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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports
One Day Left Before the California Recall Election
Aired October 06, 2003 - 17:00 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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Is it a recall reversal? Happening now candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger ready to face the public this hour while a recent poll shows a surprising trend. You're looking at live pictures now.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Total recall, candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger is the running man, running hard hoping to terminate the collateral damage. It's a plot of peccadilloes fit for Hollywood and we have our cast of characters in place.
Dean on Davis; why the presidential candidate is coming to the governor's defense.
Pounded by Israeli warplanes; new pictures of an alleged terror training camp in Syria.
Her 12-year-old son killed himself so is his mother responsible? Wait until you hear from the jury.
And, the tiger attack horrified hundreds, now what the audience doesn't see, a peak inside Siegfried and Roy's refuge.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: It is Monday, October 06, 2003. Hello from CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Miles O'Brien reporting, Wolf Blitzer off today.
California's historic recall election now just hours away and on this election eve the latest poll numbers show support for ousting Governor Gray Davis slipping. A Knight-Ridder survey finds a percentage of voters saying they would definitely vote to recall Davis dropped from 52 percent last Wednesday to 44 percent on Saturday. The poll has a three point sampling error.
A warning about California's touch screen voting machines from a computer scientist at Stanford University. He says 10 percent of them don't produce paper printouts and that would make a legitimate recount impossible if one is needed.
And, Republican candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger is largely ignoring sexual harassment accusations swirling around him. Fifteen women now say he groped or otherwise molested them between 1979 and 2000.
Schwarzenegger campaigned in Northern California this morning. He's holding a rally this hour in Southern California, Huntington Beach to be specific, live pictures of that. We'll take you there live this hour.
For more on all this let's check in as we have been all throughout this process with CNN National Correspondent Bob Franken. He's tracking developments from Los Angeles, hello Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles.
And, it is true the polls, both public and private seem to show that the sentiment for the recall has slackened a bit probably after the revelations, the accusations against Arnold Schwarzenegger involving women and some comments he made about Adolf Hitler but we really don't know.
That's the dirty little secret here. The polls, we don't know if they're going to be valid. We won't find that out until tomorrow at the earliest and I say that because if the election machinery is overwhelmed it may be longer than that.
But, it really gets down to the fundamental. One side or the other might win this by bringing out his constituency so there are intense get out the vote campaigns going on. Take Governor Gray Davis who is fighting so hard to fight the recall. He even made a get out the vote plea to school children.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. GRAY DAVIS (D), CALIFORNIA: If you get a chance to talk to your siblings who are 18 or older and your parents or your grandma or anyone I'd appreciate it if you would ask them to vote no as well. I'm asking you to ask them. Tell them I'm asking them through you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKEN: And, of course, the other side of that message to the kids is if your parents are for the recall try not to say anything to them -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Bob Franken, what's your sense of it right now? Is there a tone shift that you feel or is that asking too much? Maybe it's just a little extra smog.
FRANKEN: It could very well be some extra smog. We don't know at this particular point. There is some movement away from Schwarzenegger. That is to be expected.
The question is how much and nobody really knows and that really scares all of us who pretend that we do know what we're talking about, particularly after a couple of month. But we're having the appropriate ending to a story that has befuddled us from the very beginning.
O'BRIEN: Yes and it's worth reminding our viewers these polls really are instant snapshots and that is all they are.
FRANKEN: Well, that's number one and number two they are based on models that -- well they're based on no model. There is no background. There is no way of coming up with a model that matches a ballot with 135 candidates on it.
O'BRIEN: Cutting edge democracy, Bob Franken on the vanguard as always, thank you very much.
The other candidates and there are more than 130 of them are campaigning down to the wire as well. Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante was at a United Farm Workers rally in East Los Angeles. He's urging people to vote against the recall and for him for governor in case Davis is ousted.
Republican State Senator Tom McClintock says voters are telling him they're glad he stayed in the race. He's been pressured to drop out by Republicans who want the party to rally around a single candidate.
He took time out last hour to speak to CNN's Judy Woodruff.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STATE SEN. TOM MCCLINTOCK (R), CALIF. GOV. CANDIDATE: I'm certainly urging a yes vote on the recall. I think that getting rid of this corrupt and incompetent governor is the most important thing that this generation could do to begin to set things right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Be sure to join Wolf Blitzer tomorrow 5:00 Eastern. He'll be anchoring this program from Los Angeles, as well as CNN's coverage of the recall vote all throughout tomorrow night.
Now, the crisis in the Middle East as Israel observe Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, gunfire traded across the Lebanese-Israeli border today, explosions also heard and all civilian traffic between the two neighbors has been stopped, all of this on the heels of a very violent weekend which saw an Israeli air strike against Syria yesterday and a Palestinian suicide bombing on Saturday that killed 19 Israelis in the city of Haifa.
CNN National Security Correspondent David Ensor has more on all this joining us from Washington -- David.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, the Israeli decision to attack a target in Syria for the first time in 30 years did cause some concern in this town but the reaction by Bush administration officials from the president on down has been cautious and somewhat muted.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR (voice-over): U.S. officials say they have been warning Syria with increasing urgency that hosting groups that use terrorism will have a price and President Bush expressed understanding about the Israeli attack on a camp outside Damascus with just a hint of reproach.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That Israel's got a right to defend herself, that Israel must not feel constrained in terms of defending the homeland; however, I said that it's very important that any action Israel take should avoid escalation and creating higher tensions.
ENSOR: Although the Israelis quickly released old Iranian footage of the site they attacked, it is not currently an active training camp, U.S. officials say, though it was for many years and could have been used that way again.
RICHARD BOUCHER, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: The facility that was attacked by Israel has long been used by a variety of Palestinian terrorist groups as a training facility.
ENSOR: At the U.N., Syria pressed for Security Council condemnation of Israel's attack, the first against a target in Syria in 30 years. On the 30th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, Syria President Bashar al-Assad remembered his nation's dead as his government reacted angrily to the Israeli attack and to its Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
BUTHAINA SHAABAN, SYRIAN MINISTER: What is terror? You know terror is a crime committed against people, against international law and that is the history of Sharon. That is what he has been committing for the last 20 years.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR: U.S. officials say they have seen no indication of Syrian troop moves in response to the attack and given Israel's lopsided military superiority they do not expect them. A response of some sort though from Syrian surrogates in Lebanon is a real possibility they say -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's David Ensor in Washington, thank you very much.
Desperation and death, a young boy's tragic suicide and now a mother is held responsible and this...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The crimes themselves, as I have said before, are so horrific.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: A shocking incident of high school hazing and now some teen suspects face some very serious charges.
And, fighting for his life, Roy Horn of Siegfried and Roy mauled by one of his famous white tigers during a live Las Vegas performance, now a rare glimpse of where he trains some of those dangerous animals. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Howard Dean wants Californians to vote no in tomorrow's recall race. The Democratic presidential candidate makes his case live this hour on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: In Connecticut, a jury convicts a grieving mother of contributing to the suicide of her 12-year-old son.
CNN's Maria Hinojosa joins us with more on this shocking and tragic case, hello Maria.
MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles.
You know when a child commits suicide who's at fault? Today in Meriden, Connecticut, the mother of a 12-year-old boy was found guilty of risking injury to a minor. Now, in effect they're saying that she contributed to his death by raising him in an unsafe and unhealthy home.
Now, J. Daniel Scruggs they say, his friends say at this school, looked like a normal, happy boy but the 12-year-old boy was tormented. His mother told authorities he committed suicide because he was constantly bullied in school and she blamed his teachers for not stopping it.
But prosecutors say the mother let J. Daniel go days without a bath and all but abandoned him making him easy prey for bullies. He was teased for smelling bad and for being small. The defense described Judith Scruggs as no different than any other single working mother, holding down two jobs, including one at the Wal-Mart, jobs just to make ends meet.
Now, little J. Daniel missed 44 days of school before he committed suicide. He was only 12 years old. Prosecutors are asking the question why didn't the mother do anything about that? On the other hand, his mother says that J. Daniel was so afraid that sometimes he would defecate in his pants so he could leave school early and his mother says why didn't the school do something about that -- Miles?
O'BRIEN: Maria, one of the things that struck me about this story was the terrible conditions of the house and no one said anything to anyone prior to this terrible tragedy any testimony about that?
HINOJOSA: Well, there are some people, Miles, who said that at that precise moment when they took the photographs, which was when the found the child hanging by a tie in the closet that those were the only photographs that they took and that the house was in disarray.
The mother has any number of explanations for why that happened but there are others, including her 23-year-old son who says that she abandoned him when he was a toddler who says that the mother was never present, never available and al but abandoned him as well -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Terribly sad story. Maria Hinojosa in New York, thank you very much.
Checking some other stories in our justice file for you, a Pennsylvania prosecutor says he'll seek to have three New York high school football players tried as adults on charged they sexually assaulted three teammates. He called the crimes involved horrific.
The three accused already face numerous charges in Juvenile Court, including kidnapping and aggravated assault. The attacks allegedly happened while the team was at a pre-season camp in Pennsylvania.
