Special Edition: Hoaxes
Aired May 2, 2005 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
AARON BROWN, HOST: Tonight we begin with a simple fact, my friend, people who are facing embarrassing or awkward situations, sometimes plain and simple, make bad decisions. Dr. Phil was just talking about that. And as a result other people can get hurt. Usually these dramas, thankfully play out in private. But over the last six days the saga of Jennifer Wilbanks has unfolded in the most public way, starting with one story and ending up as something completely different. She isn't the first bride-to-be to get cold feet. So why then the uproar? We'll spend the next hour on her story and other fantastic tales. In some cases the media and police were fooled, at least for a while. We begin with the young woman who seemed to have it all and CNN's John Zarrella.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If Jennifer Wilbanks was unhappy, it was very deeply hidden.
MIKE SATTERFIELD, UNCLE: Very happy and very festive about what all was going on. And that was the mood. And she was Jennifer. She was a smile from ear to ear. You see a picture with Jennifer smiling, that's not a pose. That's her natural personality.
ZARRELLA: The brunette with the ear-to-ear grin, Wilbanks grew up in Gainesville, a serene Georgia town on the banks of the Chatahuchi River (ph). A cheerleader and a cross country runner, someone you remember says teacher Jim Lofton.
JIM LOFTON, TEACHER: Vivacious, you know, full of life, involved.
ZARRELLA: In a way, Wilbanks ran into the arms of John Mason, another runner. A meeting that was, like most of her life, part of a web of loving friends and relatives. John Mason's father told Nancy Grace about an introduction made by an aunt.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She says, oh, I've got a niece that runs a marathon. They might have something in common. My wife said, don't do it. Don't do it. I don't want you to play matchmaker. But she did anyway. And they hit it off immediately.
ZARRELLA: Mason came from a prominent well-heeled medical family with deep roots in the nearby town of Duluth. Everybody there knows the name Mason.
CHERYL HENNING, DULUTH RESIDENT: John's grandfather delivered me in the hospital here in Duluth.
ZARRELLA: The 32-year-old Wilbanks had a good job as a medical assistant, commuted daily. She seemed in love and was planning to get married. (on camera): Jennifer Wilbanks appeared to have everything. Duluth, Georgia, is an idyllic southern town, all about community and family. And a relationship appeared to be everything she wanted. The church wedding would be special. Indeed, it would be spectacular, 600 invited guests, 14 bridesmaids, two families who could afford to spoil their children. But was it too much too fast?
MELINDA LARSON, MASON'S FRIEND: No deep dread. Stress, absolutely. Weddings are extremely challenging, overwhelming. A wonderful occasion, but tend to consume your time, your life and all of your energy in the actual planning. So stress is a definite.
ZARRELLA (voice-over): But to friends and family, the young woman with the ear-to-ear grin kept smiling.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our top story at 11:00, a family prepares for a prayer vigil in place of a wedding.
ZARRELLA: Tuesday Wilbanks went jogging and did not return. Frantic calls were placed to anyone who might know where Jennifer had gone. Very quickly, worry evolved to fullout panic. The search was on.
MAJOR DON WOODRUFF, DULUTH POLICE: We started by interviewing family and friends and trying to backtrack her movements and see what was going on in her life.
ZARRELLA: The tightly knit community dropped everything to join in the search for Jennifer. The owners of the park cafe...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The least we could do was provide food and water, you know for the volunteers.
ZARRELLA: And a meal for Wilbanks' mother and step-father who came in for a few moments of peace.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They came in with one of the sheriffs just to get away from everything and relax. You could just see the anguish and despair on their face. And it was very sad.
ZARRELLA: In days, the small town of Duluth was searched end to end. Nothing. Police began to wonder.
RANDY BELCHER, DULUTH POLICE CHIEF: That's a very good possibility that she did get cold feet and run off. You know, how many husbands have gone out to get a pack of cigarettes and never come back home?
ZARRELLA: But this was a woman who was completely happy. Everyone said so. So the search continued, flyers went out, posters went up. The bridegroom questioned, too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He stated in the beginning of the investigation that he would voluntarily submit to a polygraph.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My son took a polygraph examination this morning, a private one. He passed.
ZARRELLA: Together, the families put up a $100, 000 reward.
HARRIS WILBANKS, FATHER: We love Jennifer very much. We would give our life and everything that we own to have her returned. ZARRELLA: By week's end, a day before she was to be married the mystery and the misery deepened.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We love you, please call us. I've got on your shirt that you gave me for father's day. And I'd love to walk you down the aisle.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Albuquerque 911 operator 44, what is your emergency?
JENNIFER WILBANKS: I'm at the -- I don't know where I am. I'm right here (INAUDIBLE) Street at the 7-Eleven.
ZARRELLA: From a pay phone at a 7-eleven in Albuquerque, more than 1,200 miles from her emotionally shattered family, Wilbanks called 911.
WILBANKS: I was kidnapped earlier this week. And I'm here now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is your name, ma'am?
WILBANKS: Jennifer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Were you hurt, Jennifer? Do you need medical attention?
WILBANKS: No, I don't need any medical attention.
ZARRELLA: She also called home, collect.
JOHN MASON, FIANCE: I was crying, I was laughing. I was trying to stay calm to talk to her to keep her calm.
ZARRELLA: New hope that life would return to normal, that everything could be as it was.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody's invited to the wedding. I'm not sure when it is going to be or -- like I say, we're going to get Jennifer home and make sure she's okay. And then we'll go from there.
ZARRELLA: Then another twist in the story. Wilbanks admitted to police she had lied.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At approximately 4:00 a.m.this morning, Ms. Wilbanks informed agents that she had not been abducted as she had originally claimed.
ZARRELLA On the 19th, police say, Wilbanks purchased a bus ticket to Texas for the 26th, the day she disappeared. Wilbanks came to this office park, this is where she cut her hair. This is where a taxi met her. The taxi took her to the Greyhound Station at the Atlanta Airport where she boarded a bus first to Texas. She rode the bus to Dallas, Texas, changed buses, went to Las Vegas, Nevada. Spent a little time in Las Vegas got another bus ticket, took it to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
ZARRELLA: There was no kidnapping. Just a runaway bride who flew back to Georgia hiding her emotions behind a beach towel. A flight attendant read a statement from Wilbanks to reporters on the plane. She has spoken to her fiance, the statement read, he cannot wait to see her. She says the wedding is not called off, just postponed. Ryan Kelly (ph), one of the owners of the Park Cafe -- who had given so much to the search, was in a way glad for the turn of events. He feared Wilbanks had been hurt or worse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unfortunately, I thought the absolute worst at that particular point in time.
ZARRELLA: For the town of Duluth, there is a degree of embarrassment to deal with, anger, too. Mayor Shirley Fanning- Lasseter has heard plenty from townspeople.
MAYOR SHIRLEY FANNING-LASSETER, DULUTH: They had suggested in e- mails that she do community service or pay back some of the debt or even one suggested she work at a crisis center and a hot line to see how other people deal with situations.
ZARRELLA: It will be tough, the mayor says, to decide what, if anything to do.
FANNING-LASSETER: Whatever is legally correct and proper is what we'll do. What is improper, we won't do. It doesn't make any difference if it's myself or an ex-mayor or anyone else. Wrong is wrong.
ZARRELLA (on camera): The name isn't above the law, bottom line?
FANNING-LASSETER: Absolutely, no. No name is.
ZARRELLA (voice-over): So the young woman with the ear-to-ear grin, the marathoner who ran a thousand miles, has to confront the fears she can't hide behind a smile. Face a future, even she may not be able to outrun. John Zarrella, CNN, Duluth, Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: On the first day that Jennifer Wilbanks disappeared, 400 volunteers -- 400 -- combed the area where she was last seen looking for clues. Police and other city workers in Duluth, Georgia worked frantically, as you saw, to find her. The mayor says the search cost the city as much as $75,000. Ms. Wilbanks' decision to run away turned out to be costly for those who assumed the worst. But did she commit a crime? And if it was a crime, at what point did it become a crime?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BELCHER: I asked her then, what had happened? She stated to me that she was jogging, she had her head phones on, she wasn't exactly sure where she was at, but an Hispanic male and a white female jumped her from behind and placed her in a van and drove off. And she was not sure where she was at. At this point, she did violate Georgia law by advising me of this situation that she was kidnapped. Based on that information, I will defer all criminal investigations or prosecution to Danny Porter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: So, just to be clear on this, what is criminal in life and what is not, we talked to Danny Porter, who is the district attorney in the county where Duluth is, the man who will decide on whether or not to press charges against Ms. Wilbanks.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Is it a crime in any way, shape, or form, for an adult to run away from home?
DANNY PORTER, GWINNETT COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Absolutely not. There's no crime involved in that at all. BROWN: So, if I, just, for whatever reason -- I've had enough, and I decide to get on a bus and go someplace and not tell anyone and they worry sick about me and the county spends a lot of money looking for me, the only thing I'm really guilty of is being a jerk, aren't I?
PORTER: Or being a self-absorbed narcissistic individual who doesn't care about the consequences, but you're not guilty of a crime.
BROWN: That's essentially -- that's a technical way of saying a jerk I think, but yes, I'm with you on that.
PORTER: That -- I think you're right. I think you're right.
BROWN: So, if in fact there was a crime committed here -- and I think that's sort of an open question -- but if there was, it is only at the point, essentially, where it's all over, where she calls and says she's been kidnapped, is that right?
PORTER: That's right. At the instant that she gave the false statement to Chief Belcher, the crime was complete, and all the rest of it -- all the rest of it merely has to do with the state of mind in her actions, in the lead-up to it. Everything else has to do with her state of mind, whether she was predisposed to lie, whether it was all sort of a plan to evade responsibility. And that's all the rest of it has to do with.
BROWN: That's not the crime.
PORTER: There's no crime if -- but, what I'm saying is, even though I acknowledge that it's not a crime, that's going to be important to me in making the decision whether to charge her with a lie, because I want to know something about her state of mind. I want to know what she was really thinking, and you can only know people's state of mind through their actions.
BROWN: I agree with that. You're absolutely right about that. If the crime is -- would be -- more, might be filing a false police report, is that what we might be talking about?
PORTER: It is actually called false report of a crime or the felony crime is actually called false statements. That's the Georgia term.
BROWN: And sir, realistically, is this a felony? I think a felony, that's a big deal, if I get a felony on my record, that's more than I was stupid one week?
PORTER: Well, it could be a felony, but it doesn't necessarily mean that that's a case that justifies imprisonment. I think that's why I'm trying to insist that I'm gathering all the evidence because if I charge then, yes, I'm going to have to weigh between a misdemeanor and a felony.
BROWN: Final question, when all is said and done, will you be just as happy to get back to the business of prosecuting bank robbers and all sort of -- and drug dealers and those other thins you literally spend every day thankfully doing and letting this moment, this kind of wacky sad moment end?
PORTER: Yes. But, I told somebody earlier today, this is not really any more trouble for me than anything else, because I would be here whether I was trying bad check case or murder cases. I go to work every day, I try the same cases. As hard as it is to believe, in most respects, this is just another case to me.
BROWN: Well, we appreciate -- I can't imagine all these other cases require as many television appearances. I hope they don't.
PORTER: No, they don't.
BROWN: As this one does. We would like to think you are able to spend most of your time actually in court or heading that way. We appreciate you talking to us tonight, thank you, sir.
PORTER: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Danny Porter, the prosecutor down in Gwinnett County in Georgia. In just a bit on the program, why it is that police first look at the immediate family, the boyfriend or the husband, when someone is reported missing. Right now, around a quarter past the hour, Erica Hill is in Atlanta with some of the day's other headlines.
ERICA HILL, CNN HEADLINE NEWS: Hi, Aaron.
A search is under way tonight for the pilots of two Marine Corps FA-18 fighter jets that the Navy believes collided on a mission in Iraq. The Navy says the jets were flying a routine mission. The weather though, was bad. There is no indication at this point hostile fire was involved.
Meantime, a violent day in Iraq: eight car bombs killed at least 23 Iraqis and wounded dozens more. Six of the bombs exploded in Baghdad. Violence has intensified since Iraq's transitional government named a new cabinet on Thursday. More than 100 Iraqis have died since then. The army is having a tough time reciting soldiers. April was the third month in a row the army failed to reach its monthly recruitment target. Officials acknowledge the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are keeping young adults away, but summertime is typically the army's best season for recruitment.
And in Ft. Hood, in Texas, today, a guilty plea if a key figure in the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal. Army Reservist Lynndie England pleaded guilty to seven charges. She told a judge it was wrong to pose in photos next to naked Iraqi prisoners. Now, under the plea deal, she could face as little as two years in prison.
And, that's the latest from Headline News at this hour.
Aaron, back to you.
BROWN: Erica, thank you. Nice to see you. More to come tonight on the runaway bride, starting with the reason everyone was so worried.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: : They run the entire gamut. From, I simply do not want to pay for a divorce, money matters, jealousy.
BROWN: He's talking about motives for murder and who is usually first suspect.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's become about the party and how we can impress and how grand it can be and how much money we can spend and how competitive we can be with our friends.
BROWN: She's talking about her wedding, and why she would have run if she had the chance. Also tonight, those other moments when the story that looks like one thing...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: : We put it on the front page with the headline "Backyard Bonanza."
BROWN: ...turned out to be something else.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: : I call it a Hardy Boys adventure that turned into a Larry, Curly and Moe misadventure. BROWN: This, on the other hand, will always be NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Back now to the runaway bride. Here is the truth of this: whatever she did was silly or thoughtless. Whatever happened afterward was something else, because when someone disappears, our first instinct is to suspect foul play. When a woman disappears, cops' first suspicion is on the husband, or the boyfriend. That was true in this case: the boyfriend had to take a lie detector test. So, why do they suspect the boyfriend or the husband? Experience. Here's CNN's Kelli Arena.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He's smiling, but his message is sobering.
LT. DONALD BENDER, INDIANAPOLIS POLICE DEPT: Those are fingerprint kits for your family. OK? Follow the instructions on those.
ARENA: Lieutenant Don Bender is handing out fingerprint and DNA kits, important to have if someone in your family turns up missing. He helps run the Indianapolis police department's missing persons unit and says simply knowing the facts could save your life. The most important, that people closest to you are the most likely to do you harm.
