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CNN Live Saturday

Wichita Police Announce Arrest In BTK Killer Case; Man Sentenced To Death For Planning USS Cole Bombing; A Look At Controversial Oscars Host Chris Rock

Aired February 26, 2005 - 14:00   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.


ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: It is 2:00 on the East coast, 11:00 in the west. Good afternoon, everyone, I'm Andrea Koppel at CNN's global headquarters in Atlanta in for Fredricka Whitfield.
Ahead this hour, police say they have solved a 30-year-old murder mystery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The bottom line, BTK is arrested.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOPPEL: Find out who police will charge as the BTK serial killer.

Also Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives all agree, nobody knows more about Social Security than this man. So what does he think about the president's proposed reforms?

And the Oscars. The buzz isn't as much about who will win tomorrow night as what the host will say. That's right, Chris Rock, we're going to take you there live.

We're going to have those stories for you in a moment. But first, headlines now in the news.

The search for Jessica Marie Lunsford continues in Florida today. The 9-year-old was last seen Wednesday night. Several hundred people are searching the neighborhood and the woods near her home about 70 miles north of Tampa.

An appeals court in Yemen upholds a death sentence for a man believed to be the mastermind behind the bombing of the USS Cole. The Saudi born man was sentenced to death for his role in the October 2000 attack. A Yemeni accomplice had his sentence reduce from death to 15 years in prison. The defendants accuse the judges of working for the White House.

Palestinian and Israeli authorities look into a claim that Islamic Jihad might have been behind last night's suicide bombing in Tel Aviv. Four people died and at least 65 were wounded. Israeli and Palestinian police have arrested at least 7 people, and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas pointed a finger at Hezbollah militants. We'll have a live report in about 15 minutes.

For 30 years, people in Wichita, Kansas, wondered if they were living next door to the BTK serial killer. Well today, Wichita police announce the arrest of a 59-year-old man. He faces eight counts of first-degree murder, and two other homicide related charges.

You saw the police news here live on CNN. And our own Jonathan Freed was inside the room when the announcement was made. He joins us with more.

Gosh, Jonathan, you could see it: the relief, the joy, all kinds of emotions on the face of the police authorities, of the district attorney, just about everyone in that room.

JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Andrea, I've been covering this story for a year now, since BTK resurfaced for the first time last March in 2004 after a 25-year silence. And Andrea, it was like throwing a switch in this town. The electricity that you felt, the relief, the sigh, you could almost hear people sighing in that room when the words, the BTK Killer has been arrested, were uttered. People just spontaneously leapt to their feet. It was very emotional. You couldn't help being touched by it.

I don't live here, but I've been in touch with these people over the course of the last year, and I guess I'll give myself permission to tell you, I felt emotionally touched by the scene that I was seeing in that room today.

BTK's name, according to police, Andrea, is Dennis Rader. As you said, he is 59-years-old. He was arrested for first-degree murder.

Now, our affiliate here in Wichita, KAKE, our television affiliate says he is the compliance officer of Park City, which is nearby, Andrea, about seven miles north of Wichita, and that he was also the dog catcher in town. KAKE is also reporting along with the Wichita Eagle newspaper here that he was president of his local Lutheran church.

Now, earlier today, even before his name was announced and before it was announced that a suspect had been arrested, many of the family members of the victims entered the council chamber, which is city council chamber, which is where the event was happening today. And a hush went over the room. And we can take a look at that now.

And then the lieutenant in charge of the investigation for many years. He started out as a junior on this project two decades ago, now in charge, he explained how all of this went down yesterday. Let's listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. KEN LANDWEHR, TASK FORCE COMMANDER: Shortly afternoon, yesterday afternoon, agents from the KBI, agents from the FBI and members of the Wichita Police Department arrested Dennis Rader, 59, white male, in Park City, Kansas for the murders of Joseph Otero, Julie Otero, Josephine Otero, Joseph Otero Jr., Katherine Bright, Shirley Relaford, Nancy Fox, and Vickie Wegerle. He was arrested for first-degree murder of all of those victims.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREED: Now, we can tell you that over the years here, repeatedly, the images of the bodies being taken out of houses, and I believe we have that to show you now, have been haunting the people here of Wichita. It has been three decades that they've had to endure the repeated images and the worry.

But for many, for a long period of time, Andrea, this just went away. And last March it came back out of nowhere. And one of the questions people are going to be very eager to hear answered is why did the BTK after 25 years, why did the killer suddenly resurface.

A lot of theories on that, some thinking that perhaps he wanted attention. Others say more attention. Others saying he was just getting older and couldn't take the fact that he had fallen out of the news.

We're hoping, people here are hoping that all of this will become clear as the proceeding continues -- Andrea.

KOPPEL: Finally closure for all those family members, and even for the cases that have yet to be solved. Jonathan Freed joining us from Wichita, thanks very much.

Dennis Rader lives in Park City, a suburb 15 miles north of Wichita. While we don't know exactly what caused police to seek him out, CNN's law enforcement reporter Mike Brooks can fill us in on where the case goes next.

And I don't know about you, Mike, but just hearing the head of the case there, the lieutenant, reading the names, and just pausing between each name, and now thinking of the victims, now thinking that there are at least two other cases that may be related to this case.

MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Two other cases, Andrea. A murder back in 1985 and another one in 1991. We originally had thought there had been a nine-year lapse between the 1977 and then 1986, when he admitted that he had apparently -- and sent messages to the police that he had committed that murder in 1986. Now it looks as if we have another one in 1985 and one 1991 that police are now looking into.

But this case is far, far from over. There are a lot of gaps, a lot of places to look for additional evidence. You know, we know that they have a voice recordings of him. We know that yesterday it was reported -- sources were saying that they were waiting for a DNA test. We had also heard that there was DNA evidence that they had on him, hairs and fibers. When you look at those envelopes, anything at all that they can glean from those pieces of evidence.

Going back -- they're going to go back to other cold cases, look at all the cases to see if there's any similarities at all between those additional cases that they may be looking at and the ten cases that they now are going to charge him with. KOPPEL: Knowing that the Wichita authorities had been so careful, and so reluctant to come forward and make any kind of announcement. And the big to-do that they made in today's announcement, wouldn't that make you believe they have an open and shut case?

BROOKS: I'd say it would. But we have to also remember that back in December, the Wichita Police brought in a man that they thought was the BTK Killer and then had to release him. So, again, you know, they want to make sure that they cross all their Ts, dot all their Is.

And I've never seen a case, Andrea, where law enforcement has held the information so close to their vest. I've never seen both local, state and federal law enforcement with -- without saying anything at all and finally, just almost was as a matter of fact, gave his name as Dennis Rader.

KOPPEL: It was buried in the middle of their press conference.

BROOKS: It really was. But again, I think they wanted to make sure that all of the task force members got the credit that they deserve. And this is a case that has been going on for years.

And again, as he said, it was good old-fashioned police work. And it was the biggest case that Wichita has ever had.

KOPPEL: That's right. And thousands of hours that these men and women put in to trying to find this guy.

BROOKS: Absolutely.

KOPPEL: Mike Brooks, thanks.

BROOKS: Thanks, Andrea.

KOPPEL: Often lost behind the headlines of a story like this are the victims. There were at least 8 of them over a 12-year period, each with a face and a life story.

Joseph Otero was a father of five. He was a 38-year-old native of Puerto Rico, and retired Air Force mechanic. He and his family had moved to Wichita in 1973. It was just the fall before their murders.

His wife Julie Otero was 34. She worked at the Coleman thermos factory in Wichita. She and her husband and two of their children, Josephine, who was 11, and Joseph, who was 9, were found murdered in their home.

The Oteroes' other 3 children were not harmed because they were not home at the time of the murders.

In 1974, Katherine Bright was a 21-year-old employee of Coleman and had attended the University of Kansas for a semester. She had lived in her house for less than a year before she was killed. Her brother was also present at the time of the murder, and was shot by the intruder, but managed to survive.

24-year-old Shirley Vian was a mother of 3 when she was killed in March of 1977. Her children, if you can believe this, were in the home at the time of her murder, but were unharmed.

Nancy Fox was 25-years-old, a full-time secretary at a construction company and a clerk at a jewelry store. BTK's voice was caught on tape in 1977 when he called police to report the homicide.

And then in 1986, Vickie Wergerle was a 28-year-old mother of two would babysat for her church. Her 2-year-old son was also in the house at the time of the killing, but was unharmed.

CNN LIVE SATURDAY will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOPPEL: Both Israeli and Palestinian police have rounded up suspects linked to the suicide bombing that killed 4 people in Tel Aviv on Friday. The suicide bombing has -- bomber has been identified as a 22-year-old university student from the West Bank.

Authorities are still looking into conflicting claims of responsibility. CNN's Guy Raz is with us now live with the latest on that.