Patrick Graber the man who allegedly offered to kill Kobe Bryant's accuser was arraigned in a Los Angeles courtroom today. The Swiss national is pleading not guilty to charges he offered to kill the Colorado woman for $3 million. Graber's next court date is scheduled for November.
And, Kobe Bryant is speaking out about the sexual assault case against him. He told reporters at the Lakers training camp in Hawaii it's been an emotional roller coaster.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KOBE BRYANT, DEFENDANT: In this environment, in this world, people think like a seventh game is pressure, kidding me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you scared?
BRYANT: Terrified, terrified. It's like a roller coaster. You have your good days. You have your bad days. You know you had your worst days then other days are great. You know it's tough. Sometimes it doesn't seem like there's light at the end of the tunnel, you know. Then, you just, you know, you pray, you have faith and the next thing you know the light is brighter than ever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Kobe Bryant making his case.
2004 presidential candidate Howard Dean tackles the California recall. He joins me live this hour. Stay tuned for that.
Tiger attack, Roy of the glitzy Las Vegas duo Siegfried and Roy, mauled during a live performance. We'll have a behind-the-scenes look at what the audience never sees.
And this...and don't forget it, making the most of his vacation, one soldier finds time for love away from the war zone.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: The White House under fire over rising casualties and soaring costs is taking a more direct role in the reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan.
CNN Senior White House Correspondent John King joining us now with more on why there's a change in the organizational charts here, hello John.
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Miles.
They're insisting here at the White House that this just is common sense, not any dramatic shakeup. They're insisting here at the White House it is not designed to lessen the role of the Pentagon and Defense Secretary Don Rumsfeld.
But they certainly do make clear today that the president's National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice will take a higher profile role, not only in day-to-day management of U.S. policy in Iraq but in Afghanistan as well.
Mr. Bush spoke about this earlier in the day. The president of Kenya is here at the White House all day long for an official state visit. At a news conference earlier today the president sounded rather matter of factly when asked about this reorganization of U.S. policy and who leads it when it comes to Iraq and Afghanistan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: It's common for the National Security Council to coordinate efforts, interagency efforts and Condy Rice, the National Security Adviser, is doing just that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Other aides tell us privately though that Mr. Bush did want a more hands-on day-to-day White House role in the hands of one of his most trusted advisers, Dr. Rice, not only as he prepares to get that $87 billion in wartime spending from the Congress for the next year's budget in Afghanistan and Iraq but also as Mr. Bush heads into a reelection campaign in which his policy is increasingly under fire.
So now, one of his most trusted aides will coordinate efforts here at the White House. Aides are insisting this by no means is a vote of displeasure either with the Defense Secretary Don Rumsfeld or with the president's point man on the ground in Iraq Ambassador Paul Bremer.
Mr. Bremer will continue to report directly to Secretary Rumsfeld but both Mr. Bremer and Secretary Rumsfeld will have key deputies now on one of the committees that Condy Rice will have to coordinate the policy here at the White House.
Part of this, Miles, is to coordinate the policy more closely at the White House. Part of it is a White House effort to try to put more of what it would consider anyway to be good news out there and on that front Mr. Bush met today with a bunch of aid workers just back from helping the reconstruction effort in Iraq. One of them, a general with the Army Corps of Engineers said last night, Sunday night in Iraq was the first time since even before the war that the country's entire electrical grid was up and running -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's John King at the White House thank you very much.
Let's turn now to that CIA leak case. President Bush today brushed aside Democratic calls for a special prosecutor calling the leak of a CIA officer's name a criminal matter.
Mr. Bush said he's confident the Justice Department will carry out a thorough investigation. White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan says that if the person who leaked the information is identified he or she will be dismissed.
Joining us to talk more about this is author Ronald Kessler. His new book is "The CIA at war: Inside the Secret Campaign Against Terror." He knows as much about the inner working of the CIA as anybody in the non-classified world, good to see you Mr. Kessler.
RONALD KESSLER, AUTHOR, "THE CIA AT WAR": Good to be with you.
O'BRIEN: First of all do you know who leaked?
KESSLER: I don't but I understand that Novak told people that it was not at the highest level of the White House and if you read his columns he makes it clear that he was conversing about this whole situation, why was this ambassador chosen to go over there?
And, the person at the White House said, you know, his wife is a CIA employee, apparently not aware that she had been in a covert capacity. So, in order to prove any criminal violation they would have to show that he knew that she was in a covert capacity.
Then, Novak went to the CIA, was told that she had been in a covert capacity that this would cause problems. He used it anyway and, you know, I used to be on the "Washington Post," "The Wall Street Journal," and I don't know any journalist who would have used that. I simply don't. So, I think we have to keep in mind that Novak is to blame here as well.
O'BRIEN: So, you would point a finger at Mr. Novak?
KESSLER: Sure. I mean there was absolutely no reason to use it. He was warned about it. He was the one who knew that it was sensitive, not the White House person, and let's, you know, let's call a spade a spade. It was Novak who really screwed up here.
O'BRIEN: Give us a sense of how much damage this leak might have caused.
KESSLER: Well, that is a different matter. That is very, very serious because this person was overseas in a covert capacity in this very sensitive category called non-official cover where you don't have diplomatic immunity. You meet with people. You try to cultivate them undercover and then now that her identity is know all these people may be suspects. So, that's a very serious matter. It impairs the ability of the CIA to do its job, which is very, very critical as we know.
You know since 9/11 they've rolled up some 3,000 terrorists. They've rolled up about two-thirds of the al Qaeda leadership and there has not been an attack so I think we have to keep in mind that the CIA, despite all the headlines and despite the media reports, actually is doing a good job, at least in that area.
O'BRIEN: You have incredible access, including you had the opportunity to interview the director of the Central Intelligence George Tenet as part of your research for your book.
Give us a sense of what the feeling is inside the CIA as they hear these reports of trumped up intelligence or faulty intelligence, which might have laid the groundwork for the invasion of Iraq.
KESSLER: Well, the CIA is used to, you know, unfair allegations as well as fair allegations. I mean certainly it is embarrassment that they have not found the weapons of mass destruction but what they're doing and what the FBI is doing because I read books about the FBI is every single day trying to stop another attack.
That's what they're focused on and they meet with Bush every morning, both George Tenet and Bob Mueller and Bush wants to know what have we done in the past 24 hours to stop the attacks. He goes over some of the major threats. He wants to know what is being done. He follows up on it and that pressure is very, very important in terms of stopping the next attack.
O'BRIEN: So, the CIA is not hyping? You don't see it as hyping out of the Central Intelligence Agency?
KESSLER: No, you know, I found in my dealings with them and I went over there so many times, the guards knew where I was without being told, that they were very honest, you know.
Little clues, such as I would interview a CIA officer and he would give me a story about something that happened in Iraq and then the PR people would come back and say, you know, we checked the cables on this and it actually wasn't quite as glowing a story as he remembered it.
That kind of honesty really tells you a lot and I think, you know, it's common sense that if there were these programs as the Kay report outlined and if the weapons are so easily concealed, you can put enough anthrax in a kettle to kill 10,000 or 20,000 people, it's going to be hard to actually find the weapons.
O'BRIEN: The author is Ronald Kessler. His latest book, and he's got a lot of them out there, his latest one is the "CIA at war: Inside the Secret Campaign Against Terror." Thanks very much for being with us today. We appreciate it. Speaking out now, Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean lends his voice to the California recall. He'll be joining us live shortly.
A rare glimpse into the private lives of Siegfried and Roy, we'll take you inside their lavish compounds where tigers and lions roam free.
And, behind the scenes of the presidency, personal moments from the White House few have ever seen.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If this tiger had gotten loose in the building who knows what would have happened to the rest of the people?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Who knows indeed, a tiger tale from the urban jungle, find out how this big cat became a city slicker plus, the daring attempt to remove the animal. These are pictures you will not want to miss.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back to CNN. Howard Dean speaking out against the California recall, he'll be with us live in just a bit but first a quick check of the latest headlines.
(NEWSBREAK)
O'BRIEN: With all the hoopla surrounding California's recall election, you'd think voters were choosing the U.S. president.
Democratic presidential nominee Howard Dean is against the recall. He supports Governor Gray, but tomorrow, maybe that will be a moot point.
Howard Dean joins us now from Manchester, New Hampshire.
Dr. Dean, good to have you with us.
HOWARD DEAN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thanks, Miles.
O'BRIEN: Is Gray Davis desperate?
DEAN: I think Gray Davis needs to continue to be the governor of California.
From a Democratic point of view to have the governorship of the most important state in the country, the biggest state in the country to fall into Republican hands is not going to help Democratic candidates running for president next year. And I think the majority of Californians do not want President Bush elected to another term, and we'd like to keep it that way.
O'BRIEN: No you're chief executive of a state, admittedly a lot smaller than California. As you critique Governor Davis' job in California, what do you see that he did wrong? How has he failed the people of California?
