Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Saturday

26 People Dead In Violence In Iraq Today; North Korea Demands U.S. Back Off Aggression Before Resuming Talks;

Aired February 19, 2005 - 18:00   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.


CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Should TASER guns be banned? Communities across the country look at the question after dozens of deaths. Also, to take or not to take Celebrex, Vioxx or Bextra. Doctors, patients, and the FDA are weighing in now. Do the benefits outweigh the risks of taking these pain drugs? And what are the alternatives?
It's Saturday, February 19 and you're watching CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

From CNN's global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Lin, and here's what's happening right now in the news.

At least 26 people are dead from today's violence in Iraq. Several insurgent attacks occurred during observances of the Shiite holy day, Ashura. And in one assault, a suicide bomber boarded a bus of pilgrims and detonated himself, killing a U.S. soldier and four Iraqis.

The U.S. and Japan are urging North Korea to return to six-party talks aimed at ending its nuclear program. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld met with their Japanese counterparts in Washington today. North Korea says it has nuclear arms and it ready to make more.

Powerful thunderstorms are causing destruction in Southern California. Torrential rains are flooding roadways and homes, knocking out power to thousands and increasing the danger of mudslides. The area has already had nearly three times the average rainfall this season.

We've got all of that news and more, but right now we're going to begin in Iraq. Religion is once again mixing with violence on this, the holiest day of the year for the country's Shiite majority. Pilgrims are marking the period with rituals that were banned during Saddam Hussein's rule. And for the second year in a row, they are being attacked as they do so. CNN's senior international correspondent Nic Robertson reports from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Ashura, commemorating an ancient battle, always was going to be a bloody day. Tens of thousands of Shiites converging on shrines in Baghdad in the holy city of Kabbalah, the most devout cutting their heads and whipping themselves en route, dismissive of Sunni insurgents who killed dozens of worshippers on Friday. UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I heard about the explosions and they are un-Islamic. Whoever hurt the Muslims is not one of them.

ROBERTSON: But despise tight security in Baghdad, attackers did get through on this the holiest day of remembrance. One U.S. soldier killed and another wounded when a suicide bomber detonated explosives on a bus, killing as many as four Iraqis and wounding at least 22 others. At least six other suicide bombers targeted worshippers on the Baghdad streets, killing more than six and wounded at least 40. And in the southwest of the city, a suicide bomber on a bicycle killed three funeral goers and wounded 38.

Far removed from the violence, inside the super secure Green Zone, Senators Clinton, Collins, McCain, Graham and Feingold were beginning a fact finding tour.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: The one thing that I've learned from this trip, that we're a long way away from being able to leave, that if the Iraqi people want us to stay, we're going to be here for a while in large numbers.

ROBERTSON: Meetings with Iraqis, including 92 newly empowered Shias, apparently positive.

SEN. HILARY CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: The impression that I take away from just this short visit, after talking with not only the government officials, but some of our military and civilian leaders here in Iraq, is cautious optimism.

ROBERTSON: If an image capturing optimism were needed then this was probably it, pictures on Iraqi television from the holy city of Kabbalah showing Shias peacefully enjoying Ashura.

(on camera): Despite the attacks, Ashura, this year, has been far less bloody than a year ago. Notably, most of the attacks in Baghdad, the insurgents either unwilling or incapable of penetrating the security around the holy city of Kabbalah as they did last year with such violent effect.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Now we want to take a look at the nuclear stand off with North Korea. Just about a week ago, the country was demanding one-on- one negotiations with the U.S. over its weapons program. But now it has changed its mind. A North Korean spokesman tells Chinese news agencies that there is no justification to hold bilateral talks with the U.S. Now, his comments come days after North Korea announced it has nuclear weapons and won't go back to six party talks.

North Korea's envoy to the United Nations is quoted as saying, "If the U.S. takes back its hostile policies, then we can give up our anti-American stance and we can become friends. And then why would we need nuclear weapons?" But the U.S is again urging North Korea to resume international talks. The stand off was the main focus of a meeting between Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and their Japanese counterparts.

Now it's easy to see why North Korea is causing such a concern in Asia and beyond. The country has a strategic location. It serves as a buffer between two worlds essentially, fellow Communist nation, China and U.S ally, South Korea. It's also being closely watched by Japan and Taiwan. Our Elaine Quijano is following today's discussions about the standoff.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says if North Korea wants to improve its relations with the rest of the world, the U.S. and other countries believe the six-nation talks represent the best chance.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: And so the North Koreans are the ones that are isolated in this and they ought to return to those talks so that people don't have to contemplate other measures.

QUIJANO: After high level meetings in Washington, the U.S. and Japan issued a joint statement expressing deep concern over North Korea, which recently stated it has nuclear weapons. For now, the U.S. and Japan are looking to China, North Korea's neighbor and closest ally to somehow exert more pressure on the North Koreans.

NOBUTAKA MACHIMURA, JAPANESE FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): We hope that the Chinese will serve the world not just as a mere moderator, but also as a player actively to work on the North Koreans.

QUIJANO: This weekend, a Chinese delegation headed to North Korea for talks. And the U.S. wants the North Koreans to hear one message.

RICE: That there can be no nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula, that we're talking about a nuclear weapons-free peninsula, Korean Peninsula.

QUIJANO: But China's own emergence as a superpower gives both Japan and the U.S. pause. Japan has watched nervously as the Chinese have taken steps to build up their military. The fear, Chinese threats of military action against Taiwan, which it considers a renegade province, a move which could destabilize the region and beyond.

Now, in a joint statement, Japan has, for the first time, publicly added Taiwan to its list of security objectives in the region.

DAN BLUMENTHAL, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: I think it makes a big difference because the United States is no longer alone in saying the Chinese military build-up is of concern and it can't just be made into a U.S. domestic issue that only people in the United States and in Congress care about it, the Taiwan issue. QUIJANO: But with complex economic and political relationships, both the U.S. and Japan are trying to strike a friendly tone with China.

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Our expectation is that the -- because of our cooperative arrangements and our alliances, that there will be a network of relationships that will encourage peace in a stable part of the world there.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUIJANO: Both the U.S. and Japan see their security relationship as a cornerstone of stability in East Asia. Now, as those talks took place, President Bush prepared to head to Europe for his first overseas trip since his reelection -- Carol.

LIN: Elaine, what I'm hearing in your report is the administration is basically trying to say to the Asian partners, do the right thing. But essentially what is the hard leverage that the United States has in a situation like this?

QUIJANO: Well, right now, they are looking to China as we saw in the story, but at the same time understanding that there are some complex ties that not only the U.S. has with China, but in fact other countries, including Japan, have with China as well. So the U.S. is looking at those kinds of relationships, a lot of them economic ties as some kind of leverage that perhaps if it can bring China into a larger world community role and more involved in some of these world bodies that perhaps China will be more likely to go along with what the international community deems acceptable -- Carol.

LIN: Elaine Quijano, live at the White House, thank you.

Well, speaking of political clout, some powerful political clout is refocusing the spotlight on the tsunami disaster. Former Presidents Bill Clinton and elder George Bush are on a tour of the devastated region and they are praising recovery efforts and reminding people to keep giving. The first stop on their visit is the hard hit island is Phuket, Thailand. Our Aneesh Raman is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kicking off a three-day tour through the region, former Presidents Clinton and Bush arrived in Phuket to witness firsthand the lingering aftermath of December tsunami. In the village of Bannamkam (ph), school children presented the two with drawings of the waves crashing down, waves that killed their parents.

GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE United States: The one that gave me hers had lost her mother and all of this puts a very human face on this tragedy.

RAMAN: But amidst the emotions, an inspirational site, the village which lost close to half of its residents is being reborn. The former presidents also laid a wreath at the Wall of Remembrance, all day, reminding people that despite their at times contentious political history, this was a nonpartisan, human mission.

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But on issues about which there could be no debate. That little girl that gave him the picture, you know, of her mother drowning, that's not something to politically debate.

RAMAN: Days after the tsunami hit, the current president called on Clinton and Bush Senior to lead a fundraising effort in the United States. But now almost two months since the disaster, this visit is meant to combat donor fatigue, reminding Americans the giving cannot stop and showing leaders in the region America remains ready to help.

CLINTON: What we have to do now is not to forget these people in places when all of the cameras are not there. I think that's the most important message I could say to the American people.

RAMAN: From Phuket, the former presidents will travel onward to Indonesia and Sri Lank on Sunday before a final stop on Monday in the Maldives.