So, Guy, I've seen a couple of reports, one report saying that it's the Palestinian Islamic Jihad claiming responsibility, the other saying Mahmoud Abbas believes that Hezbollah may be behind it.

GUY RAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Andrea. Conflicting information has been coming out over the past 24 hours since that suicide bomber detonated his explosive device just outside the Stage Nightclub at the Tel Aviv Promenade Waterfront late last night.

Now, it does appear that fingers are pointing at Islamic Jihad for the moment. But as you say, Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian authority president, who condemned this attack in no uncertain terms, was quick to blame what he called quote, a third party.

Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAHMOUD ABBAS, PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): There is a third party which wants to sabotage this peace process and to mistreat the Palestinian aspirations, the Palestinian interests and the goals of the Palestinian people. We will not hesitate for a minute in capturing the people responsible and bringing them to justice to be punished.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAZ: Now, Andrea, at the beginning there was considerable speculation that the militant group Hezbollah based in Southern Lebanon may have had a role in this attack. Those accusations have now abated somewhat with as I say fingers pointing at Islamic Jihad.

Now, just in the past several hours, representatives from Islamic Jihad, the militant Palestinian group, took responsibility for the attack. But that leadership, those leaders who took responsibility are based in Beirut and Damascus. And what's interesting is the Islamic Jihad leaders based in Gaza in the Palestinian territories have denied any involvement whatsoever in this attack.

Now, the young man who carried out the bombing, 22-year-old Abdullah Bedrain, he recorded a video testimonial before he carried out the attack in which he appears surrounded by Islamic Jihad flags accusing the Palestinian authority of quote collaborating with the United States and with Israel. So clearly, it appears as if this attack was aimed just as much against the Palestinian authority leadership as it was against Israel -- Andrea.

KOPPEL: So, Guy, what does this do to the cease-fire agreement that was just signed earlier this month between the Palestinians and the Israelis? Are the Israelis going to retaliate, or are they going to give Mahmoud Abbas a little time to show that he can rein these various insurgents -- these various terrorists in?

RAZ: Well, for now it seems it's a wait-and-see policy that's being favored by the Israeli government. It doesn't appear that the Israeli government will be carrying out any kind of retaliatory measures for the moment.

And what's interesting, Andrea, is that both sides seem to be pointing fingers at outside forces, at forces that they're both accusing of trying to scuttle this period of momentum which has developed on a political level between the two sides over the past several weeks.

For the Israeli government, it defuses some of the pressure to carry out a retaliatory strike. For the Palestinian leadership, it diffuses some of the pressure to take overall responsibility for security measures in the Palestinian territories.

But ultimately, Andrea, this is a major test for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. As you know, he has long been opposed to violence. He's spoken out against suicide bombings and violent attacks, essentially believing they are counterproductive and simply give a pretext for the kind of retaliatory measures that we have seen carried out in the past -- Andrea.

KOPPEL: A major test indeed. Guy Raz joining us from Jerusalem. Thanks, Guy.

Well, if you're wondering what is the price of freedom, as so many people around the world are, the Smithsonian has a new exhibit that tries to answer just that question. And that is the topic of the Novak Zone today.

Michael Jackson's jury is set to start. Some people think that the jurors were chosen too fast. That's going to be the topic of our legal segment later in the show. And we've got a preview of the Academy Awards tomorrow night. Toure is on the red carpet right now. I can't believe Toure, they let you on the carpet now? I figured they had to keep that thing clean until tomorrow night.

TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: I can't believe they let me on the carpet, too. Listen, there are gold men all over the place, but a black man is at the center of the show this year. We're going to be talking about Chris Rock after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOPPEL: The gold rush is on. Tomorrow night Oscar is handed out for the 77th time, and it promises to be, as always, a lively party. But this time, they've got comedian Chris Rock in charge.

CNN pop culture correspondent Toure is on the red carpet at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles.

Toure, I don't know about you, but the first thing that went through my mind when I heard it was Chris Rock was, is the guy going to be able to stop swearing like a sailor and keep it clean?

TOURE: Listen Andrea, some people think the big show's gotten a little boring in recent years. A lot of the award shows are losing ratings. So the Academy Awards has done what America always does when they need to jolt in excitement: they call in the black people.

They got Beyonce performing, Prince and Puffy presenting. And, of course, the host is your man, Chris Rock.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS ROCK, COMEDIAN: If you're black, you've got to look at America a little different. If you're black American is like the uncle that pays your way through college, but molested you.

TOURE (voice-over): Chris Rock is one of the most unpredictable mouths in showbiz.

ROCK: Look at this crowd. It's like the million white man march here today. Yes.

TOURE: Now the Motion Picture Academy is passing the host to Rock hoping he'll help the Oscars avoid the ratings slide other award shows have had.

GIL CATES, PRODUCER, 77TH ACADEMY AWARDS: He really is someone who is very adept at dealing with an audience of people under 40, funny, irreverent.

NELSON GEORGE, FRM. PRODUCER, CHRIS ROCK SHOW: The reason the Oscars have him there hosting the show is not to make Warren Beatty laugh, they have him there to make Joe Six-Pack laugh.

TOURE: In an interview with "Entertainment Weekly" Rock's comment that straight black men don't watch the Oscars may have unnerved some Academy members, but not the show's producer.

CATES: Poor Chris, in the sense that he's a comedian, he's supposed to make people laugh. And he gets bombarded for doing that.

TOURE: Rock appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno to clarify his remarks.

ROCK: I was quoted in the magazine as saying, only gay people watch the Oscars. I did not say that. I said only gay people watch the Tonys.

JAY LENO, TONIGHT SHOW HOST: Oh, that's...

TOURE: And he sounded surprised over the brouhaha about his recent interviews.

ROCK: I think I'm just doing a gig. I'm like, OK. I act like I'm playing Yuck-Yucks in Toronto. No. People really -- hey, don't you disrespect the Oscars!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TOURE: Andrea, on Thursday night, Chris Rock's wife threw him a surprise 40th birthday party: Oprah was there, Puffy was there and I was there as well. It was a great party. A lot of fun was had. They had a great little video with Lola Rock, his little daughter.

And, you know, the thing is, people think he may mess it up. He said when the big cake came out, he said, let's hope I don't blank it up on Sunday. ABC has got a TV 14 rating on it. But listen, Chris Rock is so talented, he doesn't need to curse to be shocking, Andrea.

KOPPEL: And it's not just the cursing, but also the fact that he lays it on the line. He talks about race relations. He doesn't split any hairs. It's going to be a lot of fun to watch. And we'll be watching you tomorrow night, too. Thanks, Toure.

TOURE: Thank you.

KOPPEL: Well, from the red carpet to the weekly legal round table. That's straight ahead. Today we're going to be talking about another race related case: Michael Jackson. The jury has been chosen, what happens next. We'll tell you after the break.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Time for your cold and flu report. The latest from the CDC, blue and red on the map again. We're peaking out now in the cold and flu season. The red meaning widespread activity, places like Texas, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York. The blues, no bargain either that's regional activity. And Alaska, all the way down to Hawaii, and places mild as the West Coast.

Hope you're feeling well today. And enjoy the rest of your weekend.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KOPPEL: Police and volunteers are back in the woods and the marshes of coastal Central Florida today. They are looking for 9- year-old Jessica Lunsford. The third-grader, vanished from her home sometime after she went to bed on Wednesday night.

Jessica lives with her father and her grandparents. And they are pleading for her safe return.

Police say there was no forced entry, and nothing in the house was disturbed.

CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti joins us now in Homasossa, Florida. Gosh Susan, this must just be agonizing for the family.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's horrible for them, Andrea. It would be for any parent, as you can imagine.

That's Jessica's house that you see over my shoulder. And with each passing hour, anxiety is growing in this rural community about what happened to 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford.

It's clear a lot of people want to help. Police say they've had phone calls about 200 of them, tips from people ranging from people who think they know that they've seen Jessica, and also from psychics who think they know where she might be.

Now, giving everyone the night off yesterday, police, then, resumed the search at daylight today. You've got investigators from local, state and federal agencies, a 100 of them or so getting help from about another 100 or so volunteers. They've set up grids in this area, extending out about three miles from the house, looking over those areas, and then re-examining them.

Remember, as you said, Jessica was last seen Wednesday night after she came home from a church service. Her grandparents put her to bed. Her father was out all night at a girlfriend's house. W when he came home about 6:00 a.m. He said the front door was unlocked. Jessica was gone. She was last seen in her nightgown. No shoes are missing. Police say there is no evidence that they have so far of a kidnapping. But the sheriff says he does not like what he sees.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF JEFF DAWSY, CITRUS COUNTY, FLORIDA: We're not down in spirits. We're frustrated and probably frustrated that we know there's something here. We have the FBI at our main headquarters with FDLE, and some of our lead investigators going back over all the lead sheets. Probably most of them deployed. That started very early this morning, around 7:00, that they all met. It's just like anything else, you know, we want to bring this girl home, this young lady home, and we're beating ourselves up trying to figure out if there's anything we missed.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CANDIOTTI: Today Atlanta Braves pitcher Mike Hampton, a native to this area, and still has a home here, put up a $25,000 reward for information that might lead to finding Jessica. Police say it's pretty clear to them that solving the puzzle, the clues are somewhere in this area, but so far, Andrea, they don't have the missing pieces of that puzzle. Back to you.

