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CNN Newsnight Aaron Brown
Hurricane Wilma Moving Toward Florida; Shocking E-mails in the Wake of Katrina; Devastating Allegations that Syria Played Part in Killing of Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri; Video Showing U.S. Troops Allegedly Burning Bodies of Taliban Fighters
Aired October 20, 2005 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
AARON BROWN, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Well, good evening again. There are mysteries of plenty tonight, but no mystery here. A hurricane is coming ashore, and perhaps heading for home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wilma, a huge Cat 4 -- the most powerful storm ever in the Atlantic -- now churning on a menacing course toward Florida. So when and where will it strike? Tonight, we'll show you its fury.
Plus, a major break in the murder of a prominent attorney's wife.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A 16-year old male juvenile has been arrested for murder in connection with the killing of Pamela Vitale.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But why? Tonight, more shocking than his arrest -- the theory of a possible motive.
Plus, a chilling discovery in the Sierra Nevadas: A blond-haired man found in a block of ice. Has he been there since World War II? Tonight, the search to find out who he is and what happened.
This is NEWSNIGHT. Live from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York is Aaron Brown; and live from New Orleans, Anderson Cooper.
BROWN: Much to cover tonight and the hour ahead. We begin, though, with a quick check of the headlines -- Anderson.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Aaron, thanks. We're here in New Orleans again in the French Quarter, more than seven weeks after Katrina. Come back to see the recovery efforts, what's being done, what still needs to be -- and there is much that needs to be done. All that in a minute. But first, here's what's happening at this moment.
A Syrian connection to a deadly bombing: Today, the United Nations issued a report on the assassination of Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri. Now U.N. investigators say they have found evidence linking Syrian and Lebanese officials with the very public killing. A strange kidnapping out of Iraq today: A lawyer for one of Saddam Hussein's co-defendants was abducted from his home. He represents a former judge of Hussein's regime. The ex-judge is charged with the killings of more than 140 people.
Near Oakland, an arrest in the murder of a defense attorney's wife: A 16-year old boy is in custody in connection with Saturday's killing of Pamela Vitale. She is the wife of Daniel Horowitz, a high profile attorney and legal analyst. Police do not yet have a motive.
And making the best of a difficult photo-op, Congressman Tom DeLay smiled for his mug shot today -- What else are you going to do? I guess -- after he turned himself in. The former house majority leader is charged with money laundering involving a campaign donation scheme. After being booked, he posted bond and was released.
Category 4 Hurricane Wilma's deadly mix of surging water and catastrophic winds are already being felt in Cancun. Now the eye could cross the resort city by as early as tomorrow. CNN's Susan Candiotti joins us on the phone. Susan, what's the latest?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, tourists are out, Wilma is almost in, and the seaside resort is virtually void of residents, as well as tourists. Beach hotels were ordered to be evacuated. And a lot of people headed out of Dodge. There were long lines at the airport this day, which is now, of course, closed to traffic. Schools and businesses also shut down, boarded up. And basically, they've got about 270 shelters opened. Some of the hotels have guests that are hunkered down in ballrooms. I'm looking at one right now, where you've got some people just standing outside to get some fresh air. But we're in the middle of a squaw right now. We haven't seen any very serious rain at this time. As many as 20,000 tourists are gone. Maybe about 20,000 left behind. Some, as I said, because they couldn't get out. Others, believe it or not, because they view this as an adventure.
As you indicated, the storm could hit as early as midday tomorrow, but certainly we are already beginning to feel the force of Wilma.
COOPER: Susan, thanks for that report. We already know, of course, that at least 12 people have died from these storms so far. We'll continue to have developments all throughout this next hour. Now, to give you an idea of how devastating Wilma might be, this storm could soak parts of Cuba with as much as 40 inches of rain. That is nearly four feet, as CNN's Lucia Newman reports tonight from Havana.
LUCIA NEWMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Anderson. Well, as you can see, it's just beginning to drizzle here in Havana. It's raining a lot harder in western Pinar del Rio, Province. According to the latest official government bulletin, 390,000 people have been evacuated so for, mostly from the western tip of the country, but very shortly also here in Havana Province and in the city of Havana, all the way to Matanzas, which is nearing almost the center of this country. It's expected to be an enormous storm. What's really got people's nerves wracked, though, here Anderson, is that they just don't know. They've been waiting and waiting. They don't know if the storm is finally going to veer off to the right and take a sharp turn right towards the island or whether it will go just slightly more to the north and spare this country with some of the worst.
People, of course, are very, very frightened of storm surges, and of this rain because the island is always drenched from two previous hurricanes; the latest, of course, being Hurricane Rita, which left most of the reservoirs here absolutely full. The river is swollen. And so people are very, very nervous indeed, Anderson, about this storm.
COOPER: Now, we had talked before about preparations. You were saying it is very difficult for people to get supplies. I mean, the kind of supplies they would need to protect themselves in this storm.
