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Suicide Bomber Kills Over 100 in Iraq; BTK Suspect; Michael Jackson Trial

Aired February 28, 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.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Deadly day. Insurgents target hundreds of police and national guard applicants in Iraq. We're live from Baghdad with the latest.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Inside the BTK serial killer investigation. A suspect in custody. We'll talk live this hour with the sheriff involved in putting the case together.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Miguel Marquez, live in Santa Maria, California. The prosecution continues to lay out its case against the pop star Michael Jackson. I'll have the details.

PHILLIPS: And the Guantanamo guide book. A controversial new television show tortures volunteers to make a point about detainee treatment.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips.

O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

Well, the weapon was all too familiar. So, too, the target. Together they made dreadful history in post-Saddam Iraq. The deadly single insurgent strike since U.S. troops invaded back in March of 2003.

A suicide car bomber rammed a crowd of Iraqi police recruits near a busy market place in Hilla, some 55 miles south of Baghdad. When the smoke cleared, at least 125 people were dead.

CNN's Nic Robertson has the latest from the Iraqi capital -- Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Miles, some 200 others wounded in that attack. One of the reasons it was so deadly was the timing. It came at 9:30 in the morning, when not only that line of police recruits were outside the medical center, but a busy market nearby was crowded with shoppers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Clothes, shoes and blood, a lot of blood, the aftermath of Iraq's deadliest suicide bombing since the fall of Saddam almost two years ago. According to Iraqi police, the bomber drove a vehicle packed with explosives into a line of police recruits as they waited outside a medical center in Hilla for health checks. Amar Moussa (ph) was an eyewitness. "People were lining up for medical checks to become policemen," he says. "A car came from that direction and exploded, killing more than 50 people, more than you would expect." The death toll particularly high, officials say, as the blast occurred at 9:30 in the morning, ripping through a crowded adjacent market.

The last day as deadly as this occurred in February 2004 when multiple attacks in Karbala and Baghdad during the Shiite festival of Ashoura claimed at least 141 lives. In recent weeks and months, Iraqi police recruits have borne the brunt of insurgent attacks. Many dozens killed as they've waited at recruitment offices in the center and north of Iraq while being ambushed in convoys. Both Iraqi and U.S. officials insist recruitment has not been impacted so far.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have had no slowdown in our recruiting efforts either for the Iraqi police or the Iraqi army. In fact, we have more recruits than we can push through the academies and train at this time.

ROBERTSON: As hospitals in Hilla began to fill with the dead and wounded, the scale of this attack seems likely to prompt tough questioning among Iraqi politicians on how to protect security service personnel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON: And this is a debate they've had many times before. And it often touches on the insurgent infiltration of the security forces and how it appears, on occasion, they know the best time, from their point of view, on when to attack on a potential weak spot for the police and the army -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Nic Robertson live in Baghdad. Thank you very much.

The people have spoken, the prime minister is toppled. What next? Or should we say who's next for the vast throngs of anti-Syria demonstrators in Martyrs Square in Beirut?

Cause and effect appeared side by side on Lebanese television as that nation's entire pro-Syria government dissolved in the backlash created by Rafik Hariri's assassination two weeks ago today. The former prime minister's killing cast a harsh new light on Syrian domination of Lebanese affairs, a state of affairs that came up moments ago in the White House briefing room.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The new government will have the responsibility of implementing free and fair elections that the Lebanese people have clearly demonstrated they desire. We believe the process of a new government should proceed in accordance with the Lebanese constitution and should be free of all foreign interference.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: For its part, Syria denies any role in Hariri's death and says it will re-deploy the 7,000 soldiers who have been in Lebanon for decades.

PHILLIPS: A family man, president of his church council, and a Cub Scout leader now suspected as a notorious killer. Dennis Rader may appear in a Kansas courtroom later today, but it's more likely to happen tomorrow. He faces charges linked to 10 homicides known as the BTK killings stretching over three decades. BTK, Bind, Torture, Kill, refers to how the victims died.

