with a few cartoons spread across the globe and shows no signs of letting up. What will it take to defuse a dangerous clash of cultures?
Plus, imagine that this is what you see when you walk down the street or visit a grocery store. A world of chaos and confusion, where you can't focus on anything. There's a medical reason, but no cure. Part of our "Medical Mystery" series ahead on 360.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Neil Entwistle, the clean-cut young man, who many people on both sides of the Atlantic have described in glowing terms is in a British jail tonight, fighting extradition to the U.S. to face murder charges. The victims, his wife and infant daughter.
Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley in Boston is prosecuting the accused murderer. I spoke with her earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: You said today this was a possible murder/suicide and I know you can't talk specifics. What in general are some possible clues that a murder scene might also include suicide?
COAKLEY: Well, the scene itself, of course. When you look at domestic violence profile cases, you know, if something happens in the heat passion, it's unplanned, you'd have more evidence of a fight, a crime scene. If it was something that had been planned, but the perpetrator wanted to get away, it probably would be planned better. And so those two pieces of it, when we first found this scene, sort of didn't quite fit.
There is some information we have -- I'm not at liberty to disclose -- that lend some credibility to that theory. But, the idea that he planned to do this because of a financial situation or because he was overwhelmed, is really one of the theories that make sense under the circumstances.
COOPER: Was there any attempt to clean up the crime scene? Can you describe it? COAKLEY: There was no apparent attempt to clean up. In fact, it's been widely reported that there were at least two visits to the home by others, who did not even realize that Rachel and Lillian were there in the bedding.
The mother and child were found -- one gunshot wound to Rachel's head, one to the baby -- but under the covers. I mean, they may have been covered up, but it looks like that's where they were killed. It looks like they may have been dozing, sleeping. We don't know for sure.
COOPER: So it's actually possible they were killed while asleep?
COAKLEY: It's possible.
COOPER: Thursday night, according to published reports, that was the last time Rachel's mother talked to Rachel. Do you know the time of death?
COAKLEY: We think -- our best guess, and it is that -- is sometime Friday morning, given what else we know now about him and his whereabouts.
COOPER: Is there evidence pending that will give you a closer time or is this pretty much as good as you're going to get?
COAKLEY: I think that's as close as we may get for now.
COOPER: Is that going to be an impediment to your case?
COAKLEY: I don't believe so. I mean, I think we have enough other pieces in place from various pieces of evidence that it will not.
COOPER: You mentioned these financial problems. I mean, how bad were they? Where were they?
COAKLEY: Well, we know that there was some debt that he owed in the UK.
COOPER: Can you say how much?
COAKLEY: Not at this time. I'm not releasing that. But there was some debt. And he came with her to the states in August. He tried to be self-employed and there's been a lot about his Internet activities; but at the very least, it wasn't generating any income for him. And it appears that he both owes money, no money is coming in and to that extent, that at least as a financial situation, that could have caused him concern.
And it's not apparent, at least until fairly recently, that Rachel was aware that there was some financial concerns.
COOPER: But recently, she had become aware of it?
COAKLEY: We have some information that that's the case, but it was just sort of slowly becoming aware to her.
COOPER: I talked to the former headmaster of his school, back in England, you know, who all the teachers were saying he was a lovely guy, perfect student, model student, you know, couldn't have been nicer. What's your impression of him?
COAKLEY: Well, of course, that's the impression that everybody had of him, including his in-laws, including his family and friends. And that's, I think, part of what makes this in some ways so sad and somewhat inexplicable, but also why people are so interested, in that he is the totally unlikely defendant. There was nothing that might have indicated that this is the way this young marriage, this young family would have turned out. And that's what makes it so sad.
COOPER: There were some reports that Entwistle called his wife's family -- this was reported in a British tabloid -- and said, quote, "I don't know how I got here." Is there any truth to that story, do you know?
COAKLEY: We don't believe so. We believe that's pretty much inaccurate.
COOPER: What happens next?
COAKLEY: Well, tomorrow is a bail hearing. And he will have the opportunity to ask to post bail. We're not sure what will happen. He's indicated, at least for now, he's going to fight extradition. So it could be a long series of hearings because he has a right to be heard and then he has a series of appeals. But obviously, we will press forward with the help of the United Kingdom, and attempt to get him back as soon as we can.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: We're going to have more ahead on the double life of Neil Entwistle. We'll talk to the head teacher at his former school, who said the murder suspect led a charmed life. It isn't just her.