NEWMAN: Absolutely. Although the government is very good at getting people out of harms' way, taking them to shelters, they really have very little resources with which to save their own property. There are no hardware stores here. People cannot just go out and buy nails or wood -- even tape to put on their windows. So the real tragedy here, very often of course, comes afterwards, when their homes collapse, when they have absolutely no where to go after the storm passes -- Anderson.
COOPER: Imagine trying to prepare for a hurricane, not being to buy nails or even wood to plaster up your home -- and it's hard to believe. Lucia, thank you. We'll continue checking with you as well.
Of course the question is where will this storm go? Severe Weather Specialist Chad Myers joining us from the CNN Weather Center. Chad, what's the latest?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: This has been the most schizophrenic storm, Anderson. This is the latest and greatest stuff from the hurricane center. The 11:00 o'clock discussion -- you can go on the hurricane's centers Web site, if you want: www.nhc -- National Hurricane Center -- .noah.gov -- G-O-V.
The bottom of the line says here, with all of this new data coming in, this is a low confidence forecast.
And this is what we've been talking about the entire time, how this storm just isn't reacting well to model guidance, to wind, to wind from any direction because there are -- there's basically no wind down there whatsoever. The winds are so light down across this area, that we're not getting any real direct motion. It's been wobbling. We showed you the wobbles yesterday. Now when I turn to the right a little bit, but the eye is getting much more symmetric. When that happens, the storm is intensifying.
That squall that Lucia was going through here, back on up toward the north and to the northeast of here, and then for our Susan Candiotti, there's Cancun. This squall headed right in at this hour. There is the eye. That is the eye of the storm, to the east of Tulum, just to the southeast of Cozumel. Cozumel, now the town that you know, where the cruise ships dock -- actually on the west side of the island, protected a little bit from the waves, but Cancun, not just getting severe waves now right along the hotel zone and that is going to continue. Here is Havana. Here's where Lucia is. And there's where the rain -- and she was talking about the Pinar del Rio area. That's where the cigars are grown. Back on this side, very heavy rainfall there now and more rain to come this evening and tonight. And the mountains that are there, the little bumpy areas that are there. They're not 14,000 feet, but there's enough of a lift there to cause 20 -- and even you said, Anderson, almost 40 inches of rain, not out of the question, especially if this slows down like it is forecast to do now. Why is it slowing down? Because there's a high pressure to the west and a high pressure to the east, and it's stuck there. It's just stuck, waiting for this one to move away and this high to move in and give it a shove. Back to you.
COOPER: Chad, I think last night it was 7 miles per hour. I mean, is there any forward momentum for this storm or is it --
MYERS: It is still seven. That's correct.
COOPER: Okay. And I mean, in some ways that's a blessing. It's bad because it's confusing and we don't know where it's going to go, makes it schizophrenic, to use your term. But it's also, as you told me last night -- and I remember everything you always say -- sucking up cold water and perhaps weakening it, yes?
MYERS: Perhaps. Perhaps, kind of mixing it as we call it, or upwelling the water as it gets close to shore here. Grabbing some of the colder water from down below. But we were just checking a buoy that's just offshore here, Anderson. And that water temperature is 84. And that's cooler than 87, which it was yesterday. But that's not cold enough to kill it yet. It has to be down below 78 for this storm to start to lose in intensity and it's just not there yet.
COOPER: It's not. All right, good information, Chad. Thanks, very much. Coming up, we'll have more on the hurricane. We'll also get to the bottom of FEMA's handling of Hurricane Katrina -- or trying to get to the bottom of it.
One small step, perhaps, tonight. Chilling testimony from a man who was in New Orleans, during and after the storm. His take on what went wrong. He works for FEMA. He should know.
Later, less of a mystery, but more of a shame. A young man arrested in connection with the murder of Pamela Vitale, wife of Attorney Daniel Horowitz. We'll have the details -- and some of them are truly shocking -- when NEWSNIGHT continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: And a very ground level view of Bourbon Street, walking along, some of the people. What's interesting is, you'd think most of these people are tourists, given that they are strolling along on Bourbon Street, but they're actually not. A lot of them are off-duty National Guardsmen. They work for the Red Cross, they work for their insurance adjustors. They really are all people here who are in one way or another involved in the recovery efforts here in New Orleans. So life, really not returning to normal in New Orleans, or even any semblance of normalcy.
At some point, continued criticism of FEMA's Former Director Michael Brown, may seem like piling on -- Senators have a job to do. Today they heard about some disturbing Katrina-related e-mail correspondence within FEMA. You're not going to believe some of this e-mail. CNN's Kathleen Koch has been investigating.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Hurricane Katrina roared in Marty Bahamonde sounded the alarm in New Orleans. He told senators he called FEMA immediately to say the worst case scenario had happened. The levees had broken, and he asked for help.
