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CNN Newsnight Aaron Brown

Bombing Suspect Confesses to Involvement; London Mosque Attempts Reform; Experts: U.S. Not Protected Against Bioterrorism

Aired August 01, 2005 - 22:00   ET

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

AARON BROWN, HOST: And good evening again, everyone.
If the attacks in London on the 7th of July were a horrifying wake-up call, the botched attempt two weeks later in London has turned into something of a gift.

The bombers left evidence behind. They scattered. They made phone calls. They got caught. Also, they looked not invincible, but sort of stupid.

So, even as authorities trace the clues and Londoners guard against a third attack, this can't all be a bad thing. We have two reports tonight, beginning with CNN's Alessio Vinci in Rome.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Italian police say they arrested a suspect in Rome after tracing calls he made from a cell phone, monitored initially by Scotland Yard. Calls he made from Britain to Italy and, police say, to Saudi Arabia.

At least one intercept was recorded. And when Italian police compared it to a voice recording prepared by British police, they had their man.

CARLOS DISEFANO, CHIEF, ANTI-TERROR POLICE (through translator): We could immediate verify that the voice of the fugitive was compatible to the phone model sent to us by the British police. So we were almost completely sure we were in front of the attacker.

VINCI: Italian officials say the suspect falsified his name and nationality when he applied for political asylum in Britain years ago.

He was born in Ethiopia as Hamdi Issac. But when he arrived in Britain, he used the alias Osman Hussain, claiming to be from Somalia.

Given the suspect was known by two different names in Italy and Britain may explain why he managed to leave London days after the failed attacks and travel to Italy by train through France without being intercepted by border police.

According to Italian investigators, before moving to England in the late 1990s, Hamdi Issac lived in Italy between 1991 and 1996, with a regular resident permit. Two of his brothers still remain here, and Italian police have detained both of them. One is accused of destroying or hiding documents, sought by investigators. But the charge does not involve terrorism.

DISEFANO (through translator): We find ourselves confronted with the elements that very probably are part of an impromptu group, rather than part of a group operating on an international scale.

VINCI: Issac's court appointed lawyer says her client admitted to magistrates that he was involved in the July 21 failed attacks but denied any links with the July 7 attacks or al Qaeda. The strike, he claims, was meant to grab attention and not harm anyone, although London investigators say the bombs simply malfunctioned and were powerful enough to kill.

Honestly, he doesn't appear as someone who wanted to die," the lawyer told CNN. "He recognizes that that what he has done is absolutely deplorable," she added, saying her client claimed he was misled and didn't know much about the content of the backpack he carried on board a train.

Hamdi Issac wants to remain in Italy and has asked his lawyer to fight extradition, on the grounds he may not get a fair trial in Britain.

Last week, Italy adopted a so-called European arrest warrant, introduced by the European Union to facilitate the extradition of suspects wanted for serious crimes. This means that Hamdi Issac could be sent to London within the next three months.

Alessio Vinci, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: In London, police arrested two more people in connection with the failed bombings, both in neighborhoods in the southern part of the city. One not far where they mistakenly shot a Brazilian man to death on the 22nd of July.

Meantime, riders on the subway had plenty of company, visibly and deliberately so, to deter the bad guys and reassure the rest. Cops in yellow jackets, more dogs, more checking of bags, much of it directed at south Asian men. "We should not waste time searching old, white ladies," the police commander was quoted as saying.

For better or for worse, eyes are clearly on Britain's Muslim community, as always with added security and scrutiny directed at mosques where radical Islam is preached.

Reporting for us tonight, CNN's Becky Anderson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On a gray afternoon in Finsbury Park, a handful of Muslims file in for midday prayers, heeding a quiet call to worship in a building long-branded by critics and authorities a temple of hate.

But now, out front, banners denounce terrorism and claim a new beginning for the north London central mosque.

A few years ago, some very different banners hung from the Finsbury Park Mosque, then a hotbed of radical Islam.

ABU HAMZA, MUSLIM CLERIC: Every reaction has a reaction.

ANDERSON: The mosque's spiritual leader, the one-eyed cleric Abu Hamza -- he lost both his hands in violent and mysterious circumstances. His was a message of defiance against Britain and its ally, the United States.

HAMZA: They are at war. And they should expect what wars could be.

ANDERSON: At Finsbury Park Mosque, Abu Hamza amassed a following among disaffected, young, Muslim men. Worshipers here once included the so-called 19th September 11th hijacker, Zacarias Moussaoui, and Richard Reid, the notorious shoe bomber.