The DA claims Neil Entwistle had a motive. Even if his life looked picture-perfect on the outside, what they have found online and why they say it makes for a strong case against the suspect.
Also, Denmark and free speech under fire -- growing anger over cartoons that many Muslims consider blasphemous. Is there any way to undo the damage? We're going to talk to someone who knows the story from several angles -- an interesting discussion coming up on 360.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Well, as you just heard, the DA believes that Neil Entwistle is a cold-blooded killer who murdered his wife and little baby. But the people who knew the accused double-murderer in his younger days, are painting a much different picture of him.
Brian Rossiter is the head teacher at the British school, where Entwistle was a student. He joined me earlier from Sheffield, England.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: So, Mr. Rossiter, Neil Entwistle attended your school for many years. Was he well liked?
BRIAN ROSSITER, HEAD TEACHER, VALLEY SCHOOL: He was very well liked by both his friends, the students and the teachers on the support staff in the school, yes. They liked him well.
COOPER: What years did he go there through?
He ended in 1997. He was there from the age of 11 to the age of 18. So he did all his secondary education in my school.
COOPER: What kind of a student was he?
ROSSITER: He was a great student. He was the ideal Valley student. He was a very intelligent young man. He worked hard at his studies. He did lots of good things in his studies. He got the highest grades. He took some of the hardest subjects in the school. And also had a very good relationship with the students. He had a very good relationship with the staff, as well. In fact, he was, as I've said, the ideal student at the Valley school.
COOPER: I noticed on the Web site of your school, there are a lot of computers at the school. Was it there that he started working with computers?
ROSSITER: I wouldn't particularly say that. He was very interested in things technical and scientific and he went on from there to York University and that's where he really went to town on the computer stuff, I believe.
COOPER: I'm sure you were shocked when you heard the allegations against Neil Entwistle. How has your school responded?
ROSSITER: I was stunned and the school community was stunned to hear the news that came across "The Atlantic" last Wednesday. We didn't know what to make of the stories. We still don't know what to make of the stories. But, I think the school staff -- basically shocked to hear the stories. And they're also very saddened for Neil's parents who were grandparents to the little girl and also the in-law parents and loss of Rachel. We're very shocked in Worksop over the last week or so.
COOPER: Yes, having never been in this situation, I mean it must be hard to sort of reconcile the person who was known at your school with these allegations that read about and see on television.
ROSSITER: Yes, we don't actually do that reconciliation in fact, because there's so much speculation going on, on different stories. We don't enter into that world of speculation because it doesn't help anybody at all. So we're really waiting to see about the news, how it pans out, and what the real story is. So yes, people will hear the stories and yes, people will come to their own views; but the reality is, we're just waiting to see what the real story is that's going to come out of Massachusetts at the end when the whole issue is resolved and we know what the truth is of what happened in that house that night.
COOPER: What is the sense of it there or even among yourself or the other teachers? Do you think he should be extradited?
ROSSITER: Well, that's for the authorities to decide. And at the end of the day, Neil will decide what he wants to do, whether he wants to go of his own volition back to the states to talk to the authorities there or whether it's a legal matter, that's a stand for Neil. As far as the school's concerned, we'll just watch and wait to see what happens.
COOPER: Brian Rossiter, appreciate you joining us. Thank you.
ROSSITER: Thank you very much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, we are learning a lot more about Neil Entwistle's alleged double life. Coming up, we'll take a look at what exactly he was doing online, later on.
But first, we have a spokesman for Rachel's family, who said, of course, that they were confident that this day would come. Joe Flaherty is the family spokesman, who joins me now from Boston.
Joe, good to have you on again. Again, our condolences to Rachel's family. How are they doing?
FLAHERTY: Thank you, Anderson. As you can expect, this has been a tough day for them. You know, they're really heartbroken and at a loss to understand what could have happened here.
You know, Rachel and Lilly loved Neil. They loved him as a husband, as a father. And it's just, as the family said today, it's just incomprehensible to begin to understand how, you know, that love and trust was betrayed in this case and ultimately resulting in the death of this beautiful young woman and this beautiful child.