MARTY BAHAMONDE, FEMA REGIONAL DIRECTOR: FEMA Headquarters knew at 11:00 o'clock. Mike Brown knew at 7:00 o'clock. Most of FEMA's operational staff knew by 9:00 o'clock that evening. I don't know where that information went.
KOCH: Bahamonde says he waded to the Superdome, found little food there, little water. Stunned, he watched as thousands more were bussed in.
BAHAMONDE: Just doubled the population and really took a bad situation and made it so much worse when you had options to just drive them out of the city across the bridge.
KOCH: Bahamonde sent an e-mail to FEMA Director Michael Brown Wednesday morning, "Hotels are kicking people out, thousands gathering in the streets with no food or water. Hundreds still being rescued from homes...Estimates are many will die within hours." It's unclear whether he got a response.
Hours later, Bahamonde was forwarded this e-mail from Brown's press secretary in Baton Rouge, "It's important that time is allowed for Mr. Brown to eat dinner. Given that Baton Rouge is back to normal, restaurants are getting busy. He needs much more than 20 or 30 minutes."
An exasperated Bahamonde responds, "Tell her that I just ate an MRE and (went to the bathroom) in the hallway of the Superdome along with 30,000 other close friends so I understand her concern about busy restaurants."
KOCH (on camera): Brown has not replied to CNN's request for a response. FEMA's new director calls Bahamonde dedicated and hard working and says the agency has changed.
DAVID PAULISON, ACTING FEMA DIRECTOR: I can tell you at this point in time, this agency is in touch and this agency is ready to respond.
KOCH (voice-over): Senators investigating the Katrina response asked Bahamonde to conclude by reading his final e-mail to colleagues the week of Katrina. BAHAMONDE: I can't get out of my head the visions of children and babies I saw sitting there, helpless, looking at me and hoping I could make a difference. And so I will and you must too. It is not what we do that is as important as who we are. And that's what those little kids' faces were counting on.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOCH: Kathleen Koch, CNN, Washington.
COOPER: And we certainly don't want to be piling on, but that is just a remarkable e-mail for someone to tell someone who's in the Superdome that the FEMA director needs more than 20 or 30 minutes to eat because restaurants in Baton Rouge are crowded. To say that at the height of the storm and the height of the recovery effort is -- it's an extraordinary document.
Time again for a quick update on the top stories of the evening. For that, we go to Christi Paul in Atlanta. Hi Christi.
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi Anderson.
The U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan urged the developed world to do more for victims of the quake in Kashmir. Members of NATO will take up the issue tomorrow in Brussels. There are no excuses, the secretary general said yesterday. Our response will be no less than a measure of our humanity.
A U.S. Marine was killed by a suicide car bomb in western Iraq today near the Syrian border. U.S. and Iraqi troops have been conducting operations in the region for several weeks now, with mixed results. Today's fatality brings the American death toll in Iraq to 1,986.
The maker of Tamiflu has agreed to let other companies produce the flu-fighting drug. Roche made the announcement after meeting Senators Chuck Schumer and Lindsey Graham. Four companies that make generic drugs will get the formula and license initially.
In New Hampshire, Senator Judd Gregg won more than $850,000 in last night's Powerball lottery. He told reporters that his wife already has plans for the money. Meanwhile, the overall winner, a ticket holder from Oregon has not yet claimed the record $340 million prize.
That's it from Atlanta. Back to you.
COOPER: Christi, thanks very much.
Now the assassination that may have paved the way for democracy in Lebanon -- a very high price to pay. Evidence tonight from a team of U.N. investigators that Syria played a part in the killing of Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri. Now Hariri, you'll remember, died in a gigantic bomb blast early this year. His death triggered a popular uprising for some Syrian troops from the country. CNN's Brent Sadler joins us now in Beirut with the details -- Brent. BRENT SADLER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Anderson. Yes, indeed. This is the long awaited report after four months of painstaking detective work from a United Nations team of investigators -- 54 pages. If you're a Syrian, if you're a member of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad's ruling regime, it contains devastating allegations of alleged Syrian complicity with that Valentine's Day, February 14 bomb assassination that killed Rafic Hariri, the five times Lebanese prime minister and some 20 others.
In this report, the inquiry team says that there's probable cause that the decision to assassinate Hariri could not have been taken without the involvement of senior Syrian officials in collusion with their Lebanese counterparts. Remember at that time -- and you were here, Anderson -- Lebanon was under the control of Syrian -- many would say here occupation forces. Syria was calling the shots, Syria really was the overall security envelope here. And it is Syria which the U.N. team here has pointed major fingers of accusation at on multiple levels -- Anderson.
COOPER: And Brent, when you and I walked around on the site where Prime Minister Hariri was assassinated -- and it wasn't just an assassination of pulling a gun. I mean this was a massive explosion with that deep crater in the street. Describe for us the scene for those who don't remember it. And also what it indicates about the level of pre-planning of this attack.
