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Supreme Court Arguments; Secret Stories Written by U.S. Troops; Pilfered Poles in Baltimore; American Presidents and Their Critics

Aired November 30, 2005 - 13:59   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: One of the hottest of the hot-button issues is back before the Supreme Court: abortion. As protesters demonstrated outside, new Chief Justice John Roberts and the rest of the Supreme Court heard arguments today over a New Hampshire parental notification law. That law requires minors seeking abortions to notify a parent in advance. And while it makes exceptions in the life of the mother if she's in jeopardy, it includes no exception when the health of the mother is in jeopardy.
CNN Senior Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin listened to those arguments.

Jeffrey, anything surprise you?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Well, this was a very cautious court. They almost didn't engage in a discussion of the merits of the New Hampshire law. Almost the entire argument, both sides, was about whether this case should go back to the lower courts for more fact-finding, for a narrowing of the issues.

They really didn't want to seem to deal with the sort of hot- button issue, as you say, of abortion. They wanted to make sure procedurally the case was in precisely the right posture, and it looked like, in short, they were trying to duck it.

PHILLIPS: But there is so much -- there has been so much discussion about this. When we start talking about the new chief justice and others to replace -- Samuel Alito and these others to replace outgoing justices, this was the big issues, this is what everybody was talking about and debating about. So you would think it would be at the forefront.

TOOBIN: You would think, but it wasn't. I tell you, I mean, it was -- it was...

PHILLIPS: Why? Tell me why.

TOOBIN: Well, the Supreme Court is very cautious. They are, I think, appropriately so. They don't want to get involved in controversies that they don't have to get involve with.

And I thought if you listened to Chief Justice Roberts in his confirmation hearings, he talked often about how he was -- he was kind of a minimalist, that he didn't want to reach out and find controversies when he didn't need to. You know, very much one step at a time. And in his questions, which were, of course -- everyone was focusing on because he had never spoken out on the issue of abortion before, he was very focused on maybe this case should go back to the lower courts, they should identify precisely what part of the New Hampshire law there might be a problem with, and only then will we consider the law.

So, you know, this is very much their approach. And, you know, some day they will deal with abortion. The issue just can't go away forever.

PHILLIPS: Sure, they have to.

TOOBIN: But I don't think it's going to be in this case.

PHILLIPS: Anything else you observed about John Roberts?

TOOBIN: Well, I thought it was interesting. Today was the day that Samuel Alito, the new nominee, they released his 64-page transcript of -- where he -- 64-page questionnaire, where he answered questions about his judicial philosophy. And Alito's answers were very close to Roberts.

I mean, clearly, the Alito confirmation strategy is to be as close as possible to the Roberts strategy because Roberts was confirmed 78-22. Alito is looking for a similar result. And that model of caution, of not reaching out to decide issues, of not trying to be a judicial activist, that Roberts' model which was so effective in front of the Senate is something that Alito seems to be trying to follow.

PHILLIPS: If we were to talk about overturning Roe versus Wade, what will it take?

TOOBIN: It's going to take several years. And I don't think it's out of the question, by any means.

It will probably take at least one more appointment to the court. There are really only -- there are five justices on the court right now, even with O'Connor's departure, who have supported Roe v. Wade. So someone, whether it's Ruth Bader Ginsburg, John Paul Stevens, Anthony Kennedy, Stephen Breyer or David Souter, one of those five will probably have to leave. But that could happen.

John Paul Stevens is 85 years old. So he's not going to be there forever. And this president is not a supporter of legalized abortion.

It could happen. I does not appear imminent.

PHILLIPS: Jeffrey Toobin, thanks.

TOOBIN: See you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Jeffrey mentioned Samuel Alito. Well, among the Supreme Court justices hearing today's abortion arguments was Sandra Day O'Connor, who has represented a swing vote in favor of abortion rights in past cases. And President Bush's nominee to succeed O'Connor, Judge Samuel Alito, could change the balance of power.

Alito isn't saying where he stands on abortion, but in a response submitted through a Senate questionnaire today, Alito criticized judicial activism. Many abortion opponents argue that the Supreme Court's 1974 Roe versus Wade decision legalizing abortion was the result of judicial activism.

Time, but no timetables. Patience, not politics. President Bush's message to midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy, though his real audience was and is American and Iraqis who lost their faith in the fight for Iraq.