COOPER: Since Neil failed to attend the funeral service, was his arrest a complete surprise?
FLAHERTY: Well, you know, I think what they've said is they're saddened by this. I mean, obviously the investigation -- they always had faith in the investigation. They always thought that the day would come when the District Attorney Martha Coakley, the State Police, the Hopkinton Police would resolve this case. They've done an unbelievable job. They did it meticulously. And they knew this day would come and that the person responsible would be brought to justice. And this is going to be a long road. They understand that, but we're at the beginning of that road anyway.
COOPER: Do they believe he's guilty? FLAHERTY: Well, you know, everybody has a presumption of innocence. They're going to wait to see the evidence and how that evidence is presented in court. That's the proper forum for that. They'll be patient. They'll work with the district attorney, the State Police, the Hopkinton Police. They're also very confident -- we are confident that the person responsible will be brought to justice. They're just as confident today that Neil will be extradited from England at some point and have to come back here and face trial in this case.
COOPER: I talked to the district attorney, and she said that the family was really unaware that Neil and Rachel didn't really have a source of steady income. Is that your understanding as well? And were they helping Neil and Rachel out? I mean, did they have much sense that there were any problems?
FLAHERTY: Well, you know, the family -- again, I think just by what they've said today about the fact that they loved and trusted Neil and indicated that they certainly didn't see anything like this on the horizon. And as I don't imagine anybody could anticipate something as really as evil as this. But they've cooperated with the district attorney's office and the state and local police and the Hopkinton Police, right from the very beginning and given them whatever information they have. And they'll continue to do that. They're available 24 hours a day to them and if they have further questions -- and they'll share that information with the investigators, but obviously they do not want to go public with things.
COOPER: Understandably. Joe, appreciate you joining us. Thank you.
FLAHERTY: Thank you, Anderson.
COOPER: We are learning more, as I said tonight, about Neil Entwistle's life online. Coming up, what exactly was he doing on the Internet and why are police so interested in it?
Plus, it is like fireworks in the brain. Life over stimulated -- so much so that even the simple things are painful. We're going to explore a "Medical Mystery."
Across America and around the world, you're watching 360.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COAKLEY: It's important that we get evidence that's straightforward and again, you know, he is innocent now; and when we get him back here, he will face trial. Until then, he's innocent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, getting him back here could be complicated. Today's big break in the Entwistle investigation might be just the start of a very long legal process.
Neil Entwistle has been arrested, charged with murder. That happened in London. And we might have to wait awhile before we see him in the United States.
CNN's Paula Newton has more on that and how the whole arrest went down.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As he was driven into the back entrance of a London court, Neil Entwistle made his first appearance since being accused of killing his wife and baby.
Entwistle had surrendered his freedom to plainclothes police on a subway train here in west London calmly and saying little.
When the call came from Massachusetts police, Scotland Yard was ready.
CHRISTIAN WACLING, EYEWITNESS: There was a police car here and there was a van over there.
NEWTON: This witness says he watched officers quietly walk Entwistle to an unmarked car. He had no idea the man arrested was the husband and father he'd been so curious about.
WACLING: I thought, well, if he hadn't done anything, why did he come back to England then.
NEWTON: For more than two weeks, Entwistle has been sheltered by his parents at his childhood home in central England. But at some point in the last two days, he left.
(On camera): Police say he was in London, staying with friends, trying to escape all the media attention in his hometown.
(Voice-over): Within a few hours of Entwistle's arrest, police showed up at his parents' doorstep, armed with search warrants. Neil's father, Cliff, goes into the garage with a flashlight. He seems to be helping with the search.
Police later come out of the Entwistle home with bags of potential evidence, but with nothing to reveal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing from us. It's not our inquiry. It's an American inquiry.
NEWTON: Back in London, Entwistle was in court for his first hearing. Composed and telling the court he was aware of the charges against him, he announced he would not consent to extradition. And that triggers a complicated process.
BEN WATSON, EXTRADITION LAWYER: This case might take between nine months and a year if Mr. Entwistle decided to fight at every stage. NEWTON: And when his hearing resumes Friday morning, Entwistle will ask to be released on bail. His lawyer has already lined up character witnesses. Experts say bail is highly unlikely. Still, it will now take the approval of the British government and a meticulous legal process to get him back into Massachusetts to face trial.