KOPPEL: Oh, my goodness. Well hopefully somebody watching will know something about this, and will be able to call local authorities. Susan Candiotti, thank you so much.

An arrest in the decades-old BTK serial killer case in Kansas. And opening statements Monday in the Michael Jackson trial. We'll talk to our legal experts now in Cleveland we've got civil rights attorney and law professor Avery Friedman. And in Fort Lauderdale, Richard Herman who is a New York criminal defense attorney.

Avery, I'd like to start with you and ask you, when we see the results of the BTK case, and the fact that you had police in Wichita over an hour kind of laying out in excruciating detail, kind of how they made their case, how they put this case together, knowing that there's DNA involved, knowing they've got evidence. Is this an open- and-shut case?

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: No. As a matter of fact, Andrea, you notice that after listening to these officials after an hour, everyone was asking, what's the evidence? And I think this was a very carefully planned press conference. We heard the attorney general, who came in from Wichita or from Topeka. We have the congressmen there. Basically it was an effort to appease the citizens. But it offered us very, very little evidence. And there's a reason why, because officials are afraid to come out and talk about it, because defense counsel will be using what they say.

KOPPEL: Richard, in a case like this, and knowing it's been going on for 31 years in Wichita, the people there living with this fear, the fact that the police are now saying that they've got 59- year-old Dennis Raider, who they say is their suspect, what are they going to need in order to put this man either behind bars for the rest of his life, because we nor the death penalty is off the table?

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Death penalty is off the table because in Kansas, it didn't come into effect until 1994 and these murders were well before 1994. But, you know, you saw the two defense attorneys walk in with their briefcases. That was shown on television yesterday. So I don't know. They need DNA evidence to lock this guy up.

He came out of hiding. He sent letters, and hopefully he got a little sloppy with those letters. It's like "cold case files," I know they have all these prior eight murders put away in files. If they can match up the DNA to these letters that he sent and it matches to him, it seems to me that they're going to get a conviction here on these eight murders, and perhaps two more that are pending.

KOPPEL: That's right, at least two more. Gentleman let's make a hard right here from BTK to Michael Jackson. And Richard, I actually want to ask you, because something that you said to one of our producers here actually caught my eye, because it was so blunt. You said the fact that there are no black jurors, there are eight women, four men, all of them Caucasian. The fact that there are no white jurors, he is finished. Do you really believe that?

HERMAN: I think Michael Jackson is finished. You know, five minutes of Voir Dire, in a case of this magnitude. It took two months to pick the jury in the O.J. Simpson case. Here in a flash we have a jury and we have opening statements on Monday. This jury is a conservative jury. There are six mothers on this jury. Nesting mothers who care for children. Michael Jackson is in very, very bad shape here. This is a horrible, horrible jury for Michael Jackson.

KOPPEL: Avery, you also believe that it's, in your words, profoundly significant that there are no black jurors.

FRIEDMAN: Well, it is significant, because there's an assumption made by experienced trial lawyers that if you represent plaintiffs in civil matters, or defendants in criminal matters, you want black jurors, on the assumption that they're going to be more sympathetic. Let me tell you something, neither Richard nor I or the other lawyers have the slightest idea about these jurors, because Voir Dire was so quick, so fast. And you know what, you have to be a little skeptical, Andrea, because we really don't know, there wasn't time taken here. And all of a sudden all these jurors, 12 on the jury, eight alternates, are all of a sudden prepared to give up six months of their life? To hear this case? You really wonder if there are stealth jurors in there.

HERMAN: Andrea the conviction express has left the station. Here's the newspaper in New York covering this 3,000 miles away.

KOPPEL: You've got to hold it up a little. OK.

HERMAN: This is the cover of the New York newspaper showing jury of his peers. I mean, Michael Jackson, this jury is horrendous for him.

KOPPEL: OK so let me ask you, if you're a defense attorney and you are the person who's got to defend him before these jurors, what angle are you going to take?

HERMAN: Credibility of the witness, and the witness's mother is everything. That's this whole case. That's why Mesereau fought so hard to get in evidence of prior allegations she made of bad conduct in the past. Because the entire defense is going to be attack the credibility of this accuser, and of the manipulation of his mother. That's the case, open and shut right there.

KOPPEL: You know Avery, what I don't understand, and of course, we're alluding to the defense motion that they put forward that the judge just granted part of, and this is Judge Rodney Melville, saying that prior litigation involving the family, and I guess the mother was involved in making some accusations in a --

FRIEDMAN: A bunch of cases, right.

KOPPEL: Go ahead. I mean, why is that legitimate?

FRIEDMAN: Well, what the defense is going to try to show, what Mesereau is going to show is that the mother of the victim is litigious. She's involved in alleging misconduct by individuals. She's got money in settlements. And that is true. It is what the case is about. If they can somehow sufficiently attack the credibility of the people that are -- that the prosecution will rely on, that's the only chance they're going to get to protect Michael Jackson in this case.

But the bottom line is, there's a lot of evidence we still don't know about. They're predicting six months of trial, which is typical of California. So we really do have a long way to go. We don't know a lot of the evidence that will be going forward, Andrea.

KOPPEL: Richard, closing comment here. Do you think Michael Jackson can get a fair trial in Santa Barbara?

HERMAN: Michael Jackson absolutely cannot get a fair trial there. It's like Avery Friedman going on trial in south central California for molesting a white person.

FRIEDMAN: Holy smokes!

KOPPEL: All right. You know, very seriously, I mean this obviously is -- Michael Jackson has a lot riding on the line here. Gentlemen, this is just the beginning. We know there are opening statements on Monday and we hope to have you back again next weekend. Richard Herman, Avery Friedman, thank you both.

HERMAN: Thank you, see you soon.

FRIEDMAN: Bye-bye.

KOPPEL: Straight ahead, the president says the Social Security system is going bankrupt. But that is not what this man, the so-called grandfather of Social Security thinks. We'll have both sides when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOPPEL: Back from a trip to Europe to mend fences, President Bush is again turning his focus to Social Security. During his weekly radio address today, the president said that he would renew his efforts to let Americans know about the need to fix the system. Elaine Quijano has more from the White House. Nice to see you, Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you Andrea. The last time we saw President Bush was on Thursday night when he returned here to Washington, after that trip that you mentioned to meet with European allies. Next week President Bush will be hitting the road once again this time to focus on his domestic agenda, the centerpiece, of course, overhauling Social Security. Now the president will making stops in New Jersey and Indiana. The main goal, to convince people primarily younger workers that there's a problem that if changes aren't made to Social Security, it will run out of money in their lifetime. Today in his weekly radio address, the president called on younger workers to put pressure on lawmakers to act.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I encourage all Americans, particularly our younger workers who have so much at stake, to ask your elected leaders what they intend to do to keep the promise of Social Security alive in the 21st century. Saving Social Security will not be easy. But if you make clear that you expect your leaders to confront problems head-on, not pass them on to future generations, I am confident that we will put aside partisan politics in Washington and meet our duty to you, the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now, as I mentioned next week the president will be heading off to New Jersey and Indiana, places where he wants to put pressure on lawmakers to take up the issue despite the enormous political risks. Now earlier this month you see the president was in Portsmouth, New Hampshire to push for revamping the system. This is really part of a larger campaign style effort to win people over to his ideas on changing the Social Security system.

The president, of course, has said that he believes partially privatizing Social Security is part of the answer. The president favors voluntary private accounts for younger workers. The White House readily admits that is not a permanent fix. Democrats, meantime, strongly oppose those private accounts, objecting primarily to the transition costs of moving into private accounts, saying it will only add to the nation's debt. President Bush's answer to all of that is that he is open to all ideas, with the exception of raising payroll taxes. Andrea.

KOPPEL: Elaine, just in a couple of words, if you could, when does the president hope to get this to the floor of the Senate?

QUIJANO: Well, that's a good question. At this point, unclear, although what the president -- some of his aides have said is perhaps, perhaps over the course of the summer or the early fall is what they're hopefully looking at.

KOPPEL: All right, Elaine Quijano for us at the White House. Thanks.

It is tough to find a consensus on just what needs to happen to make Social Security more secure. There are many disputes over the seriousness of the problem. And our Chris Huntington found someone who's been involved with the program long enough to know just what kind of shape it really is in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): President Bush sure makes it sound like Social Security is headed for a cliff.

BUSH: In a 2042, the system goes broke those are the facts.

