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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Waking Nightmare in the O.R.; Attorney General Gonzales Under Fire; Waking Nightmare: Victims' Group Asks for Changes to Surgery Procedures; Inside the Brutal World of Dog Fighting
Aired July 26, 2007 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: We are going to have more on the crime in Connecticut.
Good evening, everyone.
It's pretty simple, really. You don't want the man in charge of enforcing the law in this country lying to you. You don't even want him accused of lying to you. And you certainly don't want him accused again and again about one utterance after another of splitting hairs, parsing words, and stretching the truth.
Yet, that is exactly what is happening to the attorney general of the United States. There's plenty of politics surrounding this, no doubt. Tonight, we're going to aim for the facts instead.
Also, new details on the two suspects accused of that home invasion that left the doctor's wife and his two daughters dead in Connecticut, prosecutors pushing for the death penalty.
And the nightmare of waking up in the middle of surgery. It is rare, but a reality. And it turns out there's a device that many claim can prevent it. The question tonight, why don't they have one in every operating room? They don't, and we're "Keeping Them Honest."
We begin the top story with calls for a special prosecutor to investigate whether Alberto Gonzales, the attorney general of the United States, lied under oath to Congress. They're coming from Democrats. But, as you're going to see, Republicans aren't exactly lining up to defend him.
For months now, Mr. Gonzales has been going up to the Hill and getting his head kicked in. I think that's the legal term for it. Democrats and Republicans showing everything from annoyance to outrage for all the times he said, I don't recall, or had to explain why some of his statements contradict one another.
Now Democrats are challenging his sworn testimony outright, and so, it seems, is head of the FBI.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): The attorney general swears he's telling the truth, but today FBI director Robert Mueller told a different story. Mueller was testifying about a late-night 2004 visit to former Attorney General John Ashcroft recovering from surgery in the hospital. Gonzales, then White House counsel, testified on Tuesday that the visit had nothing to do with the administration's highly controversial domestic spy program.
ALBERTO GONZALES, ATTORNEY GENERAL: The reason for the visit to the hospital, Senator, was about other intelligence activities. It wasn't about the terrorist surveillance program that the president announced to the American people.
COOPER: This afternoon, Mueller seemed to say otherwise when he didn't back up his boss.
REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE (D), TEXAS: Would I be comfortable in saying that those were the items that were part of the discussion?
ROBERT MUELLER, FBI DIRECTOR: The discussion was on a national -- an NSA program that has been much discussed, yes.
COOPER: The White House denied there was a conflict between their stories, saying the nation's top two law enforcement officials were talking about two different things.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE SITUATION ROOM")
TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Does Bob Mueller once use the phrase "terrorist surveillance program?"
I'll save you the wait. The answer is no. He talks about an NSA program.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Gonzales took another hit today. Four leading Democrats demanded a presidential prosecutor investigate if Gonzales committed perjury.
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: The attorney general took an oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Instead, he tells the half-truth, the partial truth, and everything but the truth.
SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D), CALIFORNIA: I have never seen an attorney so contemptuous of Congress and his role as the chief law enforcement officer of the United States.
COOPER: Democrats say Gonzales has lied to Congress before, repeatedly. On the firing of federal prosecutors, Gonzales testified he didn't talk to his aides about an inquiry into the firings.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, APRIL 19)
GONZALES: I haven't talked to witnesses because of the fact that I haven't wanted to interfere with this investigation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: However, one former top aide says he did.
MONICA GOODLING, FORMER JUSTICE DEPARTMENT COUNSELOR: He laid out for me his recollection of...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Recollection of what, Ms. Goodling?
GOODLING: Of some of the process. And I just thought maybe we shouldn't have that conversation.
COOPER: Lawmakers in both parties have also been frustrated by the attorney general's numerous claims that he couldn't remember key details in other controversies.
GONZALES: I have specific recollection about the amount of time that...
I don't recall.
COOPER: While the Democrats are on the attack, Republican lawmakers are keeping their distance, none speaking today in support of Gonzales.
One top Republican did try to put the brakes on Democrats.
SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (R-PA), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE RANKING MEMBER: Do I support Senator Schumer's request for a special prosecutor? No. I think that Senator Schumer has made a practice of politicizing this matter.
COOPER: But Senator Specter told reporters that the Gonzales hearings have been devastating and that the president is keeping him out of loyalty.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Jeffrey Toobin is both CNN senior legal analyst and a former Justice Department employee. He joins me now.
How bad is this, that you now have Robert Mueller seemingly contradicting what Gonzales said?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: You know, it's our job to be jaded and not to be shocked. But I'm shocked.
I mean, this is such an appalling set of circumstances. And the Justice Department is full of the most honorable, decent, skilled lawyers in the country. And to be led by someone who is so repudiated by members of both parties is, frankly, just shocking.
COOPER: What is -- essentially, what has he done? I mean, what -- for the people who aren't following this very closely, for those who aren't, explain what is happening.