DEAN: Well, the problem that is every governor is now governing in very, very difficult times. California had a $38 billion budget deficit, but a lot of that caused by George Bush's economy.
When the president of the United States gives us a half a trillion-dollar deficit. that trickles down to money that doesn't go to higher education, money that doesn't go to education, K through 12 education, money that causes fire and police to be laid off, first responders to be laid off. And every governor in the country is having to deal with that, no matter what party they're in.
O'BRIEN: But do you see -- Have you seen any missteps on the part of Governor Davis?
DEAN: No, I really don't. I mean, I think that everybody makes missteps, but in general it seems to me that what every governor in this country is dealing with is the issue of how to maintain fiscal sanity in an atmosphere where the federal government has gone crazy.
These kinds of deficits and national debts that this has president rolled up are just unbelievable and that's going to have a big effect on every state and every local government in terms of their spending ability. And that's really what people are upset with Gray Davis about. But I don't see how it gets better under any of the other candidates.
O'BRIEN: You're running an outsider's campaign, trying to muscle your way into Washington. It seems to me you might have a kindred spirit in Arnold Schwarzenegger, running an outsider's campaign to go to Sacramento.
DEAN: There have been a number of questions raised about Mr. Schwarzenegger's behavior that voters need to consider pretty carefully. And so I hope I don't share that with him.
O'BRIEN: Let me ask you this, though, on that very point. What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. There are a lot of Democrats who were very supportive of President Clinton when he was dealing with all of his impeachment issues, who now are very critical of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Is there a double standard there? You have been supportive, at the very least said that President Clinton's impeachment proceedings were of a political nature.
DEAN: I think first of all, I did not approve of what President Clinton's behavior was in White House regarding that regard.
Nonetheless, what he did is very different than what Mr. Schwarzenegger's been accused of. No, I have no knowledge of whether this is true or not, these things that he's been accused of, but I think they're pretty serious.
Essentially, some of the things he's been accused of are essentially assault and battery, never mind nonconsensual sexual harassment. So I think those are serious charges. They're charges that are punishable by court sentences and by fines, and I think that's a big issue for the people of California. They have to make that decision.
O'BRIEN: So you don't see a double standard there? You see a different level of charges?
DEAN: I see a different level of charges. And I also think it's a difference between a challenger challenging a governor and the right wing Congress impeaching a successful very president who no one argued had breached his fiduciary duty of the United States.
O'BRIEN: All of the Democrats have gone to visit Governor Davis. You've been there a couple of times. Most of the presidential candidates have been there numerous times. What does that say about Governor Davis? Does he need that much propping up?
DEAN: Well, I think the issue for us, for those of us running for president is we do not want to see California in Republican hands during the election. So that will make it more likely that George Bush will get another four years as the president of the United States.
And I think that, no matter how angry Californians may be at Gray Davis, they're not happy with George Bush either, considering what he's done to the economy of California. And that's certainly one of the considerations that I make when I have recommended to our 50,000 people in our e-mail list in California that they continue to vote no on the recall.
O'BRIEN: Now, you're very anti-recall. I suppose any governor in office would feel anti-recall. You, of course, as a former governor, coming at it from that perspective. But I'm curious if the whole recall notion is actually good for democracy.
DEAN: Well, we have two-year terms in our state, so we don't really get into that and we don't have recall provisions. Two-year terms sort of function as a recall.
I don't think recall in and of itself is a terrible thing. But I think it should be reserved for when people are violating the law, and nobody has said Gray violated the law. People may disagree with what he's done, or they may not like him personally, but there's nobody ever made the accusation that he did anything criminal. And so I think recall is really inappropriate.
If you're going to use recall, I can assure you, what's going to happen if you change governors? Is there going to be another recall?
This is really a tool of the right wing. If they tried to undo President Clinton's term with his impeachment. The right-wing Supreme Court refused to recount the votes in Florida. Then you have the legislature in Texas and Colorado reapportioning to undo the elections of 2002. And now you have the same thing going on in California. I think that's a real problem.
That's one of the reasons I don't like the recall. It's because of who it was done by. This was motivated by a very conservative California congressman out of money out of his own pocket.
O'BRIEN: Would you recommend those two-year terms for places like California?
DEAN: Well, I personally have no problem with a two-year term, but I think that's up to the people of California. That would be a pretty radical shift. That's something certainly they may wish to do.
On the other hand people in America are tired of elections, so they don't like two-year terms. It's a debate in Vermont, and it's a debate elsewhere.
O'BRIEN: What does your gut tell you? I want to put you on record on what you think's going to happen tomorrow.
DEAN: I think Gray Davis will not be recalled, and I think that's good for the state of California in the long run, and it's very good for the national Democratic party, where we hope very much to replace President Bush and bring an end to this crazy borrow and spend, borrow and spend, borrow and spend presidency.
O'BRIEN: Howard Dean, Democratic presidential candidate, joining us from Manchester, New Hampshire. Thanks for your time. Appreciate it.
DEAN: Thanks, Miles.
O'BRIEN: Another political turn -- excuse me, actor turned politician is weighing in on the California recall. Clint Eastwood, former mayor of Carmel, talked to CNN's Paula Zahn about Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign for governor.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLINT EASTWOOD, ACTOR/POLITICIAN: I'm friends with Arnold. It's a big dilemma. Dean and I have both sort of stayed out of it. We don't know too much about it anymore than the guy and gal on the street.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Do you miss being mayor?
EASTWOOD: No, not at all. And when this whole recall thing started, people started saying, "Hey, Clint, why don't you get in, you know?" I get the guy across the street working on the building, "Hey, Clint, run for, you know, governor."
And I said, "No chance, fellows. You're going to have let somebody else have that."
(END VIDEO CLIP) O'BRIEN: You can see more of the interview with Clint Eastwood tonight on "PAULA ZAHN NOW," 8 Eastern, only on CNN. Watch; it will make her day.
An outpouring of affection. That's more on that coming up.
But first, live pictures from Huntington Beach, California. Looks like some kind of surfer dude there. In any case, we're about to see an Arnold Schwarzenegger rally. He's had a busy day. It began up in San Jose. It's now in Huntington Beach, with stops in between. This, some final frenetic campaigning in the California recall.
As soon as we see Arnold Schwarzenegger -- we have some sound from him earlier in the day. Let's listen to some of the rhetoric that he has been dispensing to the people of California today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: The choices are clear this election day tomorrow. The choices are clear. Do you want to go backwards with Gray Davis or do you want to go forward with Arnold? That is the question.
Tomorrow it is all about the people versus the government, versus the politicians. Tomorrow is the time; people against the politicians. So make sure to go out and vote.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: All right. As we move forward, we're going to tell you a little bit more about Siegfried and Roy, a staple of the Vegas strip. Of course, Roy was attack bade tiger during a live stage show. And we'll take you inside the performers' refuge, where many of those dangerous animals are housed and protected.
And big cat, big city, how a tiger took up resident inside a Harlem apartment. And this is not an urban legend. We've got the tape to prove it.
Plus, a little R&R and a lot of love. One soldier making the most of his wartime vacation.
But first, a quick look at some of the other news making headlines all around the world.
War anniversary. Israelis are observing the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur, and the 30th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War. On October 6, 1973 Syria and Egypt attacked Israel in a failed attempt to win back land Israel seized in the six-day war of 1967.
Storm alert. Hurricane Olaf is moving slowly northward past resorts on Mexico's Pacific coast. Hurricane Nora, meanwhile, is now just a tropical storm, moving toward the Gulf of California. And Tropical Storm Larry hit land at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico yesterday. It's now a tropical depression. Drug lord terminator. California has its terminator. But Colombia has a real terminator. Hugo Aguilar is the former cop who killed cocaine king Pablo Escobar a decade ago. Well, he's playing down that fame in his bid to become a provincial governor, because Escobar remains a cult figure in some areas.
Culture shock. An Asian director is staging one of the world's greatest operas by an Italian composer in China. Against a backdrop of a giant pyramid and a row of sphinxes, Verdi's "Aida" is being performed in the Chinese capital, Beijing.
Not letting it be. There's a new album cover for the Beatles' classic album "Let it Be." The so-called naked cover features the original cover shot as a negative in black and white, mounted on a gray background.
And speaking of words of wisdom, that's our look around the world.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Las Vegas entertainer Roy Horn of Siegfried and Roy is in critical, but stable, condition after being attacked on stage over the within by one of his tigers.
The incident was shocking, not only because it happened in front of a horrified audience, but also because Siegfried and Roy have made an entire world, where their cats are nurtured and cared for, often from birth. We got an unusual look inside.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Menacing as they may seem, those big cats had never laid a claw on Roy Horn. So says Siegfried and Roy's longtime manager, who tried to put this incident into perspective.
BERNIE YUMAN, SIEGFRIED AND ROY'S MANAGER: This is an unfortunate accident. And after 30,000 live performances, one anomaly is indicative of the fact that his relationship with these animals is extraordinary and unprecedented.