In January 2003, British police raided the mosque, arresting several men living inside. Less than a month later, Hamza was removed from his position and expelled onto the street, where he resumed his radical sermons, preaching jihad before a rapt crowd.

Abu Hamza is in jail now, facing charges of hate crimes, including calling for the murder of Jews.

MOHAMMED KOZBAR, FINSBURY PARK MOSQUE: It is a new era in this mosque.

ANDERSON: Mohammed Kozbar this is part of the new leadership here at Finsbury Park Mosque. In February, it reopened, declaring extremist members had been kicked out. Rehabilitating the mosque's image has been a challenge.

Its cavernous halls, amongst the largest in London, once held up to 1,800 worshipers, kneeling on rows of prayer rugs. When the Finsbury reopened earlier this year, only about 60 people returned.

KOZBAR: No major incident happened since we took over. Nothing at all. It was very peaceful. Very peaceful period, really. So, it's unfair to try to link this mosque with what has happened for -- that which took place on July 7.

ANDERSON: But the link has been made. Recent headlines blared that London terrorists prayed in these halls.

KOZBAR: We are 100 percent sure that these people were not here during the last six months.

ANDERSON: Kozbar insists the current climate here is hardly conducive to terrorist plotting. The mosque has installed close circuit cameras to monitor who comes in and who goes out. Police keep around the clock watch.

Andrea Woodburn (ph) lives next door, in a cramped apartment, with her poetry and her paintings.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think they have shown their strength, their togetherness, as a community, as a set of people. And you cannot knock that. You cannot knock that.

ANDERSON: Mohammed Kozbar says he hopes to set an example for other mosques dominated by radicals. Attendance at Friday prayer has crept up to 800, a number he expects will soar, if the Finsbury Park Mosque remains true to its peaceful pledge.

Becky Anderson, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: There, or here, terrorism is are isn't a matter of if, but when, it seems. So what happens then? Nearly four years and $20 billion in federal government spending later, how ready is the country for the next time? One item to consider: experts say the country isn't even ready for the flu.

From Los Angeles tonight, CNN's Ted Rowlands.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A dirty bomb exercise, one of the many ways Los Angeles is preparing itself for the possibility of a terrorist attack.

Of all the scenarios, experts say the most difficult to be ready for is bioterrorism. That's because, until people actually start getting sick, or dying, it may be difficult to know there's even been an attack.

KEN ROBINSON, CNN TERROR EXPERT: It could take sometimes three to four days just to recognize that there's a spike, that there's a difference outside the norm. And by that time, especially if it's anthrax, you're getting into a time period where you've got to start giving drugs and try to save lives, right at the same moment when you've determining that you've even been attacked.

ROWLANDS: In a significant attack, dealing with the sick and those that think they are sick, would be a daunting challenge. The federal government has medical supplies to fly in. But local authorities would need to distribute them.

Los Angeles health director, Dr. Jonathan Fielding, says L.A. County would use postal workers, if need be, to distribute medicine. But he knows there's not enough hospital space to handle a major attack.

JONATHAN FIELDING, L.A. COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH: I don't know any place in the country that could deal with an extra 10,000, or 20,000 or 30,000 patients.

ROWLANDS: When Washington, D.C., was hit with anthrax, just weeks after 9/11, some of the people who needed help most didn't get it. Postal workers were overlooked, including Thomas Morris, who called 911 to say he thought he'd been exposed.

THOMAS MORRIS, DIED OF ANTHRAX: My breathing is labored. My chest feels constricted. I suspect that I might have been exposed to anthrax.

ROWLANDS: Morris and co-worker Joseph Curseen both died of anthrax exposure.

Health officials say the nation is much better prepared than it was on 9/11, but critics say much more should be done.

DR. IRWIN REDLENER, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: Although we've spent billions and billions of dollars on this, we've ended up with a system that's pretty random, pretty chaotic and relatively speaking, not in any kind of broad way ready to deal with major terrorism in the United States.

FIELDING: Preparedness is a journey. We are so much better prepared than we were. And our job is to make sure we're better prepared tomorrow than we are today. And that's what we're working on. We have a lot of people working very hard to do that.

ROWLANDS: It's a journey that Fielding admits will be long but hopes will never be necessary.

Ted Rowlands, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Gary Hart, the former Democratic senator from Colorado, has now spent years looking into the abyss. He and Republican senator Warren Rudman co-chaired a commission warning of attacks prior to 9/11.