SADLER: Well, you'll recall, that was a massive bomb crater. We now know, according to the inquiry, that about 1,000 pounds of explosives, TNT, were used to create that devastating bomb blast that wiped out the onward motorcade of Rafic Hariri and defied his on-board jamming devices that his motorcade always carried through Beirut. In addition to that, it's also now fairly clear from this report that the mobile telephone system in Lebanon was an intricate part of the bomb plot, that active officials, Syrian and/or Lebanese, it's alleged were directly monitoring Hariri's movements, wiretapping his telephones and planning step by step, using the mobile telephone network to even possibly trigger device. That was the level of sophistication involved. That could not have been done without superior powers being involved. And really, what's devastating -- one of the most devastating aspects of the report that's been sent to the security council members is that the members of Assad, the Syrian president's inner family circle are implicated, alleged to be involved by one witness account in this plot that really did change the circumstances of Lebanon's political structure here, forcing the Syrians out -- Anderson.
COOPER: And it's certainly a major development today. Brent Sadler, thanks very much for that.
Aaron, it's remarkable too, when you think about what happened in the wake of that assassination. I mean, when we were there, you know, a million people in the streets of Beirut, calling for Syria out. It was one of the most extraordinary days, just as a reporter, that I had ever seen, to see all those people suddenly, you know, giving voice to the feelings that they had been holding in for so long. BROWN: It's the perfect contemporary example of the law of unintended consequences. Whoever planned it certainly didn't imagine it would play out the way it did.
Coming up on the program, the military launches an investigation in Afghanistan after a troubling video surfaces, showing U.S. troops allegedly burning the bodies of Taliban fighters. We'll show you the video -- the background as well.
And later, a frozen body of a man missing perhaps for 60 years, found high up in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
We'll take a break first. NEWSNIGHT continues from New Orleans and New York.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Broadly speaking -- very broadly speaking, there are two necessities for successfully waging a counter-insurgency, winning battles and winning hearts and minds. In Afghanistan, unlike Iraq, American forces had been reasonably good at both. With certain exceptions, Guantanamo Bay for one. And now there is this. And now there is this. Part of a documentary aired on Australian television. A warning first. This may be a bit tough to watch.
From the Pentagon tonight, CNN's Jamie McIntyre.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The videotape showing burning bodies of Taliban fighters killed by U.S. troops in a firefight was part of a documentary aired on Australia's SBS television. It was shot early this month by a journalist embedded with U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
STEPHEN DUPONT, PHOTOJOURNALIST: You know, we've been told to burn the bodies because the bodies have been here for 24 hours and they're starting to stink. So for hygiene purposes, this is what we've got to do.
MCINTYRE: The program charged that the bodies were deliberately desecrated, faced toward Mecca to mock the Muslim faith, and that American soldiers from a Psychological Operations Unit, then taunted the Taliban over loudspeakers, calling them lady boys for failing to retrieve the remains.
DUPONT: They deliberately wanted to incite that much anger from the Taliban so the Taliban could attack them.
MCINTYRE: Smoke them out.
DUPONT: Smoke them out.
MCINTYRE: The broadcast drew a quick response from the U.S. military. One commander calling the actions repugnant. And an immediate investigation was ordered. A statement issued by the U.S. military in Afghanistan said, quote, "The command does not advocate nor...tolerate, the wrongful desecration of anyone's remains...(or) the use of broadcast messages in conjunction with an act such as this...These are very serious allegations," it went on to say, "and if true, they are reprehensible."
One reason for the forceful reaction, fear the incident could incite the kind of anti-U.S. violence that followed allegations of Koran abuse by the U.S. military. At the State Department, a spokesman underscored the seriousness of the charges.
SEAN MCCORMACK, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: What we see in this videotape is not at all reflective of the values of the military or of the United States.
MCINTYRE (on camera): The U.S. government is promising a full investigation and that anyone found to have violated the Geneva Conventions or U.S. military law will be held accountable. But the U.S. based Islamic advocacy group says that's not enough. It wants a top to bottom review of Pentagon procedures and policies for personnel operating in Muslim countries.
Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Still ahead tonight, Hurricane Wilma bearing down on Mexico. We'll go live in Cancun for the latest there.
And a little bit later, frozen in time -- literally. An amazing discovery found after six decades in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The details as NEWSNIGHT continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Cool night in New York City. Coming up later in the broadcast, an arrest in the beating death of the wife of a prominent California lawyer.
But first, a look at the news at this moment. Hurricane Wilma, dangerously close now to Cozumel at Mexico's Yucatan peninsula
BROWN: Cool night in New York City. Coming up later in the broadcast, an arrest in the beating death of the wife of a prominent California lawyer.
But first a look at the news at this moment.
Hurricane Wilma, dangerously close now to Cozumel, and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. A direct hit could come tomorrow. Wilma is extremely dangerous. A Category 4 storm, sustained winds 150 miles an hour. National Hurricane Center says Wilma could hit Florida cost by late Sunday.