And police say Rader is cooperating. They're urging the media to stop quoting anonymous sources that could jeopardize the case, though. Rader's being held in the Sedgwick County Jail. Sedgwick County Sheriff Gary Steed is joining us now from Wichita.

Sir, it's a pleasure to have you. Thank you.

SHERIFF GARY STEED, SEDGWICK COUNTY, KANSAS: Well, thank you for having me, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, I know you want to set the record straight on a couple of things. And there has been some frustration with regard to the media. So why don't we start with the numbers.

Ten, 13? What's the number you're sticking with right now with regard to murders?

STEED: Currently, Kyra, the district attorney has said we're only investigating the 10 -- the 10 murders at this point.

PHILLIPS: Do you feel confident that you have your man?

STEED: Well, I believe that we do, yes.

PHILLIPS: Well, the two most recent homicides were back in 1991, Dolores Davis, and then 1985, Maureen Hedge, abducted from her home and then later found dead. Now, you were a detective on the Dolores Davis murder, right?

STEED: Yes, ma'am, I was.

PHILLIPS: What do you remember from that? Do you remember the case well? Do you remember possibly being...

STEED: Well, I remember the -- Kyra, I remember the case somewhat. I can't really speak about the details of the case. I'm very pleased that through the work of the task force, we were able to connect two Sedgwick cases, two cases within my jurisdiction, back to this case, and that we'll be able to present those cases to district attorney Nola Foulston to draw charges.

PHILLIPS: Just as a law enforcement official, as a sheriff, sir, looking back to when you were a detective to now, this has got to be exciting for you in many ways that, after so many years, you may finally have your man.

STEED: Well, it is very exciting. And it's obviously important that we bring closure to a case like that. It's important to the victims and the victims' families. It's important to the law enforcement officers that were involved over the years in this investigation. And it's also important to our community that we have closure to the case.

PHILLIPS: With regard to those that are close to Rader, particularly his daughter, did you get a chance to ask each one of these individuals, tight within his family, "Did you have any idea that he could be the BTK killer?"

STEED: Kyra, I have had no contact with any of the family.

PHILLIPS: Has the family come forward and said anything that has been helpful in recent hours and recent days?

STEED: Kyra, I have had no contact with the family.

PHILLIPS: Well, how far back do you think that this could stem? If you're looking at 10 specific murders that have taken place, you're talking about a number of years that this individual has been on the loose, could it be tied to more murders? Not just in your area, but in other parts of the country?

STEED: Kyra, I can't comment on any of the details of the investigation. As I have said before, we're currently investigating the 10 cases that we have talked about.

PHILLIPS: And right now you feel confident you have your man?

STEED: Well, we have to put together the evidence, and we have to put together all of the facts. And, of course, that information is presented to the district attorney, Nola Foulston, so that we can determine what charges might be filed.

PHILLIPS: Sheriff, final question. Since Mr. Rader has been arrested, have you received any more calls, any more tips, any other information that might lead to any other murders?

STEED: Kyra, I have not specifically. The task force is conducting the investigation, and I have not spoken to him -- to the task force or have any direct knowledge of any information like that.

PHILLIPS: Sedgwick County Sheriff Gary Steed joining us from Wichita. Thanks for your time, sir.

STEED: Thank you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And tonight on a special edition of "NEWSNIGHT," Aaron Brown and CNN correspondents take you inside the hunt for a serial killer, who is suspect Dennis Rader, well, from profilers, to the woman who got away, to the chilling climate of fear that gripped Wichita. Don't miss a special edition of "NEWSNIGHT" only here on CNN. Mounting anxiety and frustration in the search for a missing 9- year-old Florida girl. The father of Jessica Marie Lunsford says the he's sure his daughter was abducted, but police don't know if she left home on her own or not or was just taken.