BENDER: Tragically, we know that missing persons cases many times involve a family member or a friend.
ARENA: Bender is still emotional when he talks about Karen Jo Smith. Her ex-husband, Steven Halkon (ph), was recently convicted for her murder, but her body is still missing.
BENDER: If Steven Halkon got out of jail and said, can I come back, I love, you, I need you, all those things that he told her, despite the threats, that she was giving him another chance.
ARENA: The minute someone is reported missing and foul play suspected, Bender says that everyone in that person's inner circle is considered a possible suspect.
BENDER: Well, we check everything that we can find: insurance policies, mortgages, who owns what, who gets what, wills, phone records.
ARENA: The investigation of the Jennifer Wilbanks' case was no exception with focus immediately placed on her fiance, John Mason.
JOHN MASON, JENNIFER WILBANK'S FIANCE: Her being gone and not knowing where she was -- is tough enough to deal with, and then to have people point the finger at you.
ARENA: While Mason and others were the victims of deception, too often that early attention on loved ones pays off as demonstrated by the Laci Peterson case.
BENDER: Within a matter of hours, there were law enforcement officers who were looking at Scott Peterson as a major person of interest, developing him as a suspect. Simply because of his actions.
ARENA: The most unnerving thing about all that this is that no one can decisively say why it happens, just that it does.
BENDER: They run the entire gamut, Kelli, from, I simply do not want to pay for a divorce, money matters, jealousy, insurance -- domestic violence is a very large cause.
ARENA: Lieutenant Bender says, as shocking as these cases seem, there are usually warnings.
BENDER: As human beings we broadcast warning sign just like animals. When a cat gets ready to attack, the hair on its back goes up, it arches, the claws come out, the ears go back. There are warning signs that we as humans give off.
ARENA: But love, as we've heard, is often blind. Kelli Arena, CNN, Indianapolis, Indiana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: The story that began in the small town of Duluth, Georgia, ended more than a thousand miles away in New Mexico. We're joined in Albuquerque by FBI special agent Bill Elwell. It is good to see you. How long after the agents met Ms. Wilbanks did they kind of suspect that she had made the whole thing up?
BILL ELWELL, FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Well, Aaron, that initial interview took about an hour, and what they allowed her to do is two things. They allowed her to basically put her story on the table.
Another thing it allows a victim to do or an alleged victim is to kind of vent, especially if they've been the victim of a violent act, and they were allowing her to do that. After about an hour of her putting out her story and us trying to get the information for investigative purposes, the agents and the Albuquerque police officers that were in on the interview, confided and realized that there were some very big inconsistencies in their story.
After they put together their method as to how they were going to attack the story they went back in. Probably about 20 minutes into the second interview or the second contact with her, they were able to get her to basically do the right thing and tell the exact story as to what had transpired.
BROWN: What do they say? Do they say, this doesn't make -- is it like Columbo, one more thing, this doesn't quite make sense? Or you said this but that doesn't quite square with that? Do you know how literally that conversation went?
ELWELL: Well, basically what you do -- and all officers and our agents are taught, you want to give the victim a chance, especially if you think they're not telling you the truth, you want to give them an opportunity or an out, so to speak, to kind of be able to give the response you're looking for with as little embarrassment as possible. Give them an opening, so to speak. And in this case, I thing one of our agents looked at her and said, we shouldn't be looking for a blue van, should we? And at that point, I think she realized, you know, I've got to come clean, and she did.
BROWN: Oddly, sort of like parents with children, isn't it? I mean, it's important to give them the chance to tell the truth without sort of pounding on them?
ELWELL: Exactly. And we were dealing with an adult here. And I think realistically, she was kind of having to deal with this stressful situation, and, eventually, to relieve that stress, the agent gave her the opportunity to do that.
BROWN: Was she relieved?
ELWELL: I think so. And you mentioned a child. I think, even a child, when they finally have to come clean with what they've done, there is a big sense of relief. And I think it was a lot easier for her to disclose what had really transpired. I think it's just a burden off of her that, OK, now I can really tell what's happened and then go on.
BROWN: I don't know to ask this question sort of delicately. But on a scale of one to 10, was it a well-constructed lie or was it pretty easy to see through?
ELWELL: Well, the agents and the police officers, after that initial interview, I think when they came out, they were pretty well convinced that there were just too many inconsistencies. I don't think this was something that was well rehearsed on her part.
BROWN: You know, I -- and I'll bet you do, too, I wish they all ended so benignly in tend as this one did. Mostly, of course, in life they don't, not the stuff you deal with. So, it is nice when the worst thing we're dealing with is a kid that got scared, ran away and lied about it. Thank you for your time.
ELWELL: Thank you.
BROWN: When we come back, what another woman paid for scaring her friends and family half to death and how she's still paying the price for that today. And later, the case of buried treasure, not. We'll take a break first. This is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: It's probably not fair to say that Jennifer Wilbanks perpetrated a hoax. She just ran away, and we suspect was overwhelmed by the events that followed, even if she no doubt could have and should have anticipated them. Audrey Seiler, on the other hand, is something else. She too disappeared, was found, talked about kidnapping. But her case, whatever the motives, there was more. Here's CNN's Keith Oppenheim.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the very point Noble Wray became police chief in Madison, Wisconsin, a major case erupted. Audrey Seiler, a 20-year-old sophomore at the University of Wisconsin, had vanished.
KEITH SEILER, AUDREY'S FATHER: We'll continue to look for Audrey for as long as it takes. OPPENHEIM: With her parents giving interviews and the national media pouncing on the story, the pressure to find the missing woman was intense.
NOBEL WRAY, POLICE CHIEF, MADISON, WI: We had anywhere between 60 to 80 officers in the general vicinity looking for her.
OPPENHEIM: For four days, the search continued, with relatives and classmates worried Seiler could have been kidnapped.
Then a major break and a major twist. (on camera): Audrey Seiler was found in these woods, ironically right near the hotel where her family and search parties were gathering.
According to the police report, two officers responded to a sighting of Audrey and approached her here. They said she was frantic, turning her head back and forth, looking over her shoulder, making statements like "he's out there. You've got to help me." Saying her abductor had a gun.
That fabricated story was a turning point, because suddenly a missing persons case mushroomed into an all-out manhunt. (voice-over): The search for a kidnapper went into high gear. A composite sketch was made. Traffic in Madison practically came to a halt. But to detectives, many things didn't add up.
Audrey Seiler was seen on security tapes leaving her apartment, but there was no sign of a kidnapper. Another tape showed her at a Target store, where police would learn she bought duct tape and rope. In less than two days after police found Audrey Seiler, the new chief announced this on live TV.
WRAY: That, in fact, she had not been abducted at her apartment at all. Audrey stated that she just wanted to, quote/unquote, "be alone."
OPPENHEIM: Audrey Seiler had faked the story of her abduction, and the price was high. Chief Wray estimates the cost to police agencies and the public was $97,000. Police records explain why Seiler left her life without notice. She was upset about a potential breakup with her boyfriend. She later pled guilty to two counts of obstructing justice and is now serving three years probation, paying a fine of $250 a month, or $9,000 for her actions. (on camera): Do you think that Audrey Seiler had some understanding of what she was doing while it was happening, or she was disconnected from the consequences?
WRAY: I think she had some sense that people obviously were looking for her, but I don't think that she had any idea that the situation would escalate to the point that it did.
OPPENHEIM (voice-over): Chief Wray says the price of lying goes far beyond the impact on law enforcement agencies. WRAY: Those that get involved in these things, they also have to realize that this is going to stay with them for the rest of their life, especially when they get this type of attention.
AUDREY SEILER: I plead guilty, your honor.
OPPENHEIM: Attention which means in the end, the person who lied has to live with the results. Keith Oppenheim, CNN, Madison, Wisconsin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: On now to Massachusetts and another story that was unfolding last week as the search for Jennifer Wilbanks was under way, a story that also ended with an incredible twist. It's indeed a reminding that boasting can sometimes backfire. From Boston tonight, CNN's Dan Lothian.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What was not to like about this tale? Antique cash dug up in a Massachusetts backyard by a group of friends. The little guys suddenly striking gold. But sometimes truth has a way of turning an amazing story upside down.
BILL KEITER, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, EAGLE-TRIBUNE: I call it the Hardy boys adventure that turned into a Larry, Curly and Moe misadventure.
LOTHIAN: "Eagle-Tribune" editor-in-chief Bill Keiter says his local paper broke the story when one of the treasure finders called. KEITER: Saying they had a great story to tell us, and they're sure we'd be interested. LOTHIAN: The paper jumped at the scoop.
KEITER: We put it on the front page with the headline "Backyard Bonanza."
LOTHIAN: The story spread from the paper to local stations to national television. Tim Crebase, Barry Billcliff, Kevin Kozak and Matt Ingham gushed about their find.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was like, wow.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was like, this is just my dumb luck.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LOTHIAN: A box of rusting cans filled with 1,800 bank notes and bills, some more than a century old, unearthed in the backyard of the house Crebase rented from Kozak. The value to collectors?
BARRY BILLCLIFF, TREASURE FINDER: And we didn't know if they were worth the paper they are printed on, or if it's you know, a huge find.
LOTHIAN: A local coin shop owner determined they were authentic, and collectors valued it at more than $100,000. But if the money was real, at the local newspaper, they were a lot more suspicious of the story.
KEITER: Just some things that, again, caused our sniff meter to sort of start sniffing a little harder.
LOTHIAN: In different interviews, the story seemed to change. For example, what were they digging up in the backyard when they hit pay dirt?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was digging up the tree.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were going there to rip up a bush.
LOTHIAN: The editors noticed other holes.
KEITER: The history of the house where they found it. Where they had dug up the treasure in the backyard, the location of the backyard, the time that they had done it.
LOTHIAN (on camera): It wasn't just reporters and editors at the newspaper who were getting suspicious. Police in Methuen, the city where the friends said they had found the money, were noticing inconsistencies. They began asking questions, and this amazing story began to unravel. (voice-over): Helped by an anonymous tip, investigators concluded the friends had actually found the treasures while doing a roofing job at a barn on this farm 25 miles away. Police say Crebase confessed that the cans fell out of a gutter.
CHIEF JOSEPH SOLOMON, METHUEN POLICE DEPARTMENT: It would be our belief that it is -- belongs to one of the ancestors of the current family.
LOTHIAN: Last Friday, all four men were charged with receiving stolen property, conspiracy, and accessory after the fact. Despite any evidence to the contrary, some of the treasure finders are sticking to their original story.
MICHAEL RUANE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Our position is basically they found it where they said they found it. It was found in the backyard.
LOTHIAN: Some wonder why they would want to attract so much attention in the first place, if, as police say, the story was a hoax.
MATT INGHAM: I just wanted to be on TV.
LOTHIAN: And according to Keiter, one more reason.
KEITER: And they said, if we go public, we believe that there will be much higher bids coming in, people that value this kind of collection will offer much more money.
LOTHIAN: Big offers for the old bills are coming in. But police say the real owners, who never even knew about the hidden treasures, will be the only ones cashing in. Well, maybe the local paper, too, which has gotten a lot of ink...
KEITER: This is the one where...
LOTHIAN: ... out of what was to have been a one-day feature story. Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: The quote of the night, I just wanted to be on TV. Still to come tonight, what police now say was another kind of hoax. Still the question remains -- how did the finger get in the chili? And how is Wendy's handling it? Also ahead, a hoax that involves racist threats and a young African-American woman that police say was making them. We'll take a break first. For real. Around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Not every hoax or suspected hoax is goofy or harmless or victim-free. Police in the suburbs of Chicago say that in order to persuade her parents that the college she attended was dangerous, Alicia Harden herself mailed threatening letters to minority classmates.
In response, officials at Trinity University moved dozens of black and Latino students off campus last week. Ms. Harden who is 19 and African-American confessed to authorities after being asked to take a polygraph test. She's charged with disorderly conduct and hate crimes.
Now to California and the story that makes nerve the NEWSNIGHT 4:00 editorial meeting cringe. The woman who claimed she found part of a finger in a bowl of chili at Wendy's. We still don't know who that finger belongs to. But here's what we know for certain, the woman is accused of attempted grand theft because once her claim was made public, the public, imagine this, stopped going to Wendy's. From Los Angeles tonight, CNN's Frank Buckley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you're eating breakfast right now, we apologize if this turns your stomach.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a quirky local story at first, a woman eating at this Wendy's in San Jose claims she bit into a human finger that was in a bowl of chili. Wendy's spokesman had their first statement out within hours, but it wasn't always mentioned.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Other diners who also ate the chili took pictures of it with their cell phone cameras.
BUCKLEY: A Wendy's crisis team was assembled to manage the public relations crisis, senior management, corporate communications, quality assurance, supply chain, security and risk management, legal and marketing all had spots at the table. While local papers were publishing the finger in the chili allegation, local Wendy's employees were taking lie detector tests. The entire supply chain was being examined. Company officials were literally counting the fingerers of employees. And within 48 hours, they say, they knew the finger didn't belong to them. But when these photos of the finger were released by local authorities, Senior Vice President Denny Lynch told us the world changed at that moment. It became late show fodder for David Letterman.
DAVID LETTERMAN, "THE LATE SHOW": It's so sunny here in Manhattan today. Listen to this. The finger in my Wendy's chili was wearing sunblock.
BUCKLEY: Anna Ayala, the woman who claim shed bit into the finger, appeared on "Good Morning America."
ANNA AYALA, CLAIMED SHE FOUND FINGER IN CHILI: Knowing there was a human remain in my mouth, something in my mouth, it's disgusting. It is tearing me apart inside. It's nasty.
BUCKLEY: The Wendy's finger story had become water cooler talk. (on camera): And sales at Wendy's restaurants went down across the country. In one police affidavit, senior managers were quoted as saying, "The company was losing $1 million a day." Here in California, sales Were off by up to 50 percent at some restaurants.
TOM MUELLER, PRESIDENT, WENDY'S NORTH AMERICA: This has been an extremely difficult time for all of us at Wendy's. Our independent franchisees and their employees in the San Francisco area are the real victims.
BUCKLEY: Wendy's president went up on satellite with a video news release to tell the company's side of the story. Spokesmen tried to reassure the public.
STEVE JAY, WENDY'S SANTA CLARA COUNTY: We're very confident that it did not come from any employee or any supplier.