(on camera): For tsunami survivors, this trip is essential in keeping focus on their plate. There will be no definable end to the reconstruction; instead it is simply a new reality, the success of which is highly contingent upon the world never forgetting the events of December 26.

Aneesh Raman, CNN, Phuket, Thailand.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: And be sure to join Wolf Blitzer tomorrow when he welcomes former Presidents Clinton and Bush to "LATE EDITION." You can see that interview beginning tomorrow at noon Eastern.

Now we want to move on to water logged Southern California. Already drenched from recent rains, another storm is puddling parts of the state today. It's triggered flooding and shutting down some major highways. Nickel-sized hail is reported and there's concern the added soaking will sets off more mudslides.

Flood waters rose so quickly on some roadways, motorists were trapped in their cars. Take a look at these amazing pictures now of a rescue in Long Beach.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need a rescue to the southbound side!

LIN (voice-over): A welcomed sound, the voice of rescuers just in time to save a woman trapped in quickly rising water in Long Beach. The woman's cell phone, a saving grace. She called 911.

CAPT. JIM ARVIZU, LONG BEACH FIRE DEPARTMENT: The Water Rescue Team paddled out and were able to get into the car, cut the seat belt.

LIN: Rescuers, using a surfboard, took the woman to higher, drier ground. Cars overtaken by the water remained in working condition but with no where to go.

The story is the same up and down the state. The rain keeps coming. Residents in Santa Clarita were forced out of this mobile home park as rivers of water rushed through. In Los Angeles, homeowners started sandbagging, taking no chances with flooding. Crews in Burbank struggled to secure the Virgin Mega Store. The excessive downpours were blamed for collapsing the roof there, causing a $100,000 in damage. For Golden State residents, enough is enough.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like rain, but too much is too much.

LIN: And with California receiving three times the normal rainfall, the fear now is of further mudslides.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: And in other news, is it a life saver in police confrontations or just too deadly?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TYRONE BROOKS, GEORGIA: It's a situation where we shoot people with a TASER gun not really knowing if we're going to kill them. And I call it execution before prosecution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: The fallout over TASERs. One state legislator says they should be banned and now he plans to do something about it.

Plus, regulating pain, an FDA panel weighs the risks and benefits of the drugs making headlines. Tonight, I've got one of the doctors on that panel.

And later, the history of high fashion, a magnificent look back at the styles over the centuries.

And check in on the most popular story this hour on CNN.com, fox hunters test limits of the new law. Thousands of defiant supporters gather across England and Wales for the first time since a new ban on hunting came into force. All you have to do is click on CNN.com to take a look at those details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: It's billed as a non-lethal way of subduing suspects. TASERs are used by more than 7, 000 agencies worldwide including scores of U.S. police departments. But the weapons are coming under increased scrutiny with almost 100 deaths blamed at least partially on the gun. Now, one Georgia lawmaker wants to stop the use of tasers until more testing can be done. Our Sara Dorsey reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Georgia state representative Tyrone Brooks is on mission to get TASER guns banned in the state before he says any more innocent lives are lost.

BROOKS: We shoot people with the TASER gun not really knowing if we're going to kill them. And I call it execution before prosecution.

DORSEY: Brooks became concerned after the death of 31-year-old Frederick Williams who was shocked with a TASER in the Quinet (ph) County Jail. Cardiac arrest was ruled the official cause of death, but Georgia's chief medical examiners says TASERs alone cannot kill.

KRIS PERRY, GEORGIA CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER: The opinion being thrown out there is that the individuals being electrocuted, which is completely wrong. The amount of current is just not enough to hurt the heart.

DORSEY: But convincing George Kieh that the 50,000 volt shock had no part in his son's death is impossible.

(on camera): Do you think your son would be alive today if there wasn't a TASER involved that day?

GEORGE KIEH, FREDERICK WILLIAMS' FATHER: Absolutely. Absolutely. We believe that he would be alive in the absence of the TASER.

DORSEY (voice-over): Law enforcement agents are torn over the bill. Forsyth County sheriff Ted Paxton pulled the TASERs from his office last June.

(on camera): What would it take for you to be convinced that this is something that you would allow back in your shop?

SHERIFF TED PAXTON, FORSYTH COUNTY, GEORGIA: Well, I guess probably what no one would be willing to do and that's sign on the dotted line, assuring me, proof positive, the introduction of the TASER would not contribute nor the cause of the death of a human being.

DORSEY (voice-over): Dalton police chief James Chadwick thinks banning the Weapons would be a major disservice to officers.

CHIEF JAMES CHADWICK, DALTON, GEORGIA POLICE: We have seen a marked decrease in the amount of injuries to suspects that we arrest and we've also seen a significant decrease in the amount of injuries to officers that use them.

DORSEY: TASER International, the company that manufactures the device, issued this statement, saying -- quote -- "any means to ban or clearly restrict the use of TASER technology which has proven itself an effective and safe non-lethal tool for over 200 Georgia law enforcement agencies is without merit." But Representative Brooks plans to push forward, hoping that at least the bill will prompt more testing on the safety of TASER.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DORSEY: The Georgia State Public Safety Subcommittee handling the bill has recommended a do not pass for the proposed legislation. From here, a study committee will gather more information. The bill is still alive but TASER International is calling the move a great victory for its -- quote -- "life-saving technology" -- Carol.

LIN: I'm sure you'll be following the story.

DORSEY: We will.

LIN: Thanks very much, Sara.

Well, it started off as a class project but what it became is nothing short of inspirational. So straight ahead, how one Maryland middle school is paying tribute to soldiers on the frontlines.

And a tragedy of unimaginable proportions, now, a task no less daunting. Later, identifying the dead, the forensics necessary after the tsunami.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Every week about this time, we bring you the more personal stories from the frontlines. Well, today, a look at efforts to honor U.S. troops by painting poignant pictures of the human cost of war. As our Kathleen Koch reports, student artists are creating powerful portraits of those soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was not your typical art assignment to paint portraits of U.S. service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Thirteen-year-old Carlyn Thomas chose Private Leslie Jackson of Richmond, Virginia, killed in Baghdad by a roadside bomb.

CARLYN THOMAS, STUDENT: I had to paint from her graduation picture. She -- there were no other pictures. She was just 18.

LINDA MCCONAUGHY, ART TEACHER: We have nearly every name typed as far as I know.

KOCH: But the 40 students in Linda McConnaughy's art class at Parkville Middle School couldn't bear to leave anyone out. So they decided to research and display the names, hometowns, and cause of death of the more than 1,600 service members who died in both wars.

BRIAN WICKMAN, STUDENT: It's kind of hard because, like, you know, that could be you in just a couple of years.

MCCONNAUGHY: I think it's become much more real to them. And I think seeing all of the names has had a big impact to them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just wish it wasn't so many names on that wall.

KOCH: Mike Attle (ph) came to see the portrait of his youngest son, Patrick, just 21 when he died near Baghdad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's him, got a big smile. Yes. Yes, that's just one thing that everybody remembers about Patrick is his smile.

KOCH: This first visit by a parent was not easy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE STUDENT: I didn't really know what to say because I don't -- I mean what do you say to someone who has just been hurt so much? KOCH: So she offered him the painting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would love -- I would love to have it. That's be great. It would be an honor. You did a wonderful job.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE STUDENT: Thank you. I'm sorry for your loss.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

KOCH: For Antonia Vega, the project reminded her of the risks her father took serving in Afghanistan.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE STUDENT: He always told me that he loved me so, like, doing this project is really, like, moving. You see people who died for our country and I'm just grateful that it wasn't my dad.

KOCH (on camera): This powerful display has impacted students' emotions and opinions. Many who once supported the Iraq War have changed their minds.

(voice-over): But most believe, as family members do, their individual sacrifice was honorable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you look at all of the names up and down these hall ways, each and every one of them believed in what they were doing, 100 percent. They gave it. They gave it their all.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE STUDENT: I think it's a risk that sometimes we just have to take just to help others. But maybe one day, like, we can find a better way to solve these problems without war.

KOCH: Kathleen Koch, CNN, Parkville, Maryland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: I don't think anyone would be surprised if some of those kids someday ran for office.

Well, when it comes to drugs that can significantly improve the quality of everyday life, what degree of risk is worth the benefit. Well, straight ahead tonight, a recommendation on some popular painkillers and why it's leaving so many so confused. We are going to help you out.

Also...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: When those guns start blazing in and our friends get hit, that's when our hearts start racing and our stomachs get whoosy because for you all it's just a show but we live in this movie.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: A subject that only comes in shades of gray. And now a documentary filmmaker captures it in living color. You're watching CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Welcome back, I'm Carol Lin, and here is a quick look at what's happening right now in the news.