O'BRIEN: For more than 30 years, this has been the public face on stage in Las Vegas, the last 13 years at a theater created just for them at the Mirage Hotel, performing six days a week, 44 weeks a year, always sold out.
But away from the spotlight, Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn are known for giving back what they take from these animals. They have two complexes, a lavish mansion and a compound west of Las Vegas called the Jungle Palace, and at the Mirage the so-called Secret Garden.
These are, in fact, habitats. Several different species of animals live in them, including more than 60 exotic cats that seem to have their run of the place. Here, the most endangered pure white tigers and lions roam free, swim in exotic fountains and most importantly, survive. For more than 20 years Siegfried and Roy have worked with zoos to breed and preserve these magnificent creatures.
Experts say very few know these animals better than Roy Horn. But they still say it's very risky business.
JACK HANNA, THE COLUMBUS ZOO: You never know, you know, what happened in the tiger's mind, the tiger. And as I said before, what comes naturally. I've seen a tiger take down a 2,000-pound water buffalo in India in less than 30 seconds. And you can imagine the power of that animal.
O'BRIEN: On Friday, a seven-year-old white tiger attacked Horn. He had trained the cat virtually from birth. Just before he lost consciousness, Horn reportedly pleaded with those around him not to have the animal put down.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Once, again, Roy Horn in critical, but stable, condition right now.
From Iraq to home and back. We were there when he arrived. He tried on his tux. And for we think the biggest day of his life, I'll speak live with Army Specialist Adrian Dupree and his new bride, just as he gets ready to rotate back to Iraq. That's just ahead.
Plus...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DIANA WALKER, WHITE HOUSE PHOTOGRAPHER: The reason I shoot these in black and white is to show you that this is special, that I am the only photographer there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: American presidents, like you've never seen them before. A former White House photographer takes us behind closed doors.
But first, in case you were out enjoying your days off, here's our weekend snapshot.
Murder/suicide in Atlanta, and police are searching for a motive. Witnesses say 43-year-old Sheila Wilson was agitated when she arrived at the Turner Monumental AME Church yesterday. Police don't know what prompted her to shoot her minister and her mother before turning the gun on herself.
Upgrading the charges. Atlanta Thrasher hockey player Dany Heatley is likely to face more charges in the wake of a teammate's death. Dan Snyder died yesterday, six days after sustaining massive brain injuries in a car accident. He'd been a passenger in Heatley's car. Police say Heatley was driving at least 80 miles an hour when his Ferrari crashed and split in two.
Going for the bronze? The U.S. did not win a place in the Women's World Cup soccer finals. That's between Germany and Sweden. Germany buried the U.S. team's golden dreams yesterday. America's team will now have to settle for the third-fourth place playoffs against Canada.
Going to the really big show. For the first time in 95 years, the Chicago Cubs are hammering through with post-season wins. They beat the Atlanta Braves yesterday and tomorrow face the Florida Marlins for the National League title. If they win the best of seven, they could be headed to the World Series.
And that's our weekend snapshot.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Lots of U.S. troops taking some well-earned R&R from their duties in Iraq. We've been keeping up with one of them over the past several days. Army Specialist Adrian Dupree has arrived in Baltimore, Maryland, and taken a very big plunge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Adrian, you may now greet your wife.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: All right. There's the moment. Friday he heads back to Iraq, we're sorry to say. Adrian Dupree and his new wife, Mieasha, are actually interrupting their brief time together to talk with us. And we will begin with a hearty thanks for doing that.
SPECIALIST ADRIAN DUPREE, U.S. ARMY: No problem.
O'BRIEN: Congratulations, love birds. How's it been so far?
MIEASHA DUPREE, HUSBAND ON LEAVE FROM IRAQ: It's been pretty exciting. You know, it's been real fun.
A. DUPREE: Kind of like a roller coaster ride.
O'BRIEN: I should say. Now when did you get this idea to try to squeeze in marriage during this whole thing? We're looking at some the pictures, by the way, of the whole ceremony. When did you get the idea?
A. DUPREE: Well, I actually thought about it in March, and I kind of mentioned it to her over the phone. And I told her, you know, I know it was kind of like a cheesy proposal. I believe in the whole one knee thing and stuff like that, but I just...
O'BRIEN: Come on, there's nothing cheesy about that, Adrian. Women love that stuff. What are you talking about?
A. DUPREE: Right. Right. So I, you know, we just talked about it for a long time before I was there. You know, we mentioned it every time I was on the phone. And when the leave thing came up, you know, we just had the idea to just, you know, if we can put it together, we can knock it out and get it done.
O'BRIEN: Mieasha, you get a lot of credit for putting this all together in such short order. When I think of all the time we spent planning our wedding, that's a lot of work. You must be very organized.
M. DUPREE: Well, no, I had lot of people helping me. A lot of friends and family, a lot of people from work pitched in and, you know, called a couple of people. You know, somebody always knows someone. So a lot of people pitched in to help me out. So it wasn't just me all by myself.
O'BRIEN: So when people heard your story, they sort of rallied to the cause of getting this marriage done in the two-week leave?
M. DUPREE: Yes.
O'BRIEN: That must have been kind of gratifying.
M. DUPREE: It was. You know, there were moments when I wanted to cry, you know, because people care so much. It's nice when people care enough about you to come together and try to help you at a time when you really need it. Because without them it just wouldn't have been possible.
O'BRIEN: Adrian, what was the most emotional moment for you? There's probably a lot of emotions you went through.
A. DUPREE: Probably when I started saying my vows, because I was -- my mom and my brother, they were kind of messing with me, keep asking me, "Was I nervous? Was I nervous?" And I wasn't, but the emotions caught up with me on that, as soon as I had to say the vows, that's when my emotions finally caught up to me.
O'BRIEN: I remember that moment, too. That's a tough moment.
Let's -- we want to take a look at something special that happened there. You had a flyover.
A. DUPREE: Right.
O'BRIEN: World War II vintage plane. That was -- Mieasha, that was your boss that put that together?
M. DUPREE: Yes, that was my boss. And I work in the fiscal department, and all the girls...
O'BRIEN: Congratulations, Mieasha and Adrian. Go ahead.
M. DUPREE: They all pitched in. And it was her brother's plane and they all pitched, I guess, in on gas, or whatever it takes. You know, when we came out, there's this plane over our head, and we're like, what's going on? And I saw that and my boss came out, she was like, "Can you see it? Can you see it? It's my brother." It was -- it was crazy.
O'BRIEN: All right. When are you going back to Iraq, Adrian?
A. DUPREE: I'm scheduled to leave on Friday.
O'BRIEN: That's going to be a hard day, isn't it?
A. DUPREE: It is, but I'm feeling pretty good about going back. It's like I'm rejuvenated. I got more confidence.
O'BRIEN: I should say. All right. Well, don't forget you're an attached man when you're over there in Iraq.
A. DUPREE: That's right. I know.
O'BRIEN: Mieasha won't let you forget that now.
M. DUPREE: I certainly won't.
O'BRIEN: All right. Mr. And Mrs. Adrian Dupree, congratulations on behalf of all of us at CNN.
A. DUPREE: Thank you, sir.
O'BRIEN: We appreciate you letting us be a part of this special time in your lives.
A. DUPREE: No problem.
O'BRIEN: All right. Take care.
A. DUPREE: You, too.
O'BRIEN: Now we're going to show you something few people ever get a chance to see, a behind the scenes look at some of the most powerful men in the world. They're part of the work of photojournalist Diana Walker.
Her images are moving, memorable and sometimes funny, capturing several U.S. presidents in poses that you just have to see to believe.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER (voice-over): One of the things that I've tried to do with my behind-the-scenes pictures is show you a little bit more of the character of these people, these politicians or these presidents or vice presidents. Because, by necessity, when they appear in public, it is so scripted.
The reason I shoot these in black and white is to show you that this is special, (on camera) that I am the only photographer there.
(voice-over) This is one of those times that I was extremely (on camera) lucky to have obtained access to the president and Mrs. Clinton at the White House. Suddenly, the president, for just a moment, put his arms around the first lady's neck. And it was one of those wonderful, (on camera) personal moments that every so often you have access to. And it was one of those.
(voice-over) Mrs. Reagan went up into the crown of the Statue of Liberty, and so a small pool of photographers went up in one of the (on camera) helicopters that we used, Marine helicopters, to the outside of the Statue of Liberty and hovered there while we shot our picture. I consider this quite an extreme photo op!
(voice-over) This picture is, in my view, just plain strange. The presidents standing in this room, they almost look like statues themselves. They seem to be...
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: A New York man is behind bars because of his pets. How'd you like to have this walking through the dining room? A huge Bengal tiger had lived in the Harlem apartment for about two years, apparently illegally.
Police had to get creative to capture it. They had to rappel down the side of the building and then shot the big cat with a tranquilizer gun. They also captured his roommate, an alligator.
Both animals are now at an animal shelter. Their owner is in custody, charged with reckless endangerment.
Wolf will be back here tomorrow from Los Angeles. Until then, thanks for joining us. "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.