In the year after 9/11, they co-wrote a book called "America Still Unprepared." We talked with Senator Hart earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Senator, I think if you asked the police chief here, Ray Kelly, or if you asked the chief, Bratton, out in Los Angeles, or any other major city police chief, are you doing everything possible, they'd say, "No. But we've done a lot. How do we -- how do we grade them? What's the right question to ask?

GARY HART, FORMER COLORADO SENATOR: Are we prepared to stop the worst possible thing from happening in this -- and I think I agree with recent comments that the worst possible thing probably is biological attack, simply because it's easier than the others.

And then, if we are -- if we fail at prevention, how quickly can we respond? What are the estimated maximum casualties? And how can we lower those? What steps -- concrete steps need to be taken to lower that maximum number?

BROWN: Do you think as you look at the country, you look at the government in Washington. You look at cities and how they're run. That people lack the imagination to solve these problems? Or the will to solve these problems?

HART: I think -- certainly at the local level, the will is there. What I hear in talking to local responders around the country, is well, the traditional chat, we're not getting enough money.

But in too many cases, I think including biological war fair, billions of dollars are being wasted. And those who have taken very difficult look at these programs, verify that. So, it's not a question of just spending money. It's also the local responders say we're not getting enough intelligence. And information. There's still choke points in the intelligence flow of information downward. And technical assistance.

BROWN: The intelligence side is the prevention side. On the response side, the kinds of things that need to be done would be what? I'm trying to get a feel what a city like Denver or a city like New York needs to do -- needs to have ready, in case it -- whatever it biologically is, it happens.

HART: Well, first of all in the case of biological attack -- and here, let me issue my standard disclaimer. I'm by no means a terrorism expert.

But I -- I think the first responders have to be inoculated, if possible, against -- for example, smallpox. You can't inoculate everybody for everything. But smallpox, whatever antidotes there are to anthrax. And the most likely viral agents that are used and can be easily used by terrorists.

Second, there have -- has to be protective gear for those who go into zones of -- that are hot, with biological agents or chemical agents, and I think a lot of that is lacking.

Triage, the hazmat teams and the health teams have to be able to separate those that are most severely in danger, from those who are not and treat the second and third tiers, accordingly. You have to quarantine places as quickly as possible. And I think the list goes on.

BROWN: Four years out from 9/11, there's a lot there to think about. As always, good to talk to you. We appreciate your time.

HART: It's a great pleasure. Thank you.

BROWN: Thank you, sir.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Senator Gary Hart from Colorado.

In a moment, extraordinary story, a 12-year-old girl who took on a kidnapper and won. You're going to love this kid.

Fist, at about a quarter past the hour, time for some of the other headlines of the day. Erica Hill joins us from Atlanta.

Good evening, again, Ms. Hill.

ERICA HILL, HEADLINE NEWS: And good evening to you, Mr. Brown.

We're starting off tonight with the shuttle. NASA announcing plans earlier tonight for a spacewalk to remove fabric which is sticking out from the ship's underbelly.

Flight controllers made the decision because of the concern about whether that material might cause a problem during reentry. That spacewalk, scheduled for Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia says it will pump oil as fast and as cheaply as it can. This is in the wake of the Saudi king, Fahd, which sent oil futures to a record high, nearly $62 a barrel.

And the EPA is pushing 29 states now to come up with plans to deal with pollution downwind of power plants, saying today those states have until September of next year to get it done, or the government, Aaron, will do it for them.

BROWN: Sort of a threat.

HILL: A little bit.

BROWN: Thank you. See you in a half an hour.

Thank you. Much more ahead on the program tonight, starting with the 12-year-old, who was almost a victim. Almost.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN (voice-over): Snatched off her bicycle, while her little brother watched, thrown inside a stranger's car.

You're in the backseat of the car. Do you think you're thinking or you're just reacting?

MICKENZIE SMITH, ESCAPED WOULD-BE KIDNAPPER: I'm crying. Screaming. I'm just totally freaking out.

BROWN: Well, not entirely. How Mickenzie Smith clobbered her kidnapper.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... pitch to Rafael Palmiero.

BROWN: One of baseball's biggest sluggers is suspended for using steroids.

RAFAEL PALMIERO, BALTIMORE ORIOLES PLAYER: I have never used steroids, period.

BROWN: So, did he lie to Congress?

He has been told he could die if he boxes again. Why, then, is he suing to get back in the ring?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a matter of what I want in my heart. It's a matter of what I've worked so long and so hard for. And the fact that I feel like something's being stolen from me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cheese and eggs and meat, as well.

BROWN: He told us to cut out our carbs. And we did.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Introducing the Atkins-friendly chicken bacon wraps by turkey and bacon melt wraps.