Ashura, arguably the holiest day on the Shiite calendar and it is being marked by a flurry of violent attacks across Iraq. In Southwestern Baghdad, a man on a bike rode into a funeral tent detonating himself. The blast killed three other people and wounded 38.

And despite the ongoing violence in that country, Senator Hilary Rodham Clinton says the insurgency is failing there. She's part of a five member congressional delegation that met today in Baghdad with members of Iraq's interim government. She points to the fact that insurgents were unable to disrupt last month's historic election.

Dale Earnhardt Junior will hit the track on the defensive tomorrow in Florida, looking for a straight -- second straight win at the Daytona 500. Little E begins the race in fifth position as rivals Dale Jarrett and Jimmy Johnson lead the field.

Welcome back to CNN LIVE SATURDAY. Millions of Americans suffering from arthritis are now facing a dilemma, yet another one. Now the good news is three of the most effective and popular painkillers for their condition will likely stay on the market. But here's the bad news, taking them could still be risky. CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen reports on a key decision for patients both patients and pharmaceutical companies.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was close to say the least. Seventeen members of this FDA Advisory Committee voted in support of Vioxx going back on the market if Merck chooses to do so. Fifteen members voted no. That leads the way for Merck to try to put its popular prescription painkiller back on the shelf after pulling it off the shelf last September.

DR. PETER KIM, MERCK RESEARCH LABS: We have heard numerous reports and you've heard a few today from patients -- including patients with chronic, debilitating pain, that Vioxx was the only drug that relieved that pain. COHEN: In a statement today, Merck said "Merck has appreciated the opportunity to present data at this Advisory Committee meeting. We look forward to discussions with the FDA."

At Friday's meeting, there were recounts, confusion about who voted which way, prompting the committee chairman to say...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where is Catherine Harris (ph) now that we need her?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right, right.

DR. LEE SIMON, PFIZER CLINICAL ADVISER: I don't believe I've ever seen a committee function like this.

COHEN: Pfizer makes Celebrex and Bextra and stands to loose if Vioxx goes back on the market. All three drugs are Cox-2 inhibitors. And the FDA committee was very clear that this class of drug has serious safety concerns.

Panel members agreed anonymously that the painkillers increased the risk of heart attacks and strokes. The committee recommended that the drugs carry so-called black box warnings, the toughest warnings possible, and that ads to consumers should not be allowed. But in the end, despite tease concerns, the FDA advisors decided that Americans in pain should be avowed to take these medicines.

Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: So what we really want to do is get to the bottom line about these controversial drugs with my next guest. His name is Dr. John Abramson. He's a clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School and he's also the author of the book, "Overdosed America."

Dr. Abramson, good to have you.

DR. JOHN ABRAMSON, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL: Carol, it's a pleasure to be with you.

LIN: Because right now, right now, we are talking to those Americans out there who are suffering desperately in pain when they got the bad news that their painkillers were going to be withdrawn from the market, suddenly, all this confusing news now that Bextra and Celebrex are back on the market, questions about Vioxx, maybe that too will be available. What are -- how are people supposed to make the decision as to whether to risk their lives, heart attack or stroke, if it means at least alleviating some of the pain?

ABRAMSON: Right, Carol, that's the question. I think it's so important to remember that these drugs are no more effective at relieving pain or arthritis than the older anti-inflammatory drugs like Advil or Naproxen. So a lot of this crisis and what we should do has really been created by the marketing that has given doctors and patients the impression that they're better. LIN: Really? So you're saying that never mind the confusion, just go ahead and take a couple of Advil and it'll have the same effect?

ABRAMSON: A couple of Tylenol, aspirin, Advil, Naproxen, they have the same effect. Now some people get better results from some drugs and not others, Carol. And I think it's important to remember that. But Celebrex -- looking at Celebrex, it provides no better relief from arthritis. It's no gentler on the stomach. It costs 10 times more than the older drugs. So if people were really informed, doctors and patients, I don't think they'd be taking -- they would have taken $13 billion worth of this drug.

LIN: Well, when we talk about this class of drugs, what is a Cox-2 inhibitor?

ABRAMSON: Yes, good question. A Cox-w inhibitor, the -- with -- the Cox-2 inhibitors were designed to be very targeted arthritis drugs so that they would only decrease the inflammation and not upset the stomach. But the problem is that they tipped the balance of blood clotting, so the blood becomes a little more likely to clot. In the case of Vioxx, we see a very significant increase in the risk of heart attacks, blood clots, and strokes. With Celebrex and Bextra, we see less of an increase but a definite increase.

So when we think about arthritis drugs, we've got to remember that this isn't a crisis for the vast majority of people. We just need to get over the illusion that these are wonder drugs. Really the wonder has been the marketing of these drugs not the drugs themselves.

LIN: Now, wait a second, I mean, you're a smart man but there are a lot of smart men and women who work for the FDA. So they are, in theory, not marketers but working for the government on behalf of us taxpayers. They should know all of this. So why is there a debate?

ABRAMSON: Well, they do know it, Carol, and I think that's a very important question because the Advisory Committee meeting of the FDA in February of 2001, the report of the cardiovascular reviewer who looked at the Vioxx data said based on the cardiovascular risk of Vioxx, Naproxen, one could conclude that Naproxen is the preferred drug. So it's clear that these are more dangerous. There's no question. Now I ask you and the American people the same question, if the drugs have a cardiovascular risk and they provide no better relief from arthritis symptoms then why are we -- why have we used $20 million of these drugs?

LIN: Right.

ABRAMSON: I don't think it makes any sense.

LIN: Well, Dr. Abramson, I'm hearing two things tonight. I'm hearing that No. 1 you're saying that the FDA is buckling to marketing interests in putting these drugs back on the market, and No. 2, that Americans in general do not have to take these drugs. They have reasonable alternatives that are sitting right on their drugstore shelf.

ABRAMSON: That's the good news. You're absolutely right.

LIN: All right. Dr. Abramson, I hope you're right because a lot of elderly people and people in chronic are counting on that opinion tonight. Thank you.

ABRAMSON: OK, pleasure to be with you. Thank you.

LIN: We've got some other news across America right now.

A convicted rapist is in a Denver jail on $25,000 bond, suspected of five sexual assaults this month. Police say they caught Brent J. Brents yesterday in nearby Glenwood Springs after he attacked a woman and stole her car.

Now somewhere in New York, a national -- the National Hockey League and the Player's Association are in labor talks again over the five-month lock out. The NHL cancelled the remainder of the season Wednesday saying it's too late to play any semblance of a schedule.

The most heavily armed submarine ever built is now in the U.S. Navy's fleet. The USS Jimmy Carter is the first named after a living former president. Carter and his wife attended today's commissioning ceremony in Connecticut.

A new documentary puts you side-by-side with U.S. soldiers living in constant peril on the frontlines in Iraq. "Gunner Palace" premiers March 4 in theaters across the United States. As CNN's Brian Todd reports, this war is ready for its close up.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't want to get blown up, man.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The soldier's life in war time: frightening, mundane, complicated.

MICHAEL TUCKER, DIRECTOR, "GUNNER PALACE": This is not just one enemy. There's multiple enemies. Some of them are even fighting among themselves. It's extremely confusing. It's not black and white. It's very gray.

TODD (on camera): The new documentary, "Gunner Palace," won't horrify you with violence, no roadside explosions or firefights. This film strikes at the tension and ambiguity of war and how much of it is left in the hands of the very young.

(voice-over): Those in a U.S. Army field artillery regiment occupying a Baghdad palace once used by Saddam Hussein's son.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm heel-toeing in Uday's house.

TODD: And to the young people outside its gates to whom the soldiers act as police officer or friends. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know my wife gave birth to our first son in (UNINTELLIGIBLE), while I was not here. I've seen pictures but I haven't gotten to hold him yet.

TODD: Even a good will visit to an orphanage has a chilling flipside.

CAPT. JON POWERS, U.S. ARMY: And one of the nuns that took us aside and said, "Please don't come back." And we couldn't understand why. We provided them with everything they had. And she said, "If you come back, the terrorists said they'll kill the kids for us working with the Americans."

TODD: Captain Jon Powers spent more than 400 days with this unit in Iraq. He says filmmaker Michael Tucker got such close access that he was barely noticed after a while. Tucker is there as the unit storms into a suspected insurgent financier's house by night.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

TODD: A terrified old woman and child are home, the suspects not. And he's there as they unwind at the palace pool, a frequent target of mortar attacks. The filmmaker and his camera become a sounding board.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Part of our $87 billion budget provided for to have some secondary armor put on top of our thin scaled Humvees. This armor was made in Iraq. It's high quality metal and it will probably slum down the shrapnel so that it stays in your body instead of going clean through that. But that's about it.