BUCKLEY: But the damage continued. Wendy's couldn't test the finger themselves. It was in the custody of county officials. And until an independent authority could say it wasn't Wendy's fault, advertising, the crisis team decided, wouldn't work. We could proclaim it, Lynch told us, but then people in the news media are going to say we're putting corporate spin on it. Then Anna Ayala herself became the story. Police discovered she had a history of suing people. They went to her home and served a search warrant.
AYALA: I'm sick of it! I'm tired of it! I am tired of it!
BUCKLEY: On Friday, April 22, exactly one month after the story broke, police announced that Ayala was in custody. Investigators didn't believe her story. She was charged with attempted grand theft.
CHIEF ROB DAVIS, SAN JOSE POLICE: Evidence suggests that the truest victims in this case are, indeed, the Wendy's owner, operators and employees here in San Jose who have suffered financially throughout this investigation.
BUCKLEY: Ayala denies the allegation, but now Wendy's is left to regain its reputation, which it started to do immediately after Ayala's arrest. That Friday, Wendy's gave away 100,000 Frosties in the Bay Area. Sales rebounded significantly, according to the crisis team. But they're not where they were before. Still, one crisis management consultant said the public is more likely to forgive Wendy's if it believes the company is the victim.
ERIC DEZENHALL, CRISIS MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT: I think Wendy's has been assertive, they've been cooperative with the media for the most part. And I think that, eventually with time, they are probably going to fully recover.
BUCKLEY: But Wendy's is not the only victim, because somewhere out there someone is still missing a finger. Frank Buckley, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Headlines in a moment. The Jackson trial, no hoax that. Morning papers just ahead as well. No hoax that either. A break first from New York. And there is it, this is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: It would be somewhat of a hoax to tell you that it's a quarter to the hour. But it is time for Erica Hill in Atlanta -- Erica.
HILL: Just a couple of minutes late, but we're still here. Thanks, Aaron. Prosecutors in the Michael Jackson trial spent the day analyzing telephone records that contend that associates of the pop star tried to intimidate and control the family of Jackson's accuser. The prosecution may rest its case as early as tomorrow. Now a moment from a quarter century of CNN bringing you the news. Heidi Fleiss "Then & Now."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Heidi, do you think you'll give the names in the black book?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In the 1990s, Heidi Fleiss was one of Hollywood's most notorious characters. The then 20-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 Heidiwear 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 FEMALE: 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 VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Lieutenant Columbo was on to something when he said "just one more thing." TV detectives always have one more question. And after reporting a story, correspondents also can't help getting the itch to say, "just one more thing." Now they can. We call it "Newsbeat." Stories behind stories. Tonight, CNN's John Zarrella.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA (on camera): For more than a year now, I've covered at least three cases of missing people, children and those cases. And in all three cases, they did not come out with happy endings.
And so our immediate reaction is to cover the story certainly until you find out what has happened. For the past several days, I've been covering the Jennifer Wilbanks story. Many details of the story began to evolve over the weekend, and it's time to put it all into one encapsulated form for the viewers so they get a good idea of what this bizarre, very bizarre story was all about.
While people were certainly glad that Wilbanks was alive and well, the mood had changed to one, in some cases, certainly in Duluth, where many of the people who had given of their time in the search for this missing woman, were now, to put it mildly, very angry. It is clearly a strange tale that still requires many, many answers, and who knows how long it will be before we get those.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: I don't know, we'll check morning papers, see if any answers show up. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: OK. Time to check morning papers from around the country, and around the country -- I'm going to talk very fast because we hardly have any time tonight.
We're so pleased to have "The New York Daily News." We never get "The Daily News." Maybe we'll get it now.
The headline: "He Does? 'I Do,' Says Jilted Groom of Runaway Bride, Let's Get Married." I don't know about that, OK? I also wondered today if Greyhound was going to try and turn this into a promotional spot. Feeling at the end of the -- well, you know."
The Washington Post," very good story. "Tyrants' Lobbyist Flamboyant to the End." Van Kloberg -- Van Kloberg -- this is Edward Van Kloberg. After a career of image makers for the reviled. He had Baby Doc and Saddam Hussein. He was their PR guy. That would be a task.
"New Arena for Birth Control Battle," the headline in "The Star Tribune." A drug store not giving out birth control pills.
Weather tomorrow in Chicago, "incremental."
We'll see you at 10:00 Eastern time. Until then, good night for all of us.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
The Terror and Woman Connection - We know this is a strategy for driving women into the Bush Camp.
NewsNight opened with a segement regarding RAPE.
The next two segments were about Terrorists.
The following segment was about Breast Cancer.
The next segment continues to discuss breast cancer along with smoking.
Now we are going to discuss a warm and cuddly 'doggie' subject connected with an Arctic connection and a woman competitor. Do you know how many men are competing in the Arctic Circle?
Here we go again, Candy Crowley, and the discussion of 9/11 by calling on The Freedom Tower and the new design with it's lack of security design written into it's specifications. Now, we have moved after that intro by Aaron Brown to a Oklahoma City focus. More FRIGHT NIGHT minute after minute. Ms. Bigot is back to campaigning for a victory for DeLay and 2006.
Women and their reality will never be known from this program. As I included as a note to Aaron about this program; "Let me ask you something do you think between terrorists, rape and cancer women are allowed to enjoy life at all according to NewsNight?"
"No, Aaron, according to this type of programming women are supposed to be in chronic fear for their lives."
Matty McNair at the Arctic Circle. This normally under better management would have been Segment Seven after hearing about the new airliner debut and a debate about it's controversy. This Segment Seven after hearing all about the historic arrival of Russian President Putin to the Middle East, his trip to the Western Wall and the controversy surrounding his willingness to arm Palestine and Syria as seen by Israel which is going through and upheaval of it's populous due to the government disengagement in Gaza. Etc., etc., etc.. This hour has infomed me of nothing regarding the 'real world' but only the world allowed to be seen through edited film segments. There was absolutely no live segements.
There will be another $1 coin with the image of Susan B. Anthony removed. AMAZING. I will never use the coin. Ever.
The next two segments were about Terrorists.
The following segment was about Breast Cancer.
The next segment continues to discuss breast cancer along with smoking.
Now we are going to discuss a warm and cuddly 'doggie' subject connected with an Arctic connection and a woman competitor. Do you know how many men are competing in the Arctic Circle?
Here we go again, Candy Crowley, and the discussion of 9/11 by calling on The Freedom Tower and the new design with it's lack of security design written into it's specifications. Now, we have moved after that intro by Aaron Brown to a Oklahoma City focus. More FRIGHT NIGHT minute after minute. Ms. Bigot is back to campaigning for a victory for DeLay and 2006.
Women and their reality will never be known from this program. As I included as a note to Aaron about this program; "Let me ask you something do you think between terrorists, rape and cancer women are allowed to enjoy life at all according to NewsNight?"
"No, Aaron, according to this type of programming women are supposed to be in chronic fear for their lives."
Matty McNair at the Arctic Circle. This normally under better management would have been Segment Seven after hearing about the new airliner debut and a debate about it's controversy. This Segment Seven after hearing all about the historic arrival of Russian President Putin to the Middle East, his trip to the Western Wall and the controversy surrounding his willingness to arm Palestine and Syria as seen by Israel which is going through and upheaval of it's populous due to the government disengagement in Gaza. Etc., etc., etc.. This hour has infomed me of nothing regarding the 'real world' but only the world allowed to be seen through edited film segments. There was absolutely no live segements.
There will be another $1 coin with the image of Susan B. Anthony removed. AMAZING. I will never use the coin. Ever.
32-year-old Rape Case Broken By DNA; Debbie Rowe Not Coached In Jackson Rebuttal Video; New Drug Herpecin Gives Hope To Breast Cancer Sufferers
Aired April 27, 2005 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Larry, think about this, if your job is catching criminals, it's fair to say that stopping the bad guys before he commits a crime is about as good as it gets. Bat a close second may be cracking a cold case. Those are the cases that often only the victim and the cops remember. 32 years ago there was a rape here in New York. 15 years later a series of rapes in Maryland. There were plenty of victims, lots of cops, but no one caught. Tonight, a man is in jail proclaiming his innocence, but facing evidence that a jury may well find persuasive: His DNA left on a victim before many of you were born.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN (voice-over): If police are right, Fletcher Worrell made his last mistake in the fall when he tried to buy a gun in Atlanta. It was a decision that may have ended a reign of terror and three decades of fear and pain.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This person put a hand over my mouth, threatened my child's life if I screamed again. I was aware that he had a weapon. I saw the weapon.
BROWN: She was raped more than 15 years ago, in Maryland. And she was not the first or the last.
DOUGLAS GANSLER, STATE ATTY, MONTGOMERY COUNTY: Every night when they went to bed, they didn't know whether a stranger was going to come in their home in the evening. Montgomery County, Maryland, is an area with almost 1 million people and a very, very low crime rate. And the event of stranger on stranger rape, particularly of the serial variety, was very rare indeed.
BROWN: A background check on Worrell in Georgia found an outstanding warrant from New York. That, too, was a rape three decades ago. The evidence preserved and tested this week.
ROBERT MORGENTHAU, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, NEW YORK CITY: That underwear, now 32 years old, was submitted to the forensic biology laboratory of the office of the chief medical examiner in New York for DNA testing.
BROWN: The New York district attorney says the DNA in the underwear is a match for Worrell. And that's just the beginning. New Jersey has cases, Maryland has suspicions about 16 rapes at least. When all the testing is done, dozens of rapes may be solved and one rapist may finally face justice.
MORGENTHAU: And it will send a chill through a lot of defendants to know that after 32 years you can still test for DNA. And, of course, it was corroborated. We independently got a swab and that confirmed his DNA matched the DNA in the underwear.
BROWN: This has been a real life cold case pursued by real life cops who had never come close but who had never given up either.
LT. PHILLIP RAUM, MONTGOMERY COUNTY POLICE: The one thing we never lost track of was the fact that we had some real innocent victims out there that did not deserve what happened to them. And that was always a motivation for me.
BROWN: A lot changes in 30 years. People change. Maybe the suspect has changed, too. Maybe he's innocent. His lawyer says he is. What hasn't changed, though, is the memory and the fear, though maybe now it will.
GANSLER: And it gives us great solace as prosecutors in the law enforcement community, but particularly the victims. Victims who thought these cases would remain, unsolved forever, are now being solved each and every day throughout the country.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The anniversary of my rape is two days away. And this time of year, this memory always comes back to the surface. And I'm glad this year it's going to be a good memory. And from this spring forward, it will be a good memory.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: On now to another unsolved crime that has long stumped investigators, a crime that's still unfolding in front of their eyes somewhere in cyberspace. Hundreds of photographs of a young girl being sexually abused document the crime. But who she is and where she is remain a mystery. Leads are scarce. Years have gone by. And now investigators are hoping the picture of another young girl can provide the break they need. Reporting the story for us tonight, CNN's David Mattingly.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Her face remains hidden to the public, but she is well known to child porn investigators around the world who are desperately trying to find her in ways they've never dared before.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are releasing the photograph of the material witness in hope that if a citizen can identify her, it will greatly increase the chances of successfully identifying the perpetrator and recovering the victim.
MATTINGLY: Orlando police now take the extraordinary step of going public with a child they believe is a material witness in the case. About 9-years-old in this picture when it was taken a couple of years ago, investigators have no evidence she is a victim or witnessed any acts of abuse, but they believe she is sitting on the same couch, in the same room where this highly sought after girl was photographed being sexually abused. A tip line has been set up in Central Florida to take calls from anywhere. 1-866-635-HELP. Find the girl on the couch, investigators hope, and they will find their victim.
DET. SGT. PAUL GILLESPIE, TORONTO POLICE: I'm confident that the victim perhaps knows this person and this witness might be able to help us out with that.
MATTINGLY: On the trail of this case for years, Paul Gillespie of the Toronto Police Child Exploitation Unit has been hampered, he says, by secrecy. It has been the rule in law enforcement to never reveal the faces of child pornography victims out of fear that it could place the child in danger from the abuser. But according to Gillespie, it's a rule, he says, that needs to be changed.
GILLESPIE: I think we have to take into account that we have to start taking, perhaps, a little more aggressive measures to get in and break this cycle.
MATTINGLY: Using computers earlier this year, Toronto detectives removed the victim girl from her own pictures and re-created the rooms behind her. Pictures they could then show to the public. And it paid off, someone recognized a bed spread from an Orlando resort. It was an unheard of break, but the hotel records with thousands of names didn't take them very far.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think those records are going to prove valuable from an historical standpoint, but at this point, we have no idea who we're looking for. So one name means nothing more than the next at this point.
MATTINGLY: Investigators believe this potential witness photograph is their last, best hope. Years spent scouring more than 200 photographs of the unknown victim have yielded few usable clues. If this girl's photograph doesn't help find their victim, more extreme measure, they say, may be taken. (on camera): How close are you to releasing this girl's picture?
GILLESPIE: Oh, that's always going to be an option to be quite honest with you.
MATTINGLY: If that comes to pass, it would be a landmark step in the fight against child pornography. But for now, investigators in two countries wait, hoping the next phone call brings the break they've been looking for. David Mattingly, CNN, Orlando, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Now a central figure not just in al Qaeda, but also in the fight against al Qaeda: Ahmed Rassam. He's been in federal custody since 1999, the end of the year, the so-called Millennium Bomber. For a good portion of that time, he has been talking to prosecutors and the FBI. Because he may yet have more to say, and may need a little extra incentive for saying it, a federal judge in Seattle today put off sentencing at least until July. Mr. Rassam was caught trying to enter the country from Western Washington with a car load of explosives and a plan to set them off at Los Angeles International Airport. In a moment, a bit of what he's been telling the feds. First, though, the fed who caught him. Here's CNN's Rusty Dornin.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello there. Where do you folks live?
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Every day, every car met with the same question, the same sweet smile. On December 14, 1999 began just like that for customs agent Diana Dean -- just another car on another day. The ferry had just arrived in Port Angeles, Washington. This car was the last off the boat. The driver picked Dean's line. She was the only woman on duty that day. He said his name was Benni Norris from Montreal headed to Seattle on business. Dean vividly remembers her reaction. (on camera): What made you so suspicious about him?