Who said what to whom, and when? That question remains central in the investigation into the leak of a CIA operative's identity, Valerie Plame. A source familiar with Karl Rove's grand jury testimony tells CNN the president's top political advisor believes it was Scooter Libby, the vice president's chief of staff, who first told him about Valerie Plame.
And former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay turned himself in to police in Houston, Texas today, one day after an arrest warrant was issue. This is the mug shot. He was fingerprinted, photographed, and released on $10,000 bond. He faces conspiracy and money laundering charges. That, and a storm of controversy, as well, which hardly compares to the real thing.
For the latest on Hurricane Wilma, we turn again to our severe weather expert, in Atlanta, CNN's Chad Myers -- Chad?
CHAD MYERS, CNN SEVERE WEATHER EXPERT: Making a dangerous approach to Cozumel and Cancun area this evening. Right now about 130 miles just to the south-southeast of Cozumel and you can easily see the direction of the storm. It actually changed direction about 5 hours ago and now making a more north-northeastward, north- northwestward track. A little bit of a turn to the right, rather than the direction that it was going, which was right into the Yucatan.
And that would have been some good news, if it would have just parked itself over this area it could have killed itself and there is very little flooding in the Yucatan, because the rivers are all underground. The water soaks right through a very porous limestone and right down to the ground water and you never hear about flooding on the northern tip of the Yucatan, because it jut doesn't happen. It doesn't run off because there are no hills.
Here's what happened in the overnight hours last night and into this morning. We lost the inner eye wall. We lost the strength of the storm as the next outer eye wall, it is kind of like a target, bottom -- right in the middle that is the inner eye wall, then there is another, then maybe even there is another. This area here, is gone now. The outer eye wall is back, it is 35 miles across and because it is larger, it is 35 miles from side to side, it isn't the eight miles around that the other one was, that the smaller eye wall was. The wind speeds have gone down.
Well, don't tell that to Cancun and Cozumel, because not wind speeds are actually going up, because the storm is getting closer. Every time one of these bands goes by, the winds pick up 15 or 20 miles per hour. When there is a lull, that is when the winds actually die off, maybe to 30, 35. But every time one of those bands gets closer the winds are going to be going up all night long and it does look like Cozumel, Cancun, right on back into Plier del Carman (ph), could pick up wind speeds around 150 miles per hour. And if you have ever been there, there is a lot of glass, there are a lot of hotels. All the way up and down what they call the Mexican Riviera -- Aaron. BROWN: Does it keep generating these eye wall?
MYERS: It does. It is called eye wall replacement cycles. And as long as the water is warm enough, it will keep coming and going and coming and going. And in the Pacific Ocean, sometimes this can happened 10 times. If the storm develops near Hawaii, and it ends up hitting Guam, I mean, that is just so far for it to go, they get these super typhoons out there. They can be stronger than what we have behind me, but you get the idea.
BROWN: Yes, we get the idea. Again and again, this season it seems. Thank you.
On to CNN's Susan Candiotti. She is in Cancun, she and a fair bit of weather already today. And she joins us by phone because Wilma is already having an effect on the camera and the satellites and the rest -- Susan.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, we moved from the seaside hotel, one of those luxury hotels many people are probably used to seeing if they've ever been to Cancun. That area has been ordered evacuated by the authorities and it is -- it is deserted now.
So we moved down to Cancun, downtown for a time, where some hotels are still open and in fact are doubling up now as shelters. Talked to some couples, some families, here who have been moved from the seaside hotels to here. And they've been -- this is funny -- a plastic bag containing two oranges, a bottle of water each, two beach towels, one to use as a blanket, a small roll of toilet paper, very important, of course, and a pillow. And that's -- they will be using these items as they -- some of them anyway -- as they bed down in the ballrooms here.
So at least, they are safe from the storm. A lot of these people tried to make it to the airport but could not get flights out before the airport shut down tonight. So they are prepared now to ride out the storm. So far they are well taken care of and we will see what happens as the day goes on.
As you know, it should be hitting tomorrow, as Chad was just saying. We are in the middle of squalls right now, but conditions not too bad as yet. But those waves are furiously pounding these sandy white beaches. And they are bracing, of course, for a powerful hit from Wilma -- Aaron?
BROWN: Is it very crowded there? It is early in the season for American tourists to go down there.
CANDIOTTI: It is, but we're running into -- I mean, the hotel is filled with tourists. Of course, some people did get out. You have people here from all over the place. Clearly, the season picks up as we approach the winter months. But nevertheless, they were figuring it at about 70,000 or so tourists here at this time of year. At least 20,000, they said, clear out; another 20,000 left behind. So that still leaves some unaccounted for, but presumably it is a fairly busy time of year. BROWN: Susan, thank you. Susan Candiotti, who is in Cancun tonight.