TOOBIN: Well, the gist of it is this, is that, several months ago, he was asked about the surveillance program.
Was this controversial at all? I mean, was this something that you and the Justice Department were -- were concerned about and people in the White House?
He said, no, there was never any controversy.
OK. That passed. Then, several months ago, James Comey, the former deputy attorney general, told this extraordinary story of Alberto Gonzales, who was then White House counsel, coming to John Ashcroft's sickbed, trying to get him to sign something over this, where large numbers of Justice Department officials were threatening to resign over the controversy, showing, of course, that this was hugely controversial.
So, this week, what happened was, the senators said, well, what do you mean? How could you say it was uncontroversial, when there was this gigantic controversy? And Gonzales said, oh, no, no, no, we're talking about two different programs. One was controversial. One wasn't.
But Mueller said today it was all just one program, and Gonzales, by implication, is not telling the truth.
COOPER: The White House says, look, this is dealing with classified information. You have to be careful about how you talk about it, and this is just the confusion. They're talking about different things.
But that doesn't seem to be the case.
TOOBIN: It just doesn't -- I mean, yes, that is true. You have to be careful with classified information.
But Mueller didn't seem confused. No one seems confused, except Alberto Gonzales.
COOPER: And is -- is work being done at the Justice Department? Are they achieving things?
TOOBIN: Absolutely.
I mean, certainly, the U.S. attorneys' offices go about their business as usual. But the central Justice Department, main Justice, as it's called, in terms of bringing forth legislation, anything that involves Congress, that's totally dead on arrival, because their spokesman, their leader, has zero credibility.
COOPER: And President Bush stays out of loyalty -- stays -- hold on to him?
TOOBIN: Stays out of loyalty, says the whole thing is politics.
And Senator Specter is right that Senator Schumer has tried to politicize this. But the fact remains, he's tried to politicize it because the record is so appalling on Gonzales. (CROSSTALK)
COOPER: And as long as the president, though, stays -- stands by his man, that's it?
TOOBIN: That's it, although, I mean, the -- the number three man in the Justice Department, Paul Clement, is now going to have a rather difficult choice of deciding whether to appoint a special prosecutor.
You recall that the Scooter Libby case was brought forward by a special prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald. So, the question is whether to appoint one. And, if one is appointed, I don't see how Gonzales can be attorney general and the subject of a criminal investigation at the same time.
COOPER: Fascinating.
Jeffrey Toobin, thanks.
Here is another battle heating up on the campaign trail. This one is between the top two Democratic presidential contenders. It began at Monday's CNN/YouTube debate. It caught fire yesterday and became a firestorm today when Senator Hillary Clinton kicked it up a notch during an interview with CNN's John King.
Here is his report starting at the dawn of a rough-and-tumble political day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Early morning in New Hampshire, Barack Obama serves notice he isn't about to back down.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's no longer sufficient for us to trot out the old formulas, the old tired phrases. If we want fundamental change, then we can't be afraid to talk to our enemies.
KING: Then, he ups the ante in a Democratic campaign turned suddenly raw, comparing Hillary Clinton to the president and vice president Democrats love to hate.
OBAMA: I don't want a continuation of Bush/Cheney. I don't want Bush/Cheney-lite. I want a fundamental change.
KING: It was pointed, personal, and guaranteed to draw return fire.
SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is getting kind of silly. You know, I have been called a lot of things in my life, but I have never been called George Bush or Dick Cheney, certainly.
You know, you have to ask: Whatever has happened to the politics of hope? KING: Team Clinton suggests Obama is abandoning his promise of a new polite brand of politics, because nice hasn't sliced into the front-runner's healthy lead in the polls.
Whatever the reason, this dust-up has turned the Democratic contest caustic -- Mrs. Clinton suggesting her challenger is naive about the ways of the world.
CLINTON: But I don't want to see the power and prestige of the United States president put at risk by rushing in to meetings with the likes of Chavez and Castro and Ahmadinejad.
KING: Obama firing back that everyday Americans want to rewrite the way Washington does business.
OBAMA: I'm not afraid of losing the P.R. war to dictators. I'm happy to look them in the eye and say what needs to be said.
KING: It all began at CNN/YouTube debate Monday night.
STEPHEN SIXTA, YOUTUBE QUESTIONER: Would you be willing to meet separately, without precondition, during the first year of your administration, in Washington or anywhere else, with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea?
COOPER: Senator Obama?
OBAMA: I would.
COOPER: Senator Clinton?
CLINTON: Well, I will not promise to meet with the leaders of these countries during my first year.
KING: The Clinton camp promoted the exchange as a clear smackdown that suggested the 45-year-old Obama did not understand that making such a promise up front would undermine U.S. leverage in any sensitive diplomacy.
But, when asked directly Thursday if Obama lacks the necessary experience to be president, Mrs. Clinton was more careful.
CLINTON: Well, the voters are going to have to draw those conclusions. Where we disagree, I think, it's fair to draw that difference.