Paula Newton, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, the arrest of Neil Entwistle in London today is to be sure a major turning point in the murder mystery that spans two continents. The prosecutors are sure they have their man and say they know why the seemingly loving husband and father killed his wife and infant daughter.
If the Entwistles' life looked picture-perfect from the outside as so many said it did, on the worldwide web in cyberspace, another picture is now emerging. CNN's Joe Johns has that piece of the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The way the prosecutor tells it, Neil Entwistle had hit rock bottom. He was in debt with a house and a car and a business that was in trouble.
COAKLEY: He had no money and really had no assets. And because his business was failing, may not have had any possibility or at least any apparent ability to provide income for himself and his family.
JOHNS: He was an out of work computer technician, trying to make a living selling software on eBay. Just after the first of the year, in early January, something strange happened to his sales operation. Suddenly, it tanked. That was three weeks before his wife and baby were murdered.
Ina Steiner edits an online auction newsletter. We talked to her by webcam and speaker phone about Entwistle's Internet sales collapse.
INA STEINER, AUCTIONBYTES.COM: From January 6 to January 9, this seller just got an amazing amount of -- 15 feedback, 14 of them negative and things looked like they were really going downhill for this seller.
JOHNS: Downhill because after months of positive customer feedback, a string of complaints posted on eBay. They accused Entwistle, who was doing business under the name SR Publications, of taking peoples' money and failing to deliver the product. A typical complaint, "Do not do business with this individual as he does not exist!!!!!!!(THIEF)"
(On camera): People were saying things like, I paid for the product, no response to e-mails, and then up here around January 9, 2006, that's the very last communication from somebody who bought a product from SR Publications. (Voice-over): On that day, January 9, eBay suspended Entwistle's SR Publications from trading. So what was he selling? One buyer complained about software he had purchased, saying "Both the CDs are pirated versions and are corrupt."
STEINER: Buyers were accusing him of selling them illegal software copies -- copies of software, not the original discs.
JOHNS: And it apparently wasn't Entwistle's first foray into questionable online business endeavors. There are reports Entwistle was operating an Internet sales business in the United Kingdom before he and his wife moved to Massachusetts.
Those reports suggest those business activities were not successful and that when he moved, he left behind unpaid business debts.
STEINER: But some of the things where it really looked like maybe multilevel marketing or pyramid schemes, gambling, even the possibility of pornography, some of the pictures in the listings had scantily clad women.
JOHNS: But for all the apparent shadiness of it, it was pretty smalltime. We checked with the Federal Trade Commission, and they said they had no complaints on file against Entwistle.
An Internet security expert says, even if Entwistle was engaging in fraud, it's not surprising that no one complained.
MARK RASCH, FORMER JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Most people who commit fraud on the Internet never get caught and they never get prosecuted. A lot of fraud comes in under a dollar value that makes it worthwhile to even investigate.
JOHNS: Smalltime and apparently under the radar; but today, some are asking whether Neil Entwistle's online business failures were linked in any way to the murders of his wife and baby.
Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, Erica Hill, from Headline News joins us with some of the business stories we're following -- Erica.
ERICA HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Anderson.
We'll start on a positive note with some positive economic news. The U.S. labor market is strengthening. The four-week moving average for jobless claims, which smoothes out weekly volatility, fell again last week, coming in at 276,500. That's the lowest level since Aril of 2000.
A high-tech merger, though, is causing a few pink slips. About 2,000 employees of Software Maker Oracle will lose their jobs. The California-based company inherited 4,700 workers in its acquisition of Siebel Systems. Most of those cut, target employees who were on Oracle's payroll before the deal closed last week.
The makers of Blackberry, the wireless e-mail device, say the company has come up with a workaround to keep those devices online even if it loses a patent fight. A federal judge is deciding whether research in motion is infringing on a patent held by NTP Incorporated. An NTP co-founder is skeptical the workaround will satisfy the judge. That next court hearing, by the way, is February 24.
And Oprah Winfrey, on her way to conquer the satellites. She has signed a three-year deal to launch a channel on XM Satellite Radio. XM says Oprah's programming will include a weekly show with Winfrey and her best friend, Gail King. Now, there was some talk about competition between Oprah and Howard Stern -- but frankly, Anderson, I think you got too different audiences there.
