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CNN Newsnight Aaron Brown

Mad Cow Disease Discovered in U.S.; Teen Sniper Gets Life in Prison; Stepped up Security for Orange Alert

Aired December 23, 2003 - 22:00   ET

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

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


AARON BROWN, HOST: Good evening again, everyone.
At one point today, the secretary of agriculture assured the country that terrorism was not involved. Given that she was talking about Mad Cow Disease, it was a pretty good sign of how crazy some things are these days.

Did anyone actually think terrorists were involved? Hmm.

In any case, we can no longer say that there has never been a case of Mad Cow reported in this country, and we can absolutely say that this one case will cause nightmares for the beef industry, an industry that was prospering under Atkins dieters and high prices.

Today's announcement and the repercussions just coming in are where we are tonight.

CNN's Christy Feig starts us off with a headline.

Christy, go ahead.

CHRISTY FEIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Aaron. This evening's announcement that a cow from Washington State has what's believed to be the first case in the U.S. of Mad Cow Disease is one of the greatest fears of the U.S. beef industry. We'll tell you why and some of the reactions that are already rolling in -- Aaron.

BROWN: Christy, thank you. We'll get to you at the top tonight.

On now to the case of Lee Malvo and the jury's life or death decision. CNN's Jeanne Meserve covered the trial and reports tonight.

Jeanne, a headline.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, the verdict is life without parole, though one juror tells CNN there were deep and strong divisions right up to the end.

Back to you.

BROWN: Jeanne, thank you.

More now in the war on terror. More is known about this latest alert. CNN's Deborah Feyerick has the watch on that.

Deb, the headline.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, U.S. officials are warning several airlines worldwide to tighten security, this after government intelligence indicates that terrorists may try to use international-based flights to stage some sort of suicide attack -- Aaron.

BROWN: Deb, thank you.

And finally, to what investigators can and can't look at regarding his drug habit. CNN's Susan Candiotti on the Rush Limbaugh story.

Susan, a headline tonight.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, it's a two-fer. First the judge says prosecutors can look at Rush Limbaugh's medical records for possible evidence of a crime.

And in his first televised interview, the attorney who represents that housekeeper who sold her story to "The Enquirer" about Limbaugh, well, he says Limbaugh ought to be thanking them instead of lashing out at them and accusing the former housekeeper of blackmail.

BROWN: Susan, thank you. We'll get to you and the rest shortly.

Also coming up on the program tonight, he started out as the favorite to many. What went wrong with John Kerry's presidential campaign, and what does he have to do to get it back on track? And can he?

Jeff Greenfield reports for us tonight.

Then, nearly 40 years after his death, comedian Lenny Bruce gets a pardon from the governor of New York State for talking dirty. We'll get some perspective from a man who once prosecuted Lenny Bruce, Johnnie Cochran. Yes, that Johnnie Cochran.

And just in time for Christmas, the rooster brings a sleighful of morning papers to end the program. Could have been a Mad Cow but it's not. All that and more in the hour ahead.

We begin tonight with a new worry, the unnerving news that Mad Cow Disease apparently has reached the United States.

The cow in Washington State that tested positive was sick when it reached the slaughterhouse, unable to walk. And yet, officials believe meat from that cow passed through at least two processing plants.

So there are many questions and lots of concerns tonight. First and foremost, did any infected meat reach any store shelves?

We begin with CNN's Christy Feig.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ANN VENEMAN, AGRICULTURE SECRETARY: A single Holstein cow from Washington state has tested as presumptive positive for BSE, or what is widely known as Mad Cow Disease.

FEIG (voice-over): The announcement is one of the greatest fears of the U.S. beef industry, because it could potentially cost it billions in trade. The industry believes its product is safe.

CHANDLER KEYS, NATIONAL CATTLEMAN'S BEEF ASSN.: Beef is safe. We have firewalls in place. This cow was caught. The infected agents are not in the beef system.

FEIG: But already, Japan has announced it's banning beef imports from the U.S.

And McDonald's, the world's largest fast food company, said Tuesday the meat packer in question has no connection whatsoever to McDonald's supply chain.

The animal in question came from a farm about 40 miles southeast of Yakima, Washington.

VENEMAN: Despite this finding, we remain confident in the safety of our food supply. The risk to human health from BSE is extremely low.

FEIG: Mad Cow Disease was first discovered in the United Kingdom in 1986. In the following years, more than 3.5 million infected cattle there were killed.

To this day the U.S. does not import beef from England or from any of the 21 other countries who had infected cattle.

Cows can get infected with the disease when they eat food containing the tissue of infected animals, a practice that has since been stopped in the U.S.

In rare cases, humans can also get infected if they eat certain tissue from infected animals.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEIG: Now, Aaron, the sample from this cow is being flown by military aircraft to England for the final round of testing. The government expects to have those results back in three to five days.

In the meantime, the USDA says they'll be focusing their efforts on tracking down any meat or tissue that got into the system from this cow.

As you mentioned, a couple of -- the meat was sent to a couple of the processing plants. The USDA says whenever they find where that may be, they will certainly recall that product -- Aaron.

BROWN: I guess what I want to know -- and I'm not sure it's answer-able -- is how can the secretary and how can the cattle industry spokesman, how can they be so confident there isn't a problem in the chain somewhere?

FEIG: Well, they say that ever since this was a big problem in the U.K. back in the 1990s -- the U.K., as you'll remember, killed over three million cattle that were infected with Mad Cow Disease -- they put a lot of firewalls in place here in the U.S.

Things like they don't use the tissue that used to be put in animal food to be fed to these animals. They won't put infected tissue in there and feed that to the animals anymore.

They test all of these animals that look like they're sick in the slaughterhouse.

But they say that there are a lot of these safety nets that are in place, much like the one that caught this cow. And they say that they believe that's what's keeping it safe.

But then again as you mentioned, it takes a lot of time for symptoms to show up once somebody, or an animal, is infected with this disease. So the other side of the argument that people will say, you just can't know.

BROWN: Christy, thank you.

The fallout has already started. As you just heard, shortly after the news of Mad Cow Disease in Washington State broke out, Japan, one of the largest buyers of U.S. beef, banned imports of it.

We've also just learned South Korea has done the same.

CNN's Steve Herman joins us from our Tokyo bureau. He's on videophone.

It did not take long for the Japanese to act, did it?

STEVE HERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No. It only took a few hours, Aaron. And the action by both Japan and South Korea is swift and pervasive. Both countries immediately effectively halting all imports of American beef.

A quarantine division of the ministry says it is stopping immediately to issue certificates. And as far as the beef that's already in the country, that's going to be tested.

We have not had any reports yet of supermarkets clearing beef from the shelves here.

This is going to be very good news, actually for the Australian cattle industry. Australia is No. 1, United States No. 2 as far as imports into Japan of beef. The United States selling about 500,000 tons annually of beef to Japan.

Japanese consumers have been wary about their own beef in the last few years because of nine cases of Mad Cow here. Also, Canadian beef was stopped from coming into Japan in May because of one single case of Mad Cow. And that Canadian case, Aaron, is going to be a very good example of how tough it's going to be to get American beef back into Japan.

Canada has lobbied heavily to try to get its beef back into Japan saying this is one incident, it was isolated and Canadian beef is 100 percent safe. But the Canadians have not been successful so far, Aaron, in getting their beef back into Japan since May.

BROWN: Steve, thank you very much. That will be a big story tomorrow, as well, as other nations weigh in. Thank you.

On now to other news. The jury's decision today, surprising to many, to spare the life of Lee Boyd Malvo.

To many, everything about the case seemed tailor-made for the death sentence. The crimes certainly were atrocious, the venue tough. The jurors open to capital punishment. And in the case of John Allen Muhammad without mercy.

All of this augured strongly against Mr. Malvo, but something else might have come into play in addition to his young age, at least according to the prosecutor in the case.

"We used to have a theory," he said, "when I was a young prosecutor. Never try a case on Christmas week."

Here's CNN's Jeanne Meserve.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE (voice-over): Seventeen, that number appears to have saved Lee Malvo's life. Seventeen was his age when he went on a spree with John Muhammad, a spree that left 10 people dead.

After almost nine hours of deliberations, the jury rejected the death penalty, sentencing Malvo to life in prison without parole on two counts, committing murder during an act of terrorism and killing more than one person in less than a three-year period.

This despite finding his crime is vile and that he posed a danger in the future.

JIM WOLFCALE, JURY FOREMAN: This case was both mentally challenging and emotionally exhausting. Deep thought and consideration has gone into our deliberations and the decisions that we reached.

MESERVE: One juror who favored the death penalty tells CNN there were deep and strong divisions on the panel amongst those who favored life and those who wanted death.

"There is not a bone in my body that thinks this was the right decision," the juror said. "But the panel wanted to avoid deadlock." Adding, "I want these families to know that there was a core group of us that strongly fought for them."

The families did not know that when they came to the microphone.

VIJAY WALEKAR, VICTIM'S BROTHER: I'm not at all pleased with the verdict. I think that he should have gotten the death penalty.

VICTORIA SNIDER, VICTIM'S SISTER: I don't think there could be another case that would be more deserving of the capital punishment.

PAUL LARUFFA, SNIPER VICTIM: There were two people who committed the ultimate crime. One got the ultimate penalty, and one didn't. I ask you why.

MESERVE: There was no public comment from the husband and daughter of Linda Franklin, who have kept vigil through every day of this trial. There was from the prosecutor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course I'm not happy with the decision, but that's the American way. Twelve jurors decide these things. A prosecutor doesn't decide them.