They're bringing in specialists on the case. Volunteers are helping police with a full-scale search for a fifth and possible final day. Police are expected to begin shutting down a local command center and reassess the next moves.

Now, 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time, we are expecting Jessica Lunsford's father to speak to the media. We'll take that live when that happens.

O'BRIEN: Well, it's a case that could hinge on the credibility of his accusers. Opening statements under way today in the trial of Michael Jackson. He is accused of repeatedly molesting a 13-year-old cancer patient.

Our Miguel Marquez outside the courthouse in Santa Maria, California -- Miguel.

MARQUEZ: Yes, the prosecution is making its case, its opening statement right now. And it is certainly R-rated situations that they are describing in that courtroom. And they're describing it in sort of PG-13 language. And we're going to try to keep it to the PG or the G rated here for you.

Michael Jackson arrived this morning with his mother, Katherine Jackson, and his brother, Jermaine Jackson. You know, as soon as the -- Tom Sneddon, the district attorney here, got going, he called this case a case about the manipulation of young boys. Saying instead of cookies and milk, you can substitute wine, vodka and bourbon.

Some of the bits of evidence, what he says the prosecution will prove during the course of this case, is that there were 15 sexually explicit magazines and DVDs near a Jacuzzi in Michael Jackson's master bedroom suite. He gave a full description of that master bedroom suite.

He said that Jackson at one point simulated sexual intercourse with a mannequin in front of the accuser. At another point, Jackson was in a stairwell naked in an excited state and told the accuser "It's only natural. Why don't you try this as well?"

They also say that the accuser's brother, who is a bit older than the accuser, will testify that Michael Jackson saw he and his brother in bed together wearing nothing more than a shirt, underwear and socks, and that both Michael Jackson and the accuser had that on, and that Michael -- his hand was in the accuser's underwear.

The defense will have their chance a short time from now. We believe that the prosecution is going to go about two hours. They're coming to about that two-hour mark now. Then the defense will have their opportunity to make their opening statements a little later this afternoon -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Miguel Marquez who has been there and will be for the duration. Thank you very much -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: The East Coast gets another icy blast. A new winter storm is chilling the landscape from North Carolina to Maine. It could dump a new blanket of snow more than a foot deep in some areas. The white stuff is already falling.

Our meteorologist Orelon Sidney can tell us exactly where.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, serial killers, terror attacks and genocide, devastating evils in modern times. So how do you confront them? Or should you even bother? The author of the book "Unspeakable" has something to say about evil. He joins us later on LIVE FROM.

Look at this incredible video. Hundreds of sharks force the evacuation of a Florida beach. We've got the details.

And next, TV torture? A new show aims to reproduce the conditions of Guantanamo detainees, and it's stirring quite a controversy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Reality television going to extremes in Great Britain. Critics call it torture offensive -- torture, offensive and sadistic. Participants in a Guantanamo Bay-like prison endure assaults, humiliation and sensory deprivation, all packaged as entertainment.

Human rights groups say it crosses the line. But creators say it is meant to educate.

Our Matthew Chance is in London with more on its debut.

Matthew, let's just start at the beginning. We have to assume folks haven't heard much about this. What is this show all about?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, I think it's more of an expose of the conditions at Guantanamo Bay than any kind of entertainment. It's part of a sort of season of programs on a particular British television channel, looking at the issue of torture. And this is just one program out of it.

But essentially, it's seven people, seven volunteers. Three of them are apparently Muslims, all of them men, who agree to take part in a recreation over a 48-hour time period which simulates the kind of treatments the detainees at Camp X-Ray in Guantanamo Bay actually receive from U.S. forces.

No sort of physical force is used, but mainly the kinds of things that have been approved of by the Department of Defense. We're talking about sleep deprivation, we're talking about people being exposed to hot and cold temperatures, people being put in stressful positions for extended periods of time. That kind of thing that the U.S. military uses to try and extract information from detainees.