COOPER: Yes, I would say so. I would definitely say so. Erica, thanks.
Another "Medical Mystery" ahead, part of our special series. This is what life looks like for one woman. The ordinary sights and sounds of life are magnified, overblown, overwhelming. But why? And what can be done?
Also, across the Muslim world, anger unleashed, anger that has turned deadly. Is it also anger that can be defused? We'll talk to someone who knows the story and the culture clash well. Coming up on 360.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: All week we've been looking at "Medical Mysteries," a series inspired by the world's first face transplant a few weeks back. That groundbreaking operation got us thinking about all the uncharted medical territory we rarely hear about, diseases that are both baffling and for now incurable.
Tonight, a disorder long unrecognized in girls, many of whom suffered in silence -- a syndrome that makes the ordinary details of life nearly unbearable. CNN's Randi Kaye reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Imagine if this is how the world looked to you.
KATRIN ANDBERG, HAS ASBERGER SYNDROME: It's so many over stimulated things, like the noise and the lights and the people and the colors. They all just kind of go haywire in my brain.
KAYE: High speed chaos, brain overdrive, inability to focus. This is how the world often looks to 22-year-old Katrin Andberg.
ANDBERG: Such a mess. It's kind of like fireworks in your brain. It's like chaos. I mean, it's just -- it's like I walk past something and it's just a blur. KAYE: Katrin Andberg has Asberger Syndrome, a neurological disorder similar to autism that makes communication and interacting with others a challenge. When Katrin agreed to sit down and talk with me, she had only one request, that her dog, James, sit by her side to help keep her at ease.
Like many people with Asberger's, Katrin has a hard time looking people in the eye.
(On camera): So, how do you feel with me looking at you?
ANDBERG: If you're looking at me, it's OK, as long as I don't have to look back at you.
KAYE (voice-over): People with Asberger's don't like to be touched. Katrin hasn't hugged her parents since she was a little girl.
ANDBERG: We have...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a finger touch.
KAY ANDBERG, KATRIN'S MOM: ... finger touch. Or sometimes I can touch heads with her, but you know.
KAYE (voice-over): And what if you said something funny and I reached out and touched you.
ANDBERG: That would not be good. I mean, I wouldn't do anything about it, but just, I would go, everyone's like, you know...
KAYE: What does it make you feel like?
ANDBERG: It just makes my skin crawl.
KAYE (voice-over): Those with Asberger's are known to blurt out offensive comments at inappropriate times and have very specialized interests.
For Katrin, it's dogs. By age 6, her life revolved around dogs. Today, she has a successful dog training business.
ANDBERG: Now, do it as I say. She's got to learn. She's got to learn. Come on, it's OK, girly. There she goes. That's a girl.
KAYE: James is Katrin's service dog, the co-pilot of her life.
ANDBERG: I have really bad anxiety, which is partly due to the Asberger's. So I get really nervous in certain places, so he's kind of emotional support.
KAYE: When Katrin traveled to Japan, James went with her. And when her Asberger's kicks in out in public and she disassociates or shuts down, James gets her to the car -- something Katrin taught him to do. ANDBERG: We'd go to the car and get his treat. And then we just gradually put it with other cars and then moved it to a parking lot, until he could find the car. Now, I'm getting a new car, so I got to do this all over again.
KAYE: Asbe's, as those with Asberger's affectionately call themselves, tend to be highly intelligent. Katrin graduated sixth in her class. But school was torture for Katrin. The crowded classrooms were overwhelming, even the fluorescent lights.
ANDBERG: They flicker every 30 seconds. So, they make this little -- they flicker, so I see the flicker, and they make this high- pitched noise, so I hear the high-pitched noise.
KAYE: At her parents' urging, Katrin went away to college. She chose a school where she could live off campus with her dog. But change isn't easy for anyone with Asberger's.
ANDBERG: It was just so awful. I was overstressed, you know, I wasn't anything familiar. I had to learn all this new stuff. And I basically had a mental breakdown.
KAYE: Katrin dropped out after just eight months. Doctors diagnosed her as depressed, maybe even split personality. She had to be hospitalized, which turned out to be a blessing.
ANDBERG: Finally, somebody says, well, what about Asberger Syndrome? And it was like a light bulb went on. It was like, oh my God, that's what my entire life has been like.