The first in what's expected to be several presidential speeches ahead of next month's Iraqi elections came with a 38-page strategy for victory. Mr. Bush summed it up for midshipmen in about 24 seconds.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our goal is to train enough Iraqi forces so they can carry the fight. And this will take time and patience. And it's worth the time and it's worth the effort because Iraqis and Americans share a common enemy. And when that enemy is defeated in Iraq, Americans will be safer here at home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Here at home, the war debate flared as the president's poll numbers dropped and exploded when a pro-military congressman called for a hasty pullout. Few other lawmakers are willing to go that far, but one cites some different poll numbers to argue the president is missing the point.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Forty-five percent of the Iraqi people believe it is all right to injure and kill Americans. Eighty percent of the Iraqi people want us to withdraw. The largest portion of the Iraqi elected officials have now voiced themselves publicly saying they believe the United States needs to reduce its presence and withdraw.

So what the president did not acknowledge today at all is that the presence of our troops, itself, is a part of the current reality on the ground that presents food for the insurgency.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: A key Sunni clerical group in Iraq is calling for the release of five Westerners being held hostage. The five were seized late last week in a new wave of foreign kidnappings. Four are Christian aide workers, two Canadians, a Brit and an American.

They appeared in this video broadcast yesterday by Al-Jazeera television. The fifth is a German archaeologist.

The four aide workers with the group called the Christian Peacemaker Teams, well, it identified the men as Thomas Fox of Virginia; Dr. Norman Kember of Great Britain; James Loney of Toronto; and Harmeet Singh Sooden, also, of Canada..

It's the kind of news if true that could be another black eye for President Bush's Iraq war policy. The "Los Angeles Times" reports that the U.S. military is secretly planting stories in Iraqi newspapers.

"The Times" says that the Iraqi papers are paid to run stories written by American troops in an effort to give a positive spin to the U.S. war effort. "The Times" also says the work is done by a D.C.- based firm called the Lincoln Group. A Lincoln Group spokesperson declined to comment on "The Times" report.

Joining us with more, our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr.

Barbara, what's the Pentagon saying about this report?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, there is no question that the Lincoln Group, indeed, has a contract to produce news articles, advertising, Internet materials, that sort of thing for Iraqi news media outlets. That is a matter of public record. That is part of what the military calls information operations.

This is an effort to counter what they see in some of the Iraqi press that the U.S. military believes reflects the insurgent point of view. So that work has been going on for some time.

But what our colleagues at the "LA Times" are now reporting is that this now involves cash payments to the Iraqi media outlets. That they take cash from the contractor essentially representing the U.S. military in Iraq, and they take that cash in return for running these stories, these articles that they are provided.

Now, it's a difficult thing to pin down. This is a story we've been working all day.

Two senior military officials tell us, yes, there is no question in their mind but that these cash payments have taken place. That they say that is how business is done in Iraq and that there is no proof it violates any part of the contract or U.S. law.

We asked the U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, and he said to us, "Because this is part of our ongoing operations and an important part of countering misinformation in the news by insurgents, I cannot provide details of what this entails."

Stay tuned, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Yes, we will. We will count on you to work that story more.

Now, another story, of course, this is Special Operation Ethiopia. You surprised us with your excitement over this story. What is the deal with the little cubs?

STARR: Oh, Kyra, these pictures will just rip your heart out. This is Operation Baby Cheetah Airlift.

We have some pictures to show you. You'll remember a couple days ago we showed these two cheetah cubs three months old. U.S. military troops found them in Ethiopia being beaten and abused. They worked with the Ethiopian government, and now these little 3-month-old cheetah cubs have been rescued by U.S. Special Forces in Ethiopia with the permission and the agreement of the Ethiopian government.

They have been taken to a wildlife refuge. You can see them there.

The U.S. troops are helping them to safety. They are getting medical care and treatment. And now they have new names, Scout and Patch.

Operation Baby Cheetah Lift has concluded.

PHILLIPS: Scout and Patch, they've stolen all our hearts.

Thanks, Barbara.

STARR: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, coming soon to an airport near you, relaxed rules on what you can carry onboard an airplane. That includes your favorite nail scissors, plus other scissors less than four inches long. And certain tools under seven inches long.

Not quite sure what those certain tools are, but the reasoning is that such items are no longer considered the greatest threat to airline security. The government wants screeners to focus more on finding things that can explode rather than things that are sharp.