On to other matters, what began as a tragedy and a mystery is less of a mystery tonight. If police are right, they have a suspect -- a young suspect, it turns out -- in the murder of the wife of a high profile attorney in California. Here is CNN's Ted Rowlands
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): According to a law enforcement official familiar with the case, the 16-year-old boy arrested last night used a piece of crown molding to beat 52-year-old Pamela Vitale to death. We're told he also carved a crucifix into her back. Though at this stage investigators are not sure why.
The boy lived near the northern California estate where Vitale and her husband, high-profile lawyer Daniel Horowitz, were building a dream home. According to the law enforcement official, investigators believe Vitale may have confronted the boy on her property and that confrontation may have lead to murder.
JIMMY LEE, CONTRA COSTA CO. POLICE: He was booked at juvenile hall, where he remains. We are still trying to establish the exact motive.
ROWLANDS: At the boy's high school today police provided extra security. Students who know him say he stood out in school.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He just wore a black trench coat, all black pants, black shirt, spiky like backpack, and stuff like that. Painted his fingernails black.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And so he, but still had a good personality, so that is the weird part. Like he dressed that way but he didn't act that way.
ROWLANDS: Daniel Horowitz found his wife dead Saturday evening on their estate and since then has been open about his grief. Today, Pamela Vitale was laid to rest after a private ceremony.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS: This young man has not been officially charged with the crime. We do expect him to make an initial court appearance, either Friday or on Monday. We also expect that he will be tried, or at least prosecutors will attempt to try him as an adult in California.
What remains mystery tonight is what exactly lead this 16-year- old boy to commit such a horrific crime -- Aaron.
BROWN: You have any idea what the break in the case was? How they centered on this young man?
ROWLANDS: It was a tip. We don't know if it was a tip into the tip line, or some other tip that filtered into the police department. They had a lot of leads and it took them four days. They finally got this lead and the more, presumably, they investigated, the more they found out. They served two search warrants last night and after that second search warrant was served, they arrested this young many.
BROWN: Ted, thanks very much. Ted Rowlands out in California tonight.
Anderson, this was high profile, in large part, because I guess Mr. Horowitz was a frequent television guest and so many people felt like they knew him in the way that sometimes people do with people on TV.
COOPER: Yes, I think he appeared on CNN "Nancy Grace" program quite a bit. Not only was he really a colleague of hers, but he was also a friend of the family, of Nancy. She, in fact -- Nancy attended the funeral today. We spoke with her just a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NANCY GRACE, CNN HOST, NANCY GRACE: It was heartbreaking. Daniel Horowitz spoke first, followed by Pamela Vitale's two children. Horowitz spoke very openly about what had happened to Pamela; about the attack on her, her murder. He likened it to a modern-day struggle between good and evil. He encouraged everyone there to set aside their pain and their rage at her cause of death and to focus on her life, a celebration of her life.
Her children both broke down as they were trying to address the crowd. Her daughter had to leave the podium. It was just a horrible, horrible moment, Anderson.
COOPER: Nancy we learned today a 16-year-old from Lafayette was arrested in connection with Pam Vitale's murder. What do you know about this kid? Did he know the victim, did he know Daniel Horowitz?
GRACE: I'm sorry, Anderson, I just caught the tail end of that. I believe the answer is yes. In fact, we have even heard reports that Daniel Horowitz had been doing free legal work for the family. Horowitz lived on top of, basically a mountain and there were several other trailers, squatters, small dwellings across the mountain. And he apparently knew all of them very well.
We are keeping the name of the 16-year-old man secret right now. He is a juvenile. But it is my understanding he will be treated in adult court, in this jurisdiction he can get life without parole, under Proposition 21, if in fact he is found guilty.
Apparently, the whole scam was about, somehow linked to Horowitz's mail. Because possibly credit card fraud, Horowitz's mailbox, Anderson, was way down at the bottom of the hill, outside of a very big gate. And so this 16-year-old could, conceivably, have watched when mail was delivered, relating to credit card theft, and then get it before Horowitz or his wife could. And apparently he had fight out that day with Pam Vitale. COOPER: And I understand he was doing credit card fraud, because I guess he wanted to start some sort of marijuana growing business and was using the credit cards -- stolen credit card information to get equipment for this marijuana company?
GRACE: You know what, Anderson, you're right. Apparently, he had made -- reports are that he had made a purchase of special lighting to grow marijuana, hydroponic lighting. For instance, lighting that you would put on a plants you want to grow inside, in secret, for instance in your basement. So apparently he had put that type of equipment on stolen credit cards and was getting all this stuff delivered and communication to Horowitz's address. That's what we're hearing right now.
And, you know, think about it, Anderson. I mean, I'm just kind of wondering can a 16-year-old man, young man, pull off this giant scheme? But I know this, Anderson, I went inside the crime scene with Daniel. There was a ton of blood, there was impact blood about as tall as me, four to five feet tall. And you could see where police had really focused on the bathroom, Anderson.