DR. DANIEL ROSENN, PSYCHIATRIST: One of the problems in diagnosing Asberger's, is that there's so much variability in the way it can present.
KAYE: Psychiatrist Daniel Rosenn doesn't treat Katrin, but he has treated thousands of people diagnosed with Asberger's -- most of them male. The syndrome has only really begun to be diagnosed in females in the last five years.
ROSENN: I think that many of the female youngsters have learned relatively quickly in school, if they can, to be more quiet, to be more visual, to observe things more and not put themselves in the situations where their eccentricities stand out. They've learned to read more, to stay on the edges of crowds, to be on the periphery of the playground.
KAYE: When she was in school, Katrin took advance courses because they didn't have so many students, and always ate lunch alone with a book.
Today, Katrin has few friends. She prefers to be with her dogs and build her business. She enjoys living with her parents, and a house full of pets.
(On camera): Do you ever think about maybe one day moving out of your parents house? ANDBERG: Yes.
KAYE: And getting a place of your own and maybe marrying or having kids?
ANDBERG: You know, if I find the right person, then that's fine, but I don't really have an ambition to do that. You know, it's not -- I've never been on a date and I'm 22 and I really don't have any ambition to go on a date.
KAYE (voice-over): This is home. The only place Katrin Andberg truly feels safe.
Randi Kaye, CNN, Foxborough, Massachusetts.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, it is a fascinating "Medical Mystery."
As you might imagine, the 360 blog is buzzing tonight about the story because it really hits home or affects someone close to home. So, on the blog, on the radar, here's a small sample.
Kristen in State College, Pennsylvania, wants to know, "Is there any indication that A.S. is linked to early childhood vaccinations?"
Karen in Burlington, Kentucky, says, "Who ever assumes they "know" what is going on inside another person's head needs their brain examined. Given the Entwistle case, the "brainwashing" of terror- inducing recruits and the psychological meanderings and quirks inside my own noggin, I think Katrin's strength and courage to not only adjust but thrive in this world is fantastic."
Here, here.
Finally, there's this from Michelle in Atlanta. "My best friend has A.S.," she writes, "He's quite possibly one of the most intelligent human beings that I have ever met. It's not necessarily a handicap so much as a state of mind that is a bit different than most. His perception of being different is not inaccurate. He is different. That's what I appreciate about him."
And for our part, we appreciate your comments. The blog is doing really well. So, thanks for doing it.
Also "On the Radar," the cartoons that have set parts of the world on fire. So what is the best way of putting the fire out? That when 360 continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Well, nobody was killed today over those 12 cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad, which is not the same as saying the flames have gone out.
With another huge demonstration in Beirut as the backdrop, the Danish government today warned citizens in Lebanon to leave the country for their own safety; and in the meantime, to stay off the streets.
Officials in Egypt ban two German magazines for reprinting the cartoons which; by the way, a government-sanctioned newspaper was happy to print back in October. The Malaysian government shut down a newspaper for running the cartoons. Two Algerian news directors were canned. Those are the headlines.
In a moment, the implications for a debate that so far has seemed like an awful lot of people talking past one another. First, though, CNN's Tom Foreman, with a quick reminder of the issues in play.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): While many Muslim leaders are denouncing the violence, they are simultaneously defending the outrage over the Danish cartoons. Fundamentally, they say, observant Muslims believe any depiction of the Prophet Mohammad or any other religious figures is forbidden.
Muslim scholars say there is no specific law about this in the Koran, but they have long given that interpretation to a Koranic parable, which condemns idol worship, the same as the Christian and Jewish faiths.
ARSSALAN IFTIKHAR, COUNCIL ON AMERICA ISLAMIC RELATIONS: In Chapter 21 of the Koran, Abraham is speaking to his father and other pagan worshipers, and he asked him, what are these images that you are worshipping, and they say that these are the images that our fathers worshipped. And he said that I can tell you that you and your fathers have been in manifest error.
FOREMAN: However, the simple truth is, Mohammad has been depicted before by both Muslim and non-Muslim artists. Paintings, intended to honor the prophet, have shown him sometimes with, sometimes without a face, and they hang in museums around the globe.
The U.S. Supreme Court features an image of Mohammad, honoring his contributions to law.