It's lights out in some areas of Baltimore. Light poles literally disappearing off the streets. We're on the case.

The new keeps coming. We'll keep bringing it to you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Every night when you look out the window or drive down the highway, you probably see street lights, right? But maybe you're not in Baltimore, where right now police are hard at work trying to solve a mystery. Who has been stealing the light poles right off the city's streets, sometimes in broad daylight?

CNN's Jason Carroll investigates.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The city of Baltimore is just a little bit darker these nights, thanks to what law enforcement suspects is a small band of criminals that has found a way to steal the light.

TONY WALLNOFER, BALTIMORE DEPT. OF TRANSPORTATION: You wake up every day and you -- it keeps you out of the routine, that's for sure.

CARROLL (on camera): It is odd, isn't it?

WALLNOFER: It is unusual, I have to admit. It's unusual that somebody would do this.

CARROLL (voice over): What they're doing is stealing light poles, 130 of them in just eight weeks. It's cost the city more than $150,000 to replace them. Tony Wallnofer says in his 30 years at the city's Department of Transportation he's never seen anything like it.

WALLNOFER: Certainly they have some knowledge of electrical circuitry, all right? So they know what to do when they're down here so they don't electrocute themselves.

CARROLL: Wallnofer says the poles have disappeared from secluded streets at night and from busy streets during the day. The thieves have dressed up like city workers to steal them.

WALLNOFER: To be so brazen as to actually go on to the street, set up a work zone, wear hard hats, wear safety vests...

CARROLL: The city says the pole thieves use a chop saw like this to cut them down. It takes less than a minute. But the saws are very loud and the 30-foot poles are heavy, 250 pounds each.

Still, the thieves have managed not to get caught.

(on camera): A spokesman for the Baltimore Police Department said investigators are looking at several people. He also said investigators do not want the department talking about the case because they don't want the publicity.

CHIP FRANKLIN, TALK RADIO HOST: How can we lose 130 light poles?

CARROLL (voice over): Local talk radio host Chip Franklin says police have been shamed into silence. The FBI just ranked Baltimore the second most dangerous big city in the nation behind Detroit. Franklin says police can't talk about catching pole thieves when they are having so much trouble controlling more serious crimes like robbery and murder.

FRANKLIN: And it would be embarrassing to have a press conference in the dark. You know, with -- "Where's that light? It was just in here."

CARROLL: There's humor and speculation about who's doing it and why. One caller voicing a common theory, drug addicts may be the culprits.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was not too far from being (INAUDIBLE). And anything that you could do to hustle a buck, you would do it.

CARROLL: HBO's police drama "The Wire," set in Baltimore, explored the problem of drug addicts stealing metal to cash in for drugs. Mark Decker, a Baltimore scrap metal owner, says the concept isn't new.

MARK DECKER, DECKER SALVAGE: They're on poles right now, but 10 years ago they were on to copper. You know, breaking into houses and taking all the copper pipes out of houses.

CARROLL: Decker says the aluminum poles are worth about $100 each as scrap. He hasn't seen any in his business. In fact, police say they haven't turned up at any local scrap yards. They suspect the thieves are cashing in outside the city.

Tony Wallnofer doesn't think the crime spree will last.

WALLNOFER: I think like any criminal or thief, they come back to the well too often and, you know, that's what gets them caught.

CARROLL: In the meantime, the police are waiting for a lead that will shed some light on the case.

Jason Carroll, CNN, Baltimore, Maryland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, they were caught barehanded. And believe me, that's not all.

See these two guys covered in nothing but dust? Police in El Salvador say they were trying to rob a bank by digging a tunnel into the vault. Why are they naked, you ask? Well, the heat was so unbearable that the two simply bared it all while they dug that tunnel. But then part of the tunnel collapsed so they ran out into the streets and were quickly nabbed, as you can see, naked.

It makes you wonder just where were they planning to store all that loot?

Well, an unusual theft. Officials a that Gaza zoo say that four gunmen stole two talking parrots that utter Arabic phrases. The gunman also took a young lioness. The lion cub's playmate is said to be lonely and confused and not eating right now. The animal theft, well, they happened two weeks ago. But The Associated Press says that officials did not announce them because they hoped that they would find the kidnappers.

That didn't happen. The zoo is now offering $1,000 reward for the animals' safe return.

The first president helps the public library in New York raise some money. Listen to this. George Washington goes on the auction block.