KING: It's also fair to say the tensions are mounting, and, at least for now, forget all that watercooler of a Clinton/Obama or an Obama/Clinton ticket.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: John King joins us now from Washington.
What does Senator Obama want out of this dust-up? KING: Well, Anderson, it is risky to go after Hillary Clinton. She's very popular among Democratic voters, even those who say they might not necessarily support her. So, this is risky for Obama.
But this is what he wants out of it. He wants to convince voters first in the Democratic primary and then independent voters that Hillary Clinton is not change. The biggest dynamic in this election is change. And what he wants to say is that she may be a Democrat, but she's wedded to those same old Washington ways of doing business, as the foreign policy establishment, as George Bush and Dick Cheney.
And that's his big hope in this campaign, to create a dynamic that, if you vote for Hillary Clinton, you're not getting change. That's his hope in what is a risky dust-up.
COOPER: What about Senator Clinton? I mean, she's the front- runner. Isn't there a risk into getting into a rough-and-tumble at this point in the race?
KING: Absolutely, there is, because some people view her as cold and calculating, as political. Here is what she wants out of this.
The big Obama dynamic is that he's new, that he's different, that he doesn't play by the old dirty rules of politics. If a week from now, two weeks from now, people look at Barack Obama and say, he's just another politician because of this, Hillary Clinton will be quite happy with the outcome.
COOPER: It's interesting, though, because, at the end of the debate, they all had a moment where they could say something about the other that they didn't like. And it was Hillary Clinton's opportunity to say something about Barack Obama. She said nothing about this. It wasn't until the next day that her campaign put out this stuff saying he was naive and all this.
KING: It was after the debate when they started to think about it. Her campaign tried to seize on it during the debate, but after, when they all got around to it.
And then the campaign -- camp Clinton would say they are a little surprised that Obama had wanted to keep this dust-up going. And once you're into this fight, Obama certainly can't back down, because one of the questions about him is experience, and a subset of that is toughness. And Mrs. Clinton seems determined to keep this going as well. It is quite surprising and it's pretty raw.
COOPER: Interesting. John King, thanks.
KING: Thank you.
COOPER: Raw, indeed.
While the two candidates bicker, their bankrolls are getting bigger. Here's the "Raw Data."
As of tonight, Senator Clinton has raised more than $63 million. Senator Obama is right behind with nearly $59 million. By way of comparison, John Edwards, who is in a distant third place, more than $23 million. And, on the far end, just by comparison, Mike Gravel has raised $238,000 in cash.
Straight ahead tonight, what we're learning about the two men charged with invading a home and turning it into a killing ground.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): Capital charges, new details -- what investigators are learning about the pair of career criminals now facing death after a brutal and baffling act of murder and mayhem. We will have the latest.
Plus, a waking nightmare.
ERIN COOK, EXPERIENCED ANESTHESIA AWARENESS: I just kept praying, God, please, just knock me out. Just knock me out. Let somebody know that this hurts so bad.
COOPER: Anesthesia awareness. You can't move. You can't talk, but you can see and hear and feel the pain of surgery. A device could prevent this. So, why does only one in five operating rooms use it? We're "Keeping Them Honest" -- tonight on 360.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: We learned tonight that the two men accused of killing a mother and her two daughters in a home invasion in Connecticut -- in Connecticut will be charged with capital murder.
Now, if convicted, they could face the death penalty. The defendants are career criminals, arrested dozens of times both in and out of prison.
And, tonight, we have new details about their lives, their pasts, and how their paths crossed.
CNN's Randi Kaye investigates.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If Steven Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky did attack the Petit family, this where they may have hatched their plan, Sillaman (ph) Halfway House in Hartford, Connecticut, where they lived for four months.
(on camera): Hayes and Komisarjevsky were roommates here, until last November, when the company that runs the halfway house says Hayes tested positive for cocaine. He was immediately sent back to prison.
Komisarjevsky stayed on and completed the program, until he was paroled in March.
(voice-over): Hayes got out of prison two months ago, and they hooked up again.
Bob Pidgeon heads the company that runs Sillaman (ph) and the residential drug treatment center where the two suspects first met.
(on camera): Was there any sign that this might have been coming?
BOB PIDGEON, CEO, COMMUNITY SOLUTIONS INC.: You always second- guess yourself when something like this happens. What did we miss? Did they do something that would have indicated that somebody could have predicted this? And we went -- we went through the files. We talked to the staff. There was just nothing.
KAYE (voice-over): Pidgeon says the two men worked full time, but had plenty of free time to hang out together.
(on camera): What have you been able to learn from your staff about them? What were they like?
PIDGEON: They were routine residents, that there wasn't anything particularly noteworthy about them. There was no talk of violence in the house and there were certainly no violent actions taken by either of them while they were in the house.
KAYE (voice-over): Yet, both have long criminal histories. Hayes has been in and out of prison for two decades. His rap sheet includes 27 arrests, including illegal possession, of a firearm, burglary, and forgery.