MESERVE: In the courtroom as the verdict was read, Lee Malvo bowed his head, blinking repeatedly.

CRAIG COOLEY, MALVO'S ATTORNEY: He was, on one hand, relieved that a death penalty was not imposed. On the other hand, he's 18 and contemplating living the rest of his natural life in a penitentiary cell.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: Defense attorney Michael Arif says Malvo had a visitor in jail last night, his father, who had come to the U.S. to plead with the jury for leniency. He got it -- Aaron.

BROWN: Jeanne, do we know how the jury was split at any point in this?

MESERVE: We've been given a number by this one juror, but I'm reluctant to talk too much about it because we haven't got that from other people who were on the panel.

But I was told, or we were told, I should say, by this one juror that one of the things that swayed some of the jurors was the closing argument of Craig Cooley, the defending attorney.

That they very much paid attention to the fact that Lee Malvo was 17 at the time the crimes were committed, and also that these crimes might not have been committed if he had not met John Muhammad.

BROWN: Jeanne, thank you very much. Jeanne Meserve.

And we're joined now by Craig Cooley, who argued successfully for the life of his client. We're pleased to have him with us.

Do you have a -- I guess, do you have a feeling for what it was in the argument that was persuasive? Have you talked to jurors? Do you know how they reacted to your words in closing? COOLEY: Well, we're prohibited from speaking with jurors until the term is completed. So I certainly haven't spoken to any jurors.

I'm flattered to think that the closing argument had something to do with it, but my suspicion is that the presentation of the evidence over a number of weeks by my colleagues was really the persuasive thing in the case.

We tried to put forward a very honest presentation in the witnesses, and we had a number of awfully fine folks who came from a lot of different places around the western hemisphere to testify. And I think the integrity of their testimonies was telling to the jury.

And I think the jury understood what Lee's life had been like and how it was affected when he met John Muhammad and that John Muhammad's delusions took him along after he was so significantly indoctrinated.

BROWN: If he'd been 27 and not 17, would we be having a different conversation, do you suspect?

COOLEY: I'm sorry, Aaron. I didn't hear what you said.

BROWN: I said if he had been 27 and not 17, would we be having, do you suspect, a different conversation tonight?

COOLEY: I certainly think that age was a significant factor. And it should be. The United States is the only country in the world that has governmentally-sanctioned execution of folks who were under the age of 18 at the time of the offense.

And within the United States, only a very few states, in fact, impose death penalties on folks who are under the age of 18. So had he been 27, there certainly would have been significantly different mitigating factors in the case.

BROWN: Can you talk at all about what, if any, changes you've seen in him or the evolution of Lee Malvo over the last months? Does he get it?

COOLEY: Well, he certainly understands the significance of the situation he's in. He certainly understands the pain that's been caused.

He is 18. And he's a very immature 18. He is not an American 18-year-old. He's a child from the Caribbean and impoverished areas of Jamaica.

So because of his immaturity, I don't think he can grasp the actualities of serving the rest of his life in prison. But he's coming to grips with the circumstances that brought him there.

Over the months in the middle of the year, particularly in May, we had some breakthroughs in which he began to separate from Mr. Muhammad's grasp and is really returning to the child that he was -- that grew up in Jamaica.

BROWN: I assume that people watching this interview tonight on both -- have feelings on both sides of this.

I would just say thank you for joining us. You had a job to do, and you did it awfully well. And for that, you ought to feel good. Thank you very much.

COOLEY: Well, thank you.

BROWN: Jeff Toobin is here, our legal analyst. I asked you a few moments ago when we were, on your way in, were you surprised. Were you surprised?

JEFF TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: And I was. This case was hand picked by Attorney General John Ashcroft, because he thought he could get the death penalty for both people in this jurisdiction.

And Virginia has executed four people who were juveniles when they committed crimes.

BROWN: In fact -- stop me if I'm wrong here. My recollection is that Maryland would not have executed a juvenile.

TOOBIN: Maryland would not. And there -- the federal government, which is also a possible -- a possible venue for the trials, they're not -- they don't execute juveniles either. So Virginia was the hope.

Now, remember, there are other counties that may yet prosecute Malvo. Malvo is not free from the fear -- from the threat of execution at all -- yet. But this is obviously a very important hurdle for him.

BROWN: You said to me also you thought that this was a terrifically presented defense. Obviously, they didn't have a great fact set, as we say.

TOOBIN: Killing ten people is bad facts.

BROWN: But they did a lot with what they had.

TOOBIN: They did a lot with what they had. And what they did was -- the whole case was geared toward the penalty phase.

Even during the guilt phase, their insanity defense, which was what they raised, was not a very good insanity defense. They argued that he was brainwashed. Brainwashing does not really meet the test of legal insanity under Virginia law. And there was really no chance that they were going to win on that.

However, brainwashing perfectly fit how you want to argue a penalty phase defense. Because the difference in age between the two of them, the age of Malvo, all of that evidence worked so well in the penalty phase, even though it was presented during the guilt phase.

BROWN: You think Christmas week had anything to do with it?

TOOBIN: You know, I don't. I really think that's a bogus -- that's part of the folklore. You know, when I was a prosecutor, we heard that, too. I could tell you stories about convictions -- the Watergate conspiracy trial with Halderman and Ehrlichman trial, they were all convicted right before Christmas, right before Christmas day.

BROWN: They weren't looking at a death penalty.

TOOBIN: They weren't looking at a death penalty. But you know, I just give the jurors a little more credit than that. They knew the stakes in this case, and I don't think they said, "Well, you know, let's give him a break, it's going to be Christmas Eve tomorrow."

But I can't read their minds.

BROWN: Where now does all of this go?

TOOBIN: It goes basically back to John Ashcroft. John Ashcroft now has to decide, does another Virginia county go? Does the federal government go? Does Maryland go? Which counties in those states?

Also, you've got Georgia. You've got Alabama. You've potentially got Washington State. It's a very complicated turf battle.

And this is an administration that cares deeply about the death penalty. They're going to go back, I assume, and try to find another county where Malvo will get a jury that was less sympathetic to him.

BROWN: Is that fair?

TOOBIN: You know, I think it is fair, actually. Because, you know, it's ten people -- it's a lot of people to kill. And, you know, each jurisdiction has a claim on him -- and that's just ten in the sniper killings. That doesn't count the earlier ones, most of which hasn't been charged yet. So yes, I think it was fair.

BROWN: It was an interesting end.

TOOBIN: And surprising. I mean, it really was surprising.

BROWN: Thank you. It's good to see you.

TOOBIN: Good to see you.

BROWN: Ahead on the program, a rundown of the reasons behind the latest terror alert.

Also, Rush Limbaugh lashed out today, my goodness, as he loses a court battle over his medical records. It's the Democrats who are to blame, said Mr. Limbaugh.

And later the 11 words you couldn't say in a New York nightclub 40 years ago and why the governor of the state pardoned Lenny Bruce for saying them, finally.

This is NEWSNIGHT on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: It is a daunting task preventing the unknowable, protecting against the indefinite.

The orange terror alert has set off a wave of security measures across the country ,on the ground, in the air, and at sea, all made more complicated by the crush of holiday travel this week.

One of the biggest concerns, the possibility that al Qaeda could hijack a plane from somewhere else, somewhere abroad, and use it as a weapon here.

Tonight lots of precautions underway on that front.

Here's CNN's Deborah Feyerick.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Anti-aircraft missiles that could be used to shoot down planes are being set up around Washington. Government sources tell CNN some flight crews from other countries have been stopped and questioned in recent days.

At the Pentagon, a drill, practicing to keep the government running in case of a major attack. The head of the joint chiefs of staff says combat aircraft went on alert at some military bases.

RICHARD MYERS, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: They may see additional air patrols over select cities and facilities, an increase in the air offense posture here in Washington, D.C. And combat aircraft could be put on a higher alert at different air bases throughout the country.

FEYERICK: The big problem, experts say, from country to country, airport to airport, airline security varies widely.

M.J. GOHEL, ASIA-PACIFIC FOUNDATION: If you go abroad to, say, the Philippines or to Africa or the Caribbean, it is pretty poor. Beginning from not just at the time of check-in, in terms of the inspection of baggage and personal searches but also on who is servicing the aircraft, who is maintaining the aircraft.

FEYERICK: There's no one standard, no uniform security rules that international airlines must follow, not even for flights coming into the U.S. Aviation experts say that makes even the safest airports vulnerable.

MARK HATFIELD, TSA: We have a lot of foreign governments, foreign-flagged airlines that we work directly with in communicating security process standards, in promulgating those standards and then in working to ensure compliance with that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Except in a few cases, there are no federal marshals on non-U.S. airplanes. Canada, Australia, Singapore have started using their own sky police. Since April all U.S. airlines now have bulletproof doors and as of next months those planes will forward passenger lists to the U.S. for pre-landing background checks.

So there's a lot of information, some of it credible. The question is which of it is critical -- Aaron.

BROWN: Deborah, thank you very much. Deborah Feyerick.

A few more stories quickly making news around the country.

Today the former governor of Illinois, George Ryan, pleaded not guilty to federal corruption charges. He was indicted last week for allegedly taking payoffs in gifts and vacations while secretary of state and the governor in return for helping associates profit from state contracts and leases.

A Massachusetts jury is handed down a death sentence. This is noteworthy because the state abolished capital punishment in 1984 and hasn't executed anyone in more than 50 years.