No, not him. The painting. How much were bidders willing to part with for their very own presidential portrait? And what's the background on the portrait? We're going to have the sales price when LIVE FROM returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: Well, if you've got a dollar in your pocket you've already got a Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington. But for those wanting something more, two Stuart paintings of the first president were up for auction today to raise money for the New York Public Library. Only this one, the Constable-Hamilton portrait, sold.

It pulled in $8.1 million of the dollar-size George Washington.

Now, where is the most of the wealth -- or where is most of the wealth in the U.S. located? New figures from the Census Bureau pinpoint the richest and poorest states.

Susan Lisovicz joins us live from the New York Stock Exchange with more on that.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Well, you better save your pennies if you want a picture with Santa, Susan. Listen to this story, all right?

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: And I do.

PHILLIPS: All right.

Parent everywhere struggling with the age-old question about the existence of St. Nick. Well, there's good news and bad news.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. But seeing him could cost you.

It appeared that seasonal sentiment was trumped by crass commercialization at the North Shore Mall in Peabody, Massachusetts. Listen to this.

Four-year-old Michelle Gregorian (ph) went up to sit on Santa's lap. Well, someone told her that mom had to fork out some cash first before she even sat down. What was the money for? Pictures.

The least expensive package, 21 bucks, which mom said she couldn't afford. Well, a friend said the resulting scene was tragic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DARLENE SCUTURIO, FRIEND: To see her crying and saying, "Mommy, I just want to tell Santa what I want for Christmas," I was heart broken. Totally heart broken.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, alas, it sounds like it was all a misunderstanding. North Shore issued a statement saying mall policy allows all kids to visit Santa as many times as they choose at no charge.

Well, strategy for victory in Iraq. We're talking about President Bush laying out his plan. Was he successful in getting his message across? We'll have some insight just ahead from presidential historian Douglas Brinkley, AKA Doug.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: On the battlefield in Iraq, some 2,000 U.S. troops, along 500 Iraqi soldiers -- along with, rather, 500 Iraqi soldiers are engaged in a new offensive against insurgents suspected of making car and roadside bombs. Operation Iron Hammer is taking place 85 miles west of Baghdad. The U.S. military says that the area is suspected to be a safe haven for al Qaeda forces and is believed to be a stopping point for insurgents traveling down the Euphrates River from Syria into Iraq.

There's been another deadly attack against civilians in Iraq. According to police, eight Shiite construction workers were killed today when gunmen opened fire on a minibus. The attack happened in the central Iraq town of Baquba.

Well, for the second time this month, President Bush went on the offensive to defend his Iraq war policy. Critics have long complained that Mr. Bush has presented a mix, if not confusing -- or a mix, if not confusing, strategy for winning the war and bringing the troops home.

His problem is one that all the nations war presidents have faced, though. And some have enjoyed more support than others.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, perhaps, was the most successful in getting his message across. He did it with those famous radio fireside chats starting in 1933.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS (voice over): The nation was in the throws of the Great Depression. People looked to Roosevelt. How would he lead them back to prosperity?

FDR did just that in a calm, confident voice. He continued doing so when World War II broke out in 1939, using fireside chats to bolster the country's morale...

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am happy to speak to you from my home.

PHILLIPS: ... and spell out his policies for winning the war. Many Americans seemed to share the sentiment of a man who wrote, "Last evening, as I listened to the president's broadcast, I felt that he walked into my home, sat down, and in plain and forceful language explained to me how he was tackling the job."

FDR's successor, Harry Truman, also took to the radio and in plain, forceful language, warned Japan's leaders that if they did not surrender, more atomic bombs would be dropped on their nation.

HARRY TRUMAN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The like of which has never been seen on this earth.

PHILLIPS: Six days after that broadcast, Japan announced its unconditional surrender. For the most part, Americans supported the effort to defeat Nazi Germany and imperial Japan. That, perhaps, made FDR and Truman's job easier.

Not so with Vietnam, America's longest war, one that killed more than 58,000 Americans. It nearly tore America apart. The U.S. not only didn't win that divisive and terribly costly war, it also destroyed one of the three American presidents who fought it, but failed to achieve victory.

After being sworn in on that faithful flight from Dallas to Washington, Lyndon Johnson vowed he wouldn't be the president who lost Vietnam. After suspected North Vietnamese attacks on U.S. ships in the Gulf of Tonkin in 1964, Johnson went on national television to argue his case for vastly expanding the U.S. involvement.