DIANA DEAN, U.S. CUSTOMS AGENT (RET): The answers he gave me -- or the answers he didn't give me to my questions. His itinerary didn't make any sense to me. And I'd only asked him a couple questions when he started getting very, very nervous.
DORNIN (voice-over): She asked him to fill out a customs declaration and told him he would have to do a secondary inspection. Other officers joined her and they opened the trunk. (on camera): When you saw the stuff in his trunk, did you have any idea that you were looking at an act of terrorism?
DEAN: No. Absolutely no idea at all. All that we -- we thought it was probably drugs of some kind. It was bags of white powder. And at that particular point really all we saw was the bags of white powder, because we had tunnel vision for a few minutes. And then we saw the timers and the nitroglycerin.
DORNIN (voice-over): 125 pounds of explosives, enough to kill or injure hundreds of innocent people. They later learned his target was busy, crowded Los Angeles airport. The terrorist now known as Ahmed Rassam ran but was caught a short time later.
DEAN: I hate to teen think of what might have happened if we hadn't become suspicious. Because then he would have been on his way down the road.
DORNIN: Credited with preventing a potential tragedy, in January, she and another inspector were honored. An anti-terrorism award was named after them. They were heroes. But Dean brushes off the hero moniker and said she just followed her instincts and her training.
DEAN: He looked like he wasn't telling the truth. We had no idea that we would find a bomb. And we just stopped a person that looked suspicious.
DORNIN: Now retired a grandmother and living in North Dakota, Dean came back for what she called the final chapter: the sentencing of Ahmed Rassam.Now that the chapter has been continued, she says she'll be back again.Rusty Dornin, CNN, Seattle, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: And there are chapters to be written, as well, on Mr. Rassam. That's the hope over the next three months at least. Josh Meyer has been reporting this end of the story for the "Los Angeles Times," where he writes about terrorism, and we spoke with him a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Josh, do we know -- do we have clues, suspicions -- as to why this sentencing was postponed?
JOSH MEYER, LOS ANGELES TIMES STAFF WRITER: Well, I think the judge, after hearing arguments for three-and-a-half hours from one side and the other, decided that nothing can really be lost by delaying it by three months. He wants to give Rassam a chance to really think about what he's doing and consider participating more in the investigations and cooperating more, especially against -- in the prosecutions of two al Qaeda associates of his who are coming to the United States for trial.
BROWN: Nobody disputes that he has been talking. The question, I guess, came down to -- at some point he stopped talking, has been less cooperative. What do we know about why or what do we think about why?
MEYER: Well, it depends on who you ask. If you ask the FBI and the prosecutors, he's a disingenuous terrorist who decided to try to work the system and get a better deal for himself, and then once he got that, then he would stop talking. The pro -- I'm sorry, the defense side of it has an entirely different story. They say that the FBI just really squeezed him too much, and forced him to talk too much -- kept him in solitary confinement -- and reneged on his deal to lower his sentence and that Rassam feels slighted by that and feels there's no hope in continuing that effort and he's just, basically, refused to play along with it. So, the judge is trying to see through that and see what the real story is.
BROWN: Maybe we should have started here, but, his importance in all this -- in our understanding of al Qaeda, in our understanding of what we now call the war on terror -- because he predates all of that in many respects.
MEYER: Right.
BROWN: His importance is, what?
MEYER: Well, you know, I just read many, many court documents in this -- after four years of them not saying anything about the case at all, they've now, you know, sort of released a flurry of documents. His importance is that he sort of shows that, even in the camps in Afghanistan, there's no such thing as al Qaeda central. It was basically an agglomeration, as it were, of smaller terrorism groups. His was a group of north African group of Algerians based in Europe, mostly, who united under the banner of al Qaeda. So, he sort of can show how it's smaller groups all put together into one larger umbrella of al Qaeda.
BROWN: And, in specific cases, he was helpful, at least, in some, including the Richard Reid (ph) case. Is that right?
BROWN: Absolutely right. He's sort of helpful in what they call trade-crafted terrorism. He went through the camps for nine months, in three separate camps they're now saying. We had thought it was two. So, he's told the authorities, on many occasions, how they construct their explosives, how they engage in guerrilla warfare, conduct assassinations, do chemical bombs. In the Reid case, he showed authorities how they can make paper explosives and detonators that you can sneak aboard an aircraft like Reid did and then detonate them, and apparently he saved the lives, or could have, of several FBI agents who were tinkering with Reid's sneakers which contained those explosives and they didn't know it.
BROWN: He's -- would you describe him as low-level, midlevel? He's certainly not Khalid Shaikh Mohammed (ph)?
MEYER: No, he's a soldier, actually. Well, he rose in prominence in the Canadian -- in the Montreal cell of this Algerian group. But in the beginning he was what the FBI calls a mope. He was just a low level functionary who, like many, other people, went to Afghanistan. They saw some talent there, so they promoted him from one of the general camps to a bigger camp, a more senior camp, and then from then on he met with Abu Zubaydah (ph) who is one of the senior al Qaeda people, and Zubaydah basically gave him orders to go back to Canada, set up a cell and attack the United States.
BROWN: Let me ask you one, last -- one of those horrible questions. If you actually did get a chance to sit down and talk to him -- you've written a lot about him, you've spent a lot of time thinking about him -- what do you want to know from him?
MEYER: Oh, that is a good question. I'd ask him why he -- I mean, I think he's articulated why he did it. He thought that he -- he hated America, wanted to get back at them, and I wonder if he really is serious about turning around and rehabilitating himself. I mean, there's some very interesting arguments by the defense as to why he did that. He's very proud and he's now trying to regain his sense of pride and sense of self by cooperating. I would ask him, you know, why are you all of a sudden deciding to cooperate -- or excuse me, why did you decide to cooperate when you did four years ago.
BROWN: All right, Josh, you've done nice work on this. We appreciate your time tonight. We know you've been under deadline. Thank you.
MEYER: Thanks, Aaron.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Josh Meyer writes about terrorism for the "Los Angeles Times." Coming up, a potential breakthrough in treating breast cancer. First, at a quarter past the hour, "On the Money" tonight, Erica. Erica Hill joins us from Atlanta.
ERICA HILL, HEADLINES NEWS: Hi, Aaron. Good to see you, and good evening, everyone.
A setback tonight for House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, his colleagues voting overwhelmingly to rescind a controversial ethics rule. That rule made it tougher to investigate alleged wrong-doings. Many Democrats and a number of Republicans had complained the rule was put in place specifically to protect Congressman DeLay.
Michael Jackson's ex-wife Debbie Rowe testified today in the singer's molestation trial. Rowe was married to Jackson from '96 to '99. She's the mother of two of his children. Today Rowe said she never shared a home with the singer, and also said Jackson asked her to make a video to rebut a damaging TV expose of his life.
The president briefly took shelter today in a bunker beneath the White House. Radar had shown some kind of aircraft inside the White House no-fly zone. It turned out to be a false alarm and the president quickly returned to the Oval Office. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld urged Congress to approve more money quickly so the army could keep operating in Iraq and Afghanistan. Rumsfeld says the army has already stretched every dollar to keep operations going through May when the money will run out.
In Tel Aviv, Israel, history in the making: tonight Russian President Vladimir Putin became the first Kremlin leader to visit the Jewish state. During the Cold War, Israel was a bitter enemy of Moscow, but the relationship has improved since the fall of the Soviet Union. And the world's biggest airliner struts its stuff in a maiden flight.
The Airbus A-380 made a four-hour flight today in southwestern France. The double decker is designed to hold 555 passengers in its basic configuration, but can actually accommodate up to 800. This is Europe's answer to the U.S.-built Boeing 787.
Now, Aaron, they just need a few more airports to agree to build the runways to accommodate it.
BROWN: A lot of middle seats, if you think about it.
HILL: Yes, a few too many for my liking.
BROWN: Yep, pretty much so. Thank you Erica, we'll see you in half an hour. More to come in the hour ahead, starting with a rare commodity for people with cancer: honest to goodness hope.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I had only been married for about a year and a half, and I felt like my world was falling down around me.
BROWN: After facing the kind of cancer that comes back and kills, she's cancer free today and she's not the only one, thanks to what could be a true breakthrough.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Targeted therapies, which we've talked a lot about for the last couple of years, are really coming to fruition.
BROWN: Also tonight, making buildings safe from terrorist attack, without turning them into armed fortresses. And, going back to the future by retracing a pioneering run up north a ways.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like cold. I like to be cold. Don't get me confused there. But I love the cold. I love the arctic. I love the light.
BROWN: Down south, there's gold in them thar dogs. Planet Dog is on the rise, and so are we, because this is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: In the war against cancer, the goal of late is to find stealth drugs that zero in on specific targets. The breast cancer drug Herceptin is one such drug. It's already used to treat women with an especially aggressive type of breast cancer whose cancer has spread. Now two trials shows it works in the early stages of that same aggressive cancer form. The evidence was so strong, the trials ended early. Here's medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She found the lump herself one morning.
ELIZABETH RUSSO, HERCEPTIN PATIENT: I was petrified.
COHEN: Then her doctor confirmed the worst.
RUSSO: I had only been married for about a year and a half. And I felt like my world was falling down around me. You know, the first question that goes through your head is, am I going to die? And that's really what I was thinking at the time. It was extremely frightening.
COHEN: At age 29, Elizabeth Russo had breast cancer, and there was more. Doctors told her she had a particular kind that grew quickly and was more likely to come back. This happens to one out of every four patients. But there was a twist. Because she had this particular type of tumor, she was a candidate for a study on a drug called Herceptin. Doctors knew it worked when the cancer had spread to other parts of the body, but they weren't sure if it could help women like Elizabeth who were at the early stages. At first, she wasn't sure what to do because the drug, in a small number of women, had caused heart failure.
RUSSO: There was a little bit of fear there, but obviously, in my situation, the chances absolutely outweighed the frighteningness of the whole situation. I mean, I had to take the risk because there was still the chance that I could die.
COHEN: She took Herceptin along with chemotherapy and radiation, and a year after finding that lump, she's cancer free. In the studies at the National Cancer Institute, when women did not take Herceptin, 30 percent of them had the cancer come back. When they did take Herceptin, only 15 percent had the cancer come back. It cut the recurrence rate in half. An extraordinary impact, experts say, meaning this drug is one of the most promising in a new generation of cancer treatments. Unlike chemotherapy or radiation which attack healthy and unhealthy tissue, medicines like Herceptin are designed to attack only the specific protein that causes problems.
DR. DAVID JOHNSON, VANDERBILT CANCER INSTITUTION: Targeted therapies which we've talked a lot about for the last couple of years, are really coming to fruition.
COHEN: Now Elizabeth Russo once afraid she would die, is alive for the big moments like her godson's christening last month. The cancer could come back, but now it seems that's less likely. Elizabeth Cohen, CNN reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)BROWN: Doctors can seldom explain why one woman gets breast cancer and another does not. No one knows exactly what causes the disease in the first place. A recent study out in California however, gives women and their loved ones who smoke some reason for concern. Here's CNN's Thelma Gutierrez.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, fish.
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pat Grannis never smoked a cigarette in her life, but all the smoke she breathed might have come back to haunt her.
PAT GRANNIS, BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR: Whenever you hear the word cancer, it likea death sentence, so it's really horribly frightening.
GUTIERREZ: Frightening because Pat was diagnosed with breast cancer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the size of the tumor.
GUTIERREZ: That discovery threw pat's life into a tailspin.
PAT GRANNIES: When you're alone someplace or at night, you wake up in the middle of the night, you think about, you know, your body has really turned against you. What could be happening? If this happened to me, what else could be happening. What else could go wrong?
GUTIERREZ: According to a recent report by a California state environmental advisory group, secondhand smoke may be linked to breast cancer. For Pat, perhaps the most painful realization is that her exposure to secondhand smoke came from the people she loved the most.
PAT GRANNIS: My dad was really the only one who smoked. And you know, he smoked all his life that I remember, anyway. And he died of emphysema. He was about 77. I grew up with a smoking father and went to a smoking husband. So there was smoke in my life for all those years.
GUTIERREZ: All those years, more than 30 that Pat breathed in smoke. First from her father...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They do a beautiful job on the garden.
GUTIERREZ: ... then her husband Fred.
FRED GRANNIS, HUSBAND: I feel very bad that I didn't have better judgment at that time to not smoke.
GUTIERREZ: Pat's husband is a surgeon, a lung cancer specialist who began to smoke at the age of 10.
FRED GRANNIS: Both of my parents smoked. There were always packs of Camels open around the house.
GUTIERREZ: For years he was smoking a pack a day around his wife and four children, two of whom have asthma.
FRED GRANNIS: I would obviously like to think that the study wasn't accurate, and that would let me off the hook. But I think that after reading the study carefully, the evidence that's presented in this study is very compelling.
PAT GRANNIS: He has quite bad asthma.
GUTIERREZ: Grannis stopped smoking years ago but says he'll always regret it.
FRED GRANNIS: I have worries about it, both whether I contributed to my wife's breast cancer and more that I have four children that I also exposed to tobacco smoke when I was younger and stupider and addicted to nicotine.
PAT GRANNIS: There's no reason for any feeling of guilt or anything. I mean, we didn't know about it. So I mean, we were just doing in those days what you did in the '50s and '60s.
GUTIERREZ: Pat's doctor says it's too early to make the connection between breast cancer and secondhand smoke.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel badly if we're now even blaming somebody else or yourself for remaining in this situation or blaming somebody else for having placed you in that situation.
GUTIERREZ: Pat went through radiation treatment and is cancer free for now.
PAT GRANNIS: If there's any risk, any risk at all that secondhand smoke is causing breast cancer, it's a cigarette? What's the point? It's only a cigarette.
GUTIERREZ: As a doctor husband and father, Fred believes he learned the hard way. And hopes that others will stop smoking in front of families. Thelma Gutierrez, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: In a moment, can a building keep you safe from terrorism and also be beautiful, even memorable? It's a question being asked and answered all across the country. And later tonight, they were miles away from the finish and moments away from danger. They were also about to make history. From the South Pole to North and around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: It hasn't been easy building a new skyscraper on the site of the World Trade Center, not even on paper. Another round of design changes for the Freedom Tower got under way this week to address concerns about security, which immediately raised another concern: reconciling place and space and beauty and cost with something else. It is a conversation that began, not here in New York City, but elsewhere, and not after 9/11, before. Reporting tonight from Oklahoma City, here's CNN's Candy Crowley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: From the chairs that memorialized those who died here, you can see what was built for the living.