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 October 6, 2003 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Is it a recall reversal? Happening now candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger ready to face the public this hour while a recent poll shows a surprising trend. You're looking at live pictures now.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Total recall, candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger is the running man, running hard hoping to terminate the collateral damage. It's a plot of peccadilloes fit for Hollywood and we have our cast of characters in place.
Dean on Davis; why the presidential candidate is coming to the governor's defense.
Pounded by Israeli warplanes; new pictures of an alleged terror training camp in Syria.
Her 12-year-old son killed himself so is his mother responsible? Wait until you hear from the jury.
And, the tiger attack horrified hundreds, now what the audience doesn't see, a peak inside Siegfried and Roy's refuge.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: It is Monday, October 06, 2003. Hello from CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Miles O'Brien reporting, Wolf Blitzer off today.
California's historic recall election now just hours away and on this election eve the latest poll numbers show support for ousting Governor Gray Davis slipping. A Knight-Ridder survey finds a percentage of voters saying they would definitely vote to recall Davis dropped from 52 percent last Wednesday to 44 percent on Saturday. The poll has a three point sampling error.
A warning about California's touch screen voting machines from a computer scientist at Stanford University. He says 10 percent of them don't produce paper printouts and that would make a legitimate recount impossible if one is needed.
And, Republican candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger is largely ignoring sexual harassment accusations swirling around him. Fifteen women now say he groped or otherwise molested them between 1979 and 2000.
Schwarzenegger campaigned in Northern California this morning. He's holding a rally this hour in Southern California, Huntington Beach to be specific, live pictures of that. We'll take you there live this hour.
For more on all this let's check in as we have been all throughout this process with CNN National Correspondent Bob Franken. He's tracking developments from Los Angeles, hello Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles.
And, it is true the polls, both public and private seem to show that the sentiment for the recall has slackened a bit probably after the revelations, the accusations against Arnold Schwarzenegger involving women and some comments he made about Adolf Hitler but we really don't know.
That's the dirty little secret here. The polls, we don't know if they're going to be valid. We won't find that out until tomorrow at the earliest and I say that because if the election machinery is overwhelmed it may be longer than that.
But, it really gets down to the fundamental. One side or the other might win this by bringing out his constituency so there are intense get out the vote campaigns going on. Take Governor Gray Davis who is fighting so hard to fight the recall. He even made a get out the vote plea to school children.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. GRAY DAVIS (D), CALIFORNIA: If you get a chance to talk to your siblings who are 18 or older and your parents or your grandma or anyone I'd appreciate it if you would ask them to vote no as well. I'm asking you to ask them. Tell them I'm asking them through you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKEN: And, of course, the other side of that message to the kids is if your parents are for the recall try not to say anything to them -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Bob Franken, what's your sense of it right now? Is there a tone shift that you feel or is that asking too much? Maybe it's just a little extra smog.
FRANKEN: It could very well be some extra smog. We don't know at this particular point. There is some movement away from Schwarzenegger. That is to be expected.
The question is how much and nobody really knows and that really scares all of us who pretend that we do know what we're talking about, particularly after a couple of month. But we're having the appropriate ending to a story that has befuddled us from the very beginning.
O'BRIEN: Yes and it's worth reminding our viewers these polls really are instant snapshots and that is all they are.
FRANKEN: Well, that's number one and number two they are based on models that -- well they're based on no model. There is no background. There is no way of coming up with a model that matches a ballot with 135 candidates on it.
O'BRIEN: Cutting edge democracy, Bob Franken on the vanguard as always, thank you very much.
The other candidates and there are more than 130 of them are campaigning down to the wire as well. Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante was at a United Farm Workers rally in East Los Angeles. He's urging people to vote against the recall and for him for governor in case Davis is ousted.
Republican State Senator Tom McClintock says voters are telling him they're glad he stayed in the race. He's been pressured to drop out by Republicans who want the party to rally around a single candidate.
He took time out last hour to speak to CNN's Judy Woodruff.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STATE SEN. TOM MCCLINTOCK (R), CALIF. GOV. CANDIDATE: I'm certainly urging a yes vote on the recall. I think that getting rid of this corrupt and incompetent governor is the most important thing that this generation could do to begin to set things right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Be sure to join Wolf Blitzer tomorrow 5:00 Eastern. He'll be anchoring this program from Los Angeles, as well as CNN's coverage of the recall vote all throughout tomorrow night.
Now, the crisis in the Middle East as Israel observe Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, gunfire traded across the Lebanese-Israeli border today, explosions also heard and all civilian traffic between the two neighbors has been stopped, all of this on the heels of a very violent weekend which saw an Israeli air strike against Syria yesterday and a Palestinian suicide bombing on Saturday that killed 19 Israelis in the city of Haifa.
CNN National Security Correspondent David Ensor has more on all this joining us from Washington -- David.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, the Israeli decision to attack a target in Syria for the first time in 30 years did cause some concern in this town but the reaction by Bush administration officials from the president on down has been cautious and somewhat muted.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR (voice-over): U.S. officials say they have been warning Syria with increasing urgency that hosting groups that use terrorism will have a price and President Bush expressed understanding about the Israeli attack on a camp outside Damascus with just a hint of reproach.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That Israel's got a right to defend herself, that Israel must not feel constrained in terms of defending the homeland; however, I said that it's very important that any action Israel take should avoid escalation and creating higher tensions.
ENSOR: Although the Israelis quickly released old Iranian footage of the site they attacked, it is not currently an active training camp, U.S. officials say, though it was for many years and could have been used that way again.
RICHARD BOUCHER, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: The facility that was attacked by Israel has long been used by a variety of Palestinian terrorist groups as a training facility.
ENSOR: At the U.N., Syria pressed for Security Council condemnation of Israel's attack, the first against a target in Syria in 30 years. On the 30th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, Syria President Bashar al-Assad remembered his nation's dead as his government reacted angrily to the Israeli attack and to its Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
BUTHAINA SHAABAN, SYRIAN MINISTER: What is terror? You know terror is a crime committed against people, against international law and that is the history of Sharon. That is what he has been committing for the last 20 years.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR: U.S. officials say they have seen no indication of Syrian troop moves in response to the attack and given Israel's lopsided military superiority they do not expect them. A response of some sort though from Syrian surrogates in Lebanon is a real possibility they say -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's David Ensor in Washington, thank you very much.
Desperation and death, a young boy's tragic suicide and now a mother is held responsible and this...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The crimes themselves, as I have said before, are so horrific.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: A shocking incident of high school hazing and now some teen suspects face some very serious charges.
And, fighting for his life, Roy Horn of Siegfried and Roy mauled by one of his famous white tigers during a live Las Vegas performance, now a rare glimpse of where he trains some of those dangerous animals. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Howard Dean wants Californians to vote no in tomorrow's recall race. The Democratic presidential candidate makes his case live this hour on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: In Connecticut, a jury convicts a grieving mother of contributing to the suicide of her 12-year-old son.
CNN's Maria Hinojosa joins us with more on this shocking and tragic case, hello Maria.
MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles.
You know when a child commits suicide who's at fault? Today in Meriden, Connecticut, the mother of a 12-year-old boy was found guilty of risking injury to a minor. Now, in effect they're saying that she contributed to his death by raising him in an unsafe and unhealthy home.
Now, J. Daniel Scruggs they say, his friends say at this school, looked like a normal, happy boy but the 12-year-old boy was tormented. His mother told authorities he committed suicide because he was constantly bullied in school and she blamed his teachers for not stopping it.
But prosecutors say the mother let J. Daniel go days without a bath and all but abandoned him making him easy prey for bullies. He was teased for smelling bad and for being small. The defense described Judith Scruggs as no different than any other single working mother, holding down two jobs, including one at the Wal-Mart, jobs just to make ends meet.
Now, little J. Daniel missed 44 days of school before he committed suicide. He was only 12 years old. Prosecutors are asking the question why didn't the mother do anything about that? On the other hand, his mother says that J. Daniel was so afraid that sometimes he would defecate in his pants so he could leave school early and his mother says why didn't the school do something about that -- Miles?
O'BRIEN: Maria, one of the things that struck me about this story was the terrible conditions of the house and no one said anything to anyone prior to this terrible tragedy any testimony about that?
HINOJOSA: Well, there are some people, Miles, who said that at that precise moment when they took the photographs, which was when the found the child hanging by a tie in the closet that those were the only photographs that they took and that the house was in disarray.
The mother has any number of explanations for why that happened but there are others, including her 23-year-old son who says that she abandoned him when he was a toddler who says that the mother was never present, never available and al but abandoned him as well -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Terribly sad story. Maria Hinojosa in New York, thank you very much.
Checking some other stories in our justice file for you, a Pennsylvania prosecutor says he'll seek to have three New York high school football players tried as adults on charged they sexually assaulted three teammates. He called the crimes involved horrific.
The three accused already face numerous charges in Juvenile Court, including kidnapping and aggravated assault. The attacks allegedly happened while the team was at a pre-season camp in Pennsylvania.