So things that aren't individually that serious, perhaps, but when they're taken all together, the result, as it looks like on television, looks like an incredibly arduous ordeal for these individuals -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Matthew, we don't have clips of it. The first one airs in just a little while there in Great Britain. But let's just go to the Web site, and this will give people a little bit of perspective. Because you can see that it's a part of a whole series on the subject of torture.

This is just one installment, this sort of -- well, some would call it a recreation in very poor taste, perhaps. Or really, to call it a recreation assumes that it's somewhat like reality. And that brings us to the issue, Matthew, as to whether the people, these people who willingly subjected themselves to this, whether they were -- whether they gave up information. In other words, did the tactics used against them work?

CHANCE: Well, that's a good question. Because the way the show was set up, actually is that each one of these volunteers was given a secret piece of information that they were told they were not permitted to divulge, as if they were sort of genuine people, you know, active in the world of terrorism. And what's interesting is that after this treatment, however artificial the situation was, the fact that it was only for this limited 48-hour time period, the fact that they knew they were never going to be subjected to any kind of physical abuse as such, no kind of punching or kicking or anything like that, even under those artificial conditions, each of these detainees, these volunteers actually surrendered that bit of, you know, secret information to the interrogators. You know, well before the actual 48-hour time period had ended.

Some of them after three or four hours of this kind of treatment. So it did show the kind of effectiveness that this kind of treatment has in extracting information in a short period of time. But it did raise that other big question about why is it that so many people are still being kept in Camp X-ray three years down the line if, you know, these people, after just a few hours, gave up any useful information that they had. And also, the question of what useful information could these people at Guantanamo Bay still have that could be acted upon by the U.S. military, the U.S. authorities, or whatever, this far since they were actually detained?

O'BRIEN: Well, there's all kinds of ways you can quibble about this recreation. And whether you would call it a recreation is probably -- that's not the correct term here.

These, after all, are not Islamic jihadists bent on suicide. But you could look at it -- and I presume this is not the goal of producers in calling to the world's attention this whole notion of torture. You could look on it as validation of those techniques used at Guantanamo if the information was, in fact, given up.

CHANCE: I think that's true. And I think that people who already agree with what's going on at Guantanamo and think it's necessary, that they won't be converted by seeing this kind of sort of dramatization, if you like, of what's actually going on inside. But, you know, I spoke to a couple people involved in this, some of the volunteers. Chris Guelff actually an interesting person because he's an American citizen. He sounds like a Briton. He spent (UNINTELLIGIBLE) time.

He was at Oxford University studying politics. He was one of the people who volunteered for this. And it's interesting. We've got sound from him now. Let's hear what he had to say about the techniques used and what conclusions he reached as a result.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS GUELFF, CONTESTANT: We're supposed to be the good guys. We're supposed to be humane. We're supposed to be leading the world by example. And I think people in the Middle East or in Islamic regimes will look at this and say, well, how do you treat your captives?

Now, I don't, for a moment, want to be an apologist for people we capture who have done wrongs against us, but we have to be very, very wary of what we're standing and what we're fighting for. We're supposed to be a liberal democracy. That's what we believe in. And I would rather die a liberal free Democrat than someone who is in a safe authoritarian regime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: All right. Those are the thoughts of one of the contestants. Matthew Chance, thanks for shedding some light on this rather odd program, indeed. And we'll be watching that series through your eyes throughout the week. Thank you very much -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: No cameras allowed in the courtroom in the Michael Jackson case, but our own CNN legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, has been inside for the first day of the trial. He joins us with what he heard and saw later on LIVE FROM.