(LAUGHTER)

POWERS: I mean we were Mad Max. We were rolling around with big scrap metals that we had bought from Iraqis and paid Iraqi welders to weld it on. And luckily, it stopped some things. It didn't stop other things.

TODD: The fear expressed by these young warriors any way they can.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But when the guns start blazing in and our friends get hit, that's when our hearts start racing and our stomachs get woozy because for you all this is just a show, but we live in this movie.

TODD: An official with the U.S. Army Public Affairs Office said they had no involvement in the making of "Gunner Palace" and couldn't comment on specific parts of it except to say they believe the film shows the soldiers acting for the most part professionally.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: And still ahead on CNN LIVE SATURDAY, after the tsunami, the horrific task of identifying the dead. I'm going to be talking to a man who's working the forensic aspect of this amazing aftermath. He is going to join me live from Phuket, Thailand.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Well, it's been more than seven weeks since the tsunami's plunged large parts of Asia into shock. And one of the hardest jobs remains, identifying the victims and much of that work is being done by forensic experts. Robert Jensen is one of them. He is the president and CEO of Kenyon International and he's joining me by videophone from Phuket, Thailand.

Bob, to say that this work is painstakingly detailed is really an understatement. How is the work going? How many people do you think you've been able to identify?

ROBERT JENSEN, PRESIDENT, CEO, KENYON INTERNATIONAL: Good evening, Carol. It is absolutely a very detailed work and it's a detailed work that's mixed with emotion, and it's a complex process. There have been several hundred identifications that have occurred and this is really part of a group process with a lot of people. However, it is not going to be fast.

LIN: When you say a group process, give me an idea of what happens because sometimes all you have is a clue from the family, say a description of a favorite ring or tattoo or a freckle.

JENSEN: It's a process and it's compounded by the fact that there are so many nations involved. It's a process that begins in two phases. One phase is the collection of the antimortem records, the records that families provide, that range from dental x-rays. With a process that combines or starts in the operational area here in Thailand, with the postmortem phase, the examination of the human remains. Those processes occur simultaneously and then they end up in an information center where the records are matched. And that's a very detail-oriented process and it really takes time. And you're right, with some families, there's not a lot of information, and with other families, there is.

LIN: You talk about an emotional component to your work. You know how important it is for a sense of closure for people who are still waiting to see if their loved ones indeed were swept out to sea or killed in the tsunami.

JENSEN: I think it's absolutely important for everyone that they have an answer. Everyone wants sometimes different answers. Families are very different and we never try to categorize them or generalize their thoughts because we don't know how they're feeling. What we try to do is answer the questions that they have. The unfortunate reality is things take time.

In the local disaster victim identification teams, the Thai authorities are all working very hard to help that along. But this is a confusing process for a lot of people and I'm not sure that the best job has been done explaining that. And so I -- it is about explaining and providing information to families. LIN: All right. Explaining in what sense? Do you have one particular story that really stands out to you?

JENSEN: Oh, there's several thousand stories. We -- you know everyone talks about the large numbers here. And it's important to remember that each number is a story. It's a family and it's a person that's important to several people throughout the world. The thing that's important is getting the family participation to collect those records, and then getting the government involvement to make sure that the process is supporting all of the way through. It has been seven weeks, but it's far from over.

LIN: Bob Jensen, an important job you've got out there. Thank you very much.

We've got some news now from around the world.

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Rome today, demanding the release of an Italian journalist kidnapped two weeks in Iraq. Now many protestors called on Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to withdraw Italy's 3,000 troops from Iraq. The Italian Senate voted Wednesday to extend the troop deployment until at least June 30.

Now scientists fear a strong morning earthquake could trigger flooding in Eastern Indonesia. The magnitude 6.5 quake hit an area more than a thousand miles away from the area most devastated by the Asian tsunamis. It is not considered an aftershock.

And four British hunters are the first suspected of breaking a controversial new law banning hunting with dogs. Critics say they're ready to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights. The law forbids hunters throughout England and Wales from using hounds to hunt foxes and rabbits, deers, and other animals.

And it's a flag raising that has a permanent place in American history. The veterans gathering today are hoping the battle leading up to that moment won't be forgotten. We've got that story next.

And still to come, the glamour gowns that have graced us for the past two centuries. They are now on display in New York and you are going to get your first look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: This is a year full of 60th anniversaries for World War II veterans. It was in 1945 that key battles led to the allies to victory over the Nazis and the Japanese. Today marks 60 years since the start of the battle of Iwo Jima. Here is how the anniversary was observed at the Marine Corps War Memorial.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GENERAL MICHAEL HAGEES, COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS: We are losing survivors of that battle on a daily basis and I think by the time we range the 70th anniversary, unfortunately, there will not be too many survivors left. CY O'BRIEN, IWO JIMA SURVIVOR: We, as Marines and veterans of Iwo Jima, at this monument, at this time, we are passing on the legacy of Iwo Jima to the heroism of all these young Marines I saw. That's what we're doing today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was a corporal, weapons company, 27th Marines.

O'BRIEN: The courage of these young kids, 18, running and rushing into sudden death without any thought.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I remember landing on that beach and running up that sand, or trying to run up that sand, scared as hell.

HAGEES: What they did during those 36 days on Iwo Jima, you think with over 22,000 Marines and sailors were wounded, over 6,100 paid the ultimate sacrifice there.

O'BRIEN: God, I thought what is American is made of. I could only be impressed by the quality of these Marines. It was something like what we're probably used to seeing in movies. They made you feel that war is as bad as everybody says it is.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Fashion designers tout Milan and Paris as the most fashionable cities in the world. But in this country, the Big Apple knows a thing or two about beautiful clothes. Well, a new museum exhibit in New York is showcasing hundreds of years of (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Our Alina Cho gives us a peek.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From the Roaring 20s to the Psychedelic 60s to the Modern Day, women in New York have always been the ultimate fashionistas.

PHYLLIS MAGIDSON, CURATOR: I think that there's an energy. I think the whole physical environment of New York City is in itself glamorous.

CHO: Phyllis Magidson should know. As curator of "Glamour New York Style" at the museum of the city of New York, Magidson pulled together glamorous gowns, and accessories spanning 200 years of fashion. Each one has a story like this dress worn to a party for George Washington in 1789.

MAGIDSON: But there were no inaugural balls then. Absolutely not. This was the first of kind and as a matter of fact, history has not really completely deemed it an inaugural ball because Martha Washington was not in New York City to attend with her husband.

CHO: There's a dress wore by the first Mrs. Trump, Ivana, a leather number Alicia Keys wore to the MTV Awards, and this Alston (ph) creation Candice Bergen donned for Truman Capote's (ph) black and ball in 1966.

(on camera): She must have made quite a splash in this one.

MAGIDSON: But there was a lot of splashy people at that party. It was the biggest party that New York had seen in decades.

CHO: I actually remember this dress from the cover of "Vanity Fair."

(voice-over): A statuesque Nicole Kidman wore it for the magazine's 2001 Hollywood issue. Sarah Jessica Parker wore this Oscar de la Renta. Her character, Keri Bradshaw wore these earrings on "Sex in the City."

(on camera): I don't think there's a woman in New York City who wouldn't recognize these earrings.

MAGIDSON: Oh, or covet these earrings.

CHO (voice-over): Four pairs of legendary art collector Peggy Coobinheim's (ph) signature sunglasses are on display, so is a pleated gown she wore made by Fortuni (ph).

MAGIDSON: You couldn't sit down in them because your body heat would press the pleats out. So if you did, you would have to send the dress back to Fortuni (ph) to have it repleated.

CHO (on camera): Oh my goodness.

(voice-over): Visitors marvel at all the gowns. Ruben Cruz teaches an eveningwear class.

RUBEN CRUZ, FASHION INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: This is heaven. This is eveningwear heaven.

CHO: Showcased in a place where women always dress to impress.

Alina Cho, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Well, that's all the time we have for this hour. But coming up next, "THE CAPITAL GANG" and then at 8:00 Eastern tune in as CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta hosts an hour-long countdown of the top 25 medical stories from the last 25 years. And at 9:00, Larry King, his guest tonight, Mary Kay Letourneau. And I'm going to be back at 10:00 Eastern tonight. More on the disturbing case of the Marine who drowned during training. I've got the latest on the investigation tonight.