Now, Atkins is about to go on a crash diet of its own, called bankruptcy. From New York, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: This is a sort of story we call small news. It would have been big news, the sort that dominates coverage for days on end, had it ended differently. And mostly these sorts of stories do end differently. For this is the story of a 12-year-old girl, kidnapped off her bicycle, while her younger brother watched.

Mickenzie Smith is the 12-year-old. Her younger brother is Kaidan. We could tell their story more efficiently, I suppose, than they, but in the way that children can and often do, they can tell it better. We talked with them earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Tell me when you thought this is trouble?

M. SMITH: When he started talking about he had lost his puppy. And he needed our help to find it.

BROWN: And you guys were riding your bikes at the time, right?

M. SMITH: We were coming on our way home from piano.

BROWN: What time of day was this?

M. SMITH: About 5:30.

BROWN: At some point he grabs you, right?

M. SMITH: Yes.

BROWN: Tell me what happened.

M. SMITH: We were leaving. And we rode by his passenger side of the car. Of his four-door. He had, earlier, opened the back two doors and his door while he was looking for a picture.

And so, as I was riding by, he just totally picked me up off of my bike. And he grabbed my arm and my side. And he tried to throw me into the right side of the car. But I was able to get my feet up on to the sides of the car. And somehow pushed back. And I managed to shut the door with my feet. And he took me around to the other side. And threw me in. And so, I did a nose dive on to his backseat. And he shut the door. And hopped in and drove away.

BROWN: Just hold the thought. At this point, you're still outside the car, right?

KAIDAN SMITH, BROTHER: Yes.

BROWN: And what are you doing?

K. SMITH: Well, by the time she's in the car, I'm running to the nearest house.

BROWN: Are you screaming? Are you crying? What are you doing?

K. SMITH: I'm just running as fast as I can.

BROWN: How far was the house, the nearest house?

K. SMITH: Just about 50 feet.

BROWN: Not too far. How long would you say it took you to get there?

K. SMITH: About 20 seconds.

BROWN: OK. Now, you're in the backseat of the car, right?

M. SMITH: Yes.

BROWN: Tell me what you were doing.

M. SMITH: I had tried to open both doors.

BROWN: Are you crying?

M. SMITH: I'm crying, screaming. I'm just totally freaking out.

BROWN: Yes, I'll bet.

M. SMITH: And after I couldn't get the doors open, I turned to the guy and started to hit him and scream at him.

BROWN: Is he -- is he in the front seat at this point?

M. SMITH: Yes. He's in the front seat.

BROWN: And is the car driving?

M. SMITH: Uh-huh. While I'm trying to open the doors, he's starting to drive.

BROWN: Is he driving very fast? M. SMITH: Maybe 20 miles -- 20, 30 miles an hour.

BROWN: Is he talking to you?

M. SMITH: He was totally silent.

BROWN: What are you thinking at this time? What do you think he's going to do? What is going on in your little mind?

M. SMITH: I am just thinking that I will most likely never see my family or any of my friends again. And I was thinking what may happen if I didn't succeed in trying to get away.

BROWN: Tell me how you got out.

M. SMITH: After I had been beating on him for about 100 yards, he just stopped the car where the road met with another road and screamed at me to get out. And I told him to open my doors. If I were to get out, he would have to open my doors.

And he told me, no, that I would have to get out on his door -- I would have to crawl over him and get out his door. So, that's what I did. I wasn't going take any chances. I just hopped out. So I just hopped out and took a glance back as he drove away. And started running to the house.

BROWN: What house? Your house?

M. SMITH: To the house that Kaidan had gone to.

K. SMITH: Yes.

BROWN: You ran to a house and were trying to get help, right?

K. SMITH: Yes.

BROWN: OK. What happened when you knocked on the door or screamed or whatever?

K. SMITH: I didn't knock on the door. He just saw car dust and he saw me there. And he came out.

BROWN: The person who lived in the house. Was it someone who knew?

K. SMITH: My dad's a home teacher. So, he sort of does teaching to them.

BROWN: You're out of the car, now. The guy drives away, right?

M. SMITH: Yes.

BROWN: What are you thinking? Do you remember?

M. SMITH: I was just -- I was just extremely grateful that he had actually let me out and that he wasn't going to take me some far off place.

BROWN: How soon -- how much time before your parents or an adult that you knew and trusted came and kind of wrapped their arms around you and said you're going to be fine?

M. SMITH: That was, maybe, 10 minutes.

BROWN: That's a long time.