Komisarjevsky's past is just as ugly, 20 arrests for burglary and larceny. And that doesn't even include juvenile crimes. Police say he started robbing homes when he was just 14 and sometimes used night- vision goggles. One sentencing judge called him a cold, calculating predator.
Hayes grew up in Winsted, Connecticut, about 40 miles from the Petits' home, where Jennifer Hawke-Petit and the couple's two daughters were murdered, Mrs. Petit strangled, the girls left to die in the fire set by their attackers.
Komisarjevsky grew up here, less than two miles from the victims' home. A source close to the Komisarjevsky family says he was adopted as an infant. His grandfather was a leading Russian theatrical director and the son of a princess, his grandmother a well-known modern dancer. That same source says his parents, born-again Christians, had trouble controlling him.
He was homeschooled, along with his sister. In recent months, he's been in a custody fight with an ex-girlfriend over their 5-year- old daughter. We tried to talk to Komisarjevsky's parents, but nobody answered the door.
His uncle, Chris Komisarjevsky, released this statement: "The crime and the murder of members of the Petit family in Cheshire are horrible. It was a monstrous, deranged act, beyond comprehension. We cannot and will not condone anything the accused have done. Justice needs to take place."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Randi joins us live now from Cheshire, Connecticut.
Randi, you have learned some new information about what the suspects may have been doing within hours of the attack of the Petit home.
What -- what have you learned?
KAYE: That's right, Anderson.
We have learned that police are investigating -- at least, there are reports tonight that police are investigating these two men in two other burglaries in the same neighborhood, Anderson, within just 24 hours of the attack on the Petit family.
We're also learning that those families, too, were at home asleep with their young children. In one case, we're -- we're being told that the -- a carving knife was left on a table. In another case, a picture of the family was taken -- one of those families reportedly saying tonight that: We were just one family away from being the family.
Police are not commenting on this -- Anderson.
COOPER: Unbelievable.
Randi Kaye, thanks for that.
Up next, in "Raw Politics," the presidential race meets "The Simpsons." Trust us, you will -- you will want to see this.
COOPER: Also ahead, one of the NFL's biggest stars has his day in court. Michael Vick faces a judge, a lot of boos from the crowd, and dogfighting charges.
And the bizarre story and dramatic video behind this police chase and fiery crash -- ahead on 360.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Well, Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were all polite smiles at our CNN/YouTube on Monday. But, as John King reported earlier, they have traded those smiles for some sparring with gloves off.
That is not the only action, however, on the campaign trail.
CNN's Tom Foreman is in Washington with another serving of "Raw Politics" -- Tom.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Anderson, they're trying to turn this thing into a barnyard brawl, the front-runners are. But, in the meantime, John Edwards is out on his tractor harvesting headlines.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN (voice-over): (AUDIO GAP) the early caucus state of Iowa promising a bumper crop of tax reforms. For the middle class, he wants incentives to help families save money, for the rich folks -- he's one of them, by the way -- a higher tax on capital gains and a repeal of the Bush tax cuts.
JOHN EDWARDS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's time for to us restore some fairness to this tax code. It's been driven completely out of whack by the lobbyists in Washington, by the powerful interests in Washington, and by those who value the few above the interests of the many.
FOREMAN: Meanwhile, at the White House summer camp, new British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is joining President Bush at Camp David early next to play volleyball, kayak, and, oh, yes, talk about the war. Forecast expected to be chilly compared to the cozy days Mr. Bush shared with Tony Blair.
Held up in summer school. Congress is slapping a subpoena on White House Yoda Karl Rove. Dems want to know what he knows about the firings of those U.S. attorneys.
Yes, and people in hell want ice water. Bet on it. Rove won't talk.
Sermon on the Mountain questions. Mitt Romney tells the AP he's planning a speech about his Mormon faith.
And talking to Homer. Chris Dodd has had his picture "Simpson"- ized on his MySpace page. Take a peak. Why, even Marge could love a man who looks like that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(LAUGHTER)
FOREMAN: Well, you know, Dodd is not doing so well in the polls, but, if his presidential bid fails, maybe he can run for mayor of Springfield, Anderson. You never know.
(LAUGHTER)
FOREMAN: You know what his slogan would be? Mmm, doughnuts.
(LAUGHTER)
COOPER: That might work.
(CROSSTALK)
FOREMAN: Before you go, though, what if you had to go cover that campaign and you were "Simpson"-ized? I think you would look like this. COOPER: Oh, yeah?
(LAUGHTER)
COOPER: Well, we "Simpson"-ized you, Tom.
FOREMAN: Oh, no. You couldn't have done that.
COOPER: So, yes, let's take a look. Yes, we did.
Let's take a look..
FOREMAN: Really?
COOPER: ... at the "Simpsons" version of Tom Foreman. There it is.
FOREMAN: Oh.
(LAUGHTER)
FOREMAN: That's very interesting. Well, that doesn't...
COOPER: That's pretty good,.
FOREMAN: That doesn't look anything like me, because, as you see, I'm not wearing glasses.