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


Aired February 19, 2005 - 18:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Should TASER guns be banned? Communities across the country look at the question after dozens of deaths. Also, to take or not to take Celebrex, Vioxx or Bextra. Doctors, patients, and the FDA are weighing in now. Do the benefits outweigh the risks of taking these pain drugs? And what are the alternatives?
It's Saturday, February 19 and you're watching CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

From CNN's global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Lin, and here's what's happening right now in the news.

At least 26 people are dead from today's violence in Iraq. Several insurgent attacks occurred during observances of the Shiite holy day, Ashura. And in one assault, a suicide bomber boarded a bus of pilgrims and detonated himself, killing a U.S. soldier and four Iraqis.

The U.S. and Japan are urging North Korea to return to six-party talks aimed at ending its nuclear program. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld met with their Japanese counterparts in Washington today. North Korea says it has nuclear arms and it ready to make more.

Powerful thunderstorms are causing destruction in Southern California. Torrential rains are flooding roadways and homes, knocking out power to thousands and increasing the danger of mudslides. The area has already had nearly three times the average rainfall this season.

We've got all of that news and more, but right now we're going to begin in Iraq. Religion is once again mixing with violence on this, the holiest day of the year for the country's Shiite majority. Pilgrims are marking the period with rituals that were banned during Saddam Hussein's rule. And for the second year in a row, they are being attacked as they do so. CNN's senior international correspondent Nic Robertson reports from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Ashura, commemorating an ancient battle, always was going to be a bloody day. Tens of thousands of Shiites converging on shrines in Baghdad in the holy city of Kabbalah, the most devout cutting their heads and whipping themselves en route, dismissive of Sunni insurgents who killed dozens of worshippers on Friday. UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I heard about the explosions and they are un-Islamic. Whoever hurt the Muslims is not one of them.

ROBERTSON: But despise tight security in Baghdad, attackers did get through on this the holiest day of remembrance. One U.S. soldier killed and another wounded when a suicide bomber detonated explosives on a bus, killing as many as four Iraqis and wounding at least 22 others. At least six other suicide bombers targeted worshippers on the Baghdad streets, killing more than six and wounded at least 40. And in the southwest of the city, a suicide bomber on a bicycle killed three funeral goers and wounded 38.

Far removed from the violence, inside the super secure Green Zone, Senators Clinton, Collins, McCain, Graham and Feingold were beginning a fact finding tour.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: The one thing that I've learned from this trip, that we're a long way away from being able to leave, that if the Iraqi people want us to stay, we're going to be here for a while in large numbers.

ROBERTSON: Meetings with Iraqis, including 92 newly empowered Shias, apparently positive.

SEN. HILARY CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: The impression that I take away from just this short visit, after talking with not only the government officials, but some of our military and civilian leaders here in Iraq, is cautious optimism.

ROBERTSON: If an image capturing optimism were needed then this was probably it, pictures on Iraqi television from the holy city of Kabbalah showing Shias peacefully enjoying Ashura.

(on camera): Despite the attacks, Ashura, this year, has been far less bloody than a year ago. Notably, most of the attacks in Baghdad, the insurgents either unwilling or incapable of penetrating the security around the holy city of Kabbalah as they did last year with such violent effect.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Now we want to take a look at the nuclear stand off with North Korea. Just about a week ago, the country was demanding one-on- one negotiations with the U.S. over its weapons program. But now it has changed its mind. A North Korean spokesman tells Chinese news agencies that there is no justification to hold bilateral talks with the U.S. Now, his comments come days after North Korea announced it has nuclear weapons and won't go back to six party talks.

North Korea's envoy to the United Nations is quoted as saying, "If the U.S. takes back its hostile policies, then we can give up our anti-American stance and we can become friends. And then why would we need nuclear weapons?" But the U.S is again urging North Korea to resume international talks. The stand off was the main focus of a meeting between Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and their Japanese counterparts.

Now it's easy to see why North Korea is causing such a concern in Asia and beyond. The country has a strategic location. It serves as a buffer between two worlds essentially, fellow Communist nation, China and U.S ally, South Korea. It's also being closely watched by Japan and Taiwan. Our Elaine Quijano is following today's discussions about the standoff.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says if North Korea wants to improve its relations with the rest of the world, the U.S. and other countries believe the six-nation talks represent the best chance.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: And so the North Koreans are the ones that are isolated in this and they ought to return to those talks so that people don't have to contemplate other measures.

QUIJANO: After high level meetings in Washington, the U.S. and Japan issued a joint statement expressing deep concern over North Korea, which recently stated it has nuclear weapons. For now, the U.S. and Japan are looking to China, North Korea's neighbor and closest ally to somehow exert more pressure on the North Koreans.

NOBUTAKA MACHIMURA, JAPANESE FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): We hope that the Chinese will serve the world not just as a mere moderator, but also as a player actively to work on the North Koreans.

QUIJANO: This weekend, a Chinese delegation headed to North Korea for talks. And the U.S. wants the North Koreans to hear one message.

RICE: That there can be no nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula, that we're talking about a nuclear weapons-free peninsula, Korean Peninsula.

QUIJANO: But China's own emergence as a superpower gives both Japan and the U.S. pause. Japan has watched nervously as the Chinese have taken steps to build up their military. The fear, Chinese threats of military action against Taiwan, which it considers a renegade province, a move which could destabilize the region and beyond.

Now, in a joint statement, Japan has, for the first time, publicly added Taiwan to its list of security objectives in the region.

DAN BLUMENTHAL, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: I think it makes a big difference because the United States is no longer alone in saying the Chinese military build-up is of concern and it can't just be made into a U.S. domestic issue that only people in the United States and in Congress care about it, the Taiwan issue. QUIJANO: But with complex economic and political relationships, both the U.S. and Japan are trying to strike a friendly tone with China.

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Our expectation is that the -- because of our cooperative arrangements and our alliances, that there will be a network of relationships that will encourage peace in a stable part of the world there.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUIJANO: Both the U.S. and Japan see their security relationship as a cornerstone of stability in East Asia. Now, as those talks took place, President Bush prepared to head to Europe for his first overseas trip since his reelection -- Carol.

LIN: Elaine, what I'm hearing in your report is the administration is basically trying to say to the Asian partners, do the right thing. But essentially what is the hard leverage that the United States has in a situation like this?

QUIJANO: Well, right now, they are looking to China as we saw in the story, but at the same time understanding that there are some complex ties that not only the U.S. has with China, but in fact other countries, including Japan, have with China as well. So the U.S. is looking at those kinds of relationships, a lot of them economic ties as some kind of leverage that perhaps if it can bring China into a larger world community role and more involved in some of these world bodies that perhaps China will be more likely to go along with what the international community deems acceptable -- Carol.

LIN: Elaine Quijano, live at the White House, thank you.

Well, speaking of political clout, some powerful political clout is refocusing the spotlight on the tsunami disaster. Former Presidents Bill Clinton and elder George Bush are on a tour of the devastated region and they are praising recovery efforts and reminding people to keep giving. The first stop on their visit is the hard hit island is Phuket, Thailand. Our Aneesh Raman is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kicking off a three-day tour through the region, former Presidents Clinton and Bush arrived in Phuket to witness firsthand the lingering aftermath of December tsunami. In the village of Bannamkam (ph), school children presented the two with drawings of the waves crashing down, waves that killed their parents.

GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE United States: The one that gave me hers had lost her mother and all of this puts a very human face on this tragedy.

RAMAN: But amidst the emotions, an inspirational site, the village which lost close to half of its residents is being reborn. The former presidents also laid a wreath at the Wall of Remembrance, all day, reminding people that despite their at times contentious political history, this was a nonpartisan, human mission.

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But on issues about which there could be no debate. That little girl that gave him the picture, you know, of her mother drowning, that's not something to politically debate.

RAMAN: Days after the tsunami hit, the current president called on Clinton and Bush Senior to lead a fundraising effort in the United States. But now almost two months since the disaster, this visit is meant to combat donor fatigue, reminding Americans the giving cannot stop and showing leaders in the region America remains ready to help.

CLINTON: What we have to do now is not to forget these people in places when all of the cameras are not there. I think that's the most important message I could say to the American people.

RAMAN: From Phuket, the former presidents will travel onward to Indonesia and Sri Lank on Sunday before a final stop on Monday in the Maldives.

(on camera): For tsunami survivors, this trip is essential in keeping focus on their plate. There will be no definable end to the reconstruction; instead it is simply a new reality, the success of which is highly contingent upon the world never forgetting the events of December 26.