M. SMITH: It may have been shorter than that. But that's how long it felt at the time.

BROWN: Let me ask you a couple other things, OK? Is it hard to talk about it?

M. SMITH: Not really. No.

BROWN: Do you dream about it?

M. SMITH: No.

BROWN: It's something that happened and ended?

M. SMITH: Yes.

BROWN: The guy's in jail?

M. SMITH: Yes.

BROWN: Did you know him?

M. SMITH: Never seen him.

BROWN: What would you say to him?

M. SMITH: I don't know that I would have anything to say to him. Really.

BROWN: Are you angry?

M. SMITH: A little. But not too much.

BROWN: Lucky little girl. You're a great kid.

M. SMITH: Thank you.

BROWN: Nice to meet you.

M. SMITH: Nice to meet you.

BROWN: Good for you. Good for you for helping, too. Travel safely home, OK?

M. SMITH: OK.

BROWN: OK. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: That's Mickenzie and Kaidan Smith of Utah. Lucky kids, they.

Coming up on the program, major league scandal. He said that he never used steroids. Now, he says, well, maybe he did by accident. Hmm. So how do you take steroids by accident?

And he could have been a contender. Now, he's fighting to get back in the ring, despite the medical condition that could kill him.

Couple of stories coming up. We'll take a break first. Around the ring and around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: As we all know, a lot can change in five months. Five months ago, Baltimore Orioles' Rafael Palmiero told Congress in no uncertain terms, he had never used steroids. He said this while pointing an index finger at the Congressional panel. He showed them.

Today, the first baseman was suspended, after testing positive for steroids.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN (voice-over): One of the game's greatest all-time hitters, he was also, or at least so it seemed, the sport's most credible witness before Congress.

PALMIERO: I have never used steroids, period.

BROWN: Today, talking with reporters by phone, he accepted his punishment, though it's not exactly clear for what crime.

PALMEIRO: I accept this punishment and want to address it publicly. I want to apologize to Major League Baseball, the Baltimore Orioles organization, my teammates and, most of all, my fans.

BUSTER OLNEY, ESPN BASEBALL ANALYST: Rafael's coming out and saying, I can't answer questions because of confidentiality issues. The bottom line is, he's got to answer questions if he has any chance of winning back his reputation. And for him to hide behind that is ridiculous.

BROWN: Whatever it was that drug testing found in Rafael Palmeiro's system, and Major League Baseball is not saying, Palmeiro is saying it was not there on purpose.

PALMEIRO: I don't know what it was. I don't know what caused this.

BROWN: His teammates said what teammates do in public.

B.J. SURHOFF, BALTIMORE ORIOLES: We need to try and be as supportive as we can for him, because there's no telling, this is going to be a pretty tough ride for him.

BROWN: Fans said what they always say.

LEON HINSON, ORIOLE FAN: When I was a kid, even before then, we always believed that the ballplayers were our role models. They were pure. But now, you can't look up to them. And for that to happen, somebody that's gotten 3,000 hits, hit over 500 home runs, it changes everything he's ever done.

BROWN: And reporters who find pleas less than credible said what reporters always say.

LESTER MUNSON, WRITER, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: A hero, a possible hall-of-famer like Rafael Palmeiro was obviously willing to risk a 10- game suspension just to get a few more hits, just to feel a little stronger. That's what has happened here.

BROWN: Which had Palmeiro invoking the "I wouldn't be that stupid" defense.

PALMEIRO: Why would I do this in a year when I went in front of Congress? Why would I do this during a season where I was going to get to 3,000 hits? I would not put my career on the line. I would not put my reputation on the line. I'm not a crazy person. I'm not stupid.

BROWN: Rafael Palmeiro is no ordinary player. He is a friend of President Bush, for one thing, from the days when the president was an owner of the Texas Rangers.

The White House issued a formal statement today, saying: "The president considers him a friend and he believes in him when he says he has not used steroids."

That was then, at congressional hearings in mid-March. This is now, when Congress may look again at baseball. And after today, both the political and the baseball equations may have changed.

OLNEY: On the one hand, it was a black eye for baseball because one of the greatest sluggers gets attached to the steroid controversy. On the other hand, from the perspective of commissioner Bud Selig, it actually serves his purposes. He's trying to get the steroid testing system tougher. That's what he determined in May. He wants to make this much harsher. And certainly he's done that with pressure from Congress. I think this is going to play in his favor.