Patrick Graber the man who allegedly offered to kill Kobe Bryant's accuser was arraigned in a Los Angeles courtroom today. The Swiss national is pleading not guilty to charges he offered to kill the Colorado woman for $3 million. Graber's next court date is scheduled for November.
And, Kobe Bryant is speaking out about the sexual assault case against him. He told reporters at the Lakers training camp in Hawaii it's been an emotional roller coaster.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KOBE BRYANT, DEFENDANT: In this environment, in this world, people think like a seventh game is pressure, kidding me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you scared?
BRYANT: Terrified, terrified. It's like a roller coaster. You have your good days. You have your bad days. You know you had your worst days then other days are great. You know it's tough. Sometimes it doesn't seem like there's light at the end of the tunnel, you know. Then, you just, you know, you pray, you have faith and the next thing you know the light is brighter than ever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Kobe Bryant making his case.
2004 presidential candidate Howard Dean tackles the California recall. He joins me live this hour. Stay tuned for that.
Tiger attack, Roy of the glitzy Las Vegas duo Siegfried and Roy, mauled during a live performance. We'll have a behind-the-scenes look at what the audience never sees.
And this...and don't forget it, making the most of his vacation, one soldier finds time for love away from the war zone.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: The White House under fire over rising casualties and soaring costs is taking a more direct role in the reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan.
CNN Senior White House Correspondent John King joining us now with more on why there's a change in the organizational charts here, hello John.
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Miles.
They're insisting here at the White House that this just is common sense, not any dramatic shakeup. They're insisting here at the White House it is not designed to lessen the role of the Pentagon and Defense Secretary Don Rumsfeld.
But they certainly do make clear today that the president's National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice will take a higher profile role, not only in day-to-day management of U.S. policy in Iraq but in Afghanistan as well.
Mr. Bush spoke about this earlier in the day. The president of Kenya is here at the White House all day long for an official state visit. At a news conference earlier today the president sounded rather matter of factly when asked about this reorganization of U.S. policy and who leads it when it comes to Iraq and Afghanistan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: It's common for the National Security Council to coordinate efforts, interagency efforts and Condy Rice, the National Security Adviser, is doing just that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Other aides tell us privately though that Mr. Bush did want a more hands-on day-to-day White House role in the hands of one of his most trusted advisers, Dr. Rice, not only as he prepares to get that $87 billion in wartime spending from the Congress for the next year's budget in Afghanistan and Iraq but also as Mr. Bush heads into a reelection campaign in which his policy is increasingly under fire.
So now, one of his most trusted aides will coordinate efforts here at the White House. Aides are insisting this by no means is a vote of displeasure either with the Defense Secretary Don Rumsfeld or with the president's point man on the ground in Iraq Ambassador Paul Bremer.
Mr. Bremer will continue to report directly to Secretary Rumsfeld but both Mr. Bremer and Secretary Rumsfeld will have key deputies now on one of the committees that Condy Rice will have to coordinate the policy here at the White House.
Part of this, Miles, is to coordinate the policy more closely at the White House. Part of it is a White House effort to try to put more of what it would consider anyway to be good news out there and on that front Mr. Bush met today with a bunch of aid workers just back from helping the reconstruction effort in Iraq. One of them, a general with the Army Corps of Engineers said last night, Sunday night in Iraq was the first time since even before the war that the country's entire electrical grid was up and running -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's John King at the White House thank you very much.
Let's turn now to that CIA leak case. President Bush today brushed aside Democratic calls for a special prosecutor calling the leak of a CIA officer's name a criminal matter.
Mr. Bush said he's confident the Justice Department will carry out a thorough investigation. White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan says that if the person who leaked the information is identified he or she will be dismissed.
Joining us to talk more about this is author Ronald Kessler. His new book is "The CIA at war: Inside the Secret Campaign Against Terror." He knows as much about the inner working of the CIA as anybody in the non-classified world, good to see you Mr. Kessler.
RONALD KESSLER, AUTHOR, "THE CIA AT WAR": Good to be with you.
O'BRIEN: First of all do you know who leaked?
KESSLER: I don't but I understand that Novak told people that it was not at the highest level of the White House and if you read his columns he makes it clear that he was conversing about this whole situation, why was this ambassador chosen to go over there?
And, the person at the White House said, you know, his wife is a CIA employee, apparently not aware that she had been in a covert capacity. So, in order to prove any criminal violation they would have to show that he knew that she was in a covert capacity.
Then, Novak went to the CIA, was told that she had been in a covert capacity that this would cause problems. He used it anyway and, you know, I used to be on the "Washington Post," "The Wall Street Journal," and I don't know any journalist who would have used that. I simply don't. So, I think we have to keep in mind that Novak is to blame here as well.
O'BRIEN: So, you would point a finger at Mr. Novak?
KESSLER: Sure. I mean there was absolutely no reason to use it. He was warned about it. He was the one who knew that it was sensitive, not the White House person, and let's, you know, let's call a spade a spade. It was Novak who really screwed up here.
O'BRIEN: Give us a sense of how much damage this leak might have caused.
KESSLER: Well, that is a different matter. That is very, very serious because this person was overseas in a covert capacity in this very sensitive category called non-official cover where you don't have diplomatic immunity. You meet with people. You try to cultivate them undercover and then now that her identity is know all these people may be suspects. So, that's a very serious matter. It impairs the ability of the CIA to do its job, which is very, very critical as we know.
You know since 9/11 they've rolled up some 3,000 terrorists. They've rolled up about two-thirds of the al Qaeda leadership and there has not been an attack so I think we have to keep in mind that the CIA, despite all the headlines and despite the media reports, actually is doing a good job, at least in that area.
O'BRIEN: You have incredible access, including you had the opportunity to interview the director of the Central Intelligence George Tenet as part of your research for your book.
Give us a sense of what the feeling is inside the CIA as they hear these reports of trumped up intelligence or faulty intelligence, which might have laid the groundwork for the invasion of Iraq.
KESSLER: Well, the CIA is used to, you know, unfair allegations as well as fair allegations. I mean certainly it is embarrassment that they have not found the weapons of mass destruction but what they're doing and what the FBI is doing because I read books about the FBI is every single day trying to stop another attack.
That's what they're focused on and they meet with Bush every morning, both George Tenet and Bob Mueller and Bush wants to know what have we done in the past 24 hours to stop the attacks. He goes over some of the major threats. He wants to know what is being done. He follows up on it and that pressure is very, very important in terms of stopping the next attack.
O'BRIEN: So, the CIA is not hyping? You don't see it as hyping out of the Central Intelligence Agency?
KESSLER: No, you know, I found in my dealings with them and I went over there so many times, the guards knew where I was without being told, that they were very honest, you know.
Little clues, such as I would interview a CIA officer and he would give me a story about something that happened in Iraq and then the PR people would come back and say, you know, we checked the cables on this and it actually wasn't quite as glowing a story as he remembered it.
That kind of honesty really tells you a lot and I think, you know, it's common sense that if there were these programs as the Kay report outlined and if the weapons are so easily concealed, you can put enough anthrax in a kettle to kill 10,000 or 20,000 people, it's going to be hard to actually find the weapons.
O'BRIEN: The author is Ronald Kessler. His latest book, and he's got a lot of them out there, his latest one is the "CIA at war: Inside the Secret Campaign Against Terror." Thanks very much for being with us today. We appreciate it. Speaking out now, Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean lends his voice to the California recall. He'll be joining us live shortly.
A rare glimpse into the private lives of Siegfried and Roy, we'll take you inside their lavish compounds where tigers and lions roam free.
And, behind the scenes of the presidency, personal moments from the White House few have ever seen.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If this tiger had gotten loose in the building who knows what would have happened to the rest of the people?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Who knows indeed, a tiger tale from the urban jungle, find out how this big cat became a city slicker plus, the daring attempt to remove the animal. These are pictures you will not want to miss.
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O'BRIEN: Welcome back to CNN. Howard Dean speaking out against the California recall, he'll be with us live in just a bit but first a quick check of the latest headlines.
(NEWSBREAK)
O'BRIEN: With all the hoopla surrounding California's recall election, you'd think voters were choosing the U.S. president.
Democratic presidential nominee Howard Dean is against the recall. He supports Governor Gray, but tomorrow, maybe that will be a moot point.
Howard Dean joins us now from Manchester, New Hampshire.
Dr. Dean, good to have you with us.
HOWARD DEAN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thanks, Miles.
O'BRIEN: Is Gray Davis desperate?
DEAN: I think Gray Davis needs to continue to be the governor of California.
From a Democratic point of view to have the governorship of the most important state in the country, the biggest state in the country to fall into Republican hands is not going to help Democratic candidates running for president next year. And I think the majority of Californians do not want President Bush elected to another term, and we'd like to keep it that way.
O'BRIEN: No you're chief executive of a state, admittedly a lot smaller than California. As you critique Governor Davis' job in California, what do you see that he did wrong? How has he failed the people of California?