Aneesh Raman, CNN, Phuket, Thailand.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: And be sure to join Wolf Blitzer tomorrow when he welcomes former Presidents Clinton and Bush to "LATE EDITION." You can see that interview beginning tomorrow at noon Eastern.

Now we want to move on to water logged Southern California. Already drenched from recent rains, another storm is puddling parts of the state today. It's triggered flooding and shutting down some major highways. Nickel-sized hail is reported and there's concern the added soaking will sets off more mudslides.

Flood waters rose so quickly on some roadways, motorists were trapped in their cars. Take a look at these amazing pictures now of a rescue in Long Beach.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need a rescue to the southbound side!

LIN (voice-over): A welcomed sound, the voice of rescuers just in time to save a woman trapped in quickly rising water in Long Beach. The woman's cell phone, a saving grace. She called 911.

CAPT. JIM ARVIZU, LONG BEACH FIRE DEPARTMENT: The Water Rescue Team paddled out and were able to get into the car, cut the seat belt.

LIN: Rescuers, using a surfboard, took the woman to higher, drier ground. Cars overtaken by the water remained in working condition but with no where to go.

The story is the same up and down the state. The rain keeps coming. Residents in Santa Clarita were forced out of this mobile home park as rivers of water rushed through. In Los Angeles, homeowners started sandbagging, taking no chances with flooding. Crews in Burbank struggled to secure the Virgin Mega Store. The excessive downpours were blamed for collapsing the roof there, causing a $100,000 in damage. For Golden State residents, enough is enough.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like rain, but too much is too much.

LIN: And with California receiving three times the normal rainfall, the fear now is of further mudslides.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: And in other news, is it a life saver in police confrontations or just too deadly?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TYRONE BROOKS, GEORGIA: It's a situation where we shoot people with a TASER gun not really knowing if we're going to kill them. And I call it execution before prosecution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: The fallout over TASERs. One state legislator says they should be banned and now he plans to do something about it.

Plus, regulating pain, an FDA panel weighs the risks and benefits of the drugs making headlines. Tonight, I've got one of the doctors on that panel.

And later, the history of high fashion, a magnificent look back at the styles over the centuries.

And check in on the most popular story this hour on CNN.com, fox hunters test limits of the new law. Thousands of defiant supporters gather across England and Wales for the first time since a new ban on hunting came into force. All you have to do is click on CNN.com to take a look at those details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: It's billed as a non-lethal way of subduing suspects. TASERs are used by more than 7, 000 agencies worldwide including scores of U.S. police departments. But the weapons are coming under increased scrutiny with almost 100 deaths blamed at least partially on the gun. Now, one Georgia lawmaker wants to stop the use of tasers until more testing can be done. Our Sara Dorsey reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Georgia state representative Tyrone Brooks is on mission to get TASER guns banned in the state before he says any more innocent lives are lost.

BROOKS: We shoot people with the TASER gun not really knowing if we're going to kill them. And I call it execution before prosecution.

DORSEY: Brooks became concerned after the death of 31-year-old Frederick Williams who was shocked with a TASER in the Quinet (ph) County Jail. Cardiac arrest was ruled the official cause of death, but Georgia's chief medical examiners says TASERs alone cannot kill.

KRIS PERRY, GEORGIA CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER: The opinion being thrown out there is that the individuals being electrocuted, which is completely wrong. The amount of current is just not enough to hurt the heart.

DORSEY: But convincing George Kieh that the 50,000 volt shock had no part in his son's death is impossible.

(on camera): Do you think your son would be alive today if there wasn't a TASER involved that day?

GEORGE KIEH, FREDERICK WILLIAMS' FATHER: Absolutely. Absolutely. We believe that he would be alive in the absence of the TASER.

DORSEY (voice-over): Law enforcement agents are torn over the bill. Forsyth County sheriff Ted Paxton pulled the TASERs from his office last June.

(on camera): What would it take for you to be convinced that this is something that you would allow back in your shop?

SHERIFF TED PAXTON, FORSYTH COUNTY, GEORGIA: Well, I guess probably what no one would be willing to do and that's sign on the dotted line, assuring me, proof positive, the introduction of the TASER would not contribute nor the cause of the death of a human being.

DORSEY (voice-over): Dalton police chief James Chadwick thinks banning the Weapons would be a major disservice to officers.

CHIEF JAMES CHADWICK, DALTON, GEORGIA POLICE: We have seen a marked decrease in the amount of injuries to suspects that we arrest and we've also seen a significant decrease in the amount of injuries to officers that use them.

DORSEY: TASER International, the company that manufactures the device, issued this statement, saying -- quote -- "any means to ban or clearly restrict the use of TASER technology which has proven itself an effective and safe non-lethal tool for over 200 Georgia law enforcement agencies is without merit." But Representative Brooks plans to push forward, hoping that at least the bill will prompt more testing on the safety of TASER.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DORSEY: The Georgia State Public Safety Subcommittee handling the bill has recommended a do not pass for the proposed legislation. From here, a study committee will gather more information. The bill is still alive but TASER International is calling the move a great victory for its -- quote -- "life-saving technology" -- Carol.

LIN: I'm sure you'll be following the story.

DORSEY: We will.

LIN: Thanks very much, Sara.

Well, it started off as a class project but what it became is nothing short of inspirational. So straight ahead, how one Maryland middle school is paying tribute to soldiers on the frontlines.

And a tragedy of unimaginable proportions, now, a task no less daunting. Later, identifying the dead, the forensics necessary after the tsunami.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Every week about this time, we bring you the more personal stories from the frontlines. Well, today, a look at efforts to honor U.S. troops by painting poignant pictures of the human cost of war. As our Kathleen Koch reports, student artists are creating powerful portraits of those soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was not your typical art assignment to paint portraits of U.S. service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Thirteen-year-old Carlyn Thomas chose Private Leslie Jackson of Richmond, Virginia, killed in Baghdad by a roadside bomb.

CARLYN THOMAS, STUDENT: I had to paint from her graduation picture. She -- there were no other pictures. She was just 18.

LINDA MCCONAUGHY, ART TEACHER: We have nearly every name typed as far as I know.

KOCH: But the 40 students in Linda McConnaughy's art class at Parkville Middle School couldn't bear to leave anyone out. So they decided to research and display the names, hometowns, and cause of death of the more than 1,600 service members who died in both wars.

BRIAN WICKMAN, STUDENT: It's kind of hard because, like, you know, that could be you in just a couple of years.

MCCONNAUGHY: I think it's become much more real to them. And I think seeing all of the names has had a big impact to them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just wish it wasn't so many names on that wall.

KOCH: Mike Attle (ph) came to see the portrait of his youngest son, Patrick, just 21 when he died near Baghdad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's him, got a big smile. Yes. Yes, that's just one thing that everybody remembers about Patrick is his smile.

KOCH: This first visit by a parent was not easy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE STUDENT: I didn't really know what to say because I don't -- I mean what do you say to someone who has just been hurt so much? KOCH: So she offered him the painting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would love -- I would love to have it. That's be great. It would be an honor. You did a wonderful job.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE STUDENT: Thank you. I'm sorry for your loss.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

KOCH: For Antonia Vega, the project reminded her of the risks her father took serving in Afghanistan.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE STUDENT: He always told me that he loved me so, like, doing this project is really, like, moving. You see people who died for our country and I'm just grateful that it wasn't my dad.

KOCH (on camera): This powerful display has impacted students' emotions and opinions. Many who once supported the Iraq War have changed their minds.

(voice-over): But most believe, as family members do, their individual sacrifice was honorable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you look at all of the names up and down these hall ways, each and every one of them believed in what they were doing, 100 percent. They gave it. They gave it their all.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE STUDENT: I think it's a risk that sometimes we just have to take just to help others. But maybe one day, like, we can find a better way to solve these problems without war.

KOCH: Kathleen Koch, CNN, Parkville, Maryland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: I don't think anyone would be surprised if some of those kids someday ran for office.

Well, when it comes to drugs that can significantly improve the quality of everyday life, what degree of risk is worth the benefit. Well, straight ahead tonight, a recommendation on some popular painkillers and why it's leaving so many so confused. We are going to help you out.

Also...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: When those guns start blazing in and our friends get hit, that's when our hearts start racing and our stomachs get whoosy because for you all it's just a show but we live in this movie.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: A subject that only comes in shades of gray. And now a documentary filmmaker captures it in living color. You're watching CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Welcome back, I'm Carol Lin, and here is a quick look at what's happening right now in the news.