HUNTINGTON: That's not really true. And to hear some Democrats, the presidents plan for private investment accounts won't pay off either.

SEN. JOHN CORZINE, (D) NEW JERSEY: The money you've paid in has to get paid back to the Social Security trust fund.

HUNTINGTON: Confused? So were we. So we called on Bob Ball, the granddad of Social Security policy. At 90, he may be the most knowledgeable living authority on the Social Security system. There's barely a program fact, figure or fix that he doesn't know about. Is there a Social Security crisis right now?

ROBERT BALL, FMR. SOCIAL SECURITY COMMISSIONER: No, there's absolutely nothing you could call a crisis. I believe that there's a relatively manageable shortfall way out in the distant future, but no crisis.

HUNTINGTON: In 1939, Ball joined what was then the bureau of old age and survivors, as a field rep. He worked his way up eventually running Social Security under Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon, and then he worked as an adviser to the Carter, Reagan and Clinton administrations.

BALL: Lyndon Johnson was very, very pro Social Security, and he knew a lot about it. Nixon did a lot for Social Security in the first term. Of course, nothing happened in the second term.

HUNTINGTON: Richard Nixon had other things on his plate. Remember Watergate?

BALL: Here I am with Carter in Air Force One. He was just in that picture just about beginning to realize he was going to lose.

HUNTINGTON: In the early '80s, Ball played a key role in keeping Social Security from buckling under the weight of double-digit inflation.

BALL: That wasn't a made-up crisis like this one.

HUNTINGTON: Ball was a Democratic appointee to a special commission chaired by Alan Greenspan who had been hand picked by Republicans. In the end, the two of them forged a compromise that many say rescued Social Security. History professor Ed Berkowitz chalks up Ball's influence to common sense and his command of the facts.

EDWARD BERKOWITZ, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIV: He has one of those minds that's like a chess player. He just doesn't see the first move. There's no one that has his tremendous institutional knowledge and his knowledge of Washington and his knowledge of the Social Security program. And that way I think he is unique.

HUNTINGTON: As for the current flap over the program's future, Ball is fine with private investment accounts, but stresses they do nothing to close the funding gap. For that, he proposes increasing the amount of income that is taxed for Social Security, and pegging benefits to consumer prices rather than wage growth. But what sets Ball apart from those currently locking horns over Social Security is his calm perspective.

BALL: The shortfall in the long run can be fixed with really very little pain.

HUNTINGTON: Remember, when it comes to Social Security, there's not much Bob Ball hasn't seen before. Chris Huntington, CNN, Mitchellville, Maryland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOPPEL: That is for sure. And at 90, doesn't he look great.

Well, coming up, how can we honor those men and women willing to fight and die for our country. The Smithsonian is trying to answer that question with a new exhibit. And Bob Novak is going to take you inside when CNN LIVE SATURDAY continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOPPEL: Right now, as so many of you know, American men and women thousands of them are deployed in dangerous duty overseas, just as they have been throughout much of the nation's history. Well, CNN's Robert Novak visited the National Museum of American History in Washington to explore a new exhibit about Americans at war. For this week's edition of the "Novak Zone."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the empire of Japan.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We must be ready every day, all the time, to do the right thing if the atomic bomb explodes. Duck and cover.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The determination of all Americans to clear out our full commitment to the people and government of South Vietnam will be redoubled by this outreach.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just two hours ago, allied air forces began an attack on military targets in Iraq and Kuwait.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT NOVAK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to the "Novak Zone." We're at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., and its new permanent exhibition, the price of freedom Americans at war. Talking to David Allison, the project director of the exhibition. Mr. Allison, why did the Smithsonian decide to put on this exhibition at this time?

DAVID ALLISON, SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: The Smithsonian has one of the great collections of military artifacts in the world here at the National Museum for American History. But we hadn't done a permanent exhibition upgrade of our military history hall since the museum opened in 1964. Recently a major donor came forward, Mr. Kenneth Bearing, and provided resources to allow us to do our long dream of totally renovating our military history hall. So that was the reason for the timing. Our dream, plus his money.

NOVAK: Now, you start with the French and Indian War, and you go through to the Iraqi conflict.

ALLISON: Correct.

NOVAK: Do you have every war covered?

ALLISON: No, we don't have every military conflict, but we have all the major conflicts in which America was involved.

NOVAK: You have the uniform of George Washington?

ALLISON: Yes.

NOVAK: You have a jacket of Andrew Jackson?

ALLISON: Yes.

NOVAK: You even have a battle jacket of Audi Murphy.

ALLISON: Yes.

NOVAK: Where do you get all this stuff?

ALLISON: We've been fortunate over the years to have many veterans and their families see the Smithsonian for the right permanent home for the military artifacts. And that goes up to the currant day with people coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan have seen the Smithsonian as the right place to store the history.

NOVAK: This is not like the old-fashioned museums, which didn't talk back to you. This is audio/visual, isn't it?

ALLISON: We have a lot of interactive displays in this exhibition. One of the reasons is we wanted to make sure that the exhibition gave personal stories, personal perspectives of people throughout our history. And we thought the best way to present that was through the audio/visual medium.

NOVAK: Right here we have a Huey helicopter. I went to Vietnam as a journalist many times and rode in those things. Where did you get that?

ALLISON: Well, that's a fascinating story. The helicopter was given to us by the Texas Air Command Museum. It saw service in Vietnam. It was acquired by the museum and for the last couple of years it was flying around the country doing documentary history of veterans and their Vietnam experiences. So we thought both those roles of the helicopter were fascinating. Its wartime service and its service as part of healing America's memories of Vietnam.

NOVAK: And you have all the way back to a different form of locomotion, the Willy's jeep, which you have hanging from the ceiling.

ALLISON: That's correct.

NOVAK: When I was in the army, a long, long time ago, I rode around in a Willie's jeep. That's one of the real staples of the American military, isn't it?

ALLISON: The great thing about the Smithsonian is we think very much about what are the icons of the particular conflicts. Just like the Huey was the icon of the Vietnam War, the jeep in many ways was the icon of World War II.

NOVAK: You do have exhibitions of people watching television. The first television war, I guess, was Vietnam, wasn't it?

ALLISON: Well, in many ways, the first real television war was Vietnam. There was television coverage of Korea. But certainly the American public was first strongly affected by television coverage during the Vietnam era.

NOVAK: You have posters here, the kind of posters I saw when I was a kid on World War II and so on?

ALLISON: Absolutely. The World War II exhibition, which is the largest part of this display, we have a major section on mobilization. And mobilization was total in World War II. One of the ways that the civilian population was mobilized was through posters that have become famous since then.

NOVAK: Then you have the service star banners of service families.

ALLISON: Yes, we do.

NOVAK: I guess they're putting them in their windows now, too.

ALLISON: We have on display a gold star from Iraq, and a gold star from World War II. One of the most poignant things in our World War II section is an actual telegram that a woman received about the death of her husband. I think that takes you back and makes you understand the cost of the war.

NOVAK: I was an army lieutenant during the tail end of the Korean War, I never saw combat. But I am called a Korean veteran. It's sometimes called the forgotten war. What do you do to remember the Korean War?

ALLISON: We certainly haven't forgotten the Korean War. We have displays of hot weather uniforms and cold weather uniforms. The extremes in which soldiers fought in Korea is one of the aspects. We have maps of the conflict and artifacts to display to help Americans remember that Korea is one of our important wars.

NOVAK: You opened this exhibition in November.

ALLISON: On Veterans Day.

NOVAK: And you have a -- at the end of the -- if everybody sees this there's a chapel-like place. Do people come in there and reflect on what they've seen about the price of freedom for America?

ALLISON: Yes, they do. This exhibit is a very emotional experience. Particularly for veterans and their families. And we have a final film that talks about fighting for America that uses the words of veterans from our first conflicts running up to the present. It helps us recognize and honor the soldiers who have served their country.

NOVAK: And now, the big question for David Allison, project director of the exhibition, the price of freedom, America at war. Dr. Allison, what do you think ordinary Americans who come here to see this exhibition take away from it?

ALLISON: Hopefully they understand that wars have been a part of our history from the founding of America, and they have defined our nation in many ways. We want them to understand that national story, but also the personal story of war, how individuals are the ones that fight wars. The nation goes to war, but it's the individual soldiers and their families who are involved in the cost of the war. So we hope they see both aspects how wars have changed society and how it's affected individuals in our society from the beginning up to the present.

NOVAK: David Allison, thank you very much.

ALLISON: My pleasure.

NOVAK: And thank you for being in the "Novak Zone."

KOPPEL: You can catch more of Bob Novak and the rest of the capital gang tonight at 7:00 Eastern when the guest is New Hampshire Senator John Sununu.

There is much more ahead on CNN SATURDAY at the top of the hour. It is "Next@CNN." And at 4:00, an encore presentation of Paula Zahn now, breast cancer survivor stories. At 5:00, it's "People in the News" profiling academy award winning actors Tom Hanks and Halle Berry. I will be back with headlines after the break.