Congress handed him what he was after, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. It gave him broad power to conduct the war. That decision took the U.S. down the road that ultimately led to the Tet Defensive, the 1968 communist offensive that initially appeared to be a smashing victory.

With anti-war protests growing by the day at home and battlefield deaths rising, Johnson announced to the nation that he would not seek renomination for president.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, joining me now with his expertise on American presidents at war and how they dealt with their critics, presidential historian Doug Brinkley. He's the director of the Eisenhower Center at the University of New Orleans. He joins us live from Houston. Good to see you again, Doug.

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Nice to see you.

Well, just taking a look at that background, when we talk about best communicators, worst communicators when it comes to talking about a war-time situation, I mean, can we go back to Roosevelt the whole bully pulpit and say, that's where it started?

BRINKLEY: Well, if you go back to Franklin Roosevelt, you have to remember in World War II when we were attacked at Pearl Harbor and also Nazi Germany declared war on us, so the big slogan, we were all in this together. Americans were pretty united. You only had a handful of dissenters about the need to defeat Nazism and Japanese fascism.

The analogies get closer to two recent presidents, I think: Harry Truman and the Korean War; and, as you just put on, Lyndon Johnson and Vietnam. Truman is interesting because, you know, he left office with a very low public approval rating, 28 percent approximately. And it was the Korean War that drove those numbers down for Truman. And he didn't even want to -- couldn't even run for reelection in '52 he was so popular because of Korea, and that's how Dwight Eisenhower ran for president and won in 1952 by saying I'll get us out of Korean War, withdraw. As soon as I get into office, I'll go to Korea and find a way out. And only months after office, by June of 1953, Ike did pull the United States out of Korea. That's the kind of situation I see developing right now.

PHILLIPS: Interesting. So, then, if you look back who really took advantage of the radio, who took advantage of film and then it was the photo op, who do you think started to move into, well, bring the cameras and bring the reporters wherever I am and we'll get the word out and sort of took advantage of that trend?

BRINKLEY: Well, the modern American presidency really begins with Theodore Roosevelt at the beginning of the 20th century. T.R. is the one who used the phrase bully pulpit. He's the one who named the executive mansion the White House and he always took his case directly to the American people.

You know, take something like the conservation movement. There really wasn't one, but T.R. said we're going to create and save these national refuges and wildlife preserves and he did it and that direct approach works for presidents. Franklin Roosevelt did it, as you showed on your radio. John F. Kennedy became the master of the press conference. Ronald Reagan, the master of the emotional, sentimental speech ...

PHILLIPS: The great communicator.

BRINKLEY: Yes, and President Bush isn't any of those. And that's part of the problem he has. And what he's trying to solve by going to Annapolis and around the country, he is trying to bring his case to the American people when only about 35 percent think that we're doing the right thing and going in the right direction in Iraq.

And he has got to figure out, how do I get that 35 back up to 45 or, preferably, 50 and it's tough. I am surprised that the White House hasn't been able to make more of Saddam Hussein on trial and use the argument, would you rather have this guy in Iraq or us be there? It doesn't seem to be getting the media attraction that I thought the trial of Saddam Hussein would.

PHILLIPS: Well, maybe you should be writing the president's speeches, Doug.

BRINKLEY: No.

PHILLIPS: You know, I want to get back to the president in just a second, but back to Reagan. Didn't he memorize FDR's speeches. Is that true?

BRINKLEY: Oh, absolutely true. You know, Ronald Reagan left Illinois, always headed west, went to for Davenport, Iowa, worked for World Of Chiropractor Radio. And he used to sit in and put the cigarette in his mouth and actually take the inflections of the New York aristocrat FDR and then memorized all those great speeches, the freedom, you know, from -- the "Four Freedoms" speech, for example. Reagan knew every word of it.

And so when he became president, he thought, you know, I have got to communicate the way Franklin Roosevelt did. Even though FDR was a Democrat, he was the hero of Franklin Roosevelt for the way he coalesced the war effort between 1941 and 1945.

PHILLIPS: So, when we go back and we talk, whether it's fireside chats or we talk about Kennedy dominating the press conference or how, say, Bush's speech is written, is the discussion here about how these presidents took advantage of media outlets, whether it was radio or television or is this about certain presidents being more honest than others?