CAROL ROSS BARNEY, ARCHITECT: From the very beginning, this was a commitment building. It meant that things weren't -- they'll change, but they'll change for the better, that they were going to be back in Oklahoma City...
CROWLEY: When Carol Ross-Barney started out as an architect, security was door locks. When she won the contract to design the new federal building in Oklahoma City, she faced the raw emotions of a deeply wounded city and new challenges to build buildings against the threat of the unknowable: secure, but open, a friendly fortress.
ED FEINER, CHIEF ARCHITECT: The goal was, that we are a brave society, that we stand by our principles of freedom and access. This is democracy and these buildings must be open to their owners, who are the American people.
CROWLEY: The Oklahoma City bombing left a legacy of new regulations for all federal buildings coast to coast: setbacks at least 20, preferably 100 feet from the street; barriers to keep vehicles from ramming the building; shatter proof windows; a building that could withstand a major hit. An estimated 80 percent of those killed in Oklahoma City survived the blast. They died when the building collapsed.
ROSS BARNEY: They wanted to be able to design buildings where you would be able to remove one major structural member without causing the building to fail. So, that's pretty hard to do. The way to think about it is trying to design a three-legged table.
CROWLEY: She wanted to build for and into the future. She wanted a structure about the totality of Oklahoma, not a single moment.
ROSS BARNEY: I thought that if I concentrated only on the bombing or only on a piece of it, that it wouldn't be as lasting. It wouldn't be as complete.
CROWLEY: She wanted -- Oklahoma City wanted -- a living, breathing, working office building that incorporated the lessons of tragedy without being about tragedy. When you were designing this building, did you say to yourself, you know what I'd love to do, but I can't do that because that would...
ROSS BARNEY: No, actually, we did the opposite. We'd say, you know what we'd love to do? How can we do that and still meet the security requirements?
CROWLEY: On three sides of the building, the reinforced walls are unforgiving concrete made with Oklahoma rocks.
ROSS BARNEY: The stone is integral in the wall. It is part of the wall. It is not applied to the wall.
CROWLEY: So, it doesn't come shooting out, essentially.
ROSS BARNEY: Right. Yes. So, it is not fastened to the wall, it is part of the wall.
CROWLEY: Part of the court yard is a babbling stream filled with boulders from a nearby buffalo ranch.
ROSS BARNEY: You can see our eating area out there. That's inside security. So, in a way, this is a modern moat, but it's beautiful.
CROWLEY: And since aluminum sun screens can turn into shrapnel, these are made of awning-like fabric which would shred, and everywhere, there is light, windows, glass.
ROSS BARNEY: You'd think that you couldn't do a building with this much glass, but you can. It's very special glass. All the injuries happened from flying glass, from the blast impact, so this window is designed so that it will break like your car window, rather than traditional glass, into little pieces.
CROWLEY: From the southeast corner of the new federal building, you can see the monument grounds where the Murrah building once stood. The offices belonged to Housing and Urban Development, the department that lost the most that day in April of 1995.
ROSS BARNEY: The second floor space here is HUD, and they were just -- oh, my God, they had a committee of survivors that were just terrified about coming back here. That's their training room, and they put it there. And so we said, well, aren't you worried about having training and having to look at the memorial? They said, oh yes, we need blinds. They never close the blinds either. So, I think that's good. If a building can heal -- help heal people, that's good.
CROWLEY: Candy Crowley, CNN, Oklahoma city.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: There's often no better way of getting someone to do something than telling them it can't be done. There are, of course, exceptions, having mostly to do with cleaning rooms and mowing lawns. And there are variations. In this case, redoing the impossible because someone said it could not possibly have been done the first time around. Here's CNN's Matthew Chance.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thirty-seven grueling days across the Arctic pack ice, pulled by dogs and determination, to reach the North Pole. On a shaky satellite link, explorer Matty McNair told me the team feels very much on top of the world.
MATTY MCNAIR, EXPLORER: We're very excited. We still are very disbelieving that we're actually here. We don't actually have to get up and go for another 24 hours, nonstop. It's just -- it's like, we're here. We made it! It's hard to believe.
CHANCE: It was American explorer, Robert E. Peary (ph) who first reached the North Pole in 1909. His claim, to have done it in just 37 days, was debated for years. Matty McNair's expedition took the same route and used similar antiquated equipment to prove the U.S. naval officer could have done what he said he had.
MCNAIR: My read on the man was, he didn't have a lot of charisma. He wasn't somebody that people wanted to believe in, and therefore, it was easy to be critical of him. And I think they've been very unfair to him, and I think people that have been against him have no experience with dogs or the Arctic. And so yes, it's been great to follow his route, and say, yes, it is possible.
CHANCE: The team flew to Cape Columbia, where Peary's 1909 expedition started out, traveling 420 nautical miles to the pole. Along the way, she says, they rediscovered an old camp used by the Peary team.
MCNAIR: We found parts of old sled runners and lots of wire and parts of sleds and boards, and metal pans, probably a fuel tent. So that was really exciting, to find that stuff. We did that by taking a photograph and walking until the hills lined up with the photograph and said, oh, this must be where he had his camp, right here.
CHANCE: And, for McNair, herself a 53-year-old grandmother, it was another adventure in the kind of hostile climate she says she loves the most.
MCNAIR: I like cold. I don't like to be cold. Don't get me confused there. But I love the cold. I love the arctic. I love the light. It's like being on a different planet. There's a very softness to the light.
CHANCE: A softness in an extreme place visited by none but a determined few. Matthew Chance, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)BROWN: Still to come tonight, that moment when it seemed there was nothing sacred anymore, a moment in Berlin. How things have changed since then. And, before the rooster, tonight, comes the dog: a business built on chew toys, and it is on the rise. From the statehouse to the -- well, doghouse, and all around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: In business, a dog of an idea is rarely a good idea -- rarely but not never. Not when you consider the billions we spend on our pets every year. Which brings us to Planet Dog, a company on the rise.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on.
ALEX FISHER, CO-FOUNDER, PLANET DOG: This year, we expect that the pet industry will be close to $34 billion large.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get that. Good dog.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seer was one of two dogs that inspired us to start Planet Dog seven years ago.
FISHER: We wanted to sort of encapsulate what we thought was special about Ben & Jerry's and Patagonia, pick it up and drop it right in the pet industry. Here we are at the Planet Dog warehouse, we call it the doghouse. Come on in.Our most popular product is a version of the orby ball. This ball happens to glow in the dark. They also come in a whole bunch of different colors and sizes. Now with the same material, we're making bones, all types of sizes. We even have them for the real little guys. This is the compound year using to make our famous orby balls. The great thing about this material is that it can be recycled very easily. So, with any leftovers that we use, we make this product, we regrind it, we shoot it and make another ball from it. What makes these so special is the durability factor. These things are designed with dog's teeth in mind. Not only are they really durable, they float, they bounce, they're peppermint scented and they can glow in the dark. And dogs just love them.Now, go get them guys!
STEW MALONEY, CO-FOUNDER, PLANET DOG: It's great to have a dog on hand. When you get a prototype, give it to your dog or a series of dogs and say, let's see what you can do with that. FISHER: This is product testing at its best. Good dog, good dog.
MALONEY: Here we are at our first planet dog company store what did you see when you were there How old? I think you want a bigger one.Our company store is in Portland, Maine. It's intended to be a place were we can speak directly to the consumer, get a great idea of how they perceive our product. This is what makes a happy dog.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Coming up, putting new dollars in your pocket. Sounds like a plan to me. We'll take a break first. This is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Coming up, pictures from a moment that changed our world. First, though, the news of the moment. At about a quarter to the hour, time for other headlines of the day. Erica Hill again in Atlanta -- Erica.
HILL: Hi again, Aaron.
We start off with some news just coming in to us a few hours ago. The president will hold a primetime news conference tomorrow night, we'll learning. And CNN will, of course, cover it as it happens. It starts at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time. Mr. Bush is expected to talk Social Security and energy policy. Today he called for more research into hydrogen fuels, building refineries on abandoned military bases and a return to nuclear power. Our dependence on foreign energy, he said, is like a foreign tax on the American people.
A setback tonight for House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, his colleagues voted overwhelmingly to rescind a controversial ethics rule. Now that rule made it tougher to investigate alleged wrongdoing. Many Democrats, and a number of Republicans, have complained the rule was put in place to specifically protect Congressman DeLay.
On the security watch, all international cargo coming into the Port of Oakland, California, will now be scanned for radioactive material. The goal here, to prevent a bomb from getting into the U.S. by next year. Customs officials hope more than 300 seaports in the U.S. will be using the scanners.
And finally, we're in for a dollar -- another dollar of the round variety. The government may soon give dollar coins the old try again. The House today approving a plan for presidential dollars here. The idea -- issue one coin for each president. A popular idea, because dollar coins only cost a nickel to produce. So the government makes a mint on every one. Pun intended -- Aaron.
BROWN: The lowest form of humor, Erica.
HILL: Indeed, it is.
BROWN: Thank you very much. The Berlin Wall was a symbol of all that stood between the East and the West during the height of the Cold War. As part of CNN's anniversary series "Then & Now," tonight we look back at an East German who helped bring down the wall and see where he is today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His video of Communist East Germany crumbling, hopelessly polluted, restless, helped topple the Berlin Wall. Amateur video journalist Eric Radomski spirited his tapes to western TV which beamed them back into Eastern Germany. When the wall opens November 9, 1989, 27-year-old Radomski was among the first to walk to the west. He photographed checkpoint Charlie, a sullen, heavily fortified flash point at the end of the Cold War suddenly overrun with euphoria.
Our pictures on TV were a reason people took to the streets, he says. And they changed this land.15 years later, unemployment hovers around 20 percent in the east. Capitalism isn't so easy, he says. I try to look at it realistically, that you have to help yourself to find your place.Radomski found his, designing wall paper for homes, bars, film sets. After helping to tear down one wall, he's covering others. His life now as free as his spirit.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Throughout the year, we mark 25 years of broadcasting at CNN. We'll continue to look back at yesterday's newsmakers and where they are today. That was a pretty cool one, too wasn't it? Morning papers when we come back. And a reminder tomorrow at 8:30 Eastern time, the president's prime time news conference coverage here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Okey-doke. Time to check morning papers from around the country and around the world.
The "International Herald Tribune" published by "The New York Times" in Paris. "First Flight is Perfect for Largest Passenger Jet," and then a picture of the Airbus A380. This is a plane that can hold up to 800 people. Think about what a pleasurable experience that's going to be. OK, 800 people.
"Stars and Stripes" -- listen, it doesn't mean you shouldn't go out and buy one of those planes. If you like the idea, go buy one, OK.
"Militants Gun Down Iraqi Lawmaker at Home. Woman is first in parliament -- is first parliament member targeted since the election. Also, I don't know how well you can make this picture out. Headline is "Enter Sandstorm, a dust storm moves across the western desert of Iraq on Tuesday." The storm spawned near the Syrian border leaving a heavy sheet of dust in its wake. Well, yes, I guess it would, wouldn't it?
That's "Stars and Stripes," so is this. How many editions do they put out? Anyway I like the story. "Dragging Down a Career, Heavy smoking military recruits are much more likely to wash out." While recruiting --"Will recruiting practices change?" Everybody it seems like when I was in the service smoked. It may have had to do with the fact that they'd charged you 10 cents a pack for cigarettes. "
The Washington Times," two that we'll mention. "House GOP" -- we'll probably a lot of good stories but two that were mentioned. "House GOP Backs off Ethics Rules," folded like a cheap suitcase on that one. "Hastert/DeLay support move to end impasse."
And then down here, this is a good story, "Life Worse for Iraqi Women, intimidation more common." I guarantee you, if this story had appeared in "The New York Times," the right wing blogs would go nuts on the "Times." But it's in the "Washington Times," so they'll probably leave it alone.
The -- and it's a good story and an important story. I'll move on now.
"The Rocky Mountain News," man, this is an ugly little moment. "They are Antichrist. Senator says he regrets using term to describe founder Dobson," that's James Dobson "and his efforts." Yes, that was intemperate.
How are we doing on time?
We out of time?
Weather tomorrow in Chicago, anemic.
We'll wrap it up quickly in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: The president holds a prime time news conference. Our coverage begins at 8:00, the president starts at 8:30. And we'll talk about what he talked about afterwards for a while too.
Good to have you with us tonight. We'll see you tomorrow. Until then, good night for all of us.
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Aired April 27, 2005 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Larry, think about this, if your job is catching criminals, it's fair to say that stopping the bad guys before he commits a crime is about as good as it gets. Bat a close second may be cracking a cold case. Those are the cases that often only the victim and the cops remember. 32 years ago there was a rape here in New York. 15 years later a series of rapes in Maryland. There were plenty of victims, lots of cops, but no one caught. Tonight, a man is in jail proclaiming his innocence, but facing evidence that a jury may well find persuasive: His DNA left on a victim before many of you were born.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN (voice-over): If police are right, Fletcher Worrell made his last mistake in the fall when he tried to buy a gun in Atlanta. It was a decision that may have ended a reign of terror and three decades of fear and pain.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This person put a hand over my mouth, threatened my child's life if I screamed again. I was aware that he had a weapon. I saw the weapon.
BROWN: She was raped more than 15 years ago, in Maryland. And she was not the first or the last.
DOUGLAS GANSLER, STATE ATTY, MONTGOMERY COUNTY: Every night when they went to bed, they didn't know whether a stranger was going to come in their home in the evening. Montgomery County, Maryland, is an area with almost 1 million people and a very, very low crime rate. And the event of stranger on stranger rape, particularly of the serial variety, was very rare indeed.
BROWN: A background check on Worrell in Georgia found an outstanding warrant from New York. That, too, was a rape three decades ago. The evidence preserved and tested this week.
ROBERT MORGENTHAU, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, NEW YORK CITY: That underwear, now 32 years old, was submitted to the forensic biology laboratory of the office of the chief medical examiner in New York for DNA testing.
BROWN: The New York district attorney says the DNA in the underwear is a match for Worrell. And that's just the beginning. New Jersey has cases, Maryland has suspicions about 16 rapes at least. When all the testing is done, dozens of rapes may be solved and one rapist may finally face justice.