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 26, 2005 - 14:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: It is 2:00 on the East coast, 11:00 in the west. Good afternoon, everyone, I'm Andrea Koppel at CNN's global headquarters in Atlanta in for Fredricka Whitfield.
Ahead this hour, police say they have solved a 30-year-old murder mystery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The bottom line, BTK is arrested.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOPPEL: Find out who police will charge as the BTK serial killer.

Also Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives all agree, nobody knows more about Social Security than this man. So what does he think about the president's proposed reforms?

And the Oscars. The buzz isn't as much about who will win tomorrow night as what the host will say. That's right, Chris Rock, we're going to take you there live.

We're going to have those stories for you in a moment. But first, headlines now in the news.

The search for Jessica Marie Lunsford continues in Florida today. The 9-year-old was last seen Wednesday night. Several hundred people are searching the neighborhood and the woods near her home about 70 miles north of Tampa.

An appeals court in Yemen upholds a death sentence for a man believed to be the mastermind behind the bombing of the USS Cole. The Saudi born man was sentenced to death for his role in the October 2000 attack. A Yemeni accomplice had his sentence reduce from death to 15 years in prison. The defendants accuse the judges of working for the White House.

Palestinian and Israeli authorities look into a claim that Islamic Jihad might have been behind last night's suicide bombing in Tel Aviv. Four people died and at least 65 were wounded. Israeli and Palestinian police have arrested at least 7 people, and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas pointed a finger at Hezbollah militants. We'll have a live report in about 15 minutes.

For 30 years, people in Wichita, Kansas, wondered if they were living next door to the BTK serial killer. Well today, Wichita police announce the arrest of a 59-year-old man. He faces eight counts of first-degree murder, and two other homicide related charges.

You saw the police news here live on CNN. And our own Jonathan Freed was inside the room when the announcement was made. He joins us with more.

Gosh, Jonathan, you could see it: the relief, the joy, all kinds of emotions on the face of the police authorities, of the district attorney, just about everyone in that room.

JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Andrea, I've been covering this story for a year now, since BTK resurfaced for the first time last March in 2004 after a 25-year silence. And Andrea, it was like throwing a switch in this town. The electricity that you felt, the relief, the sigh, you could almost hear people sighing in that room when the words, the BTK Killer has been arrested, were uttered. People just spontaneously leapt to their feet. It was very emotional. You couldn't help being touched by it.

I don't live here, but I've been in touch with these people over the course of the last year, and I guess I'll give myself permission to tell you, I felt emotionally touched by the scene that I was seeing in that room today.

BTK's name, according to police, Andrea, is Dennis Rader. As you said, he is 59-years-old. He was arrested for first-degree murder.

Now, our affiliate here in Wichita, KAKE, our television affiliate says he is the compliance officer of Park City, which is nearby, Andrea, about seven miles north of Wichita, and that he was also the dog catcher in town. KAKE is also reporting along with the Wichita Eagle newspaper here that he was president of his local Lutheran church.

Now, earlier today, even before his name was announced and before it was announced that a suspect had been arrested, many of the family members of the victims entered the council chamber, which is city council chamber, which is where the event was happening today. And a hush went over the room. And we can take a look at that now.

And then the lieutenant in charge of the investigation for many years. He started out as a junior on this project two decades ago, now in charge, he explained how all of this went down yesterday. Let's listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. KEN LANDWEHR, TASK FORCE COMMANDER: Shortly afternoon, yesterday afternoon, agents from the KBI, agents from the FBI and members of the Wichita Police Department arrested Dennis Rader, 59, white male, in Park City, Kansas for the murders of Joseph Otero, Julie Otero, Josephine Otero, Joseph Otero Jr., Katherine Bright, Shirley Relaford, Nancy Fox, and Vickie Wegerle. He was arrested for first-degree murder of all of those victims.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREED: Now, we can tell you that over the years here, repeatedly, the images of the bodies being taken out of houses, and I believe we have that to show you now, have been haunting the people here of Wichita. It has been three decades that they've had to endure the repeated images and the worry.

But for many, for a long period of time, Andrea, this just went away. And last March it came back out of nowhere. And one of the questions people are going to be very eager to hear answered is why did the BTK after 25 years, why did the killer suddenly resurface.

A lot of theories on that, some thinking that perhaps he wanted attention. Others say more attention. Others saying he was just getting older and couldn't take the fact that he had fallen out of the news.

We're hoping, people here are hoping that all of this will become clear as the proceeding continues -- Andrea.

KOPPEL: Finally closure for all those family members, and even for the cases that have yet to be solved. Jonathan Freed joining us from Wichita, thanks very much.

Dennis Rader lives in Park City, a suburb 15 miles north of Wichita. While we don't know exactly what caused police to seek him out, CNN's law enforcement reporter Mike Brooks can fill us in on where the case goes next.

And I don't know about you, Mike, but just hearing the head of the case there, the lieutenant, reading the names, and just pausing between each name, and now thinking of the victims, now thinking that there are at least two other cases that may be related to this case.

MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Two other cases, Andrea. A murder back in 1985 and another one in 1991. We originally had thought there had been a nine-year lapse between the 1977 and then 1986, when he admitted that he had apparently -- and sent messages to the police that he had committed that murder in 1986. Now it looks as if we have another one in 1985 and one 1991 that police are now looking into.

But this case is far, far from over. There are a lot of gaps, a lot of places to look for additional evidence. You know, we know that they have a voice recordings of him. We know that yesterday it was reported -- sources were saying that they were waiting for a DNA test. We had also heard that there was DNA evidence that they had on him, hairs and fibers. When you look at those envelopes, anything at all that they can glean from those pieces of evidence.

Going back -- they're going to go back to other cold cases, look at all the cases to see if there's any similarities at all between those additional cases that they may be looking at and the ten cases that they now are going to charge him with. KOPPEL: Knowing that the Wichita authorities had been so careful, and so reluctant to come forward and make any kind of announcement. And the big to-do that they made in today's announcement, wouldn't that make you believe they have an open and shut case?

BROOKS: I'd say it would. But we have to also remember that back in December, the Wichita Police brought in a man that they thought was the BTK Killer and then had to release him. So, again, you know, they want to make sure that they cross all their Ts, dot all their Is.

And I've never seen a case, Andrea, where law enforcement has held the information so close to their vest. I've never seen both local, state and federal law enforcement with -- without saying anything at all and finally, just almost was as a matter of fact, gave his name as Dennis Rader.

KOPPEL: It was buried in the middle of their press conference.

BROOKS: It really was. But again, I think they wanted to make sure that all of the task force members got the credit that they deserve. And this is a case that has been going on for years.

And again, as he said, it was good old-fashioned police work. And it was the biggest case that Wichita has ever had.

KOPPEL: That's right. And thousands of hours that these men and women put in to trying to find this guy.

BROOKS: Absolutely.

KOPPEL: Mike Brooks, thanks.

BROOKS: Thanks, Andrea.

KOPPEL: Often lost behind the headlines of a story like this are the victims. There were at least 8 of them over a 12-year period, each with a face and a life story.

Joseph Otero was a father of five. He was a 38-year-old native of Puerto Rico, and retired Air Force mechanic. He and his family had moved to Wichita in 1973. It was just the fall before their murders.

His wife Julie Otero was 34. She worked at the Coleman thermos factory in Wichita. She and her husband and two of their children, Josephine, who was 11, and Joseph, who was 9, were found murdered in their home.

The Oteroes' other 3 children were not harmed because they were not home at the time of the murders.

In 1974, Katherine Bright was a 21-year-old employee of Coleman and had attended the University of Kansas for a semester. She had lived in her house for less than a year before she was killed. Her brother was also present at the time of the murder, and was shot by the intruder, but managed to survive.

24-year-old Shirley Vian was a mother of 3 when she was killed in March of 1977. Her children, if you can believe this, were in the home at the time of her murder, but were unharmed.

Nancy Fox was 25-years-old, a full-time secretary at a construction company and a clerk at a jewelry store. BTK's voice was caught on tape in 1977 when he called police to report the homicide.

And then in 1986, Vickie Wergerle was a 28-year-old mother of two would babysat for her church. Her 2-year-old son was also in the house at the time of the killing, but was unharmed.

CNN LIVE SATURDAY will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOPPEL: Both Israeli and Palestinian police have rounded up suspects linked to the suicide bombing that killed 4 people in Tel Aviv on Friday. The suicide bombing has -- bomber has been identified as a 22-year-old university student from the West Bank.

Authorities are still looking into conflicting claims of responsibility. CNN's Guy Raz is with us now live with the latest on that.

So, Guy, I've seen a couple of reports, one report saying that it's the Palestinian Islamic Jihad claiming responsibility, the other saying Mahmoud Abbas believes that Hezbollah may be behind it.