Ashura, arguably the holiest day on the Shiite calendar and it is being marked by a flurry of violent attacks across Iraq. In Southwestern Baghdad, a man on a bike rode into a funeral tent detonating himself. The blast killed three other people and wounded 38.

And despite the ongoing violence in that country, Senator Hilary Rodham Clinton says the insurgency is failing there. She's part of a five member congressional delegation that met today in Baghdad with members of Iraq's interim government. She points to the fact that insurgents were unable to disrupt last month's historic election.

Dale Earnhardt Junior will hit the track on the defensive tomorrow in Florida, looking for a straight -- second straight win at the Daytona 500. Little E begins the race in fifth position as rivals Dale Jarrett and Jimmy Johnson lead the field.

Welcome back to CNN LIVE SATURDAY. Millions of Americans suffering from arthritis are now facing a dilemma, yet another one. Now the good news is three of the most effective and popular painkillers for their condition will likely stay on the market. But here's the bad news, taking them could still be risky. CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen reports on a key decision for patients both patients and pharmaceutical companies.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was close to say the least. Seventeen members of this FDA Advisory Committee voted in support of Vioxx going back on the market if Merck chooses to do so. Fifteen members voted no. That leads the way for Merck to try to put its popular prescription painkiller back on the shelf after pulling it off the shelf last September.

DR. PETER KIM, MERCK RESEARCH LABS: We have heard numerous reports and you've heard a few today from patients -- including patients with chronic, debilitating pain, that Vioxx was the only drug that relieved that pain. COHEN: In a statement today, Merck said "Merck has appreciated the opportunity to present data at this Advisory Committee meeting. We look forward to discussions with the FDA."

At Friday's meeting, there were recounts, confusion about who voted which way, prompting the committee chairman to say...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where is Catherine Harris (ph) now that we need her?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right, right.

DR. LEE SIMON, PFIZER CLINICAL ADVISER: I don't believe I've ever seen a committee function like this.

COHEN: Pfizer makes Celebrex and Bextra and stands to loose if Vioxx goes back on the market. All three drugs are Cox-2 inhibitors. And the FDA committee was very clear that this class of drug has serious safety concerns.

Panel members agreed anonymously that the painkillers increased the risk of heart attacks and strokes. The committee recommended that the drugs carry so-called black box warnings, the toughest warnings possible, and that ads to consumers should not be allowed. But in the end, despite tease concerns, the FDA advisors decided that Americans in pain should be avowed to take these medicines.

Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: So what we really want to do is get to the bottom line about these controversial drugs with my next guest. His name is Dr. John Abramson. He's a clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School and he's also the author of the book, "Overdosed America."

Dr. Abramson, good to have you.

DR. JOHN ABRAMSON, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL: Carol, it's a pleasure to be with you.

LIN: Because right now, right now, we are talking to those Americans out there who are suffering desperately in pain when they got the bad news that their painkillers were going to be withdrawn from the market, suddenly, all this confusing news now that Bextra and Celebrex are back on the market, questions about Vioxx, maybe that too will be available. What are -- how are people supposed to make the decision as to whether to risk their lives, heart attack or stroke, if it means at least alleviating some of the pain?

ABRAMSON: Right, Carol, that's the question. I think it's so important to remember that these drugs are no more effective at relieving pain or arthritis than the older anti-inflammatory drugs like Advil or Naproxen. So a lot of this crisis and what we should do has really been created by the marketing that has given doctors and patients the impression that they're better. LIN: Really? So you're saying that never mind the confusion, just go ahead and take a couple of Advil and it'll have the same effect?

ABRAMSON: A couple of Tylenol, aspirin, Advil, Naproxen, they have the same effect. Now some people get better results from some drugs and not others, Carol. And I think it's important to remember that. But Celebrex -- looking at Celebrex, it provides no better relief from arthritis. It's no gentler on the stomach. It costs 10 times more than the older drugs. So if people were really informed, doctors and patients, I don't think they'd be taking -- they would have taken $13 billion worth of this drug.

LIN: Well, when we talk about this class of drugs, what is a Cox-2 inhibitor?

ABRAMSON: Yes, good question. A Cox-w inhibitor, the -- with -- the Cox-2 inhibitors were designed to be very targeted arthritis drugs so that they would only decrease the inflammation and not upset the stomach. But the problem is that they tipped the balance of blood clotting, so the blood becomes a little more likely to clot. In the case of Vioxx, we see a very significant increase in the risk of heart attacks, blood clots, and strokes. With Celebrex and Bextra, we see less of an increase but a definite increase.

So when we think about arthritis drugs, we've got to remember that this isn't a crisis for the vast majority of people. We just need to get over the illusion that these are wonder drugs. Really the wonder has been the marketing of these drugs not the drugs themselves.

LIN: Now, wait a second, I mean, you're a smart man but there are a lot of smart men and women who work for the FDA. So they are, in theory, not marketers but working for the government on behalf of us taxpayers. They should know all of this. So why is there a debate?

ABRAMSON: Well, they do know it, Carol, and I think that's a very important question because the Advisory Committee meeting of the FDA in February of 2001, the report of the cardiovascular reviewer who looked at the Vioxx data said based on the cardiovascular risk of Vioxx, Naproxen, one could conclude that Naproxen is the preferred drug. So it's clear that these are more dangerous. There's no question. Now I ask you and the American people the same question, if the drugs have a cardiovascular risk and they provide no better relief from arthritis symptoms then why are we -- why have we used $20 million of these drugs?

LIN: Right.

ABRAMSON: I don't think it makes any sense.

LIN: Well, Dr. Abramson, I'm hearing two things tonight. I'm hearing that No. 1 you're saying that the FDA is buckling to marketing interests in putting these drugs back on the market, and No. 2, that Americans in general do not have to take these drugs. They have reasonable alternatives that are sitting right on their drugstore shelf.

ABRAMSON: That's the good news. You're absolutely right.

LIN: All right. Dr. Abramson, I hope you're right because a lot of elderly people and people in chronic are counting on that opinion tonight. Thank you.

ABRAMSON: OK, pleasure to be with you. Thank you.

LIN: We've got some other news across America right now.

A convicted rapist is in a Denver jail on $25,000 bond, suspected of five sexual assaults this month. Police say they caught Brent J. Brents yesterday in nearby Glenwood Springs after he attacked a woman and stole her car.

Now somewhere in New York, a national -- the National Hockey League and the Player's Association are in labor talks again over the five-month lock out. The NHL cancelled the remainder of the season Wednesday saying it's too late to play any semblance of a schedule.

The most heavily armed submarine ever built is now in the U.S. Navy's fleet. The USS Jimmy Carter is the first named after a living former president. Carter and his wife attended today's commissioning ceremony in Connecticut.

A new documentary puts you side-by-side with U.S. soldiers living in constant peril on the frontlines in Iraq. "Gunner Palace" premiers March 4 in theaters across the United States. As CNN's Brian Todd reports, this war is ready for its close up.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't want to get blown up, man.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The soldier's life in war time: frightening, mundane, complicated.

MICHAEL TUCKER, DIRECTOR, "GUNNER PALACE": This is not just one enemy. There's multiple enemies. Some of them are even fighting among themselves. It's extremely confusing. It's not black and white. It's very gray.

TODD (on camera): The new documentary, "Gunner Palace," won't horrify you with violence, no roadside explosions or firefights. This film strikes at the tension and ambiguity of war and how much of it is left in the hands of the very young.

(voice-over): Those in a U.S. Army field artillery regiment occupying a Baghdad palace once used by Saddam Hussein's son.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm heel-toeing in Uday's house.

TODD: And to the young people outside its gates to whom the soldiers act as police officer or friends. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know my wife gave birth to our first son in (UNINTELLIGIBLE), while I was not here. I've seen pictures but I haven't gotten to hold him yet.

TODD: Even a good will visit to an orphanage has a chilling flipside.

CAPT. JON POWERS, U.S. ARMY: And one of the nuns that took us aside and said, "Please don't come back." And we couldn't understand why. We provided them with everything they had. And she said, "If you come back, the terrorists said they'll kill the kids for us working with the Americans."

TODD: Captain Jon Powers spent more than 400 days with this unit in Iraq. He says filmmaker Michael Tucker got such close access that he was barely noticed after a while. Tucker is there as the unit storms into a suspected insurgent financier's house by night.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

TODD: A terrified old woman and child are home, the suspects not. And he's there as they unwind at the palace pool, a frequent target of mortar attacks. The filmmaker and his camera become a sounding board.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Part of our $87 billion budget provided for to have some secondary armor put on top of our thin scaled Humvees. This armor was made in Iraq. It's high quality metal and it will probably slum down the shrapnel so that it stays in your body instead of going clean through that. But that's about it.