MUNSON: Palmeiro had to know he was playing with fire. He had to know it. There was no way he could not know it. And what he has done now is he has lit a fire on Capitol Hill. All of those political people are going to feast on this. And baseball is going to pay the price.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Palmeiro suspended today for 10 days. He is the seventh and highest-profile player to test positive for steroids since baseball tightened its rules on performance-enhancing drugs.

Now, imagine this, you're a rising star. You've worked years to make your mark and finally are within the reach of hitting it big, until the people who make the rules say you can no longer work. Not because you've done anything wrong, in fact, you've been very nearly perfect, but because letting you do the work, the work you love, might kill you.

Here's CNN's David Mattingly.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After 29 straight wins and 25 knockouts, the undefeated heavyweight contender, called Baby Joe Mesi, seems to have all it takes to be boxing's next big thing.

There's only one problem...

(on camera): They said, if you go back into the ring, you could die. Why do you keep going?

JOE MESI, HEAVYWEIGHT CONTENDER: Well, I'm in full disagreement. I believe that I'm at the same risk level as every other boxer out there.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): On June 22nd, the Nevada Athletic Commission decided it was too dangerous for Mesi to step back into the ring. He was suspended after injuries he sustained in a fight with heavyweight Vassily Jirov in March of 2004.

(on camera): Do you know how many times you were hit in the head that last round?

JOE MESI: Do you know?

MATTINGLY: Eighteen.

JOE MESI: Eighteen?

MATTINGLY: Eighteen.

JOE MESI: Yes, that's a lot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A left and a right, and Mesi is down again.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Mesi still won the fight on points. But MRIs later revealed small areas of bleeding on Mesi's brain, called subdural hematomas. According to the Nevada Athletic Commission, subdural hematomas are the leading cause of death in boxers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, the concern is if he fights again, he would be susceptible to another subdural hematoma. And this time he may not be so lucky.

MATTINGLY: In spite of expert testimony that Mesi is now fully recovered with no signs of brain damage, the commission argued it saw no evidence he or any other boxer with the same injury could ever fight again safely, and voted unanimously to keep Mesi out of the ring indefinitely.

(on camera): It used to be when a fighter was suspended in one state, he would just cross the state line to fight again. But not anymore. Because of a new federal law, if you're suspended in one state, you're suspended in all of them. A fighter is left with three choices: quit, leave the country, or in the case of Joe Mesi, go to court.

JOE MESI: It's a matter of what I want in my heart. It's a matter of what I've worked so long and so hard for. And the fact that I feel like something is being stolen from me.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): If a judge rules against him, some in boxing believe that even fighting abroad may not become an option for Mesi, because international boxing boards may be reluctant to ignore his past injury.

But Mesi's father and manager, Jack Mesi, believes his son is ready to return to a sport that is already loaded with risk.

JACK MESI, FATHER: Again, you know, it's something that you have to face -- you've got to face your fears, whether you're the fighter or the father of the fighter.

JOE MESI: I want them to know that I'm a rational person. I would never do anything foolish. I have a lot to live for. Believe me, I have a lot to live for.

I'm doing this for you guys. Thank you very much.

MATTINGLY: Well-spoken and charismatic, it's true that his future out of the ring seems full of opportunity. But as Mesi prepares for his round in court, he continues to train for a title bout that may never happen.

David Mattingly, CNN, Buffalo, New York.

BROWN: Coming up, why it's no longer fat city for the Atkins diet people. They're trimming down from a size 12 to a Chapter 11.

And Lance Armstrong he's not, but closer than most of us. The results of the president's physical.

A break first. In sickness or health, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: The economist Herb Stein had a saying, when something can't go on forever, it won't. In this case the end arrived somewhere between the seventh and 43th place of Peking beef, hold the carrots, hold the rice. We're talking, of course, about the Atkins diet and why the company that made a fortune selling the Atkins diet is now in Chapter 11. Reporting for us tonight, Peter Viles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): No one brought home the bacon like he did, or the beef or the eggs. Millions listened when Dr. Robert Atkins said the secret to being slim is right there in the frying pan.

ROBERT C. ATKINS, FORMER CEO, ATKINS NUTRITIONALS: Cheese and eggs and meat, as well, because all of those foods are without carbohydrates, basically.

VILES: The Atkins diet was said to keep stars like Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston slim. It was controversial, and for a while, it was a moneymaker. Wildly popular books created an entire industry.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Introducing Subway's new Atkins-friendly wraps, like the savory chicken bacon ranch...

VILES: Soon came low-carb beer, low-carb pasta, low-carb cola, even low-carb bread.