GUY RAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Andrea. Conflicting information has been coming out over the past 24 hours since that suicide bomber detonated his explosive device just outside the Stage Nightclub at the Tel Aviv Promenade Waterfront late last night.

Now, it does appear that fingers are pointing at Islamic Jihad for the moment. But as you say, Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian authority president, who condemned this attack in no uncertain terms, was quick to blame what he called quote, a third party.

Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAHMOUD ABBAS, PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): There is a third party which wants to sabotage this peace process and to mistreat the Palestinian aspirations, the Palestinian interests and the goals of the Palestinian people. We will not hesitate for a minute in capturing the people responsible and bringing them to justice to be punished.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAZ: Now, Andrea, at the beginning there was considerable speculation that the militant group Hezbollah based in Southern Lebanon may have had a role in this attack. Those accusations have now abated somewhat with as I say fingers pointing at Islamic Jihad.

Now, just in the past several hours, representatives from Islamic Jihad, the militant Palestinian group, took responsibility for the attack. But that leadership, those leaders who took responsibility are based in Beirut and Damascus. And what's interesting is the Islamic Jihad leaders based in Gaza in the Palestinian territories have denied any involvement whatsoever in this attack.

Now, the young man who carried out the bombing, 22-year-old Abdullah Bedrain, he recorded a video testimonial before he carried out the attack in which he appears surrounded by Islamic Jihad flags accusing the Palestinian authority of quote collaborating with the United States and with Israel. So clearly, it appears as if this attack was aimed just as much against the Palestinian authority leadership as it was against Israel -- Andrea.

KOPPEL: So, Guy, what does this do to the cease-fire agreement that was just signed earlier this month between the Palestinians and the Israelis? Are the Israelis going to retaliate, or are they going to give Mahmoud Abbas a little time to show that he can rein these various insurgents -- these various terrorists in?

RAZ: Well, for now it seems it's a wait-and-see policy that's being favored by the Israeli government. It doesn't appear that the Israeli government will be carrying out any kind of retaliatory measures for the moment.

And what's interesting, Andrea, is that both sides seem to be pointing fingers at outside forces, at forces that they're both accusing of trying to scuttle this period of momentum which has developed on a political level between the two sides over the past several weeks.

For the Israeli government, it defuses some of the pressure to carry out a retaliatory strike. For the Palestinian leadership, it diffuses some of the pressure to take overall responsibility for security measures in the Palestinian territories.

But ultimately, Andrea, this is a major test for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. As you know, he has long been opposed to violence. He's spoken out against suicide bombings and violent attacks, essentially believing they are counterproductive and simply give a pretext for the kind of retaliatory measures that we have seen carried out in the past -- Andrea.

KOPPEL: A major test indeed. Guy Raz joining us from Jerusalem. Thanks, Guy.

Well, if you're wondering what is the price of freedom, as so many people around the world are, the Smithsonian has a new exhibit that tries to answer just that question. And that is the topic of the Novak Zone today.

Michael Jackson's jury is set to start. Some people think that the jurors were chosen too fast. That's going to be the topic of our legal segment later in the show. And we've got a preview of the Academy Awards tomorrow night. Toure is on the red carpet right now. I can't believe Toure, they let you on the carpet now? I figured they had to keep that thing clean until tomorrow night.

TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: I can't believe they let me on the carpet, too. Listen, there are gold men all over the place, but a black man is at the center of the show this year. We're going to be talking about Chris Rock after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOPPEL: The gold rush is on. Tomorrow night Oscar is handed out for the 77th time, and it promises to be, as always, a lively party. But this time, they've got comedian Chris Rock in charge.

CNN pop culture correspondent Toure is on the red carpet at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles.

Toure, I don't know about you, but the first thing that went through my mind when I heard it was Chris Rock was, is the guy going to be able to stop swearing like a sailor and keep it clean?

TOURE: Listen Andrea, some people think the big show's gotten a little boring in recent years. A lot of the award shows are losing ratings. So the Academy Awards has done what America always does when they need to jolt in excitement: they call in the black people.

They got Beyonce performing, Prince and Puffy presenting. And, of course, the host is your man, Chris Rock.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS ROCK, COMEDIAN: If you're black, you've got to look at America a little different. If you're black American is like the uncle that pays your way through college, but molested you.

TOURE (voice-over): Chris Rock is one of the most unpredictable mouths in showbiz.

ROCK: Look at this crowd. It's like the million white man march here today. Yes.

TOURE: Now the Motion Picture Academy is passing the host to Rock hoping he'll help the Oscars avoid the ratings slide other award shows have had.

GIL CATES, PRODUCER, 77TH ACADEMY AWARDS: He really is someone who is very adept at dealing with an audience of people under 40, funny, irreverent.

NELSON GEORGE, FRM. PRODUCER, CHRIS ROCK SHOW: The reason the Oscars have him there hosting the show is not to make Warren Beatty laugh, they have him there to make Joe Six-Pack laugh.

TOURE: In an interview with "Entertainment Weekly" Rock's comment that straight black men don't watch the Oscars may have unnerved some Academy members, but not the show's producer.

CATES: Poor Chris, in the sense that he's a comedian, he's supposed to make people laugh. And he gets bombarded for doing that.

TOURE: Rock appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno to clarify his remarks.

ROCK: I was quoted in the magazine as saying, only gay people watch the Oscars. I did not say that. I said only gay people watch the Tonys.

JAY LENO, TONIGHT SHOW HOST: Oh, that's...

TOURE: And he sounded surprised over the brouhaha about his recent interviews.

ROCK: I think I'm just doing a gig. I'm like, OK. I act like I'm playing Yuck-Yucks in Toronto. No. People really -- hey, don't you disrespect the Oscars!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TOURE: Andrea, on Thursday night, Chris Rock's wife threw him a surprise 40th birthday party: Oprah was there, Puffy was there and I was there as well. It was a great party. A lot of fun was had. They had a great little video with Lola Rock, his little daughter.

And, you know, the thing is, people think he may mess it up. He said when the big cake came out, he said, let's hope I don't blank it up on Sunday. ABC has got a TV 14 rating on it. But listen, Chris Rock is so talented, he doesn't need to curse to be shocking, Andrea.

KOPPEL: And it's not just the cursing, but also the fact that he lays it on the line. He talks about race relations. He doesn't split any hairs. It's going to be a lot of fun to watch. And we'll be watching you tomorrow night, too. Thanks, Toure.

TOURE: Thank you.

KOPPEL: Well, from the red carpet to the weekly legal round table. That's straight ahead. Today we're going to be talking about another race related case: Michael Jackson. The jury has been chosen, what happens next. We'll tell you after the break.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Time for your cold and flu report. The latest from the CDC, blue and red on the map again. We're peaking out now in the cold and flu season. The red meaning widespread activity, places like Texas, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York. The blues, no bargain either that's regional activity. And Alaska, all the way down to Hawaii, and places mild as the West Coast.

Hope you're feeling well today. And enjoy the rest of your weekend.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KOPPEL: Police and volunteers are back in the woods and the marshes of coastal Central Florida today. They are looking for 9- year-old Jessica Lunsford. The third-grader, vanished from her home sometime after she went to bed on Wednesday night.

Jessica lives with her father and her grandparents. And they are pleading for her safe return.

Police say there was no forced entry, and nothing in the house was disturbed.

CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti joins us now in Homasossa, Florida. Gosh Susan, this must just be agonizing for the family.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's horrible for them, Andrea. It would be for any parent, as you can imagine.

That's Jessica's house that you see over my shoulder. And with each passing hour, anxiety is growing in this rural community about what happened to 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford.

It's clear a lot of people want to help. Police say they've had phone calls about 200 of them, tips from people ranging from people who think they know that they've seen Jessica, and also from psychics who think they know where she might be.

Now, giving everyone the night off yesterday, police, then, resumed the search at daylight today. You've got investigators from local, state and federal agencies, a 100 of them or so getting help from about another 100 or so volunteers. They've set up grids in this area, extending out about three miles from the house, looking over those areas, and then re-examining them.

Remember, as you said, Jessica was last seen Wednesday night after she came home from a church service. Her grandparents put her to bed. Her father was out all night at a girlfriend's house. W when he came home about 6:00 a.m. He said the front door was unlocked. Jessica was gone. She was last seen in her nightgown. No shoes are missing. Police say there is no evidence that they have so far of a kidnapping. But the sheriff says he does not like what he sees.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF JEFF DAWSY, CITRUS COUNTY, FLORIDA: We're not down in spirits. We're frustrated and probably frustrated that we know there's something here. We have the FBI at our main headquarters with FDLE, and some of our lead investigators going back over all the lead sheets. Probably most of them deployed. That started very early this morning, around 7:00, that they all met. It's just like anything else, you know, we want to bring this girl home, this young lady home, and we're beating ourselves up trying to figure out if there's anything we missed.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CANDIOTTI: Today Atlanta Braves pitcher Mike Hampton, a native to this area, and still has a home here, put up a $25,000 reward for information that might lead to finding Jessica. Police say it's pretty clear to them that solving the puzzle, the clues are somewhere in this area, but so far, Andrea, they don't have the missing pieces of that puzzle. Back to you.