COOPER: Well, you are wearing a red tie and a -- that's pretty bizarre.
(LAUGHTER)
COOPER: All right.
FOREMAN: And the hair is exactly spot on.
(LAUGHTER)
COOPER: Tom, thanks.
The Republican candidates are gearing up for our next YouTube debate. So, start shooting your videos. It happens September 17 right here on CNN. For the details, you can also just go to YouTube.com to figure out how to submit a video.
Now checking the day's other headlines, Erica Hill has the 360 bulletin -- Erica.
ERICA HILL, HEADLINE NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, in a court appearance today, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick pleading not guilty to dogfighting charges. A trial date has been set for November 26. Last week, a grand jury in Virginia charged Vick and three others with organizing bloody dogfights on property owned by Vick, one of pro football's highest-profile, highest-paid players. Disturbing discovery by NASA, today, the space agency reporting an act of sabotage on a computer that is supposed to fly aboard the Shuttle Endeavor in less than two weeks. An unidentified worker employed by a subcontractor apparently cut wires inside that computer.
Now, NASA declined to discuss motive and said the damage would not have posed any danger to the shuttle, nor to space station astronauts. It hopes to get that computer fixed and launch it as planned.
And the Atlanta lawyer who launched an international health scare back in Georgia tonight -- Andrew Speaker released from the Denver hospital where he was treated for multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis. Just over a week ago, surgeons removed part of his lung. He's not completely cured. He's going to have to take antibiotics for roughly the next two years. But the good news, doctors say he's no longer contagious -- Anderson.
COOPER: And no doubt facing a lot of legal troubles in the months ahead.
HILL: That is very possible. Good thing he's a lawyer.
COOPER: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
COOPER: Probably so.
HILL: All right, moving now to the "What Were They Thinking?" just some wild police car dash-cam video we're going to show you. It's from a Florida cop. He's trying to pull over an SUV. It was a routine DUI stop, until -- you know, here we go.
First, the driver appears to be cooperating. Then he jumped a curb, takes off spinning, as you saw right there, basically spinning out of control at one point. Well, the guy gets away. You can see the cop here on the video is following him and then spots this. It turns out it's that same SUV engulfed into flames.
The guy had crashed into a brick wall and some trees, an 18-year- old behind the wheel. He was trapped inside. But the driver didn't think twice, jumping out of his car, tried to pull the guy out of the burning SUV. And listen to their frantic exchange.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on! Hurry up!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My right ankle...
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You need help! You're going to burn to death! Come on!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm trying!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. I'm out, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: come on!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: It's just wild.
COOPER: Unbelievable.
HILL: Somehow, the cop did manage to get the driver to safety.
And get this, the young man suffering no serious injuries in a burning car like that.
COOPER: Unbelievable.
You know, there's something else that I have got to tell you about this story. I don't know if you have seen this. It's sort of along the lines of "What Were They Thinking?" This is a look at a local reporter who covered this crash and rescue who delivers probably one of the most, well, I guess, memorable stand-ups we have ever seen. Take a look.
HILL: Hmm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... saw what was going on, Officer Christmas (ph) didn't hesitate, jumping out of his patrol car and going straight for the burning vehicle. And when he got...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: ... how he recreates the whole thing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He knew he had to get the driver out right away. Just listen to the frantic exchange.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Good thing he's in shape. I mean, that could really take a lot out of you.
(LAUGHTER)
HILL: You know what, though? COOPER: Yes?
HILL: Giving Rick Sanchez a run for his money.
COOPER: This guy takes action news seriously. You know what I mean?
HILL: Indeed, he does.
COOPER: Full-on action news.
Erica, thanks.
COOPER: Well, the Michael -- the Michael Vick story that Erica mentioned has a lot of people talking about dogfighting. We wanted to know just how common it is. And it turns out it's happening across the country, almost certainly in a neighborhood near you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): The blood sport around the corner -- 360 takes you inside the hidden world of dogfighting. The numbers are staggering, the details terrifying.
Plus, a waking nightmare.
COOK: I just kept praying, God, please, just knock me out. Just knock me out. Let somebody know that this hurts so bad.
Anesthesia awareness. You can't move. You can't talk, but you can see and hear and feel the pain of surgery. A device could prevent this. So, why does only one in five operating rooms use it? We're "Keeping Them Honest" -- tonight on 360.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: You can't move, you can't talk, but you can see and hear, and feel the pain of surgery. A device could prevent this. So why does only one in five operating rooms use it? We're "Keeping Them Honest", tonight on 360.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: A lawsuit in West Virginia is calling attention to a risk of surgery that is not often discussed: patients who remain wide awake and paralyzed while doctors cut them open. It is excruciatingly painful, as you can imagine. It's also more common than you might think.
Here's the kicker: doctors have known about this problem for decades. Just three years ago, a widely publicized study showed how often it happens.
Meanwhile, a victims' group says it has found a simple way to prevent it. The question is, why is it still happening?