CHRIST HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Chris Huntington at the New York Stock Exchange. Up next, former WorldCom chief Bernard Ebbers, accused of masterminding an $11 billion accounting fraud, made a risky move today to defend himself. I'll have the latest on that trial next on LIVE FROM.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Former WorldCom chief Bernie Ebbers is accused of masterminding an $11 billion accounting fraud. Today he took the stand to defend himself. Chris Huntington joins us live from the New York Stock Exchange with all the details.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired February 28, 2005 - 14:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Deadly day. Insurgents target hundreds of police and national guard applicants in Iraq. We're live from Baghdad with the latest.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Inside the BTK serial killer investigation. A suspect in custody. We'll talk live this hour with the sheriff involved in putting the case together.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Miguel Marquez, live in Santa Maria, California. The prosecution continues to lay out its case against the pop star Michael Jackson. I'll have the details.

PHILLIPS: And the Guantanamo guide book. A controversial new television show tortures volunteers to make a point about detainee treatment.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips.

O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

Well, the weapon was all too familiar. So, too, the target. Together they made dreadful history in post-Saddam Iraq. The deadly single insurgent strike since U.S. troops invaded back in March of 2003.

A suicide car bomber rammed a crowd of Iraqi police recruits near a busy market place in Hilla, some 55 miles south of Baghdad. When the smoke cleared, at least 125 people were dead.

CNN's Nic Robertson has the latest from the Iraqi capital -- Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Miles, some 200 others wounded in that attack. One of the reasons it was so deadly was the timing. It came at 9:30 in the morning, when not only that line of police recruits were outside the medical center, but a busy market nearby was crowded with shoppers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Clothes, shoes and blood, a lot of blood, the aftermath of Iraq's deadliest suicide bombing since the fall of Saddam almost two years ago. According to Iraqi police, the bomber drove a vehicle packed with explosives into a line of police recruits as they waited outside a medical center in Hilla for health checks. Amar Moussa (ph) was an eyewitness. "People were lining up for medical checks to become policemen," he says. "A car came from that direction and exploded, killing more than 50 people, more than you would expect." The death toll particularly high, officials say, as the blast occurred at 9:30 in the morning, ripping through a crowded adjacent market.

The last day as deadly as this occurred in February 2004 when multiple attacks in Karbala and Baghdad during the Shiite festival of Ashoura claimed at least 141 lives. In recent weeks and months, Iraqi police recruits have borne the brunt of insurgent attacks. Many dozens killed as they've waited at recruitment offices in the center and north of Iraq while being ambushed in convoys. Both Iraqi and U.S. officials insist recruitment has not been impacted so far.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have had no slowdown in our recruiting efforts either for the Iraqi police or the Iraqi army. In fact, we have more recruits than we can push through the academies and train at this time.

ROBERTSON: As hospitals in Hilla began to fill with the dead and wounded, the scale of this attack seems likely to prompt tough questioning among Iraqi politicians on how to protect security service personnel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON: And this is a debate they've had many times before. And it often touches on the insurgent infiltration of the security forces and how it appears, on occasion, they know the best time, from their point of view, on when to attack on a potential weak spot for the police and the army -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Nic Robertson live in Baghdad. Thank you very much.

The people have spoken, the prime minister is toppled. What next? Or should we say who's next for the vast throngs of anti-Syria demonstrators in Martyrs Square in Beirut?

Cause and effect appeared side by side on Lebanese television as that nation's entire pro-Syria government dissolved in the backlash created by Rafik Hariri's assassination two weeks ago today. The former prime minister's killing cast a harsh new light on Syrian domination of Lebanese affairs, a state of affairs that came up moments ago in the White House briefing room.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The new government will have the responsibility of implementing free and fair elections that the Lebanese people have clearly demonstrated they desire. We believe the process of a new government should proceed in accordance with the Lebanese constitution and should be free of all foreign interference.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: For its part, Syria denies any role in Hariri's death and says it will re-deploy the 7,000 soldiers who have been in Lebanon for decades.

PHILLIPS: A family man, president of his church council, and a Cub Scout leader now suspected as a notorious killer. Dennis Rader may appear in a Kansas courtroom later today, but it's more likely to happen tomorrow. He faces charges linked to 10 homicides known as the BTK killings stretching over three decades. BTK, Bind, Torture, Kill, refers to how the victims died.