KOPPEL: Oh, my goodness. Well hopefully somebody watching will know something about this, and will be able to call local authorities. Susan Candiotti, thank you so much.

An arrest in the decades-old BTK serial killer case in Kansas. And opening statements Monday in the Michael Jackson trial. We'll talk to our legal experts now in Cleveland we've got civil rights attorney and law professor Avery Friedman. And in Fort Lauderdale, Richard Herman who is a New York criminal defense attorney.

Avery, I'd like to start with you and ask you, when we see the results of the BTK case, and the fact that you had police in Wichita over an hour kind of laying out in excruciating detail, kind of how they made their case, how they put this case together, knowing that there's DNA involved, knowing they've got evidence. Is this an open- and-shut case?

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: No. As a matter of fact, Andrea, you notice that after listening to these officials after an hour, everyone was asking, what's the evidence? And I think this was a very carefully planned press conference. We heard the attorney general, who came in from Wichita or from Topeka. We have the congressmen there. Basically it was an effort to appease the citizens. But it offered us very, very little evidence. And there's a reason why, because officials are afraid to come out and talk about it, because defense counsel will be using what they say.

KOPPEL: Richard, in a case like this, and knowing it's been going on for 31 years in Wichita, the people there living with this fear, the fact that the police are now saying that they've got 59- year-old Dennis Raider, who they say is their suspect, what are they going to need in order to put this man either behind bars for the rest of his life, because we nor the death penalty is off the table?

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Death penalty is off the table because in Kansas, it didn't come into effect until 1994 and these murders were well before 1994. But, you know, you saw the two defense attorneys walk in with their briefcases. That was shown on television yesterday. So I don't know. They need DNA evidence to lock this guy up.

He came out of hiding. He sent letters, and hopefully he got a little sloppy with those letters. It's like "cold case files," I know they have all these prior eight murders put away in files. If they can match up the DNA to these letters that he sent and it matches to him, it seems to me that they're going to get a conviction here on these eight murders, and perhaps two more that are pending.

KOPPEL: That's right, at least two more. Gentleman let's make a hard right here from BTK to Michael Jackson. And Richard, I actually want to ask you, because something that you said to one of our producers here actually caught my eye, because it was so blunt. You said the fact that there are no black jurors, there are eight women, four men, all of them Caucasian. The fact that there are no white jurors, he is finished. Do you really believe that?

HERMAN: I think Michael Jackson is finished. You know, five minutes of Voir Dire, in a case of this magnitude. It took two months to pick the jury in the O.J. Simpson case. Here in a flash we have a jury and we have opening statements on Monday. This jury is a conservative jury. There are six mothers on this jury. Nesting mothers who care for children. Michael Jackson is in very, very bad shape here. This is a horrible, horrible jury for Michael Jackson.

KOPPEL: Avery, you also believe that it's, in your words, profoundly significant that there are no black jurors.

FRIEDMAN: Well, it is significant, because there's an assumption made by experienced trial lawyers that if you represent plaintiffs in civil matters, or defendants in criminal matters, you want black jurors, on the assumption that they're going to be more sympathetic. Let me tell you something, neither Richard nor I or the other lawyers have the slightest idea about these jurors, because Voir Dire was so quick, so fast. And you know what, you have to be a little skeptical, Andrea, because we really don't know, there wasn't time taken here. And all of a sudden all these jurors, 12 on the jury, eight alternates, are all of a sudden prepared to give up six months of their life? To hear this case? You really wonder if there are stealth jurors in there.

HERMAN: Andrea the conviction express has left the station. Here's the newspaper in New York covering this 3,000 miles away.

KOPPEL: You've got to hold it up a little. OK.

HERMAN: This is the cover of the New York newspaper showing jury of his peers. I mean, Michael Jackson, this jury is horrendous for him.

KOPPEL: OK so let me ask you, if you're a defense attorney and you are the person who's got to defend him before these jurors, what angle are you going to take?

HERMAN: Credibility of the witness, and the witness's mother is everything. That's this whole case. That's why Mesereau fought so hard to get in evidence of prior allegations she made of bad conduct in the past. Because the entire defense is going to be attack the credibility of this accuser, and of the manipulation of his mother. That's the case, open and shut right there.

KOPPEL: You know Avery, what I don't understand, and of course, we're alluding to the defense motion that they put forward that the judge just granted part of, and this is Judge Rodney Melville, saying that prior litigation involving the family, and I guess the mother was involved in making some accusations in a --

FRIEDMAN: A bunch of cases, right.

KOPPEL: Go ahead. I mean, why is that legitimate?

FRIEDMAN: Well, what the defense is going to try to show, what Mesereau is going to show is that the mother of the victim is litigious. She's involved in alleging misconduct by individuals. She's got money in settlements. And that is true. It is what the case is about. If they can somehow sufficiently attack the credibility of the people that are -- that the prosecution will rely on, that's the only chance they're going to get to protect Michael Jackson in this case.

But the bottom line is, there's a lot of evidence we still don't know about. They're predicting six months of trial, which is typical of California. So we really do have a long way to go. We don't know a lot of the evidence that will be going forward, Andrea.

KOPPEL: Richard, closing comment here. Do you think Michael Jackson can get a fair trial in Santa Barbara?

HERMAN: Michael Jackson absolutely cannot get a fair trial there. It's like Avery Friedman going on trial in south central California for molesting a white person.

FRIEDMAN: Holy smokes!

KOPPEL: All right. You know, very seriously, I mean this obviously is -- Michael Jackson has a lot riding on the line here. Gentlemen, this is just the beginning. We know there are opening statements on Monday and we hope to have you back again next weekend. Richard Herman, Avery Friedman, thank you both.

HERMAN: Thank you, see you soon.

FRIEDMAN: Bye-bye.

KOPPEL: Straight ahead, the president says the Social Security system is going bankrupt. But that is not what this man, the so-called grandfather of Social Security thinks. We'll have both sides when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOPPEL: Back from a trip to Europe to mend fences, President Bush is again turning his focus to Social Security. During his weekly radio address today, the president said that he would renew his efforts to let Americans know about the need to fix the system. Elaine Quijano has more from the White House. Nice to see you, Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you Andrea. The last time we saw President Bush was on Thursday night when he returned here to Washington, after that trip that you mentioned to meet with European allies. Next week President Bush will be hitting the road once again this time to focus on his domestic agenda, the centerpiece, of course, overhauling Social Security. Now the president will making stops in New Jersey and Indiana. The main goal, to convince people primarily younger workers that there's a problem that if changes aren't made to Social Security, it will run out of money in their lifetime. Today in his weekly radio address, the president called on younger workers to put pressure on lawmakers to act.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I encourage all Americans, particularly our younger workers who have so much at stake, to ask your elected leaders what they intend to do to keep the promise of Social Security alive in the 21st century. Saving Social Security will not be easy. But if you make clear that you expect your leaders to confront problems head-on, not pass them on to future generations, I am confident that we will put aside partisan politics in Washington and meet our duty to you, the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now, as I mentioned next week the president will be heading off to New Jersey and Indiana, places where he wants to put pressure on lawmakers to take up the issue despite the enormous political risks. Now earlier this month you see the president was in Portsmouth, New Hampshire to push for revamping the system. This is really part of a larger campaign style effort to win people over to his ideas on changing the Social Security system.

The president, of course, has said that he believes partially privatizing Social Security is part of the answer. The president favors voluntary private accounts for younger workers. The White House readily admits that is not a permanent fix. Democrats, meantime, strongly oppose those private accounts, objecting primarily to the transition costs of moving into private accounts, saying it will only add to the nation's debt. President Bush's answer to all of that is that he is open to all ideas, with the exception of raising payroll taxes. Andrea.

KOPPEL: Elaine, just in a couple of words, if you could, when does the president hope to get this to the floor of the Senate?

QUIJANO: Well, that's a good question. At this point, unclear, although what the president -- some of his aides have said is perhaps, perhaps over the course of the summer or the early fall is what they're hopefully looking at.

KOPPEL: All right, Elaine Quijano for us at the White House. Thanks.

It is tough to find a consensus on just what needs to happen to make Social Security more secure. There are many disputes over the seriousness of the problem. And our Chris Huntington found someone who's been involved with the program long enough to know just what kind of shape it really is in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): President Bush sure makes it sound like Social Security is headed for a cliff.

BUSH: In a 2042, the system goes broke those are the facts.

HUNTINGTON: That's not really true. And to hear some Democrats, the presidents plan for private investment accounts won't pay off either.