"Keeping Them Honest" for us tonight, here's CNN's David Mattingly.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We know how it's supposed to work. We go in for surgery, the anesthesiologist puts us to sleep, and then we wake up after the surgery is done.
This is what happens when things go wrong.
TODD WHITLOCK, EXPERIENCED ANESTHESIA AWARENESS: There was a pain. There was a pain that you cannot deal with.
DIANA TODD, EXPERIENCED ANESTHESIA AWARENESS: It just goes and on. And you're screaming inside your head.
MATTINGLY: These former patients went under the knife, but did not go under. They heard, they felt, they remembered everything.
ERIN COOK, EXPERIENCED ANESTHESIA AWARENESS: I just kept praying God, please knock me out. Just knock me out. Let somebody know that this hurts so bad.
MATTINGLY: Victims call it anesthesia awareness, a condition that occurs when anesthesia paralyzes the body but through some error does not render the patient unconscious.
(on camera) A 2004 study estimates it happens to one to two out of every 1,000 patients. That's potentially thousands of people every year who go into surgery and come out with some memory of what happened.
COOK: I was startled awake, because I could feel the doctor cutting me open.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): Erin Cook went in to have an ovary removed in March. She emerged with vivid memories of searing pain, feeling trapped in her body, unable to move or speak. The experience left the young mother psychologically scarred and in need of therapy.
COOK: The fear of dying has become something that I live with every day.
MATTINGLY: Victims say they're frequently unable to sleep and filled with anxiety.
In 2006, Sherman Sizemore, a Baptist minister from West Virginia, took his own life after his family claims he was conscious for 16 minutes during abdominal surgery.
(on camera) Have any of you ever thought about suicide?
WHITLOCK: The thought entered our minds when we were there on that table and they were cutting into us with a pain that was beyond description. The first thought comes to your head, "Dear God..."
TODD: Take me now.
WHITLOCK: "... take me now, because I can't deal with this."
MATTINGLY: A victims' group called the Anesthesia Awareness Campaign says many cases could be prevented by a device in more than half of the nation's O.R.s, a machine that monitors brain activity.
But the largest manufacturer of these devices reports they were used last year in only 17 percent of general anesthesia surgeries.
"Keeping Them Honest", we went to the American Society of Anesthesiologists and found that organization stopped short of recommending monitor use, leaving that decision up to the doctor.
(on camera) You say that one case of awareness is too much. Could these devices prevent that one case?
DR. MARK LEMA, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN SOCIETY OF ANESTHESIOLOGISTS: That's what we're studying and that's what I'm trying to emphasize, that as a society, as a medical specialty, as medical scientists, we need data to show that.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): Society president Mark Lema says his organization is only beginning to study the reliability of brain activity monitors and questions claims that there are thousands of victims a year.
LEMA: We've known this to be a rare side effect of anesthesia since I've trained in the '70s and before that. The incidents that we've seen on reports that have come to the ASA have been maybe a few cases a year.
MATTINGLY: But critics say that's because, historically, anesthesiologists rarely track their patients.
(on camera) Any idea how often an anesthesiologist actually is able to follow up with the patient and ask them, "Did you have any awareness during that surgery?"
LEMA: I can't answer that question.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): Anesthesia awareness has been making headlines at least since 1994. A decade later, an ASA president questioned his own organization's fact gathering. He asked, "Will patients be denied the potential benefits of innovation because of a deadly perfectionism?"
WHITLOCK: What happened to us can't happen to other people.
TODD: Your whole existence becomes that pain that you're in. There's nothing else. It is the total measure of your existence for that time.
MATTINGLY: Before their surgeries, these patients had never heard of anesthesia awareness. Now, they say, there's no escaping it.
David Mattingly, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: It's hard to believe if you're facing surgery and concern, you should talk to your anesthesiologist and your doctor about your risks and what precautions you can take.
Up next on 360, more on Michael Vick, the NFL star in court today, accused of taking part in dog fighting. You may be surprised at how many people are involved in this gruesome sport. We'll take you inside the secret world, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: As we reported earlier, NFL Michael Vick has pleaded not guilty to the dog fighting charges that have stunned his fans and fellow players. His arrest is shining a light on a blood sport that is thriving across this country, even though it's illegal in every state.
Tonight, CNN's Drew Griffin gives us a rare look inside the shadowy world. Some of the pictures are disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What you are watching is a family vacation like none you have ever seen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was filmed approximately an hour or so prior to the fight, in a hotel room.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stand up, Mark. Let me get you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The person filming it is the dog fighter's wife.
GRIFFIN: He's getting himself and his family prepared for the big event that brought them from Richmond, Virginia, to Columbus, Ohio.
The big event is secret, a championship dog fight. The stakes, high.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Each fighter put up $5,000, winner take all.
GRIFFIN: They also know the loser may be left with a dog that may never recover.