And police say Rader is cooperating. They're urging the media to stop quoting anonymous sources that could jeopardize the case, though. Rader's being held in the Sedgwick County Jail. Sedgwick County Sheriff Gary Steed is joining us now from Wichita.

Sir, it's a pleasure to have you. Thank you.

SHERIFF GARY STEED, SEDGWICK COUNTY, KANSAS: Well, thank you for having me, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, I know you want to set the record straight on a couple of things. And there has been some frustration with regard to the media. So why don't we start with the numbers.

Ten, 13? What's the number you're sticking with right now with regard to murders?

STEED: Currently, Kyra, the district attorney has said we're only investigating the 10 -- the 10 murders at this point.

PHILLIPS: Do you feel confident that you have your man?

STEED: Well, I believe that we do, yes.

PHILLIPS: Well, the two most recent homicides were back in 1991, Dolores Davis, and then 1985, Maureen Hedge, abducted from her home and then later found dead. Now, you were a detective on the Dolores Davis murder, right?

STEED: Yes, ma'am, I was.

PHILLIPS: What do you remember from that? Do you remember the case well? Do you remember possibly being...

STEED: Well, I remember the -- Kyra, I remember the case somewhat. I can't really speak about the details of the case. I'm very pleased that through the work of the task force, we were able to connect two Sedgwick cases, two cases within my jurisdiction, back to this case, and that we'll be able to present those cases to district attorney Nola Foulston to draw charges.

PHILLIPS: Just as a law enforcement official, as a sheriff, sir, looking back to when you were a detective to now, this has got to be exciting for you in many ways that, after so many years, you may finally have your man.

STEED: Well, it is very exciting. And it's obviously important that we bring closure to a case like that. It's important to the victims and the victims' families. It's important to the law enforcement officers that were involved over the years in this investigation. And it's also important to our community that we have closure to the case.

PHILLIPS: With regard to those that are close to Rader, particularly his daughter, did you get a chance to ask each one of these individuals, tight within his family, "Did you have any idea that he could be the BTK killer?"

STEED: Kyra, I have had no contact with any of the family.

PHILLIPS: Has the family come forward and said anything that has been helpful in recent hours and recent days?

STEED: Kyra, I have had no contact with the family.

PHILLIPS: Well, how far back do you think that this could stem? If you're looking at 10 specific murders that have taken place, you're talking about a number of years that this individual has been on the loose, could it be tied to more murders? Not just in your area, but in other parts of the country?

STEED: Kyra, I can't comment on any of the details of the investigation. As I have said before, we're currently investigating the 10 cases that we have talked about.

PHILLIPS: And right now you feel confident you have your man?

STEED: Well, we have to put together the evidence, and we have to put together all of the facts. And, of course, that information is presented to the district attorney, Nola Foulston, so that we can determine what charges might be filed.

PHILLIPS: Sheriff, final question. Since Mr. Rader has been arrested, have you received any more calls, any more tips, any other information that might lead to any other murders?

STEED: Kyra, I have not specifically. The task force is conducting the investigation, and I have not spoken to him -- to the task force or have any direct knowledge of any information like that.

PHILLIPS: Sedgwick County Sheriff Gary Steed joining us from Wichita. Thanks for your time, sir.

STEED: Thank you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And tonight on a special edition of "NEWSNIGHT," Aaron Brown and CNN correspondents take you inside the hunt for a serial killer, who is suspect Dennis Rader, well, from profilers, to the woman who got away, to the chilling climate of fear that gripped Wichita. Don't miss a special edition of "NEWSNIGHT" only here on CNN. Mounting anxiety and frustration in the search for a missing 9- year-old Florida girl. The father of Jessica Marie Lunsford says the he's sure his daughter was abducted, but police don't know if she left home on her own or not or was just taken.

They're bringing in specialists on the case. Volunteers are helping police with a full-scale search for a fifth and possible final day. Police are expected to begin shutting down a local command center and reassess the next moves.