SEN. JOHN CORZINE, (D) NEW JERSEY: The money you've paid in has to get paid back to the Social Security trust fund.

HUNTINGTON: Confused? So were we. So we called on Bob Ball, the granddad of Social Security policy. At 90, he may be the most knowledgeable living authority on the Social Security system. There's barely a program fact, figure or fix that he doesn't know about. Is there a Social Security crisis right now?

ROBERT BALL, FMR. SOCIAL SECURITY COMMISSIONER: No, there's absolutely nothing you could call a crisis. I believe that there's a relatively manageable shortfall way out in the distant future, but no crisis.

HUNTINGTON: In 1939, Ball joined what was then the bureau of old age and survivors, as a field rep. He worked his way up eventually running Social Security under Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon, and then he worked as an adviser to the Carter, Reagan and Clinton administrations.

BALL: Lyndon Johnson was very, very pro Social Security, and he knew a lot about it. Nixon did a lot for Social Security in the first term. Of course, nothing happened in the second term.

HUNTINGTON: Richard Nixon had other things on his plate. Remember Watergate?

BALL: Here I am with Carter in Air Force One. He was just in that picture just about beginning to realize he was going to lose.

HUNTINGTON: In the early '80s, Ball played a key role in keeping Social Security from buckling under the weight of double-digit inflation.

BALL: That wasn't a made-up crisis like this one.

HUNTINGTON: Ball was a Democratic appointee to a special commission chaired by Alan Greenspan who had been hand picked by Republicans. In the end, the two of them forged a compromise that many say rescued Social Security. History professor Ed Berkowitz chalks up Ball's influence to common sense and his command of the facts.

EDWARD BERKOWITZ, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIV: He has one of those minds that's like a chess player. He just doesn't see the first move. There's no one that has his tremendous institutional knowledge and his knowledge of Washington and his knowledge of the Social Security program. And that way I think he is unique.

HUNTINGTON: As for the current flap over the program's future, Ball is fine with private investment accounts, but stresses they do nothing to close the funding gap. For that, he proposes increasing the amount of income that is taxed for Social Security, and pegging benefits to consumer prices rather than wage growth. But what sets Ball apart from those currently locking horns over Social Security is his calm perspective.

BALL: The shortfall in the long run can be fixed with really very little pain.

HUNTINGTON: Remember, when it comes to Social Security, there's not much Bob Ball hasn't seen before. Chris Huntington, CNN, Mitchellville, Maryland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOPPEL: That is for sure. And at 90, doesn't he look great.

Well, coming up, how can we honor those men and women willing to fight and die for our country. The Smithsonian is trying to answer that question with a new exhibit. And Bob Novak is going to take you inside when CNN LIVE SATURDAY continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOPPEL: Right now, as so many of you know, American men and women thousands of them are deployed in dangerous duty overseas, just as they have been throughout much of the nation's history. Well, CNN's Robert Novak visited the National Museum of American History in Washington to explore a new exhibit about Americans at war. For this week's edition of the "Novak Zone."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the empire of Japan.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We must be ready every day, all the time, to do the right thing if the atomic bomb explodes. Duck and cover.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The determination of all Americans to clear out our full commitment to the people and government of South Vietnam will be redoubled by this outreach.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just two hours ago, allied air forces began an attack on military targets in Iraq and Kuwait.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT NOVAK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to the "Novak Zone." We're at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., and its new permanent exhibition, the price of freedom Americans at war. Talking to David Allison, the project director of the exhibition. Mr. Allison, why did the Smithsonian decide to put on this exhibition at this time?

DAVID ALLISON, SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: The Smithsonian has one of the great collections of military artifacts in the world here at the National Museum for American History. But we hadn't done a permanent exhibition upgrade of our military history hall since the museum opened in 1964. Recently a major donor came forward, Mr. Kenneth Bearing, and provided resources to allow us to do our long dream of totally renovating our military history hall. So that was the reason for the timing. Our dream, plus his money.

NOVAK: Now, you start with the French and Indian War, and you go through to the Iraqi conflict.

ALLISON: Correct.

NOVAK: Do you have every war covered?

ALLISON: No, we don't have every military conflict, but we have all the major conflicts in which America was involved.

NOVAK: You have the uniform of George Washington?

ALLISON: Yes.

NOVAK: You have a jacket of Andrew Jackson?

ALLISON: Yes.

NOVAK: You even have a battle jacket of Audi Murphy.

ALLISON: Yes.

NOVAK: Where do you get all this stuff?

ALLISON: We've been fortunate over the years to have many veterans and their families see the Smithsonian for the right permanent home for the military artifacts. And that goes up to the currant day with people coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan have seen the Smithsonian as the right place to store the history.

NOVAK: This is not like the old-fashioned museums, which didn't talk back to you. This is audio/visual, isn't it?

ALLISON: We have a lot of interactive displays in this exhibition. One of the reasons is we wanted to make sure that the exhibition gave personal stories, personal perspectives of people throughout our history. And we thought the best way to present that was through the audio/visual medium.

NOVAK: Right here we have a Huey helicopter. I went to Vietnam as a journalist many times and rode in those things. Where did you get that?

ALLISON: Well, that's a fascinating story. The helicopter was given to us by the Texas Air Command Museum. It saw service in Vietnam. It was acquired by the museum and for the last couple of years it was flying around the country doing documentary history of veterans and their Vietnam experiences. So we thought both those roles of the helicopter were fascinating. Its wartime service and its service as part of healing America's memories of Vietnam.

NOVAK: And you have all the way back to a different form of locomotion, the Willy's jeep, which you have hanging from the ceiling.

ALLISON: That's correct.

NOVAK: When I was in the army, a long, long time ago, I rode around in a Willie's jeep. That's one of the real staples of the American military, isn't it?

ALLISON: The great thing about the Smithsonian is we think very much about what are the icons of the particular conflicts. Just like the Huey was the icon of the Vietnam War, the jeep in many ways was the icon of World War II.

NOVAK: You do have exhibitions of people watching television. The first television war, I guess, was Vietnam, wasn't it?

ALLISON: Well, in many ways, the first real television war was Vietnam. There was television coverage of Korea. But certainly the American public was first strongly affected by television coverage during the Vietnam era.

NOVAK: You have posters here, the kind of posters I saw when I was a kid on World War II and so on?

ALLISON: Absolutely. The World War II exhibition, which is the largest part of this display, we have a major section on mobilization. And mobilization was total in World War II. One of the ways that the civilian population was mobilized was through posters that have become famous since then.

NOVAK: Then you have the service star banners of service families.

ALLISON: Yes, we do.

NOVAK: I guess they're putting them in their windows now, too.

ALLISON: We have on display a gold star from Iraq, and a gold star from World War II. One of the most poignant things in our World War II section is an actual telegram that a woman received about the death of her husband. I think that takes you back and makes you understand the cost of the war.

NOVAK: I was an army lieutenant during the tail end of the Korean War, I never saw combat. But I am called a Korean veteran. It's sometimes called the forgotten war. What do you do to remember the Korean War?

ALLISON: We certainly haven't forgotten the Korean War. We have displays of hot weather uniforms and cold weather uniforms. The extremes in which soldiers fought in Korea is one of the aspects. We have maps of the conflict and artifacts to display to help Americans remember that Korea is one of our important wars.

NOVAK: You opened this exhibition in November.

ALLISON: On Veterans Day.

NOVAK: And you have a -- at the end of the -- if everybody sees this there's a chapel-like place. Do people come in there and reflect on what they've seen about the price of freedom for America?

ALLISON: Yes, they do. This exhibit is a very emotional experience. Particularly for veterans and their families. And we have a final film that talks about fighting for America that uses the words of veterans from our first conflicts running up to the present. It helps us recognize and honor the soldiers who have served their country.

NOVAK: And now, the big question for David Allison, project director of the exhibition, the price of freedom, America at war. Dr. Allison, what do you think ordinary Americans who come here to see this exhibition take away from it?

ALLISON: Hopefully they understand that wars have been a part of our history from the founding of America, and they have defined our nation in many ways. We want them to understand that national story, but also the personal story of war, how individuals are the ones that fight wars. The nation goes to war, but it's the individual soldiers and their families who are involved in the cost of the war. So we hope they see both aspects how wars have changed society and how it's affected individuals in our society from the beginning up to the present.

NOVAK: David Allison, thank you very much.

ALLISON: My pleasure.

NOVAK: And thank you for being in the "Novak Zone."

KOPPEL: You can catch more of Bob Novak and the rest of the capital gang tonight at 7:00 Eastern when the guest is New Hampshire Senator John Sununu.

There is much more ahead on CNN SATURDAY at the top of the hour. It is "Next@CNN." And at 4:00, an encore presentation of Paula Zahn now, breast cancer survivor stories. At 5:00, it's "People in the News" profiling academy award winning actors Tom Hanks and Halle Berry. I will be back with headlines after the break.

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