In all, 40 people have come to watch, which, in Ohio, is a felony.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's actual business people who will frequent these, street people, and everyone in between. One of the fighters brought his grandkids. GRIFFIN: All will be arrested when the raid begins, right now. Oblivious to the police gathering outside, the ring is the only attraction. This undercover detective, who does not want his face shown, has been on 40 raids in the last five years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a largely underground, clandestine activity. People may hear about a dog fight, but they don't think, "Well, it happens in my community."
COMMANDER GEOFFREY SHANK, U.S. MARSHALS SERVICE: We encountered what we later found out was 13 caged pit bulls. And one of the interview -- people we were interviewing claimed to be called trainer. We put two and two together and realized he was a, quote unquote, "dog trainer."
We called the local Chicago Police Department. They were fully aware of who this guy was, told us they'd been looking for him for a couple of years.
GRIFFIN: Felons, gang bangers, drug pushers, all have been linked to dog fighting.
In Chicago's public schools, the problem is so extensive, school programs are being developed to try to tell children dog fighting is not OK.
DR. GENE MUELLER, ANTI-CRUELTY SOCIETY: The earliest surveys that we did showed about one in five grammar school children in Chicago were actively participating in dog fighting.
GRIFFIN: Dr. Gene Mueller, the head of Chicago's Anti-Cruelty Society, says inner city dog fights have become entertainment, and the dog owners have become, in many cases, role models.
MUELLER: Kids are certainly involved. Felons, gang members. So we have these felons there who are fighting these dogs, for entertainment, or for gambling.
Somebody has to protect the money. So there's weapons there. And hey, it's an entertainment event, so we better have some drugs there.
GRIFFIN: This pit bull, dropped off for adoption, may have a chance. It has not been used for fighting.
But authorities have little choice when it comes to dogs trained and raised for sport. Usually vicious, they must be put to death.
Drew Griffin, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, thankfully, the dog in this next story ended up safe and sound. But when we come back, see what he went through before somebody caught up with him. That is an airport runway he's on. Also tonight, these stories.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER (voice-over): She says it killed her husband, a 30-year- old man.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It has several different chemicals in it. It has lead, it has cadmium, it has copper, it even has arsenic in it. It is five out of five in terms of how polluted it is, the most polluted that it gets.
COOPER: Toxic water, drinking water, and a widow's battle against one of the least accountable governments in the world, to clean up a "Planet in Peril".
And he's already on the hot seat for his memory.
ALBERTO GONZALES, ATTORNEY GENERAL: I can't recall.
I don't recall.
I can't recall.
I have no specific recollection.
COOPER: Now the nation's top law officer could be facing a perjury investigation, as well. Details ahead when 360 returns.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Tonight, our "Planet in Peril" team is in a village in south China, a couple hours outside of Hong Kong, where cancer rates are much higher than average. It's a problem being seen across rural China, and no one is certain exactly why.
What is clear is that one of the most essential nutrients on the planet, water, is facing a losing battle against pollution in this corner of the world.
Here's 360 M.D. Sanjay Gupta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice-over): Good evening from Southern China, everyone.
We're in a very small town called Liang-chou, and there's something happening here. Over the last ten years in this village of 400, 28 people have died of cancer. Let me introduce you to somebody.
We're now inside the home of Hu Lin (ph) and her daughter, Hu Shan (ph). She lost her husband, and she lost her father five years ago to colon cancer. She's pretty convinced that it was due to contaminated water. (voice-over) Do you have any idea how he got it or why he got colon cancer?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): He got it from the brown and red water of the village. He drank it and ate the rice irrigated by the water.
GUPTA: The brown red water flowing down from the mountain. Hu Lin (ph) tells me they figured out a way to pipe clean drinking water down from that mountain, but they still have no other options but to use the dirty water to irrigate the crops.
(on camera) Do you have some pictures? Can you show me the pictures? Was he a good father?
(voice-over) "He was a good father," she says. "When he got sick, he worried. We had no money to bring up our daughter, so he insisted on not going to the hospital."
(on camera) Do you miss your husband? Hu Sao-Ping (ph) was 30 years old when he died.
And Anderson, many believe that what you're looking at is the culprit. This is the Han Shui River (ph), and there are couple of things about it. It has several different chemicals in it. It has lead, it has cadmium, it has copper, it even has arsenic in it. It is five out of five in terms of how polluted it is, the most polluted that it gets.
And many people believe it gets people sick, maybe even causes cancer. And I'm here with Xing Jing, who is an environmental lawyer, which is a rare thing here in China. You're actually trying to sue the government of China on behalf of the villagers that are getting sick.
What's going on here?
XING JING, ENVIRONMENTAL LAWYER: The whole ecosystem was destroyed by the pollution.
GUPTA (voice-over): That pollution comes from the Dabuchan (ph) massive ore mine just a few miles upstream. We went to see the mine's director. He wouldn't confirm or deny the mine was making people sick. He would only say it was complicated. He also partly blamed other private mines for the pollution.
When we asked him if he would drink the water or eat crops irrigated by it, he said he wouldn't.