Now, 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time, we are expecting Jessica Lunsford's father to speak to the media. We'll take that live when that happens.

O'BRIEN: Well, it's a case that could hinge on the credibility of his accusers. Opening statements under way today in the trial of Michael Jackson. He is accused of repeatedly molesting a 13-year-old cancer patient.

Our Miguel Marquez outside the courthouse in Santa Maria, California -- Miguel.

MARQUEZ: Yes, the prosecution is making its case, its opening statement right now. And it is certainly R-rated situations that they are describing in that courtroom. And they're describing it in sort of PG-13 language. And we're going to try to keep it to the PG or the G rated here for you.

Michael Jackson arrived this morning with his mother, Katherine Jackson, and his brother, Jermaine Jackson. You know, as soon as the -- Tom Sneddon, the district attorney here, got going, he called this case a case about the manipulation of young boys. Saying instead of cookies and milk, you can substitute wine, vodka and bourbon.

Some of the bits of evidence, what he says the prosecution will prove during the course of this case, is that there were 15 sexually explicit magazines and DVDs near a Jacuzzi in Michael Jackson's master bedroom suite. He gave a full description of that master bedroom suite.

He said that Jackson at one point simulated sexual intercourse with a mannequin in front of the accuser. At another point, Jackson was in a stairwell naked in an excited state and told the accuser "It's only natural. Why don't you try this as well?"

They also say that the accuser's brother, who is a bit older than the accuser, will testify that Michael Jackson saw he and his brother in bed together wearing nothing more than a shirt, underwear and socks, and that both Michael Jackson and the accuser had that on, and that Michael -- his hand was in the accuser's underwear.

The defense will have their chance a short time from now. We believe that the prosecution is going to go about two hours. They're coming to about that two-hour mark now. Then the defense will have their opportunity to make their opening statements a little later this afternoon -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Miguel Marquez who has been there and will be for the duration. Thank you very much -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: The East Coast gets another icy blast. A new winter storm is chilling the landscape from North Carolina to Maine. It could dump a new blanket of snow more than a foot deep in some areas. The white stuff is already falling.

Our meteorologist Orelon Sidney can tell us exactly where.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, serial killers, terror attacks and genocide, devastating evils in modern times. So how do you confront them? Or should you even bother? The author of the book "Unspeakable" has something to say about evil. He joins us later on LIVE FROM.

Look at this incredible video. Hundreds of sharks force the evacuation of a Florida beach. We've got the details.

And next, TV torture? A new show aims to reproduce the conditions of Guantanamo detainees, and it's stirring quite a controversy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Reality television going to extremes in Great Britain. Critics call it torture offensive -- torture, offensive and sadistic. Participants in a Guantanamo Bay-like prison endure assaults, humiliation and sensory deprivation, all packaged as entertainment.

Human rights groups say it crosses the line. But creators say it is meant to educate.

Our Matthew Chance is in London with more on its debut.

Matthew, let's just start at the beginning. We have to assume folks haven't heard much about this. What is this show all about?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, I think it's more of an expose of the conditions at Guantanamo Bay than any kind of entertainment. It's part of a sort of season of programs on a particular British television channel, looking at the issue of torture. And this is just one program out of it.

But essentially, it's seven people, seven volunteers. Three of them are apparently Muslims, all of them men, who agree to take part in a recreation over a 48-hour time period which simulates the kind of treatments the detainees at Camp X-Ray in Guantanamo Bay actually receive from U.S. forces.

No sort of physical force is used, but mainly the kinds of things that have been approved of by the Department of Defense. We're talking about sleep deprivation, we're talking about people being exposed to hot and cold temperatures, people being put in stressful positions for extended periods of time. That kind of thing that the U.S. military uses to try and extract information from detainees.