Gary Sampson was prosecuted under a federal law allowing the death penalty for murder committed during a carjacking. He pleaded guilty in September to carjacking and killing two men.

And in California, newly installed Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger got a look at the damage from the earthquake yesterday. Two people died in Paso Robles when the 6.5 magnitude quake hit. Aftershocks continuing in California today.

The governor has declared a state of emergency in the county, which paves the way for state relief efforts.

Coming up on NEWSNIGHT, signs of the season. You know, sales ringing, cash registers, that sort of thing. Is the shopping season living up to expectations?

This is NEWSNIGHT on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Hardly a broadcast day goes by that Rush Limbaugh doesn't get ticked off about something. It is, after all, part of the routine, the act, material for the program, red meat for the millions of listeners.

Lately, though, it is also personal, stemming from legal questions concerning his drug use and abuse.

Today Mr. Limbaugh's rage was aimed at Democrats and a judge's decision to open his medical records to investigators and the connection, Mr. Limbaugh believes, between the two.

It was, we think it's fair to say, pure Rush.

Here again, CNN's Susan Candiotti. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Limbaugh's lawyers are appealing a ruling allowing investigators to pore through his medical records, looking for possible evidence of doctor shopping.

Limbaugh used his radio show to respond by reading a statement from his lawyer.

RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Mr. Limbaugh was not doctor shopping. He is -- he should not have to sacrifice his privacy to prove his innocence.

CANDIOTTI: In his order, Palm Beach circuit court Judge Jeffrey Winikoff wrote, "The state has clearly demonstrated the relevance or nexus between seizing Mr. Limbaugh's medical records and this ongoing criminal investigation."

In court records, investigators have said these drugstore records listing more than 2,000 pills from four doctors in six months might indicate Limbaugh was getting overlapping prescriptions illegally.

Limbaugh declared himself a target of well-connected political enemies.

LIMBAUGH: The Democrats in this country still cannot defeat me in the arena of political ideas. And so now they are trying to do so in the court of public opinion and the legal system.

CANDIOTTI: Prosecutors had no comment and issued only a statement about the sealed review of Limbaugh's medical records: "The court specifically finds that the state acted in good faith."

Through his attorneys, Limbaugh has now accused his former housekeeper and her husband of blackmail. She first went to authorities and months later sold her story to the "National Enquirer."

In his first televised interview on the subject, Wilma Cline's attorney emphatically denied they blackmailed Limbaugh.

EDWARD SHOHAT, ATTORNEY FOR WILMA CLINE: He ought to be thanking them. Instead of lashing out at them, he ought to be looking at the big picture of his life and recognize that, had they not done what they did, he might still be taking thousands of pills or hundreds of pills, destroying his body, leading to the inevitable conclusion that he probably wouldn't survive his addiction.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: The Clines' attorneys says he thinks Limbaugh is making those blackmail claims now to try to deflect the focus from him. He also insists, he doesn't think his clients' credibility was ever impacted by selling their story to "The National Enquirer."

That, of course, is something that law enforcement tells us prosecutors have always strongly disagreed with -- back to you, Aaron.

BROWN: A question or two. Let's set the blackmail question aside, at least insofar as this is concerned.

That investigation, whether he was blackmailed or not, has nothing to do -- correct me if I am wrong -- with the investigation into his drug use and abuse and whether he was doctor shopping.

CANDIOTTI: Correct, a separate issue. That's something that prosecutors are going to be continuing to look at.

Right now, they can't even look at the medical records, however, because the defense attorneys have asked for a stay. So, right now, everything is at a bit of a standstill.

BROWN: And so let's follow that, then, one more step. So this is appealed to who?

CANDIOTTI: They've asked the court to stay this while the 4th District Court of Appeals, a higher court within the state, takes a look at the issue.

BROWN: OK.

CANDIOTTI: Because Limbaugh's attorneys keep saying that his right to privacy was not protected and they went about this the wrong way.

BROWN: Susan, thank you very much, Susan Candiotti on the Limbaugh story tonight.

Business now. And for our young viewers, we're sorry, but you were bound to find out sooner or later. Santa shops retail, always has, always will, making December a crucial month for the economy, but a jittery month as well, because, in December, it offense snows and Santa only has an SUV, not a sleigh.

Here's CNN's Allan Chernoff.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The annual last- minute holiday crush, stores packed, not only with bargain hunters, but also with shoppers in the Northeast who were snowed in twice earlier in the month.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It sure seems there are a lot more people out in the streets and spending more money.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We came back down here because we knew they were having good sales today.

CHERNOFF: Right after Thanksgiving, the National Retail Federation was forecasting, holiday sales would be up 6 percent. Then came the storms and store traffic slowed down. Retailers that had been holding off on deep discounts began chopping prices to move merchandise out. Merchandise has been moving well at luxury retailers like Tiffany and Coach.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The high end has been quite strong lately, with many consumers buying goods early. In essence, jewelry, leather goods have been some of the key popular items lately.

CHERNOFF: And online spending keeps growing, perhaps boosted by last Sunday's heightened terror alert. Americans have already spent an estimated $11 billion shopping on the Internet this season, also gaining popularity, gift cards. A dozen years ago, a majority of Americans felt they were impersonal.

Now only 5 percent feel that way. So gift cards are accounting for 8 percent of all holiday purchases.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know what to get, so I'm going to give him a gift certificate.

CHERNOFF: The downside for retailers is that their accountants don't count the sale until the gift card is redeemed. And a majority of Americans plan to do that after the holidays, when they'll find good buys.

(on camera): With the economy picking up, many retailers had been hoping for a very profitable holiday season. Instead, it appears they'll have to settle for only modest improvement from last year.

Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: A few more business items before we go to break, beginning with a $1 million bankruptcy. Parmalat, a global dairy maker based in Italy best known in this country for the milk in boxes that never goes bad, known in Europe as the Italian Enron. In addition to being in debt up to its curds and whey, Parmalat finds itself at the center of a major accounting scandal.

Back home, a certain mad cow is very much in demand. Artist Gary Larson is out with a 13-pound, two-volume collection of cows and crabs and goofy professors from "The Far Side" comic series, 14 years worth. And it is a Christmas best-seller, and ought to be.

And the bulls had a good day on the Wall Street yet again. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 chalking up solids gains. Good week so far for the market. We'll see what mad cow does to it tomorrow.

Still to come on the program: Can the one-time Democratic front- runner get his campaign out of the cellar? Jeff Greenfield on the campaign of Senator John Kerry.

Around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Mad cow disease and the fossilized fruitcake right there on the same list. BROWN: Time for politics.

Over the years, there have been a number of unlikely presidential candidates. It's fair to say, however, that Senator John Kerry is not one of them. From his initials, JFK, to his stellar combat record, to his political resume, he is a candidate who one could say looks perfect on paper. But the campaign trail in this particular race is something else again.

Here's our senior analyst, Jeff Greenfield.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator John Kerry!

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST (voice-over): John Kerry is carrying one central message to New Hampshire, from Peterborough...

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm in a fight out here. And you know I'm in a fight here. But I'm a fighter.

GREENFIELD: To Keene.

KERRY: I'm a fighter. I think you can sense that. I've been behind before.

GREENFIELD: To Nashua.

KERRY: Fighting for every vote that I can find.

GREENFIELD: If the Massachusetts senator sounds embattled, it is not just political hype.

KERRY: You want the good, tough stuff, huh?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

GREENFIELD: Here in neighboring New Hampshire, where Kerry led all Democratic comers through the first half of the year, he has now fallen far behind former Vermont Governor Dean, some 31 points behind, according to this recent University of New Hampshire poll. And a new national poll puts him at 4 percent, behind Reverend Al Sharpton.

Kerry says he knows why, his vote for the Iraq war and Dean's opposition, which Kerry says was inconsistent.

KERRY: I knew that vote was going to cost me some support from some people, but it was the right vote at that time. I think what I showed was leadership. And Dean did a pretty good job of playing the politics.

GREENFIELD: In recent weeks, the Kerry campaign has made two make-or-break decisions. First, like Howard Dean, Kerry has abandoned public financing so he can spend whatever he wants in the key caucus and primary states. He has loaned his campaign $850,000 and plans to borrow against his multimillion dollar Boston home. Second, Kerry has turned to Iowa, the first caucus state, to define himself as the alternative to Dean. One new survey shows him moving into second place behind Dean, but ahead of Congressman Richard Gephardt.

KERRY: A couple people are going to come out of there clearly heading towards New Hampshire and then onwards, I think, as the principal players here. And I intend to be there.

GREENFIELD: Odd as it may seem, Kerry's tumble from the front- runner ranks may wind up helping him in New Hampshire.

KERRY: You were one of my greatest cheerleaders there.

GREENFIELD: In the overheated world of modern politics, where expectations change almost by the hour, Dean's huge lead in New Hampshire could mean that a Dean victory here will be seen as old news. And a relatively strong second place finish by Kerry or General Clark or somebody else may turn out to be the story of the night. That's why no hand is too fleeting, too young, too small for John Kerry to shake.

Jeff Greenfield, CNN, Nashua, Hampshire.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Ahead on NEWSNIGHT tonight, the cursing segment, 11 words you still can't say on TV and why Lenny Bruce needed a pardon from the governor for using them.

This is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: It is the season for gift-giving, so perhaps there is no better time than this. Today, a pioneer, some would say a martyr, of free speech got a belated gift from New York Governor George Pataki.