BRINKLEY: It's about both of those. But I think the real point is that the Bush White House right now, they're learning the lesson of Jimmy Carter. When Carter had that Iran hostage crisis, he stayed in the White House. He said this is too serious.

And every time we see President Bush spending too many weeks in Crawford or during Katrina he seemed to be not on the ground enough, his poll numbers go down. You'll notice that Bush goes up when you see him rough and ready out there, hit American cities, touch people, talk to them.

But there are risks with that because for each appearance he makes, this chance of a rhetorical gaff or an anti-war crowd denouncing him comes in the picture and that's what happened to Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon during Vietnam. They kept traveling the country trying to sell it and people kept booing and hissing them down.

PHILLIPS: So, could -- what do you think? Who is the worst communicator?

BRINKLEY: Well, the worst communicator, ultimately, that would be Richard Nixon simply because he, you know, was born in the time of radio and he became famous in television. Remember, he always had the sweaty lip and the dark shadows over his eyes. He had bad makeup, although, I think Al Gore's makeup wasn't very good when he ran for president, if you recall in a couple of those strange debates.

But appearance matters, message matters. It's one thing to go to Annapolis today and give a war speech. That's not on the streets of America. Annapolis is going to be a crowd that is all ears for what President Bush is saying.

Can he take that speech and walk down main streets in Columbus, Ohio, or Kansas City, Missouri or Sacramento, California, and go in to public squares and say the same thing without there being a lot of people shouting him down?

I don't think he could do that at this point, so he has to do safe public speeches like Annapolis and hope he can get some traction here, and that the December 15th elections work. Everything is December 15th now. We have a real possibility of perhaps bringing home 50,000 troops if things go well on that very crucial election date in Iraq.

PHILLIPS: Doug Brinkley, always great to interview you. Thanks so much.

BRINKLEY: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: Since a picture is worth a thousand words, check this out. This was the sentence for a man convicted of -- you got it. He called a police officer a pig. Up next, we're going to show you what one judge did to a woman who abandoned some kittens in a park.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well a medical first today in what may be a great stride in transplant surgery. A team in France claims to have successfully attached a donor's nose, lips and chin on to a disfigured patient. The doctor who led the operation is one of the world's leading transplant surgeons. He told reporters today that his patient is in excellent condition. It's not uncommon for a patient's mouth or nose to be reattached in surgery, but never before now has there been a partial face transplant.

Big news from Supreme Court: creativity is constitutional. A convicted mail thief was ordered to stand in front of a post office for 100 hours reading a sign that reads, "I have stolen mail. This is my punishment." He appealed to the high court, calling it cruel and unusual punishment. Well, just this week, the justices turned him down.

The judge we're about to meet didn't hand out that particular sentence, but he could probably give creativity seminars for anyone who is interested.

Paula Zahn reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): We hear the slogan over and over again: "you do the crime, you do the time." But if Judge Michael Cicconetti is on the bench, you may end up doing something rather more creative. Michelle Murray abandoned 35 kittens in local parks. Nine of them died.

JUDGE MICHAEL CICCONETTI, MUNICIPAL COURT JUDGE: How would you like be to dumped off in a metro park, late at night, spend the night, listen to the coyotes coming upon you, listening to the raccoons around you in the dark of night?

ZAHN: So in addition to two weeks in jail, he sentenced her to spend a night in that very same park, and it snowed.

Cicconetti is a municipal court judge in Paynesville, Ohio, just outside of Cleveland. He's known for unusual sentences, like the time he ordered a man who called a police officer a pig to spend a couple of hours penned up with the real thing. Along with sign that read, this is not a police officer.

Another time a man who ran away from the police, was ordered to enter a five mile road race.

CICCONETTI: It's what I always -- I've always termed as being relevant justice, make it appropriate to the offense.

ZAHN: Cicconetti once ordered man who blasted his car stereo to sit in the woods, where it's quiet. A couple that vandalized a nativity display got to march through town with the donkey.

The judge says, back when he was an attorney, he learned that jail just doesn't faze some folks, but carefully thought out punishment does.

CICCONETTI: Oftentimes, it's not the punishment, it's the fear of punishment teaches people a lesson.

ZAHN: Remember the lady who abandoned the kittens? She wasn't really left to fend for herself. Judge Cicconetti made sure park rangers were checking up on her.

CICCONETTI: She will be protected. We'll ensure her safety. Nothing will happen. I can't allow that to happen.