So things that aren't individually that serious, perhaps, but when they're taken all together, the result, as it looks like on television, looks like an incredibly arduous ordeal for these individuals -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Matthew, we don't have clips of it. The first one airs in just a little while there in Great Britain. But let's just go to the Web site, and this will give people a little bit of perspective. Because you can see that it's a part of a whole series on the subject of torture.

This is just one installment, this sort of -- well, some would call it a recreation in very poor taste, perhaps. Or really, to call it a recreation assumes that it's somewhat like reality. And that brings us to the issue, Matthew, as to whether the people, these people who willingly subjected themselves to this, whether they were -- whether they gave up information. In other words, did the tactics used against them work?

CHANCE: Well, that's a good question. Because the way the show was set up, actually is that each one of these volunteers was given a secret piece of information that they were told they were not permitted to divulge, as if they were sort of genuine people, you know, active in the world of terrorism. And what's interesting is that after this treatment, however artificial the situation was, the fact that it was only for this limited 48-hour time period, the fact that they knew they were never going to be subjected to any kind of physical abuse as such, no kind of punching or kicking or anything like that, even under those artificial conditions, each of these detainees, these volunteers actually surrendered that bit of, you know, secret information to the interrogators. You know, well before the actual 48-hour time period had ended.

Some of them after three or four hours of this kind of treatment. So it did show the kind of effectiveness that this kind of treatment has in extracting information in a short period of time. But it did raise that other big question about why is it that so many people are still being kept in Camp X-ray three years down the line if, you know, these people, after just a few hours, gave up any useful information that they had. And also, the question of what useful information could these people at Guantanamo Bay still have that could be acted upon by the U.S. military, the U.S. authorities, or whatever, this far since they were actually detained?

O'BRIEN: Well, there's all kinds of ways you can quibble about this recreation. And whether you would call it a recreation is probably -- that's not the correct term here.

These, after all, are not Islamic jihadists bent on suicide. But you could look at it -- and I presume this is not the goal of producers in calling to the world's attention this whole notion of torture. You could look on it as validation of those techniques used at Guantanamo if the information was, in fact, given up.

CHANCE: I think that's true. And I think that people who already agree with what's going on at Guantanamo and think it's necessary, that they won't be converted by seeing this kind of sort of dramatization, if you like, of what's actually going on inside. But, you know, I spoke to a couple people involved in this, some of the volunteers. Chris Guelff actually an interesting person because he's an American citizen. He sounds like a Briton. He spent (UNINTELLIGIBLE) time.

He was at Oxford University studying politics. He was one of the people who volunteered for this. And it's interesting. We've got sound from him now. Let's hear what he had to say about the techniques used and what conclusions he reached as a result.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS GUELFF, CONTESTANT: We're supposed to be the good guys. We're supposed to be humane. We're supposed to be leading the world by example. And I think people in the Middle East or in Islamic regimes will look at this and say, well, how do you treat your captives?

Now, I don't, for a moment, want to be an apologist for people we capture who have done wrongs against us, but we have to be very, very wary of what we're standing and what we're fighting for. We're supposed to be a liberal democracy. That's what we believe in. And I would rather die a liberal free Democrat than someone who is in a safe authoritarian regime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: All right. Those are the thoughts of one of the contestants. Matthew Chance, thanks for shedding some light on this rather odd program, indeed. And we'll be watching that series through your eyes throughout the week. Thank you very much -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: No cameras allowed in the courtroom in the Michael Jackson case, but our own CNN legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, has been inside for the first day of the trial. He joins us with what he heard and saw later on LIVE FROM.

CHRIST HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Chris Huntington at the New York Stock Exchange. Up next, former WorldCom chief Bernard Ebbers, accused of masterminding an $11 billion accounting fraud, made a risky move today to defend himself. I'll have the latest on that trial next on LIVE FROM.

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PHILLIPS: Former WorldCom chief Bernie Ebbers is accused of masterminding an $11 billion accounting fraud. Today he took the stand to defend himself. Chris Huntington joins us live from the New York Stock Exchange with all the details.

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