DEAN: Well, the problem that is every governor is now governing in very, very difficult times. California had a $38 billion budget deficit, but a lot of that caused by George Bush's economy.
When the president of the United States gives us a half a trillion-dollar deficit. that trickles down to money that doesn't go to higher education, money that doesn't go to education, K through 12 education, money that causes fire and police to be laid off, first responders to be laid off. And every governor in the country is having to deal with that, no matter what party they're in.
O'BRIEN: But do you see -- Have you seen any missteps on the part of Governor Davis?
DEAN: No, I really don't. I mean, I think that everybody makes missteps, but in general it seems to me that what every governor in this country is dealing with is the issue of how to maintain fiscal sanity in an atmosphere where the federal government has gone crazy.
These kinds of deficits and national debts that this has president rolled up are just unbelievable and that's going to have a big effect on every state and every local government in terms of their spending ability. And that's really what people are upset with Gray Davis about. But I don't see how it gets better under any of the other candidates.
O'BRIEN: You're running an outsider's campaign, trying to muscle your way into Washington. It seems to me you might have a kindred spirit in Arnold Schwarzenegger, running an outsider's campaign to go to Sacramento.
DEAN: There have been a number of questions raised about Mr. Schwarzenegger's behavior that voters need to consider pretty carefully. And so I hope I don't share that with him.
O'BRIEN: Let me ask you this, though, on that very point. What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. There are a lot of Democrats who were very supportive of President Clinton when he was dealing with all of his impeachment issues, who now are very critical of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Is there a double standard there? You have been supportive, at the very least said that President Clinton's impeachment proceedings were of a political nature.
DEAN: I think first of all, I did not approve of what President Clinton's behavior was in White House regarding that regard.
Nonetheless, what he did is very different than what Mr. Schwarzenegger's been accused of. No, I have no knowledge of whether this is true or not, these things that he's been accused of, but I think they're pretty serious.
Essentially, some of the things he's been accused of are essentially assault and battery, never mind nonconsensual sexual harassment. So I think those are serious charges. They're charges that are punishable by court sentences and by fines, and I think that's a big issue for the people of California. They have to make that decision.
O'BRIEN: So you don't see a double standard there? You see a different level of charges?
DEAN: I see a different level of charges. And I also think it's a difference between a challenger challenging a governor and the right wing Congress impeaching a successful very president who no one argued had breached his fiduciary duty of the United States.
O'BRIEN: All of the Democrats have gone to visit Governor Davis. You've been there a couple of times. Most of the presidential candidates have been there numerous times. What does that say about Governor Davis? Does he need that much propping up?
DEAN: Well, I think the issue for us, for those of us running for president is we do not want to see California in Republican hands during the election. So that will make it more likely that George Bush will get another four years as the president of the United States.
And I think that, no matter how angry Californians may be at Gray Davis, they're not happy with George Bush either, considering what he's done to the economy of California. And that's certainly one of the considerations that I make when I have recommended to our 50,000 people in our e-mail list in California that they continue to vote no on the recall.
O'BRIEN: Now, you're very anti-recall. I suppose any governor in office would feel anti-recall. You, of course, as a former governor, coming at it from that perspective. But I'm curious if the whole recall notion is actually good for democracy.
DEAN: Well, we have two-year terms in our state, so we don't really get into that and we don't have recall provisions. Two-year terms sort of function as a recall.
I don't think recall in and of itself is a terrible thing. But I think it should be reserved for when people are violating the law, and nobody has said Gray violated the law. People may disagree with what he's done, or they may not like him personally, but there's nobody ever made the accusation that he did anything criminal. And so I think recall is really inappropriate.
If you're going to use recall, I can assure you, what's going to happen if you change governors? Is there going to be another recall?
This is really a tool of the right wing. If they tried to undo President Clinton's term with his impeachment. The right-wing Supreme Court refused to recount the votes in Florida. Then you have the legislature in Texas and Colorado reapportioning to undo the elections of 2002. And now you have the same thing going on in California. I think that's a real problem.
That's one of the reasons I don't like the recall. It's because of who it was done by. This was motivated by a very conservative California congressman out of money out of his own pocket.
O'BRIEN: Would you recommend those two-year terms for places like California?
DEAN: Well, I personally have no problem with a two-year term, but I think that's up to the people of California. That would be a pretty radical shift. That's something certainly they may wish to do.
On the other hand people in America are tired of elections, so they don't like two-year terms. It's a debate in Vermont, and it's a debate elsewhere.
O'BRIEN: What does your gut tell you? I want to put you on record on what you think's going to happen tomorrow.
DEAN: I think Gray Davis will not be recalled, and I think that's good for the state of California in the long run, and it's very good for the national Democratic party, where we hope very much to replace President Bush and bring an end to this crazy borrow and spend, borrow and spend, borrow and spend presidency.
O'BRIEN: Howard Dean, Democratic presidential candidate, joining us from Manchester, New Hampshire. Thanks for your time. Appreciate it.
DEAN: Thanks, Miles.
O'BRIEN: Another political turn -- excuse me, actor turned politician is weighing in on the California recall. Clint Eastwood, former mayor of Carmel, talked to CNN's Paula Zahn about Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign for governor.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLINT EASTWOOD, ACTOR/POLITICIAN: I'm friends with Arnold. It's a big dilemma. Dean and I have both sort of stayed out of it. We don't know too much about it anymore than the guy and gal on the street.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Do you miss being mayor?
EASTWOOD: No, not at all. And when this whole recall thing started, people started saying, "Hey, Clint, why don't you get in, you know?" I get the guy across the street working on the building, "Hey, Clint, run for, you know, governor."
And I said, "No chance, fellows. You're going to have let somebody else have that."
(END VIDEO CLIP) O'BRIEN: You can see more of the interview with Clint Eastwood tonight on "PAULA ZAHN NOW," 8 Eastern, only on CNN. Watch; it will make her day.
An outpouring of affection. That's more on that coming up.
But first, live pictures from Huntington Beach, California. Looks like some kind of surfer dude there. In any case, we're about to see an Arnold Schwarzenegger rally. He's had a busy day. It began up in San Jose. It's now in Huntington Beach, with stops in between. This, some final frenetic campaigning in the California recall.
As soon as we see Arnold Schwarzenegger -- we have some sound from him earlier in the day. Let's listen to some of the rhetoric that he has been dispensing to the people of California today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: The choices are clear this election day tomorrow. The choices are clear. Do you want to go backwards with Gray Davis or do you want to go forward with Arnold? That is the question.
Tomorrow it is all about the people versus the government, versus the politicians. Tomorrow is the time; people against the politicians. So make sure to go out and vote.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: All right. As we move forward, we're going to tell you a little bit more about Siegfried and Roy, a staple of the Vegas strip. Of course, Roy was attack bade tiger during a live stage show. And we'll take you inside the performers' refuge, where many of those dangerous animals are housed and protected.
And big cat, big city, how a tiger took up resident inside a Harlem apartment. And this is not an urban legend. We've got the tape to prove it.
Plus, a little R&R and a lot of love. One soldier making the most of his wartime vacation.
But first, a quick look at some of the other news making headlines all around the world.
War anniversary. Israelis are observing the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur, and the 30th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War. On October 6, 1973 Syria and Egypt attacked Israel in a failed attempt to win back land Israel seized in the six-day war of 1967.
Storm alert. Hurricane Olaf is moving slowly northward past resorts on Mexico's Pacific coast. Hurricane Nora, meanwhile, is now just a tropical storm, moving toward the Gulf of California. And Tropical Storm Larry hit land at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico yesterday. It's now a tropical depression. Drug lord terminator. California has its terminator. But Colombia has a real terminator. Hugo Aguilar is the former cop who killed cocaine king Pablo Escobar a decade ago. Well, he's playing down that fame in his bid to become a provincial governor, because Escobar remains a cult figure in some areas.
Culture shock. An Asian director is staging one of the world's greatest operas by an Italian composer in China. Against a backdrop of a giant pyramid and a row of sphinxes, Verdi's "Aida" is being performed in the Chinese capital, Beijing.
Not letting it be. There's a new album cover for the Beatles' classic album "Let it Be." The so-called naked cover features the original cover shot as a negative in black and white, mounted on a gray background.
And speaking of words of wisdom, that's our look around the world.
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O'BRIEN: Las Vegas entertainer Roy Horn of Siegfried and Roy is in critical, but stable, condition after being attacked on stage over the within by one of his tigers.
The incident was shocking, not only because it happened in front of a horrified audience, but also because Siegfried and Roy have made an entire world, where their cats are nurtured and cared for, often from birth. We got an unusual look inside.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Menacing as they may seem, those big cats had never laid a claw on Roy Horn. So says Siegfried and Roy's longtime manager, who tried to put this incident into perspective.
BERNIE YUMAN, SIEGFRIED AND ROY'S MANAGER: This is an unfortunate accident. And after 30,000 live performances, one anomaly is indicative of the fact that his relationship with these animals is extraordinary and unprecedented.