(LAUGHTER)

POWERS: I mean we were Mad Max. We were rolling around with big scrap metals that we had bought from Iraqis and paid Iraqi welders to weld it on. And luckily, it stopped some things. It didn't stop other things.

TODD: The fear expressed by these young warriors any way they can.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But when the guns start blazing in and our friends get hit, that's when our hearts start racing and our stomachs get woozy because for you all this is just a show, but we live in this movie.

TODD: An official with the U.S. Army Public Affairs Office said they had no involvement in the making of "Gunner Palace" and couldn't comment on specific parts of it except to say they believe the film shows the soldiers acting for the most part professionally.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: And still ahead on CNN LIVE SATURDAY, after the tsunami, the horrific task of identifying the dead. I'm going to be talking to a man who's working the forensic aspect of this amazing aftermath. He is going to join me live from Phuket, Thailand.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Well, it's been more than seven weeks since the tsunami's plunged large parts of Asia into shock. And one of the hardest jobs remains, identifying the victims and much of that work is being done by forensic experts. Robert Jensen is one of them. He is the president and CEO of Kenyon International and he's joining me by videophone from Phuket, Thailand.

Bob, to say that this work is painstakingly detailed is really an understatement. How is the work going? How many people do you think you've been able to identify?

ROBERT JENSEN, PRESIDENT, CEO, KENYON INTERNATIONAL: Good evening, Carol. It is absolutely a very detailed work and it's a detailed work that's mixed with emotion, and it's a complex process. There have been several hundred identifications that have occurred and this is really part of a group process with a lot of people. However, it is not going to be fast.

LIN: When you say a group process, give me an idea of what happens because sometimes all you have is a clue from the family, say a description of a favorite ring or tattoo or a freckle.

JENSEN: It's a process and it's compounded by the fact that there are so many nations involved. It's a process that begins in two phases. One phase is the collection of the antimortem records, the records that families provide, that range from dental x-rays. With a process that combines or starts in the operational area here in Thailand, with the postmortem phase, the examination of the human remains. Those processes occur simultaneously and then they end up in an information center where the records are matched. And that's a very detail-oriented process and it really takes time. And you're right, with some families, there's not a lot of information, and with other families, there is.

LIN: You talk about an emotional component to your work. You know how important it is for a sense of closure for people who are still waiting to see if their loved ones indeed were swept out to sea or killed in the tsunami.

JENSEN: I think it's absolutely important for everyone that they have an answer. Everyone wants sometimes different answers. Families are very different and we never try to categorize them or generalize their thoughts because we don't know how they're feeling. What we try to do is answer the questions that they have. The unfortunate reality is things take time.

In the local disaster victim identification teams, the Thai authorities are all working very hard to help that along. But this is a confusing process for a lot of people and I'm not sure that the best job has been done explaining that. And so I -- it is about explaining and providing information to families. LIN: All right. Explaining in what sense? Do you have one particular story that really stands out to you?

JENSEN: Oh, there's several thousand stories. We -- you know everyone talks about the large numbers here. And it's important to remember that each number is a story. It's a family and it's a person that's important to several people throughout the world. The thing that's important is getting the family participation to collect those records, and then getting the government involvement to make sure that the process is supporting all of the way through. It has been seven weeks, but it's far from over.

LIN: Bob Jensen, an important job you've got out there. Thank you very much.

We've got some news now from around the world.

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Rome today, demanding the release of an Italian journalist kidnapped two weeks in Iraq. Now many protestors called on Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to withdraw Italy's 3,000 troops from Iraq. The Italian Senate voted Wednesday to extend the troop deployment until at least June 30.

Now scientists fear a strong morning earthquake could trigger flooding in Eastern Indonesia. The magnitude 6.5 quake hit an area more than a thousand miles away from the area most devastated by the Asian tsunamis. It is not considered an aftershock.

And four British hunters are the first suspected of breaking a controversial new law banning hunting with dogs. Critics say they're ready to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights. The law forbids hunters throughout England and Wales from using hounds to hunt foxes and rabbits, deers, and other animals.

And it's a flag raising that has a permanent place in American history. The veterans gathering today are hoping the battle leading up to that moment won't be forgotten. We've got that story next.

And still to come, the glamour gowns that have graced us for the past two centuries. They are now on display in New York and you are going to get your first look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: This is a year full of 60th anniversaries for World War II veterans. It was in 1945 that key battles led to the allies to victory over the Nazis and the Japanese. Today marks 60 years since the start of the battle of Iwo Jima. Here is how the anniversary was observed at the Marine Corps War Memorial.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GENERAL MICHAEL HAGEES, COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS: We are losing survivors of that battle on a daily basis and I think by the time we range the 70th anniversary, unfortunately, there will not be too many survivors left. CY O'BRIEN, IWO JIMA SURVIVOR: We, as Marines and veterans of Iwo Jima, at this monument, at this time, we are passing on the legacy of Iwo Jima to the heroism of all these young Marines I saw. That's what we're doing today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was a corporal, weapons company, 27th Marines.

O'BRIEN: The courage of these young kids, 18, running and rushing into sudden death without any thought.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I remember landing on that beach and running up that sand, or trying to run up that sand, scared as hell.

HAGEES: What they did during those 36 days on Iwo Jima, you think with over 22,000 Marines and sailors were wounded, over 6,100 paid the ultimate sacrifice there.

O'BRIEN: God, I thought what is American is made of. I could only be impressed by the quality of these Marines. It was something like what we're probably used to seeing in movies. They made you feel that war is as bad as everybody says it is.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Fashion designers tout Milan and Paris as the most fashionable cities in the world. But in this country, the Big Apple knows a thing or two about beautiful clothes. Well, a new museum exhibit in New York is showcasing hundreds of years of (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Our Alina Cho gives us a peek.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From the Roaring 20s to the Psychedelic 60s to the Modern Day, women in New York have always been the ultimate fashionistas.

PHYLLIS MAGIDSON, CURATOR: I think that there's an energy. I think the whole physical environment of New York City is in itself glamorous.

CHO: Phyllis Magidson should know. As curator of "Glamour New York Style" at the museum of the city of New York, Magidson pulled together glamorous gowns, and accessories spanning 200 years of fashion. Each one has a story like this dress worn to a party for George Washington in 1789.

MAGIDSON: But there were no inaugural balls then. Absolutely not. This was the first of kind and as a matter of fact, history has not really completely deemed it an inaugural ball because Martha Washington was not in New York City to attend with her husband.

CHO: There's a dress wore by the first Mrs. Trump, Ivana, a leather number Alicia Keys wore to the MTV Awards, and this Alston (ph) creation Candice Bergen donned for Truman Capote's (ph) black and ball in 1966.

(on camera): She must have made quite a splash in this one.

MAGIDSON: But there was a lot of splashy people at that party. It was the biggest party that New York had seen in decades.

CHO: I actually remember this dress from the cover of "Vanity Fair."

(voice-over): A statuesque Nicole Kidman wore it for the magazine's 2001 Hollywood issue. Sarah Jessica Parker wore this Oscar de la Renta. Her character, Keri Bradshaw wore these earrings on "Sex in the City."

(on camera): I don't think there's a woman in New York City who wouldn't recognize these earrings.

MAGIDSON: Oh, or covet these earrings.

CHO (voice-over): Four pairs of legendary art collector Peggy Coobinheim's (ph) signature sunglasses are on display, so is a pleated gown she wore made by Fortuni (ph).

MAGIDSON: You couldn't sit down in them because your body heat would press the pleats out. So if you did, you would have to send the dress back to Fortuni (ph) to have it repleated.

CHO (on camera): Oh my goodness.

(voice-over): Visitors marvel at all the gowns. Ruben Cruz teaches an eveningwear class.

RUBEN CRUZ, FASHION INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: This is heaven. This is eveningwear heaven.

CHO: Showcased in a place where women always dress to impress.

Alina Cho, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Well, that's all the time we have for this hour. But coming up next, "THE CAPITAL GANG" and then at 8:00 Eastern tune in as CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta hosts an hour-long countdown of the top 25 medical stories from the last 25 years. And at 9:00, Larry King, his guest tonight, Mary Kay Letourneau. And I'm going to be back at 10:00 Eastern tonight. More on the disturbing case of the Marine who drowned during training. I've got the latest on the investigation tonight.

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