The perpetrator went and took a very long shower, a long shower. And they could determine that he had been in the shower for a great period of time. Police had covered this --
COOPER: Wait a minute, this young showered?
GRACE: Yes.
COOPER: This young man showered after killing this -- allegedly killing this woman?
GRACE: Yes. And that is why, as I was formulating last night, why I thought that cleared Horowitz. Reason: Because if the perpetrator showered, how did blood get on the outside of the door. There were blood smears on the outside of the door. Clearly, the door opened up when the attack went down, and the door was open, getting Pamela's blood on the door. Then the door was shut, shower, he left.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, coming up next tonight on the program, a 60-year- old mountain top mystery. You would not believe what they found frozen in the ice.
And later, take us to New Orleans, how Bourbon Street is trying to return to life after Katrina, one small slice of New Orleans. NEWSNIGHT will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Sometimes I think we ought to run a segment each night called, "Our Morning Call". There always seems to be a moment on the morning call when someone, hearing the outline of a possible story says, you've got to be kidding. Here's today's: A frozen body has been recovered and removed from high up in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. He's believed to have been in the military. On this morning's call, it was suggested he died when his plane crashed in 1942.
That's what drew the "you've got to be kidding" for the day. Here's what we know from CNN Thelma Gutierrez.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It is a military mystery high in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, deep in the granite and ice. A team of highly trained National Park Rangers climbed some 13,000 feet in King's Canyon National Park, and chipped away for six hours to remove this frozen body of a man. A man who may have been missing for more than 60 years.
J.D. SED, CHIEF PARK RANGER: Good mysteries, we don't solve them overnight like we do on TV, of course.
GUTIERREZ: Two ice climbers made the discovery over the weekend. The man was face down, his head, shoulder and arm, peaking out of the snow at the bottom of a glacier. The climbers relayed their GPS position to park rangers. When they arrived they found clues as to the man's identity. His skin, blond hair and teeth are all preserved.
ANNIE ESPERANZA, SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK RANGER: In the ice and snow, biological processes move really slow. There were more clues. The man was wearing a military green sweater and long sleeve green underwear. He also had an unopened silk parachute with the number, 1984.
An anthropologist with the government's joint POW/MIA accounting command says the frozen man is likely a World War II Army Airman whose navigational training plane crashed back in November 1942. The wreckage was found five years later. And so were the bodies of four passengers. Was this man part of that ill-fated flight? Or was he on one of dozens of military training flights that went down in that mountain range during the war?
ESPERANZA: I think it is more the mystery that everyone is intrigued by. The fact that here is this plane that crashed 63 years ago and there is still someone up there.
GUTIERREZ: The mummified body, almost entirely encased in 400 pounds of ice and granite, was flown to the coroner's office in Fresno.
LORALEE CERVANTES, FRESNO COUNTY CORONER: We've had him X-rayed to the extent that we can, to see if possibly we would be lucky enough to find dog tags.
GUTIERREZ: No luck yet, at least not until they melt that block of ice. Fresno coroner Loralee Cervantes says she believes the man died as a result of the crash and says, in her 20 years as a coroner, this is a first.
CERVANTES: We see a lot of awful things. In the scheme of things, this is a pretty happy event. In terms of finding someone that has been missing this long and returning the identified remains to the family, provides the completion of the circle of the work that we do.
GUTIERREZ (on camera): The coroner's office says the service man's identity is still possibly several weeks away from being released. Already, they say, they've received a half dozen calls from all over the country from family members wondering if this might be their missing loved one. Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Fresno, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Still to come tonight, families separated by Katrina, struggling to connect with loved ones, seven weeks out. Tonight a success story that highlights a larger issue. We'll take a break first, this is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Welcome back. We are live on Bourbon Street, at the corner of Bourbon and Contee, where we've attracted quite a crowd as you can imagine.
What's interesting, you know, it's kind of deceptive, you might think a lot of these people are tourists here and that the city has returned to normal. Of course, it has not returned to normal. This is one very small slice of New Orleans, and most of these people are in some way involved in the relief effort, the recovery effort.
I just want to introduce you, very briefly to some people. All of these people are with the Coast Guard. As I said earlier, the Coast Guard completely rocks.
What you guys did here is extraordinary. You must be very proud to be in the Coast Guard right now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God, this is the most proud moment I've ever been in the Coast Guard.
COOPER: And this is the first time you've been down here on Bourbon Street. What's it like?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is a lot different. I mean, it is really, you know, seeing guys -- I don't know, it's great. It's good to see people back out on the streets and see people getting back to life as normal, so it is --
COOPER: And the shyest member, is one of the pilots. You are a pilot, correct?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.
COOPER: You are out of Air Station New Orleans?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Air Station New Orleans, with the Coast Guard. COOPER: How -- I mean, do you think a lot about what you saw in those days after Katrina, or do you try to move on from it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes, it definitely stays with you and we're just glad that we were able to help in the initial days. And we're hoping those people can get back home soon.