ZAHN: As it turned out, the judge left her in the snowy woods less than four hours. She did the rest of her sentence as home detention and jail cell, where it was nice and warm.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, Judge Michael Cicconetti does something else that many other judges don't do. He's very creative and this is definitely downright daring: he talks to the press. Here's what he had to say to Paula Zahn.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN: How much heat have you taken over the years for sentences your critics would suggest are humiliating and overly harsh?

CICCONETTI: Surprisingly, very little.

ZAHN: What do they say?

CICCONETTI: Well, this last sentence, some people have said that that was cruel and unusual to put her out in the woods. People didn't understand. We took all the precautions. We had a backup plan. We had strategy meetings with the park rangers. We didn't want anything to happen to her. It couldn't happen to her. And as the weather forecast changed throughout that evening, you know, we made adjustments and we had to bring her in early. Had it been 50 degrees, she'd still be out there.

ZAHN: But is there any evidence that this actually taught her a lesson in a way that she wouldn't have gotten from sitting in jail exclusively?

CICCONETTI: Well, enough time hadn't passed to find out what effect it has done to her individually. But in the past, the sentences that I've meted out to other people, these creative, alternative, sentences, they work. We don't see the people come back. And when you find a way of justice that works, you stick with it.

ZAHN: How do you decide what is a relative sentence? A relative justice?

CICCONETTI: Well, as I've said before, the punishment must fit the crime. That's a basic legal maxim that we have to follow. Some -- it's so easy to sit on a bench and pound your gavel and say, OK, three days in jail, $100 fine, whatever the case may be, and you know, go on out of here.

But that doesn't work. I've seen it over time. It does not work. But if you let them feel maybe a little bit of embarrassment, a little bit of humiliation, along with a sentence -- and there's also probation to ensure they follow up, find out. I don't see these people come back. You don't see it.

ZAHN: But is there any real proof that it works any better than just simply slamming them in jail?

CICCONETTI: Well, if you can take my word for it, and if you would check my records with the people that have come into our court, I'll guarantee you it works.

ZAHN: I think I've learned my lesson. I'm not messing with you, Judge.

CICCONETTI: I don't think I have to worry about you, Paula.

ZAHN: I hope you don't. Judge Michael Cicconetti, thank you so much for talking to us tonight, Judge. Appreciate it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And CNN's Paula Zahn airs tonight and every weeknight, 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

Entertainment news straight ahead. Brooke Anderson joins us with a preview. Hi, Brooke.

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kyra. Well, they command millions of dollars per picture and I will tell you who they are, coming up.

Also, some rock legends prepare to rock the Super Bowl. I will have more when LIVE FROM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Straight to the newsroom, Carol Lin working a story for us right now. Pretty big drug bust, what's up, Carol? CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: You bet, Kyra. The D.A. just announced a big international drug bust. But what makes this so different is the way the heroin was smuggled. The smugglers smuggled bricks of heroin inside artwork, and clothes, and furniture, even dancing shoes.

Which is why this is called "Operation High Step." You're looking at some of the video tape that the DEA sent out. They even sewed heroin into the lining of clothes and the soles of shoes. Seventy- eight people arrested in Colombia and right here in the United States. And look at what they got: 78 kilos of heroin were seized, 39 kilos of cocaine, and $1.4 million in cash, and $20 million in weapons.

Now this is what the DEA Special Agent June Stansbury told reporters just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUNE STANSBURY, DEA SPECIAL AGENT: To get these amounts in perspective after stepping on the heroin seize in this case, prior to today alone, there could be as much as 50 times the original amount, yielding 1.6 million dosages unit. That's enough heroin if each bag, like the one I have right here, were stacked, it would extend 6,770 feet into the air, about 30 times higher than the height of the Bunker Hill Monument.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Now even more perspective, just one kilo is equal to 25,000 hits of heroin. Kyra, agents worked on this case for about a year and it turns out the drugs were heading to places like Boston, New York, Chicago and Orlando, Florida. A big deal for the DEA.

PHILLIPS: Most definitely, Carol Lin. Big coup for the DEA. Meanwhile, as I was listening to you, I'm following what was a high- speed chase, it has now ended.

An armed robbery suspect, not quite sure if he is still in the car. As we were monitoring this, it looked like -- what did you think, Roger? That someone might have jumped out of the back seat, possibly.