O'BRIEN: For more than 30 years, this has been the public face on stage in Las Vegas, the last 13 years at a theater created just for them at the Mirage Hotel, performing six days a week, 44 weeks a year, always sold out.
But away from the spotlight, Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn are known for giving back what they take from these animals. They have two complexes, a lavish mansion and a compound west of Las Vegas called the Jungle Palace, and at the Mirage the so-called Secret Garden.
These are, in fact, habitats. Several different species of animals live in them, including more than 60 exotic cats that seem to have their run of the place. Here, the most endangered pure white tigers and lions roam free, swim in exotic fountains and most importantly, survive. For more than 20 years Siegfried and Roy have worked with zoos to breed and preserve these magnificent creatures.
Experts say very few know these animals better than Roy Horn. But they still say it's very risky business.
JACK HANNA, THE COLUMBUS ZOO: You never know, you know, what happened in the tiger's mind, the tiger. And as I said before, what comes naturally. I've seen a tiger take down a 2,000-pound water buffalo in India in less than 30 seconds. And you can imagine the power of that animal.
O'BRIEN: On Friday, a seven-year-old white tiger attacked Horn. He had trained the cat virtually from birth. Just before he lost consciousness, Horn reportedly pleaded with those around him not to have the animal put down.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Once, again, Roy Horn in critical, but stable, condition right now.
From Iraq to home and back. We were there when he arrived. He tried on his tux. And for we think the biggest day of his life, I'll speak live with Army Specialist Adrian Dupree and his new bride, just as he gets ready to rotate back to Iraq. That's just ahead.
Plus...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DIANA WALKER, WHITE HOUSE PHOTOGRAPHER: The reason I shoot these in black and white is to show you that this is special, that I am the only photographer there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: American presidents, like you've never seen them before. A former White House photographer takes us behind closed doors.
But first, in case you were out enjoying your days off, here's our weekend snapshot.
Murder/suicide in Atlanta, and police are searching for a motive. Witnesses say 43-year-old Sheila Wilson was agitated when she arrived at the Turner Monumental AME Church yesterday. Police don't know what prompted her to shoot her minister and her mother before turning the gun on herself.
Upgrading the charges. Atlanta Thrasher hockey player Dany Heatley is likely to face more charges in the wake of a teammate's death. Dan Snyder died yesterday, six days after sustaining massive brain injuries in a car accident. He'd been a passenger in Heatley's car. Police say Heatley was driving at least 80 miles an hour when his Ferrari crashed and split in two.
Going for the bronze? The U.S. did not win a place in the Women's World Cup soccer finals. That's between Germany and Sweden. Germany buried the U.S. team's golden dreams yesterday. America's team will now have to settle for the third-fourth place playoffs against Canada.
Going to the really big show. For the first time in 95 years, the Chicago Cubs are hammering through with post-season wins. They beat the Atlanta Braves yesterday and tomorrow face the Florida Marlins for the National League title. If they win the best of seven, they could be headed to the World Series.
And that's our weekend snapshot.
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O'BRIEN: Lots of U.S. troops taking some well-earned R&R from their duties in Iraq. We've been keeping up with one of them over the past several days. Army Specialist Adrian Dupree has arrived in Baltimore, Maryland, and taken a very big plunge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Adrian, you may now greet your wife.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: All right. There's the moment. Friday he heads back to Iraq, we're sorry to say. Adrian Dupree and his new wife, Mieasha, are actually interrupting their brief time together to talk with us. And we will begin with a hearty thanks for doing that.
SPECIALIST ADRIAN DUPREE, U.S. ARMY: No problem.
O'BRIEN: Congratulations, love birds. How's it been so far?
MIEASHA DUPREE, HUSBAND ON LEAVE FROM IRAQ: It's been pretty exciting. You know, it's been real fun.
A. DUPREE: Kind of like a roller coaster ride.
O'BRIEN: I should say. Now when did you get this idea to try to squeeze in marriage during this whole thing? We're looking at some the pictures, by the way, of the whole ceremony. When did you get the idea?
A. DUPREE: Well, I actually thought about it in March, and I kind of mentioned it to her over the phone. And I told her, you know, I know it was kind of like a cheesy proposal. I believe in the whole one knee thing and stuff like that, but I just...
O'BRIEN: Come on, there's nothing cheesy about that, Adrian. Women love that stuff. What are you talking about?
A. DUPREE: Right. Right. So I, you know, we just talked about it for a long time before I was there. You know, we mentioned it every time I was on the phone. And when the leave thing came up, you know, we just had the idea to just, you know, if we can put it together, we can knock it out and get it done.
O'BRIEN: Mieasha, you get a lot of credit for putting this all together in such short order. When I think of all the time we spent planning our wedding, that's a lot of work. You must be very organized.
M. DUPREE: Well, no, I had lot of people helping me. A lot of friends and family, a lot of people from work pitched in and, you know, called a couple of people. You know, somebody always knows someone. So a lot of people pitched in to help me out. So it wasn't just me all by myself.
O'BRIEN: So when people heard your story, they sort of rallied to the cause of getting this marriage done in the two-week leave?
M. DUPREE: Yes.
O'BRIEN: That must have been kind of gratifying.
M. DUPREE: It was. You know, there were moments when I wanted to cry, you know, because people care so much. It's nice when people care enough about you to come together and try to help you at a time when you really need it. Because without them it just wouldn't have been possible.
O'BRIEN: Adrian, what was the most emotional moment for you? There's probably a lot of emotions you went through.
A. DUPREE: Probably when I started saying my vows, because I was -- my mom and my brother, they were kind of messing with me, keep asking me, "Was I nervous? Was I nervous?" And I wasn't, but the emotions caught up with me on that, as soon as I had to say the vows, that's when my emotions finally caught up to me.
O'BRIEN: I remember that moment, too. That's a tough moment.
Let's -- we want to take a look at something special that happened there. You had a flyover.
A. DUPREE: Right.
O'BRIEN: World War II vintage plane. That was -- Mieasha, that was your boss that put that together?
M. DUPREE: Yes, that was my boss. And I work in the fiscal department, and all the girls...
O'BRIEN: Congratulations, Mieasha and Adrian. Go ahead.
M. DUPREE: They all pitched in. And it was her brother's plane and they all pitched, I guess, in on gas, or whatever it takes. You know, when we came out, there's this plane over our head, and we're like, what's going on? And I saw that and my boss came out, she was like, "Can you see it? Can you see it? It's my brother." It was -- it was crazy.
O'BRIEN: All right. When are you going back to Iraq, Adrian?
A. DUPREE: I'm scheduled to leave on Friday.
O'BRIEN: That's going to be a hard day, isn't it?
A. DUPREE: It is, but I'm feeling pretty good about going back. It's like I'm rejuvenated. I got more confidence.
O'BRIEN: I should say. All right. Well, don't forget you're an attached man when you're over there in Iraq.
A. DUPREE: That's right. I know.
O'BRIEN: Mieasha won't let you forget that now.
M. DUPREE: I certainly won't.
O'BRIEN: All right. Mr. And Mrs. Adrian Dupree, congratulations on behalf of all of us at CNN.
A. DUPREE: Thank you, sir.
O'BRIEN: We appreciate you letting us be a part of this special time in your lives.
A. DUPREE: No problem.
O'BRIEN: All right. Take care.
A. DUPREE: You, too.
O'BRIEN: Now we're going to show you something few people ever get a chance to see, a behind the scenes look at some of the most powerful men in the world. They're part of the work of photojournalist Diana Walker.
Her images are moving, memorable and sometimes funny, capturing several U.S. presidents in poses that you just have to see to believe.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER (voice-over): One of the things that I've tried to do with my behind-the-scenes pictures is show you a little bit more of the character of these people, these politicians or these presidents or vice presidents. Because, by necessity, when they appear in public, it is so scripted.
The reason I shoot these in black and white is to show you that this is special, (on camera) that I am the only photographer there.
(voice-over) This is one of those times that I was extremely (on camera) lucky to have obtained access to the president and Mrs. Clinton at the White House. Suddenly, the president, for just a moment, put his arms around the first lady's neck. And it was one of those wonderful, (on camera) personal moments that every so often you have access to. And it was one of those.
(voice-over) Mrs. Reagan went up into the crown of the Statue of Liberty, and so a small pool of photographers went up in one of the (on camera) helicopters that we used, Marine helicopters, to the outside of the Statue of Liberty and hovered there while we shot our picture. I consider this quite an extreme photo op!
(voice-over) This picture is, in my view, just plain strange. The presidents standing in this room, they almost look like statues themselves. They seem to be...
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: A New York man is behind bars because of his pets. How'd you like to have this walking through the dining room? A huge Bengal tiger had lived in the Harlem apartment for about two years, apparently illegally.
Police had to get creative to capture it. They had to rappel down the side of the building and then shot the big cat with a tranquilizer gun. They also captured his roommate, an alligator.
Both animals are now at an animal shelter. Their owner is in custody, charged with reckless endangerment.
Wolf will be back here tomorrow from Los Angeles. Until then, thanks for joining us. "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.
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