ATKINS: There are many, many companies that are putting out low- carb versions of high-carb foods. And because of it, it is easy now to stay on a low-carb lifestyle.

VILES: But it wasn't easy to build a profitable business on all that. This weekend, privately-held Atkins Nutritionals, which makes Atkins shakes and power bars, filed for bankruptcy after losing $340 million last year.

DR. NEAL BARNARD, MD PHYSICIANS CNTR. FOR RESP. MED.: One thing is that so many people tried the diet, quit the diet. And the market was just gone. The other is there were many competitors in there. But I think that health advocates like our organization, who have brought lawsuits against Atkins and pointed out that there's a tremendous unhealthy aspect to them, I think that's been part of the nail in their coffin, as well.

VILES: One survey showed the number of Americans on low-carb diets dropped from 9 percent to under 4 percent last year. Critics of the Atkins way are gloating.

BARNARD: When you have a cardiologist who tells people that eating cheeseburgers and steak and pork rinds and sausage is good for you, that's an easy sell. And telling people what they want to hear has always been an easy way to sell things. But over time I think people realized that it's just not true.

VILES: Dr. Atkins died in April 2003, after a bad fall left him in a coma. His estate then made a very smart move. As the Atkins craze was peaking, it sold control of the Atkins brand to outside investors for $500 million. The company can't pay its bills, but insists it can survive as a smaller business. The company, in other words, that needs to go on a crash diet. Peter Viles, for CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Still ahead, the president's nominee for the United Nations job, and the undiplomatic way he got it.

Take a break first. From New York, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: In a moment, millions of people put at risk of starvation, putting a face on those numbers.

But first, at about a quarter until the hour, time for some of the other news of the day. Erica Hill joins us from Atlanta -- Ms. Hill.

ERICA HILL, CNN HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR: Mr. Brown, we're actually going to start off with a check of the president's health. And it's just fine, thanks. Results are in from his latest checkup, here are some of the highlights for you: Blood pressure, 110 over 64; resting heart rate, 47; cholesterol, 178. Now the doctors did turn up bad knees, A bit of acid reflux, a taste for coffee and the occasional cigar.

And now, a presidential prerogative. John Bolton is now America's ambassador to the United Nations. President Bush used a recess appointment to bypass Congress, which means Ambassador Bolton will be in the job until at least January of 2007.

Syndicated columnist and CNN contributor, Bob Novak, broke his silence today about Valerie Plame, admitting he did reveal the former CIA officer's name, even after an agency official told him not to. But Novak said he was never warned that naming her would endanger her or anybody else. Novak revealed all of this in, where else, his column. The whole story began two years ago.

And a Marine sergeant has now been charged with negligent homicide, assault, and failure to obey an order in the February death of a recruit at the Marine Corps' main training facility at Parris Island, South Carolina. The recruit died on his final day of swim training.

The hearing on the charges, Aaron, will begin on Thursday morning.

BROWN: Thank you, Erica. We'll talk tomorrow.

HILL: Sounds good.

BROWN: Thank you very much.

Top humanitarian activists today accused the U.N. of reacting slowly to the hunger crisis in Niger. Bernard Kouchner was the founder of medical organization Doctors Without Borders, and he said the U.N. didn't provide sufficient warning of the scope of the crisis.

For its part, the U.N. said today it has doubled the number of people it plans to feed there, where millions are at-risk of starvation.

Here's CNN's Anderson Cooper.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This is what desperation looks like. In a small village in southern Niger, hundreds of mothers gather with their hungry children hoping somebody will help them.

(on camera): Hunger is nothing new in Niger. Every year there's a several- month gap. They call it the "hungry season" between when the crops have been planted and they're actually harvested. What happened is with the drought last year, the crops simply didn't come up this year so that that hungry season is longer and more intense than it's been.

(voice-over): That's why Niger is in crisis. Aid agencies say the severe food shortage has put some 3.6 million Nigeriens at risk of starvation, most of them children.

(on camera): Some of the worst cases aren't necessarily in the big cities in Niger, they're in smaller, outlying villages. The relief groups come to villages like this one and offer screening. Mothers bring their children. The worst cases are brought back to the city, back to the hospital.

(voice-over): At this village screening, however, the crowds are simply too big.

(on camera): It's a bit overwhelming when you first come to a center like this because there are just so many people, so many mothers who have brought their children. Not all of them are starving. Not all of them are severely malnourished. In fact, some of them look pretty healthy. They're smiling. But they know that there's food here. They know that there's medical care here. So they bring their children looking for help.