Some 40 years ago, Lenny Bruce shaped the boundaries of permissible speech by pushing them further than anyone had before. For that, he was punished, sent to jail. And today, Mr. Pataki said it was a time to right that wrong.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN (voice-over): He took to the stage at the very start of the '60s revolution, maybe even a bit before.

LENNY BRUCE, COMEDIAN: I got a sister. And I hear that you guys, you know...

(LAUGHTER)

BROWN: He made jokes about things you didn't joke about, race and homosexuality, drugs, abortion, the death penalty, the Catholic Church. And he used words not heard in polite society or anything close.

BRUCE: But if you used those words again, yes, you've said (EXPLETIVE DELETED) a lot of times.

BROWN: Lenny Bruce wasn't trying to be polite. He was trying to be funny in a biting, caustic, satirical sort of way.

BRUCE: Because both rabbis and priests (EXPLETIVE DELETED) Only one (EXPLETIVE DELETED)

BROWN: And for that, he was arrested in the winter of '64. New York police counted 100 obscene words. Yes, they sat in the audience and counted them. The trial lasted six months. Lenny Bruce was convicted and his life slowly fell apart to drugs. And he died in 1966 at the age of 40 of an overdose. He was perhaps the first martyr of the '60s revolution.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But the conviction that still stands is an affront to our basic First Amendment principles and was so even under prevailing law in 1964, when the trial took place.

BROWN: And so began a campaign this spring of the famous and the funny to get Lenny Bruce a pardon. Today, New York's Governor George Pataki granted Bruce that pardon, saying it was a declaration of New York's commitment to upholding the First Amendment.

We've changed a lot in 40 years. And it is probably true that we have grown more coarse.

BRUCE: Can I do this?

(LAUGHTER)

BROWN: The words that got him arrested and convicted back then wouldn't get Lenny Bruce noticed today. But then, he would have moved beyond them, ahead of them, where he always was, ahead of his time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Lenny Bruce's words landed him in court in other cities as well, including Los Angeles. One of the prosecutors in that trial was a man who would later become quite famous, Johnnie Cochran, yes, that Johnnie Cochran.

We talked with him a while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Was getting the case considered a plum assignment or one that young prosecutors wanted to avoid?

JOHNNIE COCHRAN, ATTORNEY: It was considered a plum assignment. But I must say, I was ambivalent about it, Aaron, because I had a lot of respect for Lenny Bruce even in those days.

And I felt that, given the mores of the time, that he probably had a free speech right to much of what he said, although the courts didn't always say that. So it was a plum assignment but I -- and so I had trepidation about prosecuting the case at the time.

BROWN: So you're this young assistant DA in L.A. And your boss comes to you and hands you this file or this case and says, go get him. And your job at that point is to go get him. Did somebody have it in for Lenny Bruce? Was somebody pushing this hard?

COCHRAN: I think, in those days, there were. I think members of the police department felt they wanted to make an example.

He would appear at various and sundry nightclubs. There were some pretty famous nightclubs out on the Sunset Strip and he would appear there. And, at that time, his act was considered quite something with the four-letter words. It was something. And so I think they really did -- there was a concerted effort to prosecute him at that time. And so I ended up with the case.

And it was, as I said, with some trepidation, I approached it.

BROWN: Was it the language or was it the politics, or was it both?

COCHRAN: I think a little bit of both.

I think it was the language and especially the politics, I think the politics of it all. He was a free speech and a free thinker at that time. And I think some people resented that. And I think -- of course, hindsight is always 20/20. But now, I think the man was way ahead of his time.

BROWN: The story of your case -- I'm sure it wasn't especially amusing to you at the time.

COCHRAN: It wasn't.

BROWN: But it reads pretty amusing 40 years later, doesn't it?

COCHRAN: It really does, Aaron.

And I kind of approached this case with one of these records where I had this winning scheme of winning all these cases kind of in a row. And I think that's why I was assigned to the case. And I had a real formidable defense lawyer on the other side, a great lawyer who became a great friend of mine, Sydney Irmas (ph). And I remember that I had this young sergeant who was my key witness who worked undercover in a club out here in Los Angeles. His name was Sherman Block. And later, that young sergeant became the sheriff for all of Los Angeles County.

BROWN: A very famous person there.

(CROSSTALK)

BROWN: And so this young cop, this young sheriff's deputy goes in and records or at least attempts to record the obscene Mr. Bruce. COCHRAN: That's exactly right. And he was my key witness.

And he was going to unveil this tape for the jury to hear all these obscene words that Mr. Lenny Bruce had uttered during the course of his performance. And lo and behold, we got ready to play the tape. The tape, you could not hear the obscene words because the starch in the sheriff's shirt had obliterated the words. And so, hence, the case was dismissed and, I suppose, that justice was done, although it didn't always seem that way at the time.

BROWN: When you think about it now -- and I can't imagine you think about it very often, but certainly from time to time -- does it strike you as, it's just one of those signs of the times that's part of our cultural growing that as a society we had to go through?

COCHRAN: I think so. I think, in many ways, we've seen this in other areas also. We evolve.

And I think now no one would think twice about that. But, in the '60s, we really did at the time. He was fortunate in L.A. and not as fortunate in other jurisdictions. And that's why I think a number of us applaud the action of the governor of New York in now pardoning him these years later.

BROWN: It's good to see you again. It's always good to talk to you. Have a wonderful holiday. Thanks for your time today.

COCHRAN: Thank you. Happy holidays to you and all of your viewers. Thank you very much, Aaron.

BROWN: Thank you, Johnnie.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Johnnie Cochran. We talked with him earlier tonight.

Still ahead on NEWSNIGHT, the rooster crows and heralds morning papers, always.

A break first. This is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(ROOSTER CROWING)

BROWN: OK, time for a special pre-Christmas Eve edition of morning papers. There won't be morning papers tomorrow. There won't be morning papers on Christmas Day. There won't be morning papers the day after Christmas. There may never -- no, there will be.

We'll start with "The International Herald Tribune." Sometimes I just start talking. Have you noticed that? I don't know where I'm going.

"International Herald Tribune." If you're traveling abroad, you will find this in the hotel lobby somewhere. I like this story. "A General Voices New Confidence in Iraq. British Officer Says Capture of Saddam Has Changed Outlook." It's a John Burns story. "The International Herald Tribune" is owned by "The New York Times." And so you'll see a lot of "Times" correspondents writing there. And that's their lead for the day.

Also, they play this pretty hard. "Israelis Kill Eight in Gaza Incursion. Officials Find Tunnel Used to Smuggle Arms." They don't take kindly to that sort of stuff over there, do they?

From the big, "The International Herald Tribune," to the small, "The Burt County Plain Dealer" out there in Burt County, Nebraska, where Bethlehem -- Bethlehem -- that's Bethlehem, Aaron -- is coming to Tekamah. I think that's how it's pronounced, OK, Tekamah. And they're even bringing in a camel there to do that. Merry Christmas to those folks.

Get a shot of that picture. Those kids look like two little Nebraska guys, don't they? Yes. Good for them. Merry Christmas, you guys.

"Cape Cod Times." Big story on the front. "True Christmas: U.S. Beefs Up Air Watch." When I first saw that, I figured they tried to do mad cow in there, too, but they didn't. It's not on the front page. Well, it's not on as many front pages as I would have suspected. Obviously, I suspected it should be because we led the program with it tonight. "Life and Death: Jury Spares Teen Sniper Lee Malvo" over there.

And Gary Lee Sampson over here. This is, as we told you earlier, a carjacking case that was tried under federal law, specific so they could give the death penalty. There is no death penalty in the state of Massachusetts. "Over and Out." The Alex Rodriguez never-ending trade story appears to be over.

"The First U.S. Case of Mad Cow Disease: Quarantine at Washington State Farm" is how "The San Francisco Chronicle" leads tomorrow. But I like this story down here. "Bay Area Faces Holiday Without Little Silver Bells on Baked Goods." You know those little doodad things? They probably have name and they may be doodad things, for I know. Anyway, someone filed a lawsuit claiming they're toxic. And for all I know, they may be. I don't know. So they're not on the cookies this year. I hadn't noticed that.

Thirty seconds?

"The Richmond Times-Dispatch." Of course, they lead with Lee Malvo. "Malvo Jury Chooses Life Without Parole."

And "The Oregonian" out West in Oregon, which is out West. "Washington Animal First Mad Cow Case in the Nation. Yakima County Ranch Quarantined. Portland Plant Received Some Meat From Carcass." All my friends out in Oregon will probably be eating salmon for Christmas.

"The Chicago Sun-Times." "I Am Absolutely Not Guilty," Governor Ryan on the front page, former Governor Ryan. The weather tomorrow magical is "magical. Merry Christmas to all of our readers" -- and to all of you, too.

We'll wrap up the day in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Before we go, a quick recap of our top story, what appears to be the first known case of mad cow disease in the U.S. Testing on a cow from Yakima County, Washington, the east part of the state, came up positive. The meat had already been sent to a at least couple processing plants, one in Oregon. Unknown whether it's made it into stores. And while the secretary of agriculture says the food supply is safe, Japan tonight suspended the importation of American beef. And so have South Korea and Singapore.

Tomorrow night, a special hour devoted to the Americans wounded or otherwise badly hurt in Iraq and Afghanistan, their stories, the people looking out for them, as told by NEWSNIGHT's Beth Nissen. It is a terrific piece. If you're around tomorrow, we hope you will watch it.