MORGENTHAU: And it will send a chill through a lot of defendants to know that after 32 years you can still test for DNA. And, of course, it was corroborated. We independently got a swab and that confirmed his DNA matched the DNA in the underwear.
BROWN: This has been a real life cold case pursued by real life cops who had never come close but who had never given up either.
LT. PHILLIP RAUM, MONTGOMERY COUNTY POLICE: The one thing we never lost track of was the fact that we had some real innocent victims out there that did not deserve what happened to them. And that was always a motivation for me.
BROWN: A lot changes in 30 years. People change. Maybe the suspect has changed, too. Maybe he's innocent. His lawyer says he is. What hasn't changed, though, is the memory and the fear, though maybe now it will.
GANSLER: And it gives us great solace as prosecutors in the law enforcement community, but particularly the victims. Victims who thought these cases would remain, unsolved forever, are now being solved each and every day throughout the country.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The anniversary of my rape is two days away. And this time of year, this memory always comes back to the surface. And I'm glad this year it's going to be a good memory. And from this spring forward, it will be a good memory.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: On now to another unsolved crime that has long stumped investigators, a crime that's still unfolding in front of their eyes somewhere in cyberspace. Hundreds of photographs of a young girl being sexually abused document the crime. But who she is and where she is remain a mystery. Leads are scarce. Years have gone by. And now investigators are hoping the picture of another young girl can provide the break they need. Reporting the story for us tonight, CNN's David Mattingly.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Her face remains hidden to the public, but she is well known to child porn investigators around the world who are desperately trying to find her in ways they've never dared before.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are releasing the photograph of the material witness in hope that if a citizen can identify her, it will greatly increase the chances of successfully identifying the perpetrator and recovering the victim.
MATTINGLY: Orlando police now take the extraordinary step of going public with a child they believe is a material witness in the case. About 9-years-old in this picture when it was taken a couple of years ago, investigators have no evidence she is a victim or witnessed any acts of abuse, but they believe she is sitting on the same couch, in the same room where this highly sought after girl was photographed being sexually abused. A tip line has been set up in Central Florida to take calls from anywhere. 1-866-635-HELP. Find the girl on the couch, investigators hope, and they will find their victim.
DET. SGT. PAUL GILLESPIE, TORONTO POLICE: I'm confident that the victim perhaps knows this person and this witness might be able to help us out with that.
MATTINGLY: On the trail of this case for years, Paul Gillespie of the Toronto Police Child Exploitation Unit has been hampered, he says, by secrecy. It has been the rule in law enforcement to never reveal the faces of child pornography victims out of fear that it could place the child in danger from the abuser. But according to Gillespie, it's a rule, he says, that needs to be changed.
GILLESPIE: I think we have to take into account that we have to start taking, perhaps, a little more aggressive measures to get in and break this cycle.
MATTINGLY: Using computers earlier this year, Toronto detectives removed the victim girl from her own pictures and re-created the rooms behind her. Pictures they could then show to the public. And it paid off, someone recognized a bed spread from an Orlando resort. It was an unheard of break, but the hotel records with thousands of names didn't take them very far.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think those records are going to prove valuable from an historical standpoint, but at this point, we have no idea who we're looking for. So one name means nothing more than the next at this point.
MATTINGLY: Investigators believe this potential witness photograph is their last, best hope. Years spent scouring more than 200 photographs of the unknown victim have yielded few usable clues. If this girl's photograph doesn't help find their victim, more extreme measure, they say, may be taken. (on camera): How close are you to releasing this girl's picture?
GILLESPIE: Oh, that's always going to be an option to be quite honest with you.
MATTINGLY: If that comes to pass, it would be a landmark step in the fight against child pornography. But for now, investigators in two countries wait, hoping the next phone call brings the break they've been looking for. David Mattingly, CNN, Orlando, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Now a central figure not just in al Qaeda, but also in the fight against al Qaeda: Ahmed Rassam. He's been in federal custody since 1999, the end of the year, the so-called Millennium Bomber. For a good portion of that time, he has been talking to prosecutors and the FBI. Because he may yet have more to say, and may need a little extra incentive for saying it, a federal judge in Seattle today put off sentencing at least until July. Mr. Rassam was caught trying to enter the country from Western Washington with a car load of explosives and a plan to set them off at Los Angeles International Airport. In a moment, a bit of what he's been telling the feds. First, though, the fed who caught him. Here's CNN's Rusty Dornin.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello there. Where do you folks live?
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Every day, every car met with the same question, the same sweet smile. On December 14, 1999 began just like that for customs agent Diana Dean -- just another car on another day. The ferry had just arrived in Port Angeles, Washington. This car was the last off the boat. The driver picked Dean's line. She was the only woman on duty that day. He said his name was Benni Norris from Montreal headed to Seattle on business. Dean vividly remembers her reaction. (on camera): What made you so suspicious about him?
DIANA DEAN, U.S. CUSTOMS AGENT (RET): The answers he gave me -- or the answers he didn't give me to my questions. His itinerary didn't make any sense to me. And I'd only asked him a couple questions when he started getting very, very nervous.
DORNIN (voice-over): She asked him to fill out a customs declaration and told him he would have to do a secondary inspection. Other officers joined her and they opened the trunk. (on camera): When you saw the stuff in his trunk, did you have any idea that you were looking at an act of terrorism?
DEAN: No. Absolutely no idea at all. All that we -- we thought it was probably drugs of some kind. It was bags of white powder. And at that particular point really all we saw was the bags of white powder, because we had tunnel vision for a few minutes. And then we saw the timers and the nitroglycerin.
DORNIN (voice-over): 125 pounds of explosives, enough to kill or injure hundreds of innocent people. They later learned his target was busy, crowded Los Angeles airport. The terrorist now known as Ahmed Rassam ran but was caught a short time later.
DEAN: I hate to teen think of what might have happened if we hadn't become suspicious. Because then he would have been on his way down the road.
DORNIN: Credited with preventing a potential tragedy, in January, she and another inspector were honored. An anti-terrorism award was named after them. They were heroes. But Dean brushes off the hero moniker and said she just followed her instincts and her training.
DEAN: He looked like he wasn't telling the truth. We had no idea that we would find a bomb. And we just stopped a person that looked suspicious.
DORNIN: Now retired a grandmother and living in North Dakota, Dean came back for what she called the final chapter: the sentencing of Ahmed Rassam.Now that the chapter has been continued, she says she'll be back again.Rusty Dornin, CNN, Seattle, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: And there are chapters to be written, as well, on Mr. Rassam. That's the hope over the next three months at least. Josh Meyer has been reporting this end of the story for the "Los Angeles Times," where he writes about terrorism, and we spoke with him a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Josh, do we know -- do we have clues, suspicions -- as to why this sentencing was postponed?
JOSH MEYER, LOS ANGELES TIMES STAFF WRITER: Well, I think the judge, after hearing arguments for three-and-a-half hours from one side and the other, decided that nothing can really be lost by delaying it by three months. He wants to give Rassam a chance to really think about what he's doing and consider participating more in the investigations and cooperating more, especially against -- in the prosecutions of two al Qaeda associates of his who are coming to the United States for trial.
BROWN: Nobody disputes that he has been talking. The question, I guess, came down to -- at some point he stopped talking, has been less cooperative. What do we know about why or what do we think about why?
MEYER: Well, it depends on who you ask. If you ask the FBI and the prosecutors, he's a disingenuous terrorist who decided to try to work the system and get a better deal for himself, and then once he got that, then he would stop talking. The pro -- I'm sorry, the defense side of it has an entirely different story. They say that the FBI just really squeezed him too much, and forced him to talk too much -- kept him in solitary confinement -- and reneged on his deal to lower his sentence and that Rassam feels slighted by that and feels there's no hope in continuing that effort and he's just, basically, refused to play along with it. So, the judge is trying to see through that and see what the real story is.
BROWN: Maybe we should have started here, but, his importance in all this -- in our understanding of al Qaeda, in our understanding of what we now call the war on terror -- because he predates all of that in many respects.
MEYER: Right.
BROWN: His importance is, what?
MEYER: Well, you know, I just read many, many court documents in this -- after four years of them not saying anything about the case at all, they've now, you know, sort of released a flurry of documents. His importance is that he sort of shows that, even in the camps in Afghanistan, there's no such thing as al Qaeda central. It was basically an agglomeration, as it were, of smaller terrorism groups. His was a group of north African group of Algerians based in Europe, mostly, who united under the banner of al Qaeda. So, he sort of can show how it's smaller groups all put together into one larger umbrella of al Qaeda.
BROWN: And, in specific cases, he was helpful, at least, in some, including the Richard Reid (ph) case. Is that right?
BROWN: Absolutely right. He's sort of helpful in what they call trade-crafted terrorism. He went through the camps for nine months, in three separate camps they're now saying. We had thought it was two. So, he's told the authorities, on many occasions, how they construct their explosives, how they engage in guerrilla warfare, conduct assassinations, do chemical bombs. In the Reid case, he showed authorities how they can make paper explosives and detonators that you can sneak aboard an aircraft like Reid did and then detonate them, and apparently he saved the lives, or could have, of several FBI agents who were tinkering with Reid's sneakers which contained those explosives and they didn't know it.
BROWN: He's -- would you describe him as low-level, midlevel? He's certainly not Khalid Shaikh Mohammed (ph)?
MEYER: No, he's a soldier, actually. Well, he rose in prominence in the Canadian -- in the Montreal cell of this Algerian group. But in the beginning he was what the FBI calls a mope. He was just a low level functionary who, like many, other people, went to Afghanistan. They saw some talent there, so they promoted him from one of the general camps to a bigger camp, a more senior camp, and then from then on he met with Abu Zubaydah (ph) who is one of the senior al Qaeda people, and Zubaydah basically gave him orders to go back to Canada, set up a cell and attack the United States.
BROWN: Let me ask you one, last -- one of those horrible questions. If you actually did get a chance to sit down and talk to him -- you've written a lot about him, you've spent a lot of time thinking about him -- what do you want to know from him?
MEYER: Oh, that is a good question. I'd ask him why he -- I mean, I think he's articulated why he did it. He thought that he -- he hated America, wanted to get back at them, and I wonder if he really is serious about turning around and rehabilitating himself. I mean, there's some very interesting arguments by the defense as to why he did that. He's very proud and he's now trying to regain his sense of pride and sense of self by cooperating. I would ask him, you know, why are you all of a sudden deciding to cooperate -- or excuse me, why did you decide to cooperate when you did four years ago.
BROWN: All right, Josh, you've done nice work on this. We appreciate your time tonight. We know you've been under deadline. Thank you.
MEYER: Thanks, Aaron.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Josh Meyer writes about terrorism for the "Los Angeles Times." Coming up, a potential breakthrough in treating breast cancer. First, at a quarter past the hour, "On the Money" tonight, Erica. Erica Hill joins us from Atlanta.
ERICA HILL, HEADLINES NEWS: Hi, Aaron. Good to see you, and good evening, everyone.
A setback tonight for House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, his colleagues voting overwhelmingly to rescind a controversial ethics rule. That rule made it tougher to investigate alleged wrong-doings. Many Democrats and a number of Republicans had complained the rule was put in place specifically to protect Congressman DeLay.
Michael Jackson's ex-wife Debbie Rowe testified today in the singer's molestation trial. Rowe was married to Jackson from '96 to '99. She's the mother of two of his children. Today Rowe said she never shared a home with the singer, and also said Jackson asked her to make a video to rebut a damaging TV expose of his life.
The president briefly took shelter today in a bunker beneath the White House. Radar had shown some kind of aircraft inside the White House no-fly zone. It turned out to be a false alarm and the president quickly returned to the Oval Office. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld urged Congress to approve more money quickly so the army could keep operating in Iraq and Afghanistan. Rumsfeld says the army has already stretched every dollar to keep operations going through May when the money will run out.
In Tel Aviv, Israel, history in the making: tonight Russian President Vladimir Putin became the first Kremlin leader to visit the Jewish state. During the Cold War, Israel was a bitter enemy of Moscow, but the relationship has improved since the fall of the Soviet Union. And the world's biggest airliner struts its stuff in a maiden flight.
The Airbus A-380 made a four-hour flight today in southwestern France. The double decker is designed to hold 555 passengers in its basic configuration, but can actually accommodate up to 800. This is Europe's answer to the U.S.-built Boeing 787.
Now, Aaron, they just need a few more airports to agree to build the runways to accommodate it.
BROWN: A lot of middle seats, if you think about it.
HILL: Yes, a few too many for my liking.
BROWN: Yep, pretty much so. Thank you Erica, we'll see you in half an hour. More to come in the hour ahead, starting with a rare commodity for people with cancer: honest to goodness hope.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I had only been married for about a year and a half, and I felt like my world was falling down around me.
BROWN: After facing the kind of cancer that comes back and kills, she's cancer free today and she's not the only one, thanks to what could be a true breakthrough.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Targeted therapies, which we've talked a lot about for the last couple of years, are really coming to fruition.
BROWN: Also tonight, making buildings safe from terrorist attack, without turning them into armed fortresses. And, going back to the future by retracing a pioneering run up north a ways.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like cold. I like to be cold. Don't get me confused there. But I love the cold. I love the arctic. I love the light.
BROWN: Down south, there's gold in them thar dogs. Planet Dog is on the rise, and so are we, because this is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: In the war against cancer, the goal of late is to find stealth drugs that zero in on specific targets. The breast cancer drug Herceptin is one such drug. It's already used to treat women with an especially aggressive type of breast cancer whose cancer has spread. Now two trials shows it works in the early stages of that same aggressive cancer form. The evidence was so strong, the trials ended early. Here's medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She found the lump herself one morning.
ELIZABETH RUSSO, HERCEPTIN PATIENT: I was petrified.
COHEN: Then her doctor confirmed the worst.
RUSSO: I had only been married for about a year and a half. And I felt like my world was falling down around me. You know, the first question that goes through your head is, am I going to die? And that's really what I was thinking at the time. It was extremely frightening.
COHEN: At age 29, Elizabeth Russo had breast cancer, and there was more. Doctors told her she had a particular kind that grew quickly and was more likely to come back. This happens to one out of every four patients. But there was a twist. Because she had this particular type of tumor, she was a candidate for a study on a drug called Herceptin. Doctors knew it worked when the cancer had spread to other parts of the body, but they weren't sure if it could help women like Elizabeth who were at the early stages. At first, she wasn't sure what to do because the drug, in a small number of women, had caused heart failure.