We asked China's environmental protection agency to comment, but they declined.
According to Xing Jing and the village leaders, the government has acknowledged fault and paid the villagers.
XING: The mining company paid compensation. They did pay the compensation. But guess how much they paid the whole village?
GUPTA: How much is it worth for a village to develop cancer?
XING: To pay the compensation is -- per year, is around 1,700 fee for whole village.
GUPTA: How many dollars is that? About $200.
XING: Two hundred.
GUPTA: Two hundred dollars for an entire village for a year as compensation.
XING: Yes, yes.
GUPTA: Hu Lin (ph) says she didn't receive any of that money. She says she doesn't have time to be sad. All she worries about now is tending her small plot of land so she can care for her daughter.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Liang-chou (ph), China.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: A hard life in that village. Sanjay's report is part of our "Planet in Peril" documentary. The project's a big undertaking by CNN. It's taken us literally around the globe. We'll find out more about it. Check out our web site: CNN.com/PlanetInPeril, all one word.
"The Shot of the Day" is coming up. Check out this dog on the runway. I don't think it knew it was on a runway at an airport. Anyway, see how it ended in just a moment.
First, Erica Hill from Headline News has a "360 News and Business Bulletin" -- Erica.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERICA HILL, HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR: Anderson, a brutal day on Wall Street. The Dow plunging 311 points to close at 13,473. That is its biggest point loss of the year. The NASDAQ fell 48. The S&P lost 35 points to end the day at 1,042. Investor worries over both housing and credit markets fueled that sell-off.
At the Pentagon, military officials say the Army's secretary expected to recommend a retired three-star general be demoted for providing misleading information about the death of Army Ranger Pat Tillman. He is one of six high-ranking Army officers expected to get official reprimands. Tillman was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan in 2004.
According to a new report, NASA astronauts have been allowed to go into space while drunk on at least two occasions. That report says the astronauts were allowed to fly even after flight surgeons warned they were so drunk, they actually posed a flight risk. No word on just when those incidents take place. That report, by the way, was done by a health panel set up after the arrest of astronaut Lisa Nowak, who was involved in that love triangle with another astronaut.
And on to Providence, Rhode Island, and Oscar the cat. This is just -- it's a little creepy. He's got a knack for predicting when nursing home patients are going to die.
COOPER: Obviously, we had some trouble with Erica's report there. If -- we'll try to get that worked out, probably not by the end of the program.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
If you want to take a look at the "Shot of the Day", which we kind of teased, the dog on the runway, or the day's headlines, you'll have to check out the 360 daily podcast. You can watch it at CNN.com/AC360Podcast. Or you can -- I guess you can go to the -- you can do whatever. What is it called, the iPhone. You don't need an iPhone to do it. You can just go to that web site.
Anyway, up next, did he lie? New allegations against the attorney general of the United States and new demands for his resignation.
Plus, some chilling new information about the two suspects accused of a home invasion, murders of a doctor's wife and two daughters in Connecticut. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Good evening, everyone. It's pretty simple, really. You don't want the man in charge of enforcing the law in this country lying to you. You don't even want him accused of lying to you. And you certainly don't want him accused, again and again, about one utterance after another, of splitting hairs, parsing words, and stretching the truth.
Yet, that is exactly what's happening to the attorney general of the United States. Plenty of politics surrounding this, no doubt. We'll aim instead for the facts.
Also, new details on the two suspects accused of that home invasion that's left a doctor's wife and his two daughters dead in Connecticut. Prosecutors are pushing for the death penalty.
And the nightmare of waking up in the middle of surgery. Rare, but a reality. There is a device that many claim can prevent it.
(AUDIO/VIDEO GAP)
COOPER: Good evening, everyone. It's pretty simple, really. You don't want the man in charge of enforcing the law in this country lying to you. You don't even want him accused of lying to you. And you certainly don't want him accused, again and again, about one utterance after another, of splitting hairs, parsing words, and stretching the truth.
Yet, that's exactly what's happening to the attorney general of the United States. Plenty of politics surrounding this, no doubt. Tonight, we'll aim instead for the facts.
Also, new details on the two suspects accused of that home invasion that left a doctor's wife and his two daughters dead in Connecticut. Prosecutors are now pushing for the death penalty.
And the nightmare of waking up in the middle of surgery. Rare, but a reality. There's a device that many claim can prevent it. So why don't they have one in every operating room? We're "Keeping Them Honest".
We begin, the top story, that calls for a special prosecutor to investigate whether Alberto Gonzales, the attorney general of the United States, lied under oath to Congress. They're coming from Democrats, but as you're going to see, Republicans aren't exactly lining up to defend him.
For months now, Mr. Gonzales has been going up to the Hill and getting his head kicked in. I think that's the legal term for it. Democrats and Republicans showing everything from annoyance to outrage for all the times he said, "I don't recall" or had to explain why some of his statements contradicted one another.
Now, Democrats are challenging his sworn testimony outright, and so, it seems, is the head of the FBI.
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