COOPER: You didn't just help, you did extraordinary work. And so did all the boat operators for the Coast Guard, and everyone in the Coast Guard. So appreciate all you are doing. You guys are the real heroes here, as well as a lot of other people.
This is the scene here on Bourbon Street. And while there is a lot of levity and, you know, people waving and stuff there is a lot of people, too, with pain in their heart. The other night on Bourbon Street, we met a woman named Elaine Mullano, we also met her sister's husband. They were searching for the sister's grandchildren. They have since found them. Here is my interview with them earlier tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Were the kids with their mother the whole time?
ELAINE MULLANO, GREAT AUNT OF BOYS: They got separated. She was on her roof with the youngest, and the rest of them left. And they took'em in a boat. So they went to the Superdome with them.
Then, I guess, about two days later they finally came back and go her and the little boy.
COOPER: When you heard that people had called in, and you had heard it was in Texas and they had been spotted, how did that -- that must have been a great feeling?
DONALD GILARDONI, GRANDFATHER: It was. I'm so happy to hear that, you know?
COOPER: So, they're living in an apartment now in Texas.
GILARDONI: Yes, they are in an apartment. And also in school, so they are doing fine.
COOPER: They've already started school again?
GILARDONI: Right.
MULLANO: They've started school.
COOPER: And are you going to be able to go visit them?
MULLANO: We're -- as soon as we leave tomorrow. We're going to head that way, yes. We will.
COOPER: I know all along there was one call, you didn't want to make and one place you didn't want to visit when you were in New Orleans?
MULLANO: Yes.
COOPER: And that was the morgue. You had been all those places.
MULLANO: Yes, I had confidence. I knew if anybody had seen them -- it's right now, it's kind of hard, people are displaced. They are traumatized from the experience. It is really, I guess, we can't even imagine what they were thinking or what was going through their minds. But they made it.
COOPER: What do you want other families to know, who may be in similar situations, who are trying to find loved ones. What is your message to them?
MULLONE: Never stop looking.
COOPER: Never stop looking?
MULLONE: Yes.
GILARDONI: Don't give up. You know, don't give up. Have confidence.
COOPER: What are you going to tell your grandkids when you see them again?
GILARDONI: Well, let's get things going like they used to be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: That is certainly one happier family tonight. You know, of course, Aaron, when we talk about missing kids, often the kids are just with one part of the family.
BROWN: Yes.
COOPER: And so many families are separated. That is really the issue here.
BROWN: Yes, so the advice might be just call all of your relatives and tell them you are all right.
COOPER: Yes, basically. Exactly.
BROWN: Thank you. A quick look at morning papers from around the country and around the world.
"The Washington Post" starts it off, there is no great story here, I just think the picture is incredibly cool. It's not a bad headline either: "Some Days, I feel like the Grim Reaper: Natural death is no crime, but D.C. detectives find it no picnic".
Those two guys in that picture, do they look like homicide cops, or what? That is a fabulous shot. That is in "The Washington Post" today. Also, in "The Post", the politician's winning ticket. We told you this earlier, New Hampshire Senator Judd Greg gets lucky on Power Ball. He's already a millionaire, because he's in the Senate. I think in the Senate everyone is a millionaire. Picked up another $853,482.
Which is nothing compared to what somebody out in Oregon won. "A Secret" -- this is "The Oregonian" out in Portland, "A secret worth $340". On the one hand, that is really great news, but as we learned earlier this week, when you win these big lotteries, $340 million, which after taxes $160, $170, $180 million -- ruins your life.
Should happen to me, tonight.
"The Atlanta Journal-Constitution", this story I think was underplayed today. I thought it was a good story: "Gun lobby wins in D.C.: House OKs ban on liability suits". So, can't sue the gun industry if you were so inclined.
How we doing on time, Charlie? How much? OK, I can get that in.
"Chattanooga Times Free Press", the Hyatts (ph), remember them? Escaped from a jail, could face the death penalty. They were formally charged. We were on all night, covering that.
Weather tomorrow in Chicago, where the Series starts the next day, "incredible". We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Aaron, one of the points that a lot of people in New Orleans want the rest of the country to know is that Bourbon Street is one very small slice of this city. And while it may look like things are back to normal, in Lakeview, in the Lower Ninth Ward, there is no electricity, homes are completely destroyed and neighborhoods have been completely eviscerated. And that is as much the face of New Orleans as Bourbon Street is right now, Aaron.
BROWN: And you are off to Florida. You have your red slicker and everything?
COOPER: You know, actually, I don't know where my red slicker is. But I think I have some rain gear.
BROWN: Be safe out there tomorrow, all right? We'll talk tomorrow.
Good to have you with us tonight, "Larry King Live" up next. Good night for all of us.
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