And we hope you have a wonderful Christmas holiday. Good night for all of us at NEWSNIGHT.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





in Prison; Stepped up Security for Orange Alert>


Aired December 23, 2003 - 22:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
AARON BROWN, HOST: Good evening again, everyone.
At one point today, the secretary of agriculture assured the country that terrorism was not involved. Given that she was talking about Mad Cow Disease, it was a pretty good sign of how crazy some things are these days.

Did anyone actually think terrorists were involved? Hmm.

In any case, we can no longer say that there has never been a case of Mad Cow reported in this country, and we can absolutely say that this one case will cause nightmares for the beef industry, an industry that was prospering under Atkins dieters and high prices.

Today's announcement and the repercussions just coming in are where we are tonight.

CNN's Christy Feig starts us off with a headline.

Christy, go ahead.

CHRISTY FEIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Aaron. This evening's announcement that a cow from Washington State has what's believed to be the first case in the U.S. of Mad Cow Disease is one of the greatest fears of the U.S. beef industry. We'll tell you why and some of the reactions that are already rolling in -- Aaron.

BROWN: Christy, thank you. We'll get to you at the top tonight.

On now to the case of Lee Malvo and the jury's life or death decision. CNN's Jeanne Meserve covered the trial and reports tonight.

Jeanne, a headline.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, the verdict is life without parole, though one juror tells CNN there were deep and strong divisions right up to the end.

Back to you.

BROWN: Jeanne, thank you.

More now in the war on terror. More is known about this latest alert. CNN's Deborah Feyerick has the watch on that.

Deb, the headline.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, U.S. officials are warning several airlines worldwide to tighten security, this after government intelligence indicates that terrorists may try to use international-based flights to stage some sort of suicide attack -- Aaron.

BROWN: Deb, thank you.

And finally, to what investigators can and can't look at regarding his drug habit. CNN's Susan Candiotti on the Rush Limbaugh story.

Susan, a headline tonight.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, it's a two-fer. First the judge says prosecutors can look at Rush Limbaugh's medical records for possible evidence of a crime.

And in his first televised interview, the attorney who represents that housekeeper who sold her story to "The Enquirer" about Limbaugh, well, he says Limbaugh ought to be thanking them instead of lashing out at them and accusing the former housekeeper of blackmail.

BROWN: Susan, thank you. We'll get to you and the rest shortly.

Also coming up on the program tonight, he started out as the favorite to many. What went wrong with John Kerry's presidential campaign, and what does he have to do to get it back on track? And can he?

Jeff Greenfield reports for us tonight.

Then, nearly 40 years after his death, comedian Lenny Bruce gets a pardon from the governor of New York State for talking dirty. We'll get some perspective from a man who once prosecuted Lenny Bruce, Johnnie Cochran. Yes, that Johnnie Cochran.

And just in time for Christmas, the rooster brings a sleighful of morning papers to end the program. Could have been a Mad Cow but it's not. All that and more in the hour ahead.

We begin tonight with a new worry, the unnerving news that Mad Cow Disease apparently has reached the United States.

The cow in Washington State that tested positive was sick when it reached the slaughterhouse, unable to walk. And yet, officials believe meat from that cow passed through at least two processing plants.

So there are many questions and lots of concerns tonight. First and foremost, did any infected meat reach any store shelves?

We begin with CNN's Christy Feig.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ANN VENEMAN, AGRICULTURE SECRETARY: A single Holstein cow from Washington state has tested as presumptive positive for BSE, or what is widely known as Mad Cow Disease.

FEIG (voice-over): The announcement is one of the greatest fears of the U.S. beef industry, because it could potentially cost it billions in trade. The industry believes its product is safe.

CHANDLER KEYS, NATIONAL CATTLEMAN'S BEEF ASSN.: Beef is safe. We have firewalls in place. This cow was caught. The infected agents are not in the beef system.

FEIG: But already, Japan has announced it's banning beef imports from the U.S.

And McDonald's, the world's largest fast food company, said Tuesday the meat packer in question has no connection whatsoever to McDonald's supply chain.

The animal in question came from a farm about 40 miles southeast of Yakima, Washington.

VENEMAN: Despite this finding, we remain confident in the safety of our food supply. The risk to human health from BSE is extremely low.

FEIG: Mad Cow Disease was first discovered in the United Kingdom in 1986. In the following years, more than 3.5 million infected cattle there were killed.

To this day the U.S. does not import beef from England or from any of the 21 other countries who had infected cattle.

Cows can get infected with the disease when they eat food containing the tissue of infected animals, a practice that has since been stopped in the U.S.

In rare cases, humans can also get infected if they eat certain tissue from infected animals.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEIG: Now, Aaron, the sample from this cow is being flown by military aircraft to England for the final round of testing. The government expects to have those results back in three to five days.

In the meantime, the USDA says they'll be focusing their efforts on tracking down any meat or tissue that got into the system from this cow.

As you mentioned, a couple of -- the meat was sent to a couple of the processing plants. The USDA says whenever they find where that may be, they will certainly recall that product -- Aaron.

BROWN: I guess what I want to know -- and I'm not sure it's answer-able -- is how can the secretary and how can the cattle industry spokesman, how can they be so confident there isn't a problem in the chain somewhere?

FEIG: Well, they say that ever since this was a big problem in the U.K. back in the 1990s -- the U.K., as you'll remember, killed over three million cattle that were infected with Mad Cow Disease -- they put a lot of firewalls in place here in the U.S.

Things like they don't use the tissue that used to be put in animal food to be fed to these animals. They won't put infected tissue in there and feed that to the animals anymore.

They test all of these animals that look like they're sick in the slaughterhouse.

But they say that there are a lot of these safety nets that are in place, much like the one that caught this cow. And they say that they believe that's what's keeping it safe.

But then again as you mentioned, it takes a lot of time for symptoms to show up once somebody, or an animal, is infected with this disease. So the other side of the argument that people will say, you just can't know.

BROWN: Christy, thank you.

The fallout has already started. As you just heard, shortly after the news of Mad Cow Disease in Washington State broke out, Japan, one of the largest buyers of U.S. beef, banned imports of it.

We've also just learned South Korea has done the same.

CNN's Steve Herman joins us from our Tokyo bureau. He's on videophone.

It did not take long for the Japanese to act, did it?

STEVE HERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No. It only took a few hours, Aaron. And the action by both Japan and South Korea is swift and pervasive. Both countries immediately effectively halting all imports of American beef.

A quarantine division of the ministry says it is stopping immediately to issue certificates. And as far as the beef that's already in the country, that's going to be tested.

We have not had any reports yet of supermarkets clearing beef from the shelves here.

This is going to be very good news, actually for the Australian cattle industry. Australia is No. 1, United States No. 2 as far as imports into Japan of beef. The United States selling about 500,000 tons annually of beef to Japan.

Japanese consumers have been wary about their own beef in the last few years because of nine cases of Mad Cow here. Also, Canadian beef was stopped from coming into Japan in May because of one single case of Mad Cow. And that Canadian case, Aaron, is going to be a very good example of how tough it's going to be to get American beef back into Japan.

Canada has lobbied heavily to try to get its beef back into Japan saying this is one incident, it was isolated and Canadian beef is 100 percent safe. But the Canadians have not been successful so far, Aaron, in getting their beef back into Japan since May.

BROWN: Steve, thank you very much. That will be a big story tomorrow, as well, as other nations weigh in. Thank you.

On now to other news. The jury's decision today, surprising to many, to spare the life of Lee Boyd Malvo.

To many, everything about the case seemed tailor-made for the death sentence. The crimes certainly were atrocious, the venue tough. The jurors open to capital punishment. And in the case of John Allen Muhammad without mercy.

All of this augured strongly against Mr. Malvo, but something else might have come into play in addition to his young age, at least according to the prosecutor in the case.

"We used to have a theory," he said, "when I was a young prosecutor. Never try a case on Christmas week."

Here's CNN's Jeanne Meserve.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE (voice-over): Seventeen, that number appears to have saved Lee Malvo's life. Seventeen was his age when he went on a spree with John Muhammad, a spree that left 10 people dead.

After almost nine hours of deliberations, the jury rejected the death penalty, sentencing Malvo to life in prison without parole on two counts, committing murder during an act of terrorism and killing more than one person in less than a three-year period.

This despite finding his crime is vile and that he posed a danger in the future.

JIM WOLFCALE, JURY FOREMAN: This case was both mentally challenging and emotionally exhausting. Deep thought and consideration has gone into our deliberations and the decisions that we reached.

MESERVE: One juror who favored the death penalty tells CNN there were deep and strong divisions on the panel amongst those who favored life and those who wanted death.

"There is not a bone in my body that thinks this was the right decision," the juror said. "But the panel wanted to avoid deadlock." Adding, "I want these families to know that there was a core group of us that strongly fought for them."

The families did not know that when they came to the microphone.

VIJAY WALEKAR, VICTIM'S BROTHER: I'm not at all pleased with the verdict. I think that he should have gotten the death penalty.

VICTORIA SNIDER, VICTIM'S SISTER: I don't think there could be another case that would be more deserving of the capital punishment.

PAUL LARUFFA, SNIPER VICTIM: There were two people who committed the ultimate crime. One got the ultimate penalty, and one didn't. I ask you why.

MESERVE: There was no public comment from the husband and daughter of Linda Franklin, who have kept vigil through every day of this trial. There was from the prosecutor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course I'm not happy with the decision, but that's the American way. Twelve jurors decide these things. A prosecutor doesn't decide them.

MESERVE: In the courtroom as the verdict was read, Lee Malvo bowed his head, blinking repeatedly.

CRAIG COOLEY, MALVO'S ATTORNEY: He was, on one hand, relieved that a death penalty was not imposed. On the other hand, he's 18 and contemplating living the rest of his natural life in a penitentiary cell.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: Defense attorney Michael Arif says Malvo had a visitor in jail last night, his father, who had come to the U.S. to plead with the jury for leniency. He got it -- Aaron.

BROWN: Jeanne, do we know how the jury was split at any point in this?

MESERVE: We've been given a number by this one juror, but I'm reluctant to talk too much about it because we haven't got that from other people who were on the panel.

But I was told, or we were told, I should say, by this one juror that one of the things that swayed some of the jurors was the closing argument of Craig Cooley, the defending attorney.

That they very much paid attention to the fact that Lee Malvo was 17 at the time the crimes were committed, and also that these crimes might not have been committed if he had not met John Muhammad.

BROWN: Jeanne, thank you very much. Jeanne Meserve.

And we're joined now by Craig Cooley, who argued successfully for the life of his client. We're pleased to have him with us.

Do you have a -- I guess, do you have a feeling for what it was in the argument that was persuasive? Have you talked to jurors? Do you know how they reacted to your words in closing? COOLEY: Well, we're prohibited from speaking with jurors until the term is completed. So I certainly haven't spoken to any jurors.

I'm flattered to think that the closing argument had something to do with it, but my suspicion is that the presentation of the evidence over a number of weeks by my colleagues was really the persuasive thing in the case.

We tried to put forward a very honest presentation in the witnesses, and we had a number of awfully fine folks who came from a lot of different places around the western hemisphere to testify. And I think the integrity of their testimonies was telling to the jury.

And I think the jury understood what Lee's life had been like and how it was affected when he met John Muhammad and that John Muhammad's delusions took him along after he was so significantly indoctrinated.

BROWN: If he'd been 27 and not 17, would we be having a different conversation, do you suspect?

COOLEY: I'm sorry, Aaron. I didn't hear what you said.

BROWN: I said if he had been 27 and not 17, would we be having, do you suspect, a different conversation tonight?

COOLEY: I certainly think that age was a significant factor. And it should be. The United States is the only country in the world that has governmentally-sanctioned execution of folks who were under the age of 18 at the time of the offense.

And within the United States, only a very few states, in fact, impose death penalties on folks who are under the age of 18. So had he been 27, there certainly would have been significantly different mitigating factors in the case.

BROWN: Can you talk at all about what, if any, changes you've seen in him or the evolution of Lee Malvo over the last months? Does he get it?

COOLEY: Well, he certainly understands the significance of the situation he's in. He certainly understands the pain that's been caused.

He is 18. And he's a very immature 18. He is not an American 18-year-old. He's a child from the Caribbean and impoverished areas of Jamaica.

So because of his immaturity, I don't think he can grasp the actualities of serving the rest of his life in prison. But he's coming to grips with the circumstances that brought him there.

Over the months in the middle of the year, particularly in May, we had some breakthroughs in which he began to separate from Mr. Muhammad's grasp and is really returning to the child that he was -- that grew up in Jamaica.

BROWN: I assume that people watching this interview tonight on both -- have feelings on both sides of this.

I would just say thank you for joining us. You had a job to do, and you did it awfully well. And for that, you ought to feel good. Thank you very much.

COOLEY: Well, thank you.

BROWN: Jeff Toobin is here, our legal analyst. I asked you a few moments ago when we were, on your way in, were you surprised. Were you surprised?

JEFF TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: And I was. This case was hand picked by Attorney General John Ashcroft, because he thought he could get the death penalty for both people in this jurisdiction.

And Virginia has executed four people who were juveniles when they committed crimes.

BROWN: In fact -- stop me if I'm wrong here. My recollection is that Maryland would not have executed a juvenile.

TOOBIN: Maryland would not. And there -- the federal government, which is also a possible -- a possible venue for the trials, they're not -- they don't execute juveniles either. So Virginia was the hope.

Now, remember, there are other counties that may yet prosecute Malvo. Malvo is not free from the fear -- from the threat of execution at all -- yet. But this is obviously a very important hurdle for him.

BROWN: You said to me also you thought that this was a terrifically presented defense. Obviously, they didn't have a great fact set, as we say.

TOOBIN: Killing ten people is bad facts.

BROWN: But they did a lot with what they had.

TOOBIN: They did a lot with what they had. And what they did was -- the whole case was geared toward the penalty phase.

Even during the guilt phase, their insanity defense, which was what they raised, was not a very good insanity defense. They argued that he was brainwashed. Brainwashing does not really meet the test of legal insanity under Virginia law. And there was really no chance that they were going to win on that.

However, brainwashing perfectly fit how you want to argue a penalty phase defense. Because the difference in age between the two of them, the age of Malvo, all of that evidence worked so well in the penalty phase, even though it was presented during the guilt phase.

BROWN: You think Christmas week had anything to do with it?

TOOBIN: You know, I don't. I really think that's a bogus -- that's part of the folklore. You know, when I was a prosecutor, we heard that, too. I could tell you stories about convictions -- the Watergate conspiracy trial with Halderman and Ehrlichman trial, they were all convicted right before Christmas, right before Christmas day.

BROWN: They weren't looking at a death penalty.

TOOBIN: They weren't looking at a death penalty. But you know, I just give the jurors a little more credit than that. They knew the stakes in this case, and I don't think they said, "Well, you know, let's give him a break, it's going to be Christmas Eve tomorrow."

But I can't read their minds.

BROWN: Where now does all of this go?

TOOBIN: It goes basically back to John Ashcroft. John Ashcroft now has to decide, does another Virginia county go? Does the federal government go? Does Maryland go? Which counties in those states?

Also, you've got Georgia. You've got Alabama. You've potentially got Washington State. It's a very complicated turf battle.

And this is an administration that cares deeply about the death penalty. They're going to go back, I assume, and try to find another county where Malvo will get a jury that was less sympathetic to him.

BROWN: Is that fair?

TOOBIN: You know, I think it is fair, actually. Because, you know, it's ten people -- it's a lot of people to kill. And, you know, each jurisdiction has a claim on him -- and that's just ten in the sniper killings. That doesn't count the earlier ones, most of which hasn't been charged yet. So yes, I think it was fair.

BROWN: It was an interesting end.

TOOBIN: And surprising. I mean, it really was surprising.

BROWN: Thank you. It's good to see you.

TOOBIN: Good to see you.

BROWN: Ahead on the program, a rundown of the reasons behind the latest terror alert.

Also, Rush Limbaugh lashed out today, my goodness, as he loses a court battle over his medical records. It's the Democrats who are to blame, said Mr. Limbaugh.

And later the 11 words you couldn't say in a New York nightclub 40 years ago and why the governor of the state pardoned Lenny Bruce for saying them, finally.

This is NEWSNIGHT on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: It is a daunting task preventing the unknowable, protecting against the indefinite.

The orange terror alert has set off a wave of security measures across the country ,on the ground, in the air, and at sea, all made more complicated by the crush of holiday travel this week.

One of the biggest concerns, the possibility that al Qaeda could hijack a plane from somewhere else, somewhere abroad, and use it as a weapon here.

Tonight lots of precautions underway on that front.

Here's CNN's Deborah Feyerick.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Anti-aircraft missiles that could be used to shoot down planes are being set up around Washington. Government sources tell CNN some flight crews from other countries have been stopped and questioned in recent days.

At the Pentagon, a drill, practicing to keep the government running in case of a major attack. The head of the joint chiefs of staff says combat aircraft went on alert at some military bases.

RICHARD MYERS, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: They may see additional air patrols over select cities and facilities, an increase in the air offense posture here in Washington, D.C. And combat aircraft could be put on a higher alert at different air bases throughout the country.

FEYERICK: The big problem, experts say, from country to country, airport to airport, airline security varies widely.

M.J. GOHEL, ASIA-PACIFIC FOUNDATION: If you go abroad to, say, the Philippines or to Africa or the Caribbean, it is pretty poor. Beginning from not just at the time of check-in, in terms of the inspection of baggage and personal searches but also on who is servicing the aircraft, who is maintaining the aircraft.

FEYERICK: There's no one standard, no uniform security rules that international airlines must follow, not even for flights coming into the U.S. Aviation experts say that makes even the safest airports vulnerable.

MARK HATFIELD, TSA: We have a lot of foreign governments, foreign-flagged airlines that we work directly with in communicating security process standards, in promulgating those standards and then in working to ensure compliance with that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Except in a few cases, there are no federal marshals on non-U.S. airplanes. Canada, Australia, Singapore have started using their own sky police. Since April all U.S. airlines now have bulletproof doors and as of next months those planes will forward passenger lists to the U.S. for pre-landing background checks.

So there's a lot of information, some of it credible. The question is which of it is critical -- Aaron.

BROWN: Deborah, thank you very much. Deborah Feyerick.

A few more stories quickly making news around the country.

Today the former governor of Illinois, George Ryan, pleaded not guilty to federal corruption charges. He was indicted last week for allegedly taking payoffs in gifts and vacations while secretary of state and the governor in return for helping associates profit from state contracts and leases.

A Massachusetts jury is handed down a death sentence. This is noteworthy because the state abolished capital punishment in 1984 and hasn't executed anyone in more than 50 years.

Gary Sampson was prosecuted under a federal law allowing the death penalty for murder committed during a carjacking. He pleaded guilty in September to carjacking and killing two men.

And in California, newly installed Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger got a look at the damage from the earthquake yesterday. Two people died in Paso Robles when the 6.5 magnitude quake hit. Aftershocks continuing in California today.

The governor has declared a state of emergency in the county, which paves the way for state relief efforts.

Coming up on NEWSNIGHT, signs of the season. You know, sales ringing, cash registers, that sort of thing. Is the shopping season living up to expectations?

This is NEWSNIGHT on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Hardly a broadcast day goes by that Rush Limbaugh doesn't get ticked off about something. It is, after all, part of the routine, the act, material for the program, red meat for the millions of listeners.

Lately, though, it is also personal, stemming from legal questions concerning his drug use and abuse.

Today Mr. Limbaugh's rage was aimed at Democrats and a judge's decision to open his medical records to investigators and the connection, Mr. Limbaugh believes, between the two.

It was, we think it's fair to say, pure Rush.

Here again, CNN's Susan Candiotti. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Limbaugh's lawyers are appealing a ruling allowing investigators to pore through his medical records, looking for possible evidence of doctor shopping.

Limbaugh used his radio show to respond by reading a statement from his lawyer.

RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Mr. Limbaugh was not doctor shopping. He is -- he should not have to sacrifice his privacy to prove his innocence.

CANDIOTTI: In his order, Palm Beach circuit court Judge Jeffrey Winikoff wrote, "The state has clearly demonstrated the relevance or nexus between seizing Mr. Limbaugh's medical records and this ongoing criminal investigation."

In court records, investigators have said these drugstore records listing more than 2,000 pills from four doctors in six months might indicate Limbaugh was getting overlapping prescriptions illegally.

Limbaugh declared himself a target of well-connected political enemies.

LIMBAUGH: The Democrats in this country still cannot defeat me in the arena of political ideas. And so now they are trying to do so in the court of public opinion and the legal system.

CANDIOTTI: Prosecutors had no comment and issued only a statement about the sealed review of Limbaugh's medical records: "The court specifically finds that the state acted in good faith."

Through his attorneys, Limbaugh has now accused his former housekeeper and her husband of blackmail. She first went to authorities and months later sold her story to the "National Enquirer."

In his first televised interview on the subject, Wilma Cline's attorney emphatically denied they blackmailed Limbaugh.

EDWARD SHOHAT, ATTORNEY FOR WILMA CLINE: He ought to be thanking them. Instead of lashing out at them, he ought to be looking at the big picture of his life and recognize that, had they not done what they did, he might still be taking thousands of pills or hundreds of pills, destroying his body, leading to the inevitable conclusion that he probably wouldn't survive his addiction.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: The Clines' attorneys says he thinks Limbaugh is making those blackmail claims now to try to deflect the focus from him. He also insists, he doesn't think his clients' credibility was ever impacted by selling their story to "The National Enquirer."

That, of course, is something that law enforcement tells us prosecutors have always strongly disagreed with -- back to you, Aaron.

BROWN: A question or two. Let's set the blackmail question aside, at least insofar as this is concerned.

That investigation, whether he was blackmailed or not, has nothing to do -- correct me if I am wrong -- with the investigation into his drug use and abuse and whether he was doctor shopping.

CANDIOTTI: Correct, a separate issue. That's something that prosecutors are going to be continuing to look at.

Right now, they can't even look at the medical records, however, because the defense attorneys have asked for a stay. So, right now, everything is at a bit of a standstill.

BROWN: And so let's follow that, then, one more step. So this is appealed to who?

CANDIOTTI: They've asked the court to stay this while the 4th District Court of Appeals, a higher court within the state, takes a look at the issue.

BROWN: OK.

CANDIOTTI: Because Limbaugh's attorneys keep saying that his right to privacy was not protected and they went about this the wrong way.

BROWN: Susan, thank you very much, Susan Candiotti on the Limbaugh story tonight.

Business now. And for our young viewers, we're sorry, but you were bound to find out sooner or later. Santa shops retail, always has, always will, making December a crucial month for the economy, but a jittery month as well, because, in December, it offense snows and Santa only has an SUV, not a sleigh.

Here's CNN's Allan Chernoff.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The annual last- minute holiday crush, stores packed, not only with bargain hunters, but also with shoppers in the Northeast who were snowed in twice earlier in the month.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It sure seems there are a lot more people out in the streets and spending more money.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We came back down here because we knew they were having good sales today.

CHERNOFF: Right after Thanksgiving, the National Retail Federation was forecasting, holiday sales would be up 6 percent. Then came the storms and store traffic slowed down. Retailers that had been holding off on deep discounts began chopping prices to move merchandise out. Merchandise has been moving well at luxury retailers like Tiffany and Coach.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The high end has been quite strong lately, with many consumers buying goods early. In essence, jewelry, leather goods have been some of the key popular items lately.

CHERNOFF: And online spending keeps growing, perhaps boosted by last Sunday's heightened terror alert. Americans have already spent an estimated $11 billion shopping on the Internet this season, also gaining popularity, gift cards. A dozen years ago, a majority of Americans felt they were impersonal.

Now only 5 percent feel that way. So gift cards are accounting for 8 percent of all holiday purchases.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know what to get, so I'm going to give him a gift certificate.

CHERNOFF: The downside for retailers is that their accountants don't count the sale until the gift card is redeemed. And a majority of Americans plan to do that after the holidays, when they'll find good buys.

(on camera): With the economy picking up, many retailers had been hoping for a very profitable holiday season. Instead, it appears they'll have to settle for only modest improvement from last year.

Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: A few more business items before we go to break, beginning with a $1 million bankruptcy. Parmalat, a global dairy maker based in Italy best known in this country for the milk in boxes that never goes bad, known in Europe as the Italian Enron. In addition to being in debt up to its curds and whey, Parmalat finds itself at the center of a major accounting scandal.

Back home, a certain mad cow is very much in demand. Artist Gary Larson is out with a 13-pound, two-volume collection of cows and crabs and goofy professors from "The Far Side" comic series, 14 years worth. And it is a Christmas best-seller, and ought to be.

And the bulls had a good day on the Wall Street yet again. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 chalking up solids gains. Good week so far for the market. We'll see what mad cow does to it tomorrow.

Still to come on the program: Can the one-time Democratic front- runner get his campaign out of the cellar? Jeff Greenfield on the campaign of Senator John Kerry.

Around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Mad cow disease and the fossilized fruitcake right there on the same list. BROWN: Time for politics.

Over the years, there have been a number of unlikely presidential candidates. It's fair to say, however, that Senator John Kerry is not one of them. From his initials, JFK, to his stellar combat record, to his political resume, he is a candidate who one could say looks perfect on paper. But the campaign trail in this particular race is something else again.

Here's our senior analyst, Jeff Greenfield.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator John Kerry!

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST (voice-over): John Kerry is carrying one central message to New Hampshire, from Peterborough...

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm in a fight out here. And you know I'm in a fight here. But I'm a fighter.

GREENFIELD: To Keene.

KERRY: I'm a fighter. I think you can sense that. I've been behind before.

GREENFIELD: To Nashua.

KERRY: Fighting for every vote that I can find.

GREENFIELD: If the Massachusetts senator sounds embattled, it is not just political hype.

KERRY: You want the good, tough stuff, huh?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

GREENFIELD: Here in neighboring New Hampshire, where Kerry led all Democratic comers through the first half of the year, he has now fallen far behind former Vermont Governor Dean, some 31 points behind, according to this recent University of New Hampshire poll. And a new national poll puts him at 4 percent, behind Reverend Al Sharpton.

Kerry says he knows why, his vote for the Iraq war and Dean's opposition, which Kerry says was inconsistent.

KERRY: I knew that vote was going to cost me some support from some people, but it was the right vote at that time. I think what I showed was leadership. And Dean did a pretty good job of playing the politics.

GREENFIELD: In recent weeks, the Kerry campaign has made two make-or-break decisions. First, like Howard Dean, Kerry has abandoned public financing so he can spend whatever he wants in the key caucus and primary states. He has loaned his campaign $850,000 and plans to borrow against his multimillion dollar Boston home. Second, Kerry has turned to Iowa, the first caucus state, to define himself as the alternative to Dean. One new survey shows him moving into second place behind Dean, but ahead of Congressman Richard Gephardt.

KERRY: A couple people are going to come out of there clearly heading towards New Hampshire and then onwards, I think, as the principal players here. And I intend to be there.

GREENFIELD: Odd as it may seem, Kerry's tumble from the front- runner ranks may wind up helping him in New Hampshire.

KERRY: You were one of my greatest cheerleaders there.

GREENFIELD: In the overheated world of modern politics, where expectations change almost by the hour, Dean's huge lead in New Hampshire could mean that a Dean victory here will be seen as old news. And a relatively strong second place finish by Kerry or General Clark or somebody else may turn out to be the story of the night. That's why no hand is too fleeting, too young, too small for John Kerry to shake.

Jeff Greenfield, CNN, Nashua, Hampshire.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Ahead on NEWSNIGHT tonight, the cursing segment, 11 words you still can't say on TV and why Lenny Bruce needed a pardon from the governor for using them.

This is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: It is the season for gift-giving, so perhaps there is no better time than this. Today, a pioneer, some would say a martyr, of free speech got a belated gift from New York Governor George Pataki.

Some 40 years ago, Lenny Bruce shaped the boundaries of permissible speech by pushing them further than anyone had before. For that, he was punished, sent to jail. And today, Mr. Pataki said it was a time to right that wrong.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN (voice-over): He took to the stage at the very start of the '60s revolution, maybe even a bit before.

LENNY BRUCE, COMEDIAN: I got a sister. And I hear that you guys, you know...

(LAUGHTER)

BROWN: He made jokes about things you didn't joke about, race and homosexuality, drugs, abortion, the death penalty, the Catholic Church. And he used words not heard in polite society or anything close.

BRUCE: But if you used those words again, yes, you've said (EXPLETIVE DELETED) a lot of times.

BROWN: Lenny Bruce wasn't trying to be polite. He was trying to be funny in a biting, caustic, satirical sort of way.

BRUCE: Because both rabbis and priests (EXPLETIVE DELETED) Only one (EXPLETIVE DELETED)

BROWN: And for that, he was arrested in the winter of '64. New York police counted 100 obscene words. Yes, they sat in the audience and counted them. The trial lasted six months. Lenny Bruce was convicted and his life slowly fell apart to drugs. And he died in 1966 at the age of 40 of an overdose. He was perhaps the first martyr of the '60s revolution.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But the conviction that still stands is an affront to our basic First Amendment principles and was so even under prevailing law in 1964, when the trial took place.

BROWN: And so began a campaign this spring of the famous and the funny to get Lenny Bruce a pardon. Today, New York's Governor George Pataki granted Bruce that pardon, saying it was a declaration of New York's commitment to upholding the First Amendment.

We've changed a lot in 40 years. And it is probably true that we have grown more coarse.

BRUCE: Can I do this?

(LAUGHTER)

BROWN: The words that got him arrested and convicted back then wouldn't get Lenny Bruce noticed today. But then, he would have moved beyond them, ahead of them, where he always was, ahead of his time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Lenny Bruce's words landed him in court in other cities as well, including Los Angeles. One of the prosecutors in that trial was a man who would later become quite famous, Johnnie Cochran, yes, that Johnnie Cochran.

We talked with him a while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Was getting the case considered a plum assignment or one that young prosecutors wanted to avoid?

JOHNNIE COCHRAN, ATTORNEY: It was considered a plum assignment. But I must say, I was ambivalent about it, Aaron, because I had a lot of respect for Lenny Bruce even in those days.

And I felt that, given the mores of the time, that he probably had a free speech right to much of what he said, although the courts didn't always say that. So it was a plum assignment but I -- and so I had trepidation about prosecuting the case at the time.

BROWN: So you're this young assistant DA in L.A. And your boss comes to you and hands you this file or this case and says, go get him. And your job at that point is to go get him. Did somebody have it in for Lenny Bruce? Was somebody pushing this hard?

COCHRAN: I think, in those days, there were. I think members of the police department felt they wanted to make an example.

He would appear at various and sundry nightclubs. There were some pretty famous nightclubs out on the Sunset Strip and he would appear there. And, at that time, his act was considered quite something with the four-letter words. It was something. And so I think they really did -- there was a concerted effort to prosecute him at that time. And so I ended up with the case.

And it was, as I said, with some trepidation, I approached it.

BROWN: Was it the language or was it the politics, or was it both?

COCHRAN: I think a little bit of both.

I think it was the language and especially the politics, I think the politics of it all. He was a free speech and a free thinker at that time. And I think some people resented that. And I think -- of course, hindsight is always 20/20. But now, I think the man was way ahead of his time.

BROWN: The story of your case -- I'm sure it wasn't especially amusing to you at the time.

COCHRAN: It wasn't.

BROWN: But it reads pretty amusing 40 years later, doesn't it?

COCHRAN: It really does, Aaron.

And I kind of approached this case with one of these records where I had this winning scheme of winning all these cases kind of in a row. And I think that's why I was assigned to the case. And I had a real formidable defense lawyer on the other side, a great lawyer who became a great friend of mine, Sydney Irmas (ph). And I remember that I had this young sergeant who was my key witness who worked undercover in a club out here in Los Angeles. His name was Sherman Block. And later, that young sergeant became the sheriff for all of Los Angeles County.

BROWN: A very famous person there.

(CROSSTALK)

BROWN: And so this young cop, this young sheriff's deputy goes in and records or at least attempts to record the obscene Mr. Bruce. COCHRAN: That's exactly right. And he was my key witness.

And he was going to unveil this tape for the jury to hear all these obscene words that Mr. Lenny Bruce had uttered during the course of his performance. And lo and behold, we got ready to play the tape. The tape, you could not hear the obscene words because the starch in the sheriff's shirt had obliterated the words. And so, hence, the case was dismissed and, I suppose, that justice was done, although it didn't always seem that way at the time.

BROWN: When you think about it now -- and I can't imagine you think about it very often, but certainly from time to time -- does it strike you as, it's just one of those signs of the times that's part of our cultural growing that as a society we had to go through?

COCHRAN: I think so. I think, in many ways, we've seen this in other areas also. We evolve.

And I think now no one would think twice about that. But, in the '60s, we really did at the time. He was fortunate in L.A. and not as fortunate in other jurisdictions. And that's why I think a number of us applaud the action of the governor of New York in now pardoning him these years later.

BROWN: It's good to see you again. It's always good to talk to you. Have a wonderful holiday. Thanks for your time today.

COCHRAN: Thank you. Happy holidays to you and all of your viewers. Thank you very much, Aaron.

BROWN: Thank you, Johnnie.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Johnnie Cochran. We talked with him earlier tonight.

Still ahead on NEWSNIGHT, the rooster crows and heralds morning papers, always.

A break first. This is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(ROOSTER CROWING)

BROWN: OK, time for a special pre-Christmas Eve edition of morning papers. There won't be morning papers tomorrow. There won't be morning papers on Christmas Day. There won't be morning papers the day after Christmas. There may never -- no, there will be.

We'll start with "The International Herald Tribune." Sometimes I just start talking. Have you noticed that? I don't know where I'm going.

"International Herald Tribune." If you're traveling abroad, you will find this in the hotel lobby somewhere. I like this story. "A General Voices New Confidence in Iraq. British Officer Says Capture of Saddam Has Changed Outlook." It's a John Burns story. "The International Herald Tribune" is owned by "The New York Times." And so you'll see a lot of "Times" correspondents writing there. And that's their lead for the day.

Also, they play this pretty hard. "Israelis Kill Eight in Gaza Incursion. Officials Find Tunnel Used to Smuggle Arms." They don't take kindly to that sort of stuff over there, do they?

From the big, "The International Herald Tribune," to the small, "The Burt County Plain Dealer" out there in Burt County, Nebraska, where Bethlehem -- Bethlehem -- that's Bethlehem, Aaron -- is coming to Tekamah. I think that's how it's pronounced, OK, Tekamah. And they're even bringing in a camel there to do that. Merry Christmas to those folks.

Get a shot of that picture. Those kids look like two little Nebraska guys, don't they? Yes. Good for them. Merry Christmas, you guys.

"Cape Cod Times." Big story on the front. "True Christmas: U.S. Beefs Up Air Watch." When I first saw that, I figured they tried to do mad cow in there, too, but they didn't. It's not on the front page. Well, it's not on as many front pages as I would have suspected. Obviously, I suspected it should be because we led the program with it tonight. "Life and Death: Jury Spares Teen Sniper Lee Malvo" over there.

And Gary Lee Sampson over here. This is, as we told you earlier, a carjacking case that was tried under federal law, specific so they could give the death penalty. There is no death penalty in the state of Massachusetts. "Over and Out." The Alex Rodriguez never-ending trade story appears to be over.

"The First U.S. Case of Mad Cow Disease: Quarantine at Washington State Farm" is how "The San Francisco Chronicle" leads tomorrow. But I like this story down here. "Bay Area Faces Holiday Without Little Silver Bells on Baked Goods." You know those little doodad things? They probably have name and they may be doodad things, for I know. Anyway, someone filed a lawsuit claiming they're toxic. And for all I know, they may be. I don't know. So they're not on the cookies this year. I hadn't noticed that.

Thirty seconds?

"The Richmond Times-Dispatch." Of course, they lead with Lee Malvo. "Malvo Jury Chooses Life Without Parole."

And "The Oregonian" out West in Oregon, which is out West. "Washington Animal First Mad Cow Case in the Nation. Yakima County Ranch Quarantined. Portland Plant Received Some Meat From Carcass." All my friends out in Oregon will probably be eating salmon for Christmas.

"The Chicago Sun-Times." "I Am Absolutely Not Guilty," Governor Ryan on the front page, former Governor Ryan. The weather tomorrow magical is "magical. Merry Christmas to all of our readers" -- and to all of you, too.

We'll wrap up the day in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Before we go, a quick recap of our top story, what appears to be the first known case of mad cow disease in the U.S. Testing on a cow from Yakima County, Washington, the east part of the state, came up positive. The meat had already been sent to a at least couple processing plants, one in Oregon. Unknown whether it's made it into stores. And while the secretary of agriculture says the food supply is safe, Japan tonight suspended the importation of American beef. And so have South Korea and Singapore.

Tomorrow night, a special hour devoted to the Americans wounded or otherwise badly hurt in Iraq and Afghanistan, their stories, the people looking out for them, as told by NEWSNIGHT's Beth Nissen. It is a terrific piece. If you're around tomorrow, we hope you will watch it.

And we hope you have a wonderful Christmas holiday. Good night for all of us at NEWSNIGHT.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





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