RUSSO: There was a little bit of fear there, but obviously, in my situation, the chances absolutely outweighed the frighteningness of the whole situation. I mean, I had to take the risk because there was still the chance that I could die.
COHEN: She took Herceptin along with chemotherapy and radiation, and a year after finding that lump, she's cancer free. In the studies at the National Cancer Institute, when women did not take Herceptin, 30 percent of them had the cancer come back. When they did take Herceptin, only 15 percent had the cancer come back. It cut the recurrence rate in half. An extraordinary impact, experts say, meaning this drug is one of the most promising in a new generation of cancer treatments. Unlike chemotherapy or radiation which attack healthy and unhealthy tissue, medicines like Herceptin are designed to attack only the specific protein that causes problems.
DR. DAVID JOHNSON, VANDERBILT CANCER INSTITUTION: Targeted therapies which we've talked a lot about for the last couple of years, are really coming to fruition.
COHEN: Now Elizabeth Russo once afraid she would die, is alive for the big moments like her godson's christening last month. The cancer could come back, but now it seems that's less likely. Elizabeth Cohen, CNN reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)BROWN: Doctors can seldom explain why one woman gets breast cancer and another does not. No one knows exactly what causes the disease in the first place. A recent study out in California however, gives women and their loved ones who smoke some reason for concern. Here's CNN's Thelma Gutierrez.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, fish.
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pat Grannis never smoked a cigarette in her life, but all the smoke she breathed might have come back to haunt her.
PAT GRANNIS, BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR: Whenever you hear the word cancer, it likea death sentence, so it's really horribly frightening.
GUTIERREZ: Frightening because Pat was diagnosed with breast cancer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the size of the tumor.
GUTIERREZ: That discovery threw pat's life into a tailspin.
PAT GRANNIES: When you're alone someplace or at night, you wake up in the middle of the night, you think about, you know, your body has really turned against you. What could be happening? If this happened to me, what else could be happening. What else could go wrong?
GUTIERREZ: According to a recent report by a California state environmental advisory group, secondhand smoke may be linked to breast cancer. For Pat, perhaps the most painful realization is that her exposure to secondhand smoke came from the people she loved the most.
PAT GRANNIS: My dad was really the only one who smoked. And you know, he smoked all his life that I remember, anyway. And he died of emphysema. He was about 77. I grew up with a smoking father and went to a smoking husband. So there was smoke in my life for all those years.
GUTIERREZ: All those years, more than 30 that Pat breathed in smoke. First from her father...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They do a beautiful job on the garden.
GUTIERREZ: ... then her husband Fred.
FRED GRANNIS, HUSBAND: I feel very bad that I didn't have better judgment at that time to not smoke.
GUTIERREZ: Pat's husband is a surgeon, a lung cancer specialist who began to smoke at the age of 10.
FRED GRANNIS: Both of my parents smoked. There were always packs of Camels open around the house.
GUTIERREZ: For years he was smoking a pack a day around his wife and four children, two of whom have asthma.
FRED GRANNIS: I would obviously like to think that the study wasn't accurate, and that would let me off the hook. But I think that after reading the study carefully, the evidence that's presented in this study is very compelling.
PAT GRANNIS: He has quite bad asthma.
GUTIERREZ: Grannis stopped smoking years ago but says he'll always regret it.
FRED GRANNIS: I have worries about it, both whether I contributed to my wife's breast cancer and more that I have four children that I also exposed to tobacco smoke when I was younger and stupider and addicted to nicotine.
PAT GRANNIS: There's no reason for any feeling of guilt or anything. I mean, we didn't know about it. So I mean, we were just doing in those days what you did in the '50s and '60s.
GUTIERREZ: Pat's doctor says it's too early to make the connection between breast cancer and secondhand smoke.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel badly if we're now even blaming somebody else or yourself for remaining in this situation or blaming somebody else for having placed you in that situation.
GUTIERREZ: Pat went through radiation treatment and is cancer free for now.
PAT GRANNIS: If there's any risk, any risk at all that secondhand smoke is causing breast cancer, it's a cigarette? What's the point? It's only a cigarette.
GUTIERREZ: As a doctor husband and father, Fred believes he learned the hard way. And hopes that others will stop smoking in front of families. Thelma Gutierrez, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: In a moment, can a building keep you safe from terrorism and also be beautiful, even memorable? It's a question being asked and answered all across the country. And later tonight, they were miles away from the finish and moments away from danger. They were also about to make history. From the South Pole to North and around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: It hasn't been easy building a new skyscraper on the site of the World Trade Center, not even on paper. Another round of design changes for the Freedom Tower got under way this week to address concerns about security, which immediately raised another concern: reconciling place and space and beauty and cost with something else. It is a conversation that began, not here in New York City, but elsewhere, and not after 9/11, before. Reporting tonight from Oklahoma City, here's CNN's Candy Crowley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: From the chairs that memorialized those who died here, you can see what was built for the living.
CAROL ROSS BARNEY, ARCHITECT: From the very beginning, this was a commitment building. It meant that things weren't -- they'll change, but they'll change for the better, that they were going to be back in Oklahoma City...
CROWLEY: When Carol Ross-Barney started out as an architect, security was door locks. When she won the contract to design the new federal building in Oklahoma City, she faced the raw emotions of a deeply wounded city and new challenges to build buildings against the threat of the unknowable: secure, but open, a friendly fortress.
ED FEINER, CHIEF ARCHITECT: The goal was, that we are a brave society, that we stand by our principles of freedom and access. This is democracy and these buildings must be open to their owners, who are the American people.
CROWLEY: The Oklahoma City bombing left a legacy of new regulations for all federal buildings coast to coast: setbacks at least 20, preferably 100 feet from the street; barriers to keep vehicles from ramming the building; shatter proof windows; a building that could withstand a major hit. An estimated 80 percent of those killed in Oklahoma City survived the blast. They died when the building collapsed.
ROSS BARNEY: They wanted to be able to design buildings where you would be able to remove one major structural member without causing the building to fail. So, that's pretty hard to do. The way to think about it is trying to design a three-legged table.
CROWLEY: She wanted to build for and into the future. She wanted a structure about the totality of Oklahoma, not a single moment.
ROSS BARNEY: I thought that if I concentrated only on the bombing or only on a piece of it, that it wouldn't be as lasting. It wouldn't be as complete.
CROWLEY: She wanted -- Oklahoma City wanted -- a living, breathing, working office building that incorporated the lessons of tragedy without being about tragedy. When you were designing this building, did you say to yourself, you know what I'd love to do, but I can't do that because that would...
ROSS BARNEY: No, actually, we did the opposite. We'd say, you know what we'd love to do? How can we do that and still meet the security requirements?
CROWLEY: On three sides of the building, the reinforced walls are unforgiving concrete made with Oklahoma rocks.
ROSS BARNEY: The stone is integral in the wall. It is part of the wall. It is not applied to the wall.
CROWLEY: So, it doesn't come shooting out, essentially.
ROSS BARNEY: Right. Yes. So, it is not fastened to the wall, it is part of the wall.
CROWLEY: Part of the court yard is a babbling stream filled with boulders from a nearby buffalo ranch.
ROSS BARNEY: You can see our eating area out there. That's inside security. So, in a way, this is a modern moat, but it's beautiful.
CROWLEY: And since aluminum sun screens can turn into shrapnel, these are made of awning-like fabric which would shred, and everywhere, there is light, windows, glass.
ROSS BARNEY: You'd think that you couldn't do a building with this much glass, but you can. It's very special glass. All the injuries happened from flying glass, from the blast impact, so this window is designed so that it will break like your car window, rather than traditional glass, into little pieces.
CROWLEY: From the southeast corner of the new federal building, you can see the monument grounds where the Murrah building once stood. The offices belonged to Housing and Urban Development, the department that lost the most that day in April of 1995.
ROSS BARNEY: The second floor space here is HUD, and they were just -- oh, my God, they had a committee of survivors that were just terrified about coming back here. That's their training room, and they put it there. And so we said, well, aren't you worried about having training and having to look at the memorial? They said, oh yes, we need blinds. They never close the blinds either. So, I think that's good. If a building can heal -- help heal people, that's good.
CROWLEY: Candy Crowley, CNN, Oklahoma city.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: There's often no better way of getting someone to do something than telling them it can't be done. There are, of course, exceptions, having mostly to do with cleaning rooms and mowing lawns. And there are variations. In this case, redoing the impossible because someone said it could not possibly have been done the first time around. Here's CNN's Matthew Chance.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thirty-seven grueling days across the Arctic pack ice, pulled by dogs and determination, to reach the North Pole. On a shaky satellite link, explorer Matty McNair told me the team feels very much on top of the world.
MATTY MCNAIR, EXPLORER: We're very excited. We still are very disbelieving that we're actually here. We don't actually have to get up and go for another 24 hours, nonstop. It's just -- it's like, we're here. We made it! It's hard to believe.
CHANCE: It was American explorer, Robert E. Peary (ph) who first reached the North Pole in 1909. His claim, to have done it in just 37 days, was debated for years. Matty McNair's expedition took the same route and used similar antiquated equipment to prove the U.S. naval officer could have done what he said he had.
MCNAIR: My read on the man was, he didn't have a lot of charisma. He wasn't somebody that people wanted to believe in, and therefore, it was easy to be critical of him. And I think they've been very unfair to him, and I think people that have been against him have no experience with dogs or the Arctic. And so yes, it's been great to follow his route, and say, yes, it is possible.
CHANCE: The team flew to Cape Columbia, where Peary's 1909 expedition started out, traveling 420 nautical miles to the pole. Along the way, she says, they rediscovered an old camp used by the Peary team.
MCNAIR: We found parts of old sled runners and lots of wire and parts of sleds and boards, and metal pans, probably a fuel tent. So that was really exciting, to find that stuff. We did that by taking a photograph and walking until the hills lined up with the photograph and said, oh, this must be where he had his camp, right here.
CHANCE: And, for McNair, herself a 53-year-old grandmother, it was another adventure in the kind of hostile climate she says she loves the most.
MCNAIR: I like cold. I don't like to be cold. Don't get me confused there. But I love the cold. I love the arctic. I love the light. It's like being on a different planet. There's a very softness to the light.
CHANCE: A softness in an extreme place visited by none but a determined few. Matthew Chance, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)BROWN: Still to come tonight, that moment when it seemed there was nothing sacred anymore, a moment in Berlin. How things have changed since then. And, before the rooster, tonight, comes the dog: a business built on chew toys, and it is on the rise. From the statehouse to the -- well, doghouse, and all around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: In business, a dog of an idea is rarely a good idea -- rarely but not never. Not when you consider the billions we spend on our pets every year. Which brings us to Planet Dog, a company on the rise.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on.
ALEX FISHER, CO-FOUNDER, PLANET DOG: This year, we expect that the pet industry will be close to $34 billion large.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get that. Good dog.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seer was one of two dogs that inspired us to start Planet Dog seven years ago.
FISHER: We wanted to sort of encapsulate what we thought was special about Ben & Jerry's and Patagonia, pick it up and drop it right in the pet industry. Here we are at the Planet Dog warehouse, we call it the doghouse. Come on in.Our most popular product is a version of the orby ball. This ball happens to glow in the dark. They also come in a whole bunch of different colors and sizes. Now with the same material, we're making bones, all types of sizes. We even have them for the real little guys. This is the compound year using to make our famous orby balls. The great thing about this material is that it can be recycled very easily. So, with any leftovers that we use, we make this product, we regrind it, we shoot it and make another ball from it. What makes these so special is the durability factor. These things are designed with dog's teeth in mind. Not only are they really durable, they float, they bounce, they're peppermint scented and they can glow in the dark. And dogs just love them.Now, go get them guys!
STEW MALONEY, CO-FOUNDER, PLANET DOG: It's great to have a dog on hand. When you get a prototype, give it to your dog or a series of dogs and say, let's see what you can do with that. FISHER: This is product testing at its best. Good dog, good dog.
MALONEY: Here we are at our first planet dog company store what did you see when you were there How old? I think you want a bigger one.Our company store is in Portland, Maine. It's intended to be a place were we can speak directly to the consumer, get a great idea of how they perceive our product. This is what makes a happy dog.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Coming up, putting new dollars in your pocket. Sounds like a plan to me. We'll take a break first. This is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Coming up, pictures from a moment that changed our world. First, though, the news of the moment. At about a quarter to the hour, time for other headlines of the day. Erica Hill again in Atlanta -- Erica.
HILL: Hi again, Aaron.
We start off with some news just coming in to us a few hours ago. The president will hold a primetime news conference tomorrow night, we'll learning. And CNN will, of course, cover it as it happens. It starts at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time. Mr. Bush is expected to talk Social Security and energy policy. Today he called for more research into hydrogen fuels, building refineries on abandoned military bases and a return to nuclear power. Our dependence on foreign energy, he said, is like a foreign tax on the American people.
A setback tonight for House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, his colleagues voted overwhelmingly to rescind a controversial ethics rule. Now that rule made it tougher to investigate alleged wrongdoing. Many Democrats, and a number of Republicans, have complained the rule was put in place to specifically protect Congressman DeLay.
On the security watch, all international cargo coming into the Port of Oakland, California, will now be scanned for radioactive material. The goal here, to prevent a bomb from getting into the U.S. by next year. Customs officials hope more than 300 seaports in the U.S. will be using the scanners.
And finally, we're in for a dollar -- another dollar of the round variety. The government may soon give dollar coins the old try again. The House today approving a plan for presidential dollars here. The idea -- issue one coin for each president. A popular idea, because dollar coins only cost a nickel to produce. So the government makes a mint on every one. Pun intended -- Aaron.
BROWN: The lowest form of humor, Erica.
HILL: Indeed, it is.
BROWN: Thank you very much. The Berlin Wall was a symbol of all that stood between the East and the West during the height of the Cold War. As part of CNN's anniversary series "Then & Now," tonight we look back at an East German who helped bring down the wall and see where he is today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His video of Communist East Germany crumbling, hopelessly polluted, restless, helped topple the Berlin Wall. Amateur video journalist Eric Radomski spirited his tapes to western TV which beamed them back into Eastern Germany. When the wall opens November 9, 1989, 27-year-old Radomski was among the first to walk to the west. He photographed checkpoint Charlie, a sullen, heavily fortified flash point at the end of the Cold War suddenly overrun with euphoria.