Yes, here we go. Roger is actually rewinding it, he's rolling it. You're going to see it right here. Someone driving the car and then I think we're going to see someone jump out the back. I'll try to give you a little more information here.

KABC, which is our affiliate in Los Angeles, California, has been following this for us. They are reporting that this is in the Temecula, Glen Ivy Hot Springs area, which is actually not far from San Diego. Temecula is a very popular wine country area actually, in between Los Angeles and San Diego, about 45 minutes from San Diego.

But these suspects are possibly wanted in an armed robbery, so they might be armed, still. They were going about -- in excess of 85 miles-an-hour. That's what they were last clocked. Now, here you go. You can see the right side of the car here. You'll see one of the individuals, right there, bailed out.

First guy bailed out and someone still inside the car driving, but I think as we still continue to look at this video tape -- there we go, we got the live pictures back up now. The guy bailed out of the back, driver obviously taking off and the pursuit once again, is on.

Let me see what other information I can get here. This began in the Los Angeles area. According to the sheriff's department, three individuals believed to be involved in 30 plus robberies, I'm now being told in this area. This morning they were involved in some type of break in at a home. Someone called authorities and that's when the pursuit began in Los Angeles and then of course, was turned over to the CHP.

A shotgun, we are told, was definitely taken from one of the robberies. So, more than likely, we don't know if it's either one or two people still in this car. One guy already bailed out the back, as you saw just a few minutes ago.

But they are wanted for armed robberies, possibly 30 plus. They could be armed and dangerous. We're monitoring this high-speed chase, of course, and where this car -- we'll try to figure out where exactly it's heading, so we can let you know where to stay off the roads, as these guys are still in pursuit. We're going to take a quick break. More LIVE FROM right after this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

QUESTION: Heidi, do you think you'll give the names in the black books?

UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the 1990s, Heidi Fleiss was one of Hollywood's most notorious characters. The then twenty-something daughter of a wealthy pediatrician used her family's connections to attract and service rich and famous clients as the Hollywood Madam.

Her arrest and trial became headline news. But she never did reveal the contents of her black book and was sentenced to three years in prison for procuring prostitution and selling cocaine.

When Fleiss was released from prison, she started capitalizing on her notoriety legally. Fleiss has a line of clothing called Heidi Wear and owns a West Hollywood boutique called The Little Shop of Sex. She also invested in her looks, undergoing plastic surgery.

HEIDI FLEISS: I had the party, did the party, threw the party, was the party. I'm partied out. And I live every day to its fullest. And there's lessons that I've learned.

UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: Fleiss wrote a book about her experiences called "Pandering." She's also opening a legal brothel in Nevada.

On the personal side, she recently faced off in court against former boyfriend and actor Tom Sizemore, accusing him of abuse.

The Hollywood Madam turns 40 this year and would like to be remembered for one thing.

FLEISS: That I took the oldest profession on Earth and did it better than anyone on Earth. That's it. And that's all. Alexander the Great conquered the world at 32. I did it at 22.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, to some, it's just a chunk of tile. But in Tinseltown, it's one of the highest honors there is, and now someone's in a peck of trouble for swiping a star from the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The purloined piece of pavement belongs to the late, great Gregory Peck, who died in 2003.

But he'll live forever as Atticus Finch in "To Kill a Mockingbird," and Captain Ahab in "Moby Dick," and scads of other cinema classics. Work is already underway on a replacement star. It's reported to be the fourth time a star has been stolen from the Walk of Fame.

Well, in other entertainment news, the "Who's Who of Hollywood's Highest Paid Actresses" is out. CNN's Brooke Anderson here to tell us who's commanding the highest bucks. Hey, Brooke.

ANDERSON: Hi, Kyra. We're talking about bulging bank accounts, from Julia and Reese, to Angelina and Jennifer, Hollywood's most powerful actresses command powerful paydays. "The Hollywood Reporter" is out with its annual list of the highest paid actresses.

Topping that list for the second year in a row is this woman, Julia Roberts. Now, although 38-year-old Roberts has recently made motherhood her top priority, she can still pull in a fat paycheck, at a hefty $20 million per film. Nicole Kidman is the second highest paid actress, bringing home the bacon at the tune of about $17 million per movie. Other Tinseltown sweethearts seeing a whole lot of green, Reese Witherspoon, star of the current film "Walk the Line" earns about $15 million per project. Drew Barrymore and Renee Zellwegger round out the top five.

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