(On camera): Muslim leaders say certainly, there is a huge difference between a respectful depiction of their prophet, even if they find that wrong, and the vilifying cartoons from Denmark.
(Voice-over): But they also point out, their faith forbids the kind of violence that has followed. These are not faithful Muslims, they say, and they don't believe religion is even behind these rallies in already tense, troubled parts of the Muslim world.
(On camera): Do you think that these protests are fundamentally about these cartoons at all?
IFTIKHAR: It was the straw that broke the camel's back because of all the grievances that these people have, both against their government and what they perceive to be, you know, a hegemonic foreign policy coming from the West.
FOREMAN: Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, whatever caused it, the story is triggering debate about a lot of things, including, sadly, the power of intimidation, the search for respect and the not always comfortable fact of living side by side with people in cultures different from yours.
Reza Aslan is a student of politics in Islam, is the author of "No god but God," and we spoke with him earlier tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Do you see this controversy as just a battle over free speech?
REZA ASLAN, AUTHOR, "NO GOD BUT GOD": No. I think it's far more than that. Although, that's certainly how it's been painted at this battle between democratic freedoms of speech and religious dogma. I think, really, the source of this has a lot more to do with these ethnic and religious cultural tensions that have been simmering in European society for really a decade now.
COOPER: And why in Europe more so than in the United States? Because it does seem that there is a level of simulation or integration in the United States that you don't see in Europe.
ASLAN: Well, I mean, there's a number of reasons for it. One has to do with the fact that in Europe, you have these really isolated ethnic communities in a way that you don't have in the United States, but the really simple answer is the economy.
I mean, in the United States, Muslim groups are solidly middle class -- 60 percent of American Muslims own their own homes, highly educated. In Europe, on the other hand, whether they are born in these European countries or not, they just simply do not have access to the same economic opportunities, the same social opportunities, as non-Muslim or non-Arab Europeans do.
COOPER: Do you believe that these cartoons were designed intentionally to incite, because the publisher of the paper says, look, this was a statement on self-censorship. People here in Europe are afraid. Theo van Gogh was murdered in the streets very brutally after making a film that some Muslims said was blasphemous. Do you buy that?
ASLAN: I've seen these cartoons and I can't imagine how anyone could see these in any other way as to deliberately offend and provoke exactly the kind of reaction that it has received.
COOPER: Why, though, why? I mean, can't they -- can't you be -- can you make fun of religion in a free society? Isn't that OK? ASLAN: Yes. And I think the important thing is to understand that this isn't an issue about making fun of religion, although that's kind of how it's been. And I've seen these cartoons. Really, they're not funny. One of them is kind of funny. But what these cartoons really do is they promote the same kinds of ethnic and religious stereotypes, these noxious stereotypes about Islam and about Muslims that are prevalent throughout Europe. And I think that that's really the problem is the promotion of these stereotypes.
And, you know, the role of a free press in a democratic society, of course, is to satirize, is to comment, but it must balanced with some sense of civic responsibility, particularly at a time in which there is such tension in European society and when so many people are working -- both Muslim and non-Muslims -- to attempt this sense of assimilation and reconciliation. This really feeds into the hands of those who want the exact opposite.
COOPER: I do think a lot of, whether it's governments or religious leaders in some of these countries, are clearly using this for their own ends. I mean, you could even make the argument that the people who in Denmark decided to go around the world and go on television and talk to religious leaders, wanted to build their own bona fidas in terms of religious belief.
ASLAN: I think you may be right, Anderson. And the real awful part about this is that when the peaceful process, when the democratic process, this idea of economic boycotts didn't get the desired result after months and months of trying, a few days of horrific violence has gotten the apology that they had wanted all along. And is this the lesson that we are trying to show, that violence does get the response that non-violent methods cannot?
COOPER: An interesting question to end it on. Reza, thank you. It was really good having you on the program.
ASLAN: My pleasure, thanks.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: We'll have more of 360 in a moment. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Tomorrow night, a special edition of 360. We'll be live from New Orleans. I hope you join us for that.
"LARRY KING" is coming up next. He's going to have more on the arrest of Neil Entwistle, who is, of course, accused of killing his wife and baby girl.
We'll see you from New Orleans tomorrow night. Thanks.
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