Our pictures on TV were a reason people took to the streets, he says. And they changed this land.15 years later, unemployment hovers around 20 percent in the east. Capitalism isn't so easy, he says. I try to look at it realistically, that you have to help yourself to find your place.Radomski found his, designing wall paper for homes, bars, film sets. After helping to tear down one wall, he's covering others. His life now as free as his spirit.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Throughout the year, we mark 25 years of broadcasting at CNN. We'll continue to look back at yesterday's newsmakers and where they are today. That was a pretty cool one, too wasn't it? Morning papers when we come back. And a reminder tomorrow at 8:30 Eastern time, the president's prime time news conference coverage here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Okey-doke. Time to check morning papers from around the country and around the world.
The "International Herald Tribune" published by "The New York Times" in Paris. "First Flight is Perfect for Largest Passenger Jet," and then a picture of the Airbus A380. This is a plane that can hold up to 800 people. Think about what a pleasurable experience that's going to be. OK, 800 people.
"Stars and Stripes" -- listen, it doesn't mean you shouldn't go out and buy one of those planes. If you like the idea, go buy one, OK.
"Militants Gun Down Iraqi Lawmaker at Home. Woman is first in parliament -- is first parliament member targeted since the election. Also, I don't know how well you can make this picture out. Headline is "Enter Sandstorm, a dust storm moves across the western desert of Iraq on Tuesday." The storm spawned near the Syrian border leaving a heavy sheet of dust in its wake. Well, yes, I guess it would, wouldn't it?
That's "Stars and Stripes," so is this. How many editions do they put out? Anyway I like the story. "Dragging Down a Career, Heavy smoking military recruits are much more likely to wash out." While recruiting --"Will recruiting practices change?" Everybody it seems like when I was in the service smoked. It may have had to do with the fact that they'd charged you 10 cents a pack for cigarettes. "
The Washington Times," two that we'll mention. "House GOP" -- we'll probably a lot of good stories but two that were mentioned. "House GOP Backs off Ethics Rules," folded like a cheap suitcase on that one. "Hastert/DeLay support move to end impasse."
And then down here, this is a good story, "Life Worse for Iraqi Women, intimidation more common." I guarantee you, if this story had appeared in "The New York Times," the right wing blogs would go nuts on the "Times." But it's in the "Washington Times," so they'll probably leave it alone.
The -- and it's a good story and an important story. I'll move on now.
"The Rocky Mountain News," man, this is an ugly little moment. "They are Antichrist. Senator says he regrets using term to describe founder Dobson," that's James Dobson "and his efforts." Yes, that was intemperate.
How are we doing on time?
We out of time?
Weather tomorrow in Chicago, anemic.
We'll wrap it up quickly in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: The president holds a prime time news conference. Our coverage begins at 8:00, the president starts at 8:30. And we'll talk about what he talked about afterwards for a while too.
Good to have you with us tonight. We'll see you tomorrow. Until then, good night for all of us.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
The Hatred by this 'woooman' is not to be understood
9:54 PM
Today in retaliation for statements made earlier there has been an advertisement completely absent of the Jew, Aaron Brown's name. There was also no e-mail in order to limit contact with the audience.
Could it be a jealousy by this exective producer?
And why?
...the hatred continues...
The Christian Science Monitor
The Washington Times
The Rocky Mountain News
San Antonio Express News
The Oregonian
The Dallas Morning News
Stars and Stripes
Chicago Sun Times
It is needless to say this caucasian dominated broadcast continues. I could day by day document that here but it would be redundant and pointless except for the futile exercise of it. The preference is there throughout the programming of CNN but strongly consistent with the NewsNight programming. The content of this show is very controlled by using highly edited pre-filmed 'news bits.'
The entire situation is a mess. It isn't journalism at CNN anymore, it's infomercials for the politics of the preferred. Women are victimized on a chronic basis through highly sexual contest commercials as noted with the Buick Le Baron.
In a rather alarming segment on Anderson 360 there was typed context as read by Anderson Cooper off the television screen. Both callers were named Mary (subliminal suggesting to Mary the Virgin and again there were no voices of a caller so there is no way of knowing if the e-mails were real and probably were most likely not.) The program transcript went like this:
COOPER: Well, a lot of you have been writing to us about the little Florida girl, hand-cuffed by police, after a prolonged classroom tantrum. Some of you have supported the actions of the teachers, or criticized the police, or the parents, but the most interesting email today came from Mary in May's Landing, New Jersey.
On the subject of corporal punishment, she writes, "Apparently, the nice doctor that was on your program last night, that stated it's never necessary or warranted to use corporal punishment on a child, never nursed a teething baby. If you've ever had a child bite your nipple --" ouch " -- the appropriate thing to do is immediately flick an exposed area of skin with your finger. Babies are smart and will connect this pain with the bite and will not do it again."
Mary, I'm going to take your word for it on this one, all right? We'll just move on.
Another Mary, this one from Asheboro, North Carolina, writes: "Help! Last night on 360, Anderson used the phrase 'try the veal.' Someone on a sports show said it yesterday as well. I've been on a fruitless quest all day to find out what it means. Could you please explain?"
Mary, you don't really need to know what it means, but from now, on every time I say it, I want you to just laugh out loud. Got it? I'll be here all week; try the veal.
The fact a mother is actually using corporal punishment against an infant that is breast feeding is not just alarming but tramatizing to realize the infant is traumatized for being smart. If an infant was that smart about inflicting pain a conversation could accomplish the task. There are far better ways of handling infants that breastfeed than using corporal punishment. It is worrisome this was rewarded by this show. People like Ms. Bigot frequently sees discipline issues like this as '... training them up right...'
The program was consistently condesending toward both women, real or fictious including the 'beef' promotion of "blah, blah, blah ... try the veal." It's a stupid expression and one the writers along with Ms. Bigot hopes becomes a popular thing to say as if people really need a 'catch all' as a bonding issue. This group of broadcasts are loquacious in an attempt to influence social content. I repeat this is NOT a news broadcast anymore so much as a MESSAGE BROADCAST by a political predator.
Today in retaliation for statements made earlier there has been an advertisement completely absent of the Jew, Aaron Brown's name. There was also no e-mail in order to limit contact with the audience.
Could it be a jealousy by this exective producer?
And why?
...the hatred continues...
The Christian Science Monitor
The Washington Times
The Rocky Mountain News
San Antonio Express News
The Oregonian
The Dallas Morning News
Stars and Stripes
Chicago Sun Times
It is needless to say this caucasian dominated broadcast continues. I could day by day document that here but it would be redundant and pointless except for the futile exercise of it. The preference is there throughout the programming of CNN but strongly consistent with the NewsNight programming. The content of this show is very controlled by using highly edited pre-filmed 'news bits.'
The entire situation is a mess. It isn't journalism at CNN anymore, it's infomercials for the politics of the preferred. Women are victimized on a chronic basis through highly sexual contest commercials as noted with the Buick Le Baron.
In a rather alarming segment on Anderson 360 there was typed context as read by Anderson Cooper off the television screen. Both callers were named Mary (subliminal suggesting to Mary the Virgin and again there were no voices of a caller so there is no way of knowing if the e-mails were real and probably were most likely not.) The program transcript went like this:
COOPER: Well, a lot of you have been writing to us about the little Florida girl, hand-cuffed by police, after a prolonged classroom tantrum. Some of you have supported the actions of the teachers, or criticized the police, or the parents, but the most interesting email today came from Mary in May's Landing, New Jersey.
On the subject of corporal punishment, she writes, "Apparently, the nice doctor that was on your program last night, that stated it's never necessary or warranted to use corporal punishment on a child, never nursed a teething baby. If you've ever had a child bite your nipple --" ouch " -- the appropriate thing to do is immediately flick an exposed area of skin with your finger. Babies are smart and will connect this pain with the bite and will not do it again."
Mary, I'm going to take your word for it on this one, all right? We'll just move on.
Another Mary, this one from Asheboro, North Carolina, writes: "Help! Last night on 360, Anderson used the phrase 'try the veal.' Someone on a sports show said it yesterday as well. I've been on a fruitless quest all day to find out what it means. Could you please explain?"
Mary, you don't really need to know what it means, but from now, on every time I say it, I want you to just laugh out loud. Got it? I'll be here all week; try the veal.
The fact a mother is actually using corporal punishment against an infant that is breast feeding is not just alarming but tramatizing to realize the infant is traumatized for being smart. If an infant was that smart about inflicting pain a conversation could accomplish the task. There are far better ways of handling infants that breastfeed than using corporal punishment. It is worrisome this was rewarded by this show. People like Ms. Bigot frequently sees discipline issues like this as '... training them up right...'
The program was consistently condesending toward both women, real or fictious including the 'beef' promotion of "blah, blah, blah ... try the veal." It's a stupid expression and one the writers along with Ms. Bigot hopes becomes a popular thing to say as if people really need a 'catch all' as a bonding issue. This group of broadcasts are loquacious in an attempt to influence social content. I repeat this is NOT a news broadcast anymore so much as a MESSAGE BROADCAST by a political predator.
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
The noted oppression of Aaron Brown regarding NewsNight
It has been over a week now and Aaron Brown has yet to return to his Pre-program annoucement of the contents of the hour of news he finds most engaging. This was a long held practice of his to his relationship with his audience ranging in attire from suit with opened collar to shirt sleeves rolled up to the elbows while hard at work putting together an hour of important and pertinent news and not just 'special focuses' of issues.
This is an issue because it is a means of control of 'the image' of the program rather than trusting a Jew to deliver an honest and spontaneous message regarding the impact of the subjects. In other words, Sharon "The Bigot" von Zwieten, wants complete control over 'the message' rather than holding important the delivery of accurate news as "NewNight" once was including a 'block of time' called "Segment Seven" which allowed for specialty issues or 'the magazine portion' of the broadcast every night of the week.
"NewsNight" was based on the 'format' of a newspaper which gave it 'charm' and a unique environement for news delivary.
The removal of spontaneity is grossly obvious in all aspects of the programming. With the exception of the Vatican proceedings in recent history also noted is the absence of live, uncontrolled and probably expensive satellite transmissions on a regular basis with CNN in general but particularly the evening hours.
CNN used to cut to live television broadcasts on a moment to moment basis. That is highly controlled now and in my opinion serves a greater purpose of 'Message Delivery' rather than "News Delivery."
Not to leave a stone unturned or any doubt to purpose, so noted in recent history is some very wicked editing. It is edited based on religious preference and especially race preference. Example: Last night, April 25, 2005, Mr. "Riffraff" DeLay was repeatedly presented in a 'film loop' where he is coming around a corner with a light skinned minority who's identity no one stated. They didn't state it because the 'film loop' was repeated throughout the promotional 'infomercial' for DeLay. For that reason alone, the editing I mean, my argument that this is an agenda of 'message delivery' rather than news delivery stands over budgetary issues. The editing is all too consistent in it's advocacy to the current administration's agenda and elections. It raises serious questions about the possibity of this being less a program of 'choice' for CNN and more a Pre-Packed programming from Washington, D.C. as noted not long ago in The New York Times regarding propaganda news segments produced for 'indoctrination' of the public.
This is an issue because it is a means of control of 'the image' of the program rather than trusting a Jew to deliver an honest and spontaneous message regarding the impact of the subjects. In other words, Sharon "The Bigot" von Zwieten, wants complete control over 'the message' rather than holding important the delivery of accurate news as "NewNight" once was including a 'block of time' called "Segment Seven" which allowed for specialty issues or 'the magazine portion' of the broadcast every night of the week.
"NewsNight" was based on the 'format' of a newspaper which gave it 'charm' and a unique environement for news delivary.
The removal of spontaneity is grossly obvious in all aspects of the programming. With the exception of the Vatican proceedings in recent history also noted is the absence of live, uncontrolled and probably expensive satellite transmissions on a regular basis with CNN in general but particularly the evening hours.
CNN used to cut to live television broadcasts on a moment to moment basis. That is highly controlled now and in my opinion serves a greater purpose of 'Message Delivery' rather than "News Delivery."
Not to leave a stone unturned or any doubt to purpose, so noted in recent history is some very wicked editing. It is edited based on religious preference and especially race preference. Example: Last night, April 25, 2005, Mr. "Riffraff" DeLay was repeatedly presented in a 'film loop' where he is coming around a corner with a light skinned minority who's identity no one stated. They didn't state it because the 'film loop' was repeated throughout the promotional 'infomercial' for DeLay. For that reason alone, the editing I mean, my argument that this is an agenda of 'message delivery' rather than news delivery stands over budgetary issues. The editing is all too consistent in it's advocacy to the current administration's agenda and elections. It raises serious questions about the possibity of this being less a program of 'choice' for CNN and more a Pre-Packed programming from Washington, D.C. as noted not long ago in The New York Times regarding propaganda news segments produced for 'indoctrination' of the public.
The Religious Bigotry of CNN NewsNight "Morning Papers"
This segment stands alone as a Signature Segment to the programming expressing preferences in culture, race and faith.
PROOF, in lustful arrogance and zealotry for the entire viewing audience to hear:
From the transcript April 25, 2005
BROWN: All year long as CNN celebrates a quarter century of reporting the news, we're looking back on the people and the stories that helped shape our era. Morning papers help shape this program. We'll get to it in a moment.
Morning papers help shape this program.
Morning papers help shape this program.
Morning papers help shape this program !!!!!!!!!!
The Christian Science Monitor
The Washington Post
The Examiner
The Washington Post
The Rocky Mountain News
The Chattanooga Times Free Press
Minneapolis Star Tribune
The Chicago Sun Times
PROOF, in lustful arrogance and zealotry for the entire viewing audience to hear:
From the transcript April 25, 2005
BROWN: All year long as CNN celebrates a quarter century of reporting the news, we're looking back on the people and the stories that helped shape our era. Morning papers help shape this program. We'll get to it in a moment.
Morning papers help shape this program.
Morning papers help shape this program.
Morning papers help shape this program !!!!!!!!!!
The Christian Science Monitor
The Washington Post
The Examiner
The Washington Post
The Rocky Mountain News
The Chattanooga Times Free Press
Minneapolis Star Tribune
The Chicago Sun Times
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