(voice-over): Christophe (ph), a relief worker with Doctors Without Borders, decides it's impossible to safely screen children in these conditions.

(on camera): What is the problem today?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today the problem is there are too much people and uncontrolled.

COOPER: The village elders are trying to restore some semblance of order but they're not having much luck. There are just too many people, too many people trying to get food for their kids. The relief workers are actually going to cancel the program in this village for today because it's impossible to screen out the most needy. They hope they're going to be able to come back tomorrow.

A few miles away, Doctors Without Borders is able to screen other children. They're weighed and measured. Some immediately receive milk. The worst cases wind up here in the hospital. It's not known how many children have died in Niger because of this year's severe food shortage, but relief agencies say there have been thousands. Their deaths don't make headlines, only their parents remember their names.

Anderson Cooper, CNN, Maradi, Niger.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Anderson has more from Niger tomorrow, 7:00 Eastern time. My goodness.

Morning papers coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: OK. Time to check morning papers from around the country and around the world. I could do the whole thing tonight on The International Herald Tribune. I can't wait to see my New York Times in the morning, I like all these stories.

"Italy Finds Fugitive Wasn't Tied to Network." This is the guy we told you about at the top of the program. This is like a freelance cell? Come on. I'm sorry.

"NASA Sets Sights on New Way to Go: Two-Rocket Plan for Post- Shuttle Era." So they are planning how to go back in space after they retire the shuttle, which could come like by this weekend the way things are going.

And the new king -- the new king of Saudi Arabia, King Fahd, died. King Fahd hasn't really been in the game for about a decade. So this wasn't exactly a shock that Crown Prince Abdullah has got the gig.

Christian Science Monitor, just a little thing at the top here I thought was interesting: "Terrorism Is not Inevitable." In The Monitor's view -- Christian Science Monitor's view, official predictions of further terrorist acts only help to serve the terrorists' fear-mongering. Kind of an interesting way to think about things.

"Bush Appoints Bolton in Recess." The Washington Times, "Sidesteps Filibuster on U.N. Nominee." So John Bolton will be going off to the U.N. And if I was the French ambassador, I'd be pretty nervous right now.

The Times of London: "Yard Fears Italy Delay Is Slowing Bomb Hunt." Yes, I would read that story. But I want to know what this is about over here, OK? "When a knight of the realm was the dregs of society." Look at that -- tighten up on that a little bit. That's a young Mick Jagger. Man, I barely remember when he looked that young. You know who that woman is with him? No, you guys are too young, that's Marianne Faithfull.

The Guardian: "Police Wrangle Over Suspect: Italian Terror Charge Could Delay Extradition & Set Back U.K. Inquiry." Story is dominant.

And in Boston, you'll wake up -- if you take The Herald, if you don't take The Herald, if you take The Boston Globe, you'll wake up to something a little meatier. But if you take The Herald you'll get this: "Attacked by People They're Trying to Save: EMTs Under Siege." Tales from the street, guy comes to give you like CPR and you pop him. And goodness.

Chicago Sun Times, our favorite tabloid in Chicago, says the weather tomorrow there will be -- jumped the gun there a bit, "Sweatbox."

We'll wrap it up in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM FEBRUARY 27TH, 1996)

MADELEINE K. ALBRIGHT, SECRETARY OF STATE: This is not cojones. This is cowardice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER (voice-over): Determined and quick-witted, Madeleine Albright was the first female U.S. secretary of state. The daughter of a Czech diplomat who fled the Nazis and the communists, she was 11 when she came to the U.S. with her family.

ALBRIGHT: I felt very strongly at a very young age that the United States was a very special country.

COOPER: Albright followed her American dream, earning a Ph.D., and becoming an expert in world affairs. She served as ambassador to the U.N., before being named as secretary of state by President Clinton.

ALBRIGHT: I think every time that I sat in the Oval Office with the president at the cabinet table, I said to myself, can you believe that you're secretary of state?

COOPER: Now 68, Albright runs a global strategy firm and teaches at Georgetown University. She still travels extensively.

ALBRIGHT: I love what I do. And I get energy from doing a great number of things.

COOPER: After leaving office, Albright published a memoir. She's currently working on a book about her collection of broaches.

ALBRIGHT: It all kind of started as a joke. When Saddam Hussein called me a snake, I happened to have a snake pin. Then it kind of got to be a thing in itself. And I now have a lot of them. And they mostly have wonderful stories attached to them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Madeleine Albright.

Good to have you with us tonight. We'll be back here tomorrow, 10:00 Eastern time, we hope you'll join us then. Until then